HD>> You remember the frequency deviation we had some months ago when HD>> clocks were running to fast and/or to slow?
RB> No. When was that?
I donot know the exact time, but it were some weeks in March 2018? It was on the 20:00 hour tv news several times. First many clocks running at 230 Vac~ were walking about 5 minutes to slow. When the distributers remarked it, they corrected it by higher up the frequency almost the same amount, so that the clocks were in sync again, if the user did not remarked and changed it in the meanwhile. The source of the problem were in some eastern EU countries at the High Voltage network, and affected most countries here as they all are connected together. Your country too. I was affected too, because I came to late somewhere and after that I corrected my kitchen clock and the one in the sleeping room. After some weeks I had to correct it back again as a result of the distributors correction they did. In my study and computer room I have a DCF77 clock wich walks always right. It can only automatic being synchronised if all the computer monitors are off! I.e. at night, mostly after 02:00 till 09:00. Other good sources of correct time are NTP servers at InterNet, TeleText and the signal every hour before the radio news starts. First it were 6 pips (6 seconds), but for a long time it are only 3 now, two short ones and one long one at the Dutch radio stations. I only listen to the radio news and traffic jam info in my car when driving long distances here. With that "pips" I can control the dashboard clock to be in sync or not. It deviates only 3 minutes to fast in six months. Mostly I only correct it when summer times comes or goes, i.e. at the end of March and end of October. My UniCorn BBS computer clock is much worse. It walks to fast with 45 seconds a day! So I have to correct 5 minutes every week ;-(. I give up solutions to correct it automatically at this old Dos 5 system. At some undefined time I'll move UniCorn BBSystem to moderner hard- and software that does not have that time disadvantage. Correcting time manually is not a hard job.
HD>> We are going to leave fossil energy. So no gas anymore, Groningen is HD>> going to be closed before 2030. The solution would be sunpanels and HD>> local accumulated storage of energy.
RB> Aye, but there's the rub!
The technicians will organise that for you, do not worry.
RB> Solar and wind power are practical as long as the sun shines and the RB> wind blows. But we live in northern Europe, where neither is particularly RB> reliable.
It is improving every year.
RB> And in addition, neither is capable of supplying what the Germans term RB> the "Grundlast" (a basic power supply) on their own.
I know what you mean. First they will do somethiong about peakshaving. But after many years all traditional fossel fuels and nuclear are faded out. That proces is already started. At inland ships when you have enough sunpower and battery storage room, you have enough electrical energy with 24 Vdc= to 230 Vac~ inverters to completely support all the household demands, including electrical cooking with induction cookplates. You know the refrigerator (Kuhlschrank) is the most demanding apparatus?
RB> That's why there are still oil and gas fired plants as well as RB> nuclear power stations.
For some more years yes. But knowing your age, I think you probably will not see it completely gone. The younger generation will absolutely see it gone.
RB> Wind power is fairly reliable on the North Sea coast, but not inland.
That's why so much windplants are build at Sea.
RB> And as for solar power... we aren't living in Greece or north Africa.
No, but its part is growing very fast here.
RB> Now, the day people can actually implement a _practical_, failure-free RB> storage of electricity without expensive and limited-life batteries is RB> the day we can _really_ talk about doing without fossil fuels - or RB> nuclear reacttors. Until then, we'll just have to get used to the fact RB> that we can't do without them.
For the time being yes. Everyone who lives for more than 30 years from now on will see it gone.
Henri.
--- * Origin: Connectivity is the Future; UniCorn BBS 31 26 4425506 (2:280/1208)
