The real state of the economy

[adam2]

If the money supply increases in exact proportion to the population, then I would expect more or less zero inflation since the amount of money circulating per head remains the same.
The price of some goods such as oil would increase since not only are supplies depleting, but even a fixed supply is less per head with population growth.
With a fixed money supply PER HEAD then I would expect that any increase in say oil prices would be offset by falls in other prices.

[PS_RalphW]

OT, but I have just found what could be a great house to buy.

6 miles from town, mostly with cycle path of poor quality.
In village with good school, yards from shop and pub.

17th century part thatched cottage, 0.2 acres, 2 woodburners. Done out
nice and tasteful . Enough trees to keep the wood burners going for some time.

Downsides

Grade 2 listed. Not double glazed. Oil fired radiator heating.
Only a small south facing roof. Price towards the top end of what I can afford.

Insulating and draft proofing the house could be a major headache if the listing planners turn nasty. I might squeeze solar hot water on the south facing roof if I can get it past the planners.

Enough ground for ground source heat pump, but I doubt the insulation will warrent the expense.

I don't know how knocked about the original fabric is. Walls part wood, part clunch? Hopefuly the outer render is lime.

It is a rural dream, hope it isn't a nightmare.

Any opinions?

[adam2]

I am not to keen on thatch on account of the fire risk.
Be aware that insurers often require non standard and much more expensive electrical installations in properties with thatched roofs.

Oil central heating has its merits in that you can keep a stock of the fuel, unlike gas or electricity.

[emordnilap]

There's not a much greater risk of fire (well, not in this country; the thatch tends to be damp so not as flammable as it appears) and a fire barrier can be installed when re-thatching takes place, if there's not already one there. Of course, if a fire does occur, the consequences are usually more dire.

Peoples' experience with insurance varies wildly; you have to shop around insurers that routinely deal with listed or thatched buildings.

Furthermore, when re-thatching becomes necessary, there is a 'fake' non-flammable thatch available!

A thatcher friend of mine says Turkish (organic) straw is the only one he uses these days; depletion of soil nutrients means most reeds are much weaker than in days of yore.

[emordnilap]

Ralph

The house sounds nice but the older one gets, the less one is inclined to take on what amounts to serious renovation work. Just speaking personally, that is; you might enjoy it.

We're in this house fifteen years now (it's maybe 150-175 years old) and the jobs never end...and recently I've been thinking of thatching it, just to add to the list.

[kenneal - lagger]

If the money supply increases in exact proportion to the population, then I would expect more or less zero inflation since the amount of money circulating per head remains the same.
The price of some goods such as oil would increase since not only are supplies depleting, but even a fixed supply is less per head with population growth.
With a fixed money supply PER HEAD then I would expect that any increase in say oil prices would be offset by falls in other prices.

If the oil price increases most other prices will go up as well as oil is an important part of all manufacture. As world population increases demand for oil will increase and so will its price. Inflation is therefore built into the future world economy unless we wean ourselves off oil. Any takers on that one?

[kenneal - lagger]

Ralph, an older house is not necessarily a bad thing but an older listed house I would steer well clear of. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) currently advise against the large scale insulation of older buildings on the premise that they have been cold all their lives and to warm them up now could damage them! So you could be in for a cold and expensive life for a while yet before someone realises that cold and expensive to heat buildings are being left empty and deteriorating. they then might come to their senses and allow some insulation.

I would go for a more modern and definitely unlisted house that can be insulated without too many major problems.

[Tarrel]

Re. The house:

You could put in secondary glazing without any drama from the planning people.

You could also put in a multi-fuel or wood-burning Rayburn and work on the basis of this running 24/7, rather than going for hyper-insulation. I firmly believe these older properties respond best when they are gently heated continuously and allowed to "breath". At first sight this may appear to be squandering energy, but the Rayburn is multi-purpose, providing space heating, hot water, central heating and cooking. We put ours in anticipating it would reduce our oil consumption (which it has), but we hadn't bargained for the substantial drop in electricity use.

Is there scope for stand-alone solar PV or solar thermal in the garden on a frame, as opposed to on the roof? You'd probably still need planning consent, as it's within the curtilage of a listed property, but you're more likely to get it. Also easier to do this sort of approach "under the radar".

[PS_RalphW]

I am thinking about a wood pellet stove to replace the oil burner, although finding a local sustainable supply of wood pellets might me an issue. My friends run a local sustainably managed coppice wood, so logs are no problem.

I could put PV on the garage roof, and extend the side of the garage to be a lean to wood store with PV on that. Should be enough room for about 1KWp.

I think solar water will have to wait.

Not even been to look at it, still at the dreamy stage unhindered by reality

[kenneal - lagger]

A

sustainable supply of wood pellets

would be a problem, I think, and the complexity of the pellet stove would be another. I would buy the smallest log burner that I could find and an accumulator and insulate that well. Then just light the boiler as and when, probably only once a day, maybe every other day, to keep the accumulator topped up.

[Catweazle]

0.2 acres, 2 woodburners. Done out
nice and tasteful . Enough trees to keep the wood burners going for some time.

........

Any opinions?

0.2 acres of woodland will not supply your wood burners in an old house. You need at least 5 acres for native trees, possibly slightly less for fast growing imports.

[Ralph]

It is a rural dream, hope it isn't a nightmare.

Any opinions?

0.2 acres? Sounds like the size for a reasonable garden, but not an entire property.