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Alan Clarke

@alanclarke.bsky.social
1.8K followers 354 following 798 posts

Energy & buildings engineer, Passivhaus, mountain biker, veg gardener/rewilder

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Reposted by Alan Clarke
Dan Grey @dangrey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's extremely hard to take this government seriously when it's proposing this. How can anyone look at the world today and say "yeah, we need to sell fewer electric cars" www.gov.uk/government/c...
gov.uk
Zero emission vehicle mandate review
Seeks views on the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate and its effectiveness in the UK.
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Jay Rayner @jayrayner1.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
On the BBC News Katya Adler has just described Germany, where the far right AFD keep winning elections, as entering 'uncharted political territory'. Hmmm. Where Germany is concerned I think that territory is pretty well charted.
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fluids_guru @fluidsguru.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I don’t understand the hand-wringing reaction to claims that nueral networks have a 10% chance of destroying civilisation. Fossil fuel companies have a 100% chance of initiating a mass extinction event. Maybe we could address that?
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Marianne Heaslip @marianneh.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Running a workshop at the AECB conference next Friday. Should be fun assuming I've recovered from this horrid cold by then: aecb.net/wp-content/u... Though I'm sad that our workshop clashes with @ecominimalnick.bsky.social 's session and I'll miss that.
A workshop description: 

People First Retrofit, 
Marianne Heaslip and Helen Grimshaw

Arguments about whether retrofit should be 'fabric first' or 'heat pump and energy systems first' are getting tiresome. PPR take a different approach - focusing on people, context and understanding first. We'll explore through case studies and discussion what this means in a range of homes - and the implications for policy makers and practitioners.
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Kate de Selincourt @katedes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Hospital parking FML
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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
File under: not good. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
this has escalated fast - caller on my work phone from "the bank" - "which bank?" scammer replied "you a**hole m*****f*****r" and hung up! Maybe it's getting to them? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
A little rudeness can save you from being scammed? Count me in | Polly Hudson
Being polite to strangers will make everyone love you – especially those who just want to swindle you out of your money. I won’t make that mistake again, writes Polly Hudson
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Reposted by Alan Clarke
Doug Parr @dougparr.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
UK is on track to install around 300,000 solar rooftops this year That'll break records and on its own add at least 1GW of solar to UK generation For scale, UK maximum demand is around 50GW www.businessgreen.com/news/4535700...
businessgreen.com
'Unprecedented numbers': Solar industry on track to smash rooftop record
MCS tracker reveals number of small-scale solar installations completed this year has already surpassed long-standing 2011 record
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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This animated map shows a day of actual UK train movements, delays and all! On 19 August 2026 the network peaked at 1,794 trains moving at once. Even around 3am, at least 141 were running. Passenger services wind down, but freight and maintenance keep rolling. Source: buff.ly/0zrhl41
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𝚂𝚊𝚖𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚎 @samsonite.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Happy Friday BSkyers.
Do not touch bread with hands, please use tongue
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A lot more plug-in solar kits have been registered as 'compliant' over the past week. On the day it was permitted in Britain, only 7 products were listed (just a few available to buy). Now there are 46 compliant kits. Progress! Still expensive (esp. compared to Germany) but it's getting better...
pluginsolarcalculator.com
UK Plug-in Solar Kits, Products and Brands | Plugin Solar Calculator
Browse UK plug-in solar kits, brands and retailers. We list complete kits with credible evidence that they meet the official UK requirements.
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Juraj Mikurcik @jurajmikurcik.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
More photos and project description now on the architect's website 👇 Amazing craftsmanship. www.kastarchitects.com/work/wooden-...
Exterior photo of The wooden house, a two storey home built with straw panels, externally clad in locally grown cedarExterior photo of The wooden house, view of the house and south facing brise soleil providing shadeInterior photo of The wooden house, view of the open plan dining room and kitchen areaDetail of a wooden staircase
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Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It wasn't that long ago we were told that batteries would never succeed in big trucks. This is some very good news for everyone not in the business of selling diesel.
bar chart showing rapid rise of battery use in heavy trucks in China.
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Is it too subtle to think that Jackdaw gas and Rosebank oil are quite different, and there is a case for the gas that there isn't for the oil? I'd rather we'd made sufficient progress with heat pumps that this wasn't an issue, but the UK relies on direct connection to gas wells as "winter storage"
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
My 88 yr old aunt's passport has expired - now has no valid ID (she doesn't drive) - is best option just to renew it tho she doesn't intend to ever leave the county? Missing any cheap/easy options??
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Rob Davies @byrobdavies.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"I want your children's lungs to be smaller and less functional" is a bold electoral strategy.
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Jack Tindale @jacktindale.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Just get rid of Grade II entirely - if you want to put a heat-pump and double-glazing in a nice but otherwise entirely generic 18th Century cottage then you do that. You own it. You should basically be allowed to do what you want with it.
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Kate de Selincourt @katedes.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Passivhaus services designers started doing this in schools a while ago, to save energy (and avoid the need for insane levels of ventilation) and catering staff have been delighted!
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Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun @eaterofsun.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Just heard @rory-stewart.bsky.social on @therestpolitics.bsky.social say that "we [the UK] still consume more carbon than we have ever done—we just have the t-shirts made in China". I've heard this point being made elsewhere recently too. And it is simply not true.
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FT @fucktheory.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Imagine being talented and beautiful and rich and famous and still the most noteworthy thing about you is how good a person you are.
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Passivhaus Trust @passivhaustrust.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
🙌 Could these alternative homes be the future in a hotter Britain? Great BBC article explaining how Passivhaus works to keep homes cool in the summer as well as warm in winter. www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg5l3z7…
bbc.co.uk
Could these alternative homes be the future in a hotter Britain?
The Passivhaus standard is growing in popularity as UK homeowners adapt to hotter summer temperatures.
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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The Haywain 2026
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Glyn Hudson @glynhudson.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The new @openenergymon.bsky.social HeatPumpMonitor front page is live! 👀🥳 heatpumpmonitor.org It's very exciting to provide more insight to the data on HeatPumpMonitor, this has been a big focus for @trystanlea.bsky.social 👏
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Nettlecake @nettlecake.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.
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Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
I can’t believe that Reform UK turned out to be financed by a bunch of money laundering fronts for Russia. It’s just so unexpected.
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Glyn Hudson @glynhudson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
It's been 1yr since I installed a Grant HP290 heat pump and @newarkcylinders.bsky.social in my house! 🏠 Space heating SCOP 4.8 🚿 DHW SCOP 4.3 📊 Combined SCOP 4.7 💰 Running cost on Agile with battery: £567/yr 🛢️ Previous oil boiler would cost £2k to deliver same heat (72% saving)
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 29/07/2026
the non-pervert use cases for pervert glasses are just so *lame*. These things will literally never happen with pervert glasses, which are aimed pretty squarely, as we know, at perverts. www.meta.com/en-gb/blog/m...
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Juraj Mikurcik @jurajmikurcik.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
As predicted, the roof is on. Metal roofing, windows and roof & floor insulation next.
Photo of a new single storey biobased home. Walls wrapped in black airtight breather membrane, roof covered in blue breather membraneInterior photo of a new biobased home. Exposed straw wall panels, timber floor and timber roof
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Just looking at a PV system quote and how many "car" miles of CO2 it would replace - it's a big expensive PV system and it's not many miles - we need to be not making combustion engine cars anymore
10 kW PV system £16,366CO2 savings equiv 6604 car miles
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Brendon Slotterback @bslotterback.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
People with asthma got better when they replaced their gas stove with electric. “Our improvement was about twice as much as you typically see with medical treatment of asthma,” www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/electric-s...
climatecoloredgoggles.com
Researchers used electric stoves to treat asthma. It worked.
The latest evidence that gas is bad for your health.
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Adam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
It’s time to accept that the American Experiment failed. The King needs to reclaim the territories. For the sake of humanity.
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Gaia Vince @wanderinggaia.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
1) It is not politically toxic but, as many large surveys show, widely supported by the public 2) Political retreat is not an accident but result of well-funded political and media campaign by fossil fuel interests. 3) This is a war on our liveable future. See it!
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 15/07/2026
[boldly] I just don't think the British government needs to have Shabana Mahmood in it, I think we managed fine without her and we can just keep going without her, it's fine, Andy Burnham doesn't need to find a space for her in cabinet, there are other MPs
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Jeff Spencer @revjss.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Graphic offering advice on “How to survive the global heatwave.” It says:
Stay hydrated.
Treat yourself to an ice cream.
Dismantle the fossil fuel industry which is literally burning the planet for the short term profit of a vanishingly small capitalist class.
Loose fitting clothing.
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Annie Leymarie @annieleymarie.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
"Good governments have a vision. They know what they want to achieve, can articulate why, & work out in public how to get there. They don’t just spout slogans about economic growth, because growth is meaningless unless we know what it's for" @fionaharvey.bsky.social on @mazzucatom.bsky.social's book
theguardian.com
‘Make people dream’: how to build an economy for the common good
Economist Prof Mariana Mazzucato says governments must ‘get back their mojo’ and believe they can change the world
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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I especially love this diagram.
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
This is new - time for bed and I want to open up the windows for night cooling - but it's still warmer outside! Yesterday was 22 C at this time, today 27 (and 25 C inside)
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Tarmac playgrounds and windows that don’t open: why hot spells turn our schools into heat traps | Harry Paticas
Our schools are a dated mix of single glazing, dodgy pipes and atriums like Kew hothouses. They urgently need retrofitting for a changing climate, says architect Harry Paticas
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Mr. T @toruokada69.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
You all don't get the joke. Let the #AI explain:
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MꙬse Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Cartoon. Two people looking out of a window, everything is at an angle. One is saying to the other “It’s thirty degrees out there”
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Douglas Cheape @douglascheape.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Ladies and gentlemen, for your entertainment I present to you what might well be the most carefully compiled word search ever.
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Heather Anne Campbell @heathercampbell.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
can’t believe a narcissist is being so publicly humiliated by a reflecting pool
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
From 7am - great job on night ventilation for cooling in living room, but it smells kind of damp in here! I suspect 97% RH is a bit inaccurate but pretty sure >90%
Meter reading of 97% RH at 21 C
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The Monarch Diaries @monarchdiaries.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Mechanism and updated prediction for the epic fail of Lincoln Memorial Bioreactor's polyurea coating! First chemistry, then physics It was sprayed in big sections. In addition to pool edges, failure will concentrate at the OVERLAP SEAMS between sections because they likely barely bonded at all. 1/x
section of blue-tinted Rhino Pipeliner 5000 polyurea coating of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool that's peeled off the surface and is bobbing in the puce-colored water
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Alan Clarke @alanclarke.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Does the country have enough PV and battery storage? Clearly not:
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The Daily Tism @thedailytism.com · 17/06/2026
An aspiring Telegraph columnist is “thrilled” that her four-year-old daughter is autistic, due to all the hand-wringing articles she can get out of it about her horror at not getting exactly the child she wanted, throughout the daughter’s teens and even well into her adult life.
thedailytism.com
Mother of autistic daughter excited about all the self-pitying newspaper columns she’ll get out of it
An aspiring Telegraph columnist is "thrilled" that her four-year-old daughter is autistic, due to all the hand-wringing articles she can get out of it about her horror at not getting exactly the…
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Ben Adam-Smith @benadamsmith.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
NEW PODCAST: Bill Butcher and Chris Herring, founders of 21 Degrees, give us the lowdown on their own group self build project. www.houseplanninghelp.com/400 #Passivhaus #PassiveHouse #SelfBuild
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Richard Lowes @richardlowes.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
A few thoughts from me on this populist sillyness about air con (not) being banned in new builds and why it's perfectly reasonable and sensible to focus on fabric measures first to reduce overheating. Air conditioning alone will never keep Britain cool www.lbc.co.uk/article/air-...
lbc.co.uk
Air conditioning alone will never keep Britain cool | LBC
The Tories' promise to overturn a 'ban' on air conditioning in new homes doesn't tell the whole story, writes energy expert Dr Richard Lowes
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