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Hair types and treatments
Knowing your hair type is the best way to give it the care it needs. Get the best hairstyle by using the right products and knowing which hair styles to do.
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Staying warm and cosy
Winter is on its way, and like we all know Monsieur Winter Wind likes breathing down our necks, leaving us yelping for the rays of warm summer air. Here are a few tips to help you to keep warm and stay toasty during those frosty days.
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Plants vs Zombies
The original game and its sequel allowed players to use a range of plants and fungi to overcome zombie hordes intent on breaking into the players home and presumably devouring his or her brain matter.
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*Hedera helix 10
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Port Elizabeth
15 Jan 2006
Hedera helix Bonsai Seed
English Ivy
English Ivy is an evergreen climbing plant, growing to 20–30 m high where suitable surfaces (trees, cliffs, walls) are available, and also growing as a ground cover where there are no vertical surfaces. It climbs by means of aerial rootlets which cling to the substrate. The leaves are 5–10cm long and are arranged alternately along the stems. There are two types of leaves. The juvenile leaves are palmately five-lobed on creeping and climbing stems, and unlobed cordate adult leaves on fertile flowering stems exposed to full sun, usually high in the crowns of trees or the top of rock faces. The flowers are produced from late summer until late autumn, individually small, in 3–5 cm diameter umbels, greenish-yellow, and very rich in nectar, an important late autumn food source for bees and other insects. The fruit are purple-black to orange-yellow berries 6–8 mm in diameter, ripening in late winter, and are an important food for many birds. It is happy in full sun to semi-shade and will even grow in deep shade. It is only suitable for regions without severe frost and in drier areas one should provide additional water. It requires well-draining, compost-enriched soil and will love you if you apply a complete fertiliser once every six months.
You're buying a pack of 10 Seeds
We'll supply you with all the germination & care instructions plus a FREE e-book with everything you'll ever need to know about the art of bonsai.


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DescriptionFun little game to pass the time by, inspired by the well know tale.
InstructionsUse arrow to move left and right, then Q and W to catch the falling beers.
Added on 2012/01/25 at 8:16 pm.
60, booze, boy, coffe, en, fast, funny, girl, pints, pintz, second, small, woman, women

subset: commoncrawl


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LLer, music nerd, wild and crazy guy
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
I will spam this. All the time. I have become a TF2 and Venture Brothers blog. DEAL WITh IT
My favorite part is that it's a corded phone
Whenever anyone slow claps at an inappropriate time I want. To do this.


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Susan Kuchinskas | March 12, 2012 | Comments
Women and moms dominate the blogosphere, which now includes 181 million sites and pages globally.
Everyday humans are churning out more content than ever, and blogging remains an important avenue for consumer expression, according to an NM Incite report published today.
Consumer-generated blogs have continued a strong upward trend since the company began tracking them in 2006, according to the U.S. Digital Consumer Report State of The Media: Q3-Q4 2011.
While Facebook continues to be the social media juggernaut, don't count blogging out. Combined, the three major blogging platforms -- Blogger, Wordpress and Tumbler, in that order -- account for 80.5 million unique pairs of eyeballs in October 2011, NM Incite said today. (Facebook had 139.1 million unique that month.)
The sheer growth in the volume of blogs is impressive. By the end of 2011, the Nielsen/McKinsey company had tracked over 181 million blogs around the world, up from 36 million in 2006.
NM Incite did not separate blog readers from writers; its numbers include all unique visitors to Blogger, Wordpress and Tumblr. In May 2011, eMarketer forecast that the number of blog readers in the United States that year would reach 122.6 million, representing 53.5 percent of internet users.
It's difficult to compare eMarketer's audience of 122.6 million U.S. readers to Nielsen's 181 million global blogs, but one can reasonably ask whether there are almost as many writers as readers.
Jason Mudd, president of Axia Public Relations, thinks blogs are too difficult to keep up with. "People can swallow small bites of information from Twitter and Facebook much easier without having to read several paragraphs," says Mudd, whose clients include Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Verizon and Synovus.
Mudd does follow some bloggers, but he does it through Twitter or Facebook, scanning the headlines they post and only occasionally clicking through to the actual blog.
Even if individual blogs don't have a big audience, combined they add reach to marketing campaigns. And women bloggers represent a desirable audience for advertisers, especially CPG companies. Seventy percent of them have college educations, for example, with the majority gaining a degree. Approximately one in three are mothers, while 52 percent of bloggers are parents with kids under 18 years old in the household.
Take a look at emerging social media platform Pinterest, which had 4.5 million unique U.S. visitors during October 2011, 37 times its size at the beginning of the year. Using data from Google Ad Planner and Ignite Social Media, 60-second Marketer found users almost equally spread among three age groups: 25 to 34, 45 to 54 and 55 to 64, with 80 percent of them female. NM Incite found that 92 percent of Pinterest's audience also visited mass-merchandiser sites in October.
Women are more likely to trust ads on social media than men, 36 percent versus 26 percent, according to the report.
Join the Industry's Leading eCommerce & Direct Marketing Experts in Chicago
ClickZ Live Chicago (Nov 3-6) will deliver over 50 sessions across 4 days and 10 individual tracks, including Data-Driven Marketing, Social, Mobile, Display, Search and Email. Check out the full agenda and register by Friday, Oct 3 to take advantage of Early Bird Rates!
Susan Kuchinskas has covered interactive advertising since its invention. The former staff writer for Adweek, Business 2.0, and M-Business covers technology, business and culture from Berkeley, CA.
11 Things You Can Do Right Now to Perfect Your Twitter Profile
Millennials More Likely to Purchase What They Share on Social
Insights, Tricks, Mistakes, and Future Trends Digital Marketers Should Know [Video]
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Adobe EchoSign Campaign Goes Retro to Attract Print-Reliant Businesses
October 16, 2014
November 3-6, 2014
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Dec 2-4, 2014
IBM Social Analytics: The Science Behind Social Media Marketing
80% of internet users say they prefer to connect with brands via Facebook. 65% of social media users say they use it to learn more about brands, products and services. Learn about how to find more about customers' attitudes, preferences and buying habits from what they say on social media channels.
An Introduction to Marketing Attribution: Selecting the Right Model for Search, Display & Social Advertising
If you're considering implementing a marketing attribution model to measure and optimize your programs, this paper is a great introduction. It also includes real-life tips from marketers who have successfully implemented attribution in their organizations.
October 23, 2014
1:00pm ET/10:00am PT


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For the 7th edition of this independent music festival, Yamoy association is proud to present Do Make Say Think, Soap&Skin, Part Chimp, Health or Themselves and many others…
To have all the information: www.yamoy.org
The galerie du jour, in partnership with The Film Gallery, has the pleasure to present the project "13 of the 365" from Jonas Mekas (selection of 13 films of 13 days, taken from "365 project" and chosen specially by Jonas Mekas).
On the 1st of [... ]
Never before exhibited drawings of the French poet Matthieu Messagier created between 2007 and 2009 are being shown at the galerie du jour. This exhibition is curated by André Magnin and includes the participation of the philosopher Louis Ucciani [... ]
Two photographers, Rozenn Quéré and Marion Roux. Two exhibitions, "Apparitions" and " No(s) life(s) ". An event, Les Rencontres Photographiques du Xème. Come and see on Wednesday, October 21st from 6 pm till 9 pm.
Taken from his book Un Œil sur la Musique 1982-2007 (An Eye on Music 1982-2007), Richard Bellia's photographs cover several genres of music, including rock, punk, electro, metal and rap – in fact whatever it is that has caught this photographer's [... ]
It is in the chapel of the National Fine Arts Academy and its cloister that agnès b. has presented her summer 2010 women's collection to the press (in stores as of January 2010).
" I wanted to devote a larger importance to the imaginary, which is not [... ]
Fotos from the opening on agnès b. facebook fan page www.facebook.com/agnesb.officiel
agnès b. has the pleasure to present works of Banger, Parisian period, on 1989-1995.
"Once upon a time
There was a man, in white and black, and so thin that on his [... ]
For a period of 10 days after you receive your parcel, agnesb.com will pay for the cost of returning any articles you do not wish to keep (offer valid only for packages posted in Metropolitan France).
In each package you will find a label marked Colissimo Services France, together with a RETURNS VOUCHER.
All you have to do is place this RETURNS VOUCHER inside your package (this is necessary for your order to be processed), stick the Colissimo Services France label on the outside and take it to the post office. Your parcel will be given priority treatment and we will proceed to reimburse the returned products.
So in future you can try on the goods you have purchased in the peace of your own home and take your time to decide.
See you very soon on agnesb.com.


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"My colleagues and I have had a look at the latest edition of European Oncology & Haematology, and I have to say that we...
Introduction: Renal cell carcinomas account for 85% of all renal neoplasms. With the introduction of modern imaging modalities, there has been an increased diagnosis of renal tumors. Recent studies have shown that partial nephrectomy can be as safe as radical nephrectomy for smaller renal tumors. Renal cell carcinomas are usually unilateral, however, they can be bilateral in 2% to 4% of sporadic cases and considerably more common in familial cases.
Case presentation: In this case report, we describe an unusual case of two bilateral synchronous chromophobe renal cell carcinomas accompanied by an oncocytoma and an angiomyolipoma, that were all treated by open partial nephrectomy.
Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report on the synchronous occurrence of bilateral chromophobe renal cell carcinomas associated with an oncocytoma and an angiomyolipoma.
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 85% of all renal neoplasms. Its incidence has been rising due to the increased use of ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) scans for the evaluation of patients with a diversity of presenting symptoms. Most renal cell carcinomas are unilateral, but bilateral tumors, synchronous or asynchronous, have been found in 2% to 4% of reported sporadic cases. However, the incidence is higher among patients suffering from Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease and other familial cases. Radical nephrectomy is considered the standard treatment modality for renal cell carcinomas. However, recent data have shown that partial nephrectomy is as safe and effective as radical nephrectomy for tumors smaller than 4 cm, andmore recent studies support the fact that the indications for partial nephrectomy can be safely extended to tumors up to 7cm. In this case report, we describe an unusual sporadic case of bilateral synchronous RCC accompanied by an oncocytoma and an angiomyolipoma that were all treated by open partial nephrectomy.


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|Request Tickets
Please note that you will be directed to leave a message. A Box Office Representative will return your call within 48 hours.
Parking at the Anderson Center is very limited. Overflow parking is available at the Anderson Center Station, where a shuttle will transport patrons to the front door of the Anderson Center. Shuttles also run after the show to return patrons to the Anderson Center Station parking lot.
Additional parking spaces are available on the south side of the Mercy HealthPlex, newly connected by a path to the Anderson Center. Please note that there is no shuttle that runs directly to the HealthPlex.
Patrons in need of handicap accessible seating should call the box office directly at 513-BEECHMT (513-233-2468). Wheelchair seats are not available online, and cannot be guaranteed without contacting the box office at least 48 hours in advance.
Due to limited handicap parking directly in front of Anderson Center, please be aware that patrons can park at the Anderson Center Station and take the shuttle directly to the Theatre. Please see the Limited Parking Notice for more details.


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Save $50 on Freeman Combo Kit
Includes a 2" Brad Nailer and 1" Micro Pinner.
Buy Now $69.99
WoodRiver® Universal Mobile Base Kit
Save $13 and go mobile with this Mobile Base Hardware Kit.
Now Only $49.99
Pizza Time! Save $3 On This Pizza Kit
This heavy-duty Pizza Cutter features a 2½" stainless steel blade.
Make Yours! $9.99
Look up product instructions, videos and articles about your favorite tools using our Learning Center.
Join us on your favorite social network! Share your projects and learn from other woodworkers.
Please Note: This item can only be shipped ground to the 48 contiguous states. Some
items cannot be shipped via air due to being flammable, magnetic, contains batteries,
hazardous fumes or where contents are under pressure. Please use a physical address
not a PO Box during checkout.
(No reviews)
Product Information:
Proxxon Micro Mill, Model MF 70, and Accessories
The unit is supplied with a stable base of cast iron. Both vertical column and compound table are of treated, high quality aluminum. All axes are play-free and have adjustable slides. The headstock, made of die-cast aluminum, houses the 24 pole balanced special motor and provides stability even at high operating speeds. This stability facilitates the use of the finest cutters. Six triple slit, hardened MICROMOT steel collets come with the machine and cover shank sizes of 1/32", 1/16", 5/64", 3/32", 7/64" and 1/8". The table is fitted with three T-slots of the 15/32" x 15/64" x 15/64" MICROMOT-norm. An adjustable ruler scale eases the positioning of the work piece. All hand wheels are zero adjustable with 1 revolution = 3/64", 1 division = .002".
Technical data:
See 'Ships Direct from Manufacturer' link below for warranty and return details.
Shipping / Billing Info:
This product ships direct from the manufacturer:
©2014 by Woodcraft Supply LLC


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Open to all Suffolk students!
Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) partners with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) to invite students and their professors to attend the
DMA Annual Conference and Exhibition!
Monday, October 3 · 11:00am-1:00pm
Boston Convention Center
- Join us for the leading direct/interactive marketing business conference
- Take the opportunity to network with experienced professionals.
- Gain useful career information.
- Learn tips from a recruiting manager on how to get hired.
- Give your students an edge by bringing them to DMA2011 and the DMEF Student Career Forum.
- Gain free admission for yourself, network with professionals and acquire cutting-edge information for classroom use.
For more information & to register follow this link:
Back to Events Listing »


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Workers at the Southeast Kansas Recycling Center say they won't be able to stay open if they don't receive financial help. Workers at the center say they began seeing financial red flags during the recession. They are asking for help that they say is necessary to keep an important job in operation.
An organization that gives items a second chance needs renewal itself.
"It's pretty bad," says Tausha Ritz with the Southeast Kansas Recycling Center.
The Southeast Kansas Recycling Center in Pittsburg operates off donated, recyclable materials from people like Ken Orender.
"There's no sense in wasting what we have," says Orender.
These days, though, the SEK Recycling Center has less than before. One reason why is drop off boxes throughout town, operated by a different organization, where people can take clothing and shoes.
"They can drop them off there anymore. That's what people see as the best part about that," says Ritz.
Donated items from these containers are shipped to the Kansas City area.
The SEK Recycling Center is also competing for cardboard. More area businesses are giving away cardboard to another recycling company.
"They have these hug, metal boxes that's easier on the eyes. It also keeps all the cardboard contained to one spot. We just don't offer that," says Ritz.
So there's less product to begin with, and fewer dollars offered by recycling companies towards the SEK Recycling Center for what is at the facility. Market prices for recyclable materials drop or stay the same.
"But not fully recover," says Ritz.
Workers at the recycling center say the center lost $69,000 last year because of fewer products coming in and less money received.
Crawford County will give the recycling center $10,000. It's money from fees from waste companies to use a landfill in the county.
"It should get us through the next couple of months," says Ritz.
That's because it'll cost about $5,000 a month to keep the recycling center open. The county may give additional money to cover this operating cost for the next 3 years.
But there are challenges.
"I recycle my books and electronic equipment, but that's all," says Pittsburg resident Sandy Michael.
And then there's the opportunity to recycle, keep a business open, and support local jobs.
"Very important," says Orender.
Of course, if market prices increase, the SEK Recycling Center would require less help from the county.
Watch the associated video to hear about what cuts the recycling center has already made to its staff and operating hours.
Click here to learn more about what items the recycling center accepts.
KOAM - Licensed to Pittsburg, Kansas
Send tips, ideas and press releases to: email@example.com
Send newsroom questions or comments to: email@example.com
Phone: (417) 624-0233 or (620) 231-0400
Web comments or questions: email@example.com
Newsroom Fax: (417) 624-3158


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They should call this product "Blond Banisher" because it took away all my blond highlights!!! Will NEVER use this product again. I thought it would take yellow tones out of my light blond, highlighted hair and it just made my hair look overall very dark blond to light brown. VERY disappointed.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No
Well I normally always check the reviews of a product before I purchase so I'm very glad I didn't with this one,because I probably wouldn't have tried it based on some of the comments here. I found this to be amazing, I now LOVE the colour. Spent $200 on highlights a few weeks ago with my regular guy who normally does great colour but he talked me into extra bright blond for spring....big mistake, way too bright and too yellow. Left it a few weeks and still didn't like it so off to Shoppers and found this amazing product for $14.00, I love the toned down colour now and the condition is great. I left it on for 7 minutes, rinsed in the shower, let the conditioner sit for a few minutes, did a gentle shampoo, a bit more conditioner and excellent results including silky hair. I would buy it again in a flash but hopefully I won't have to!.
This product was a total waste of money and a waste of my time. I am very unhappy!!!
More reviews by UnderThePink2008
I have seen many negative reviews for this product but I have to say that I really liked this product. I naturally have very warm red tones in my hair and it can take on an orange hue. I normally have a darker auburn hair color but sometimes I like to lighten it up. I usually I choose a cooler or more neutral shade of blonde to lighten my hair and usually I use the same brand and color but this past time I tried something different which left my hair looking like a pumpkin. I had seen this product and I knew that the reviews werent that great but I still thought I would try it. I was impressed. This product turned my pumpkin like hair into a really attractive dark strawberry blonde. The color really suits my super fair skin. I did find that the product dried out my hair but nothing more than another other regular home hair color I have used. My hair still looks shiny and healthy but yes it is on the drier side. I would use this product again. I paid $15 for this at my local pharmacy but in my opinion the results were worth the money.
I have been looking for a product like this for years! Thank you L'Oreal! I have light brown/dark blond hair but have been bleaching my hair for years.
I have tried everything to get the yellow/orange out of my hair but now I have sucess!
My only complaint is with long hair I would recommend 2 bottles but for $10 per bottle - what a deal for fantastics results!
I thought $10 for one application was expensive. I have medium blond hair with highlights and noticed over time my hair was a bit brassy, I tied this but really didn't notice any difference at all in my hair (except for drying it out a bit). A waste of money for me.
I was really hyped up to use this product and really felt that I was the perfect candidate - recently dyed my dark blonde hair a lighter shade and as I had lifted it about 4 shades lighter I ended up with an overall yellow / brassy colour. Panic! So two days later I bought a box of Brass Banisher, follow the instructions to the 'T' (left on for exactly 10 minutes) and now my hair is much more orange than before (before it was just brassy, not orange!!) and any nice blonde colour I had is gone. The tone is flat, the brass was not banished, and I'm quite unhappy.
Boo, Brass Banisher, boo.
Works well on my hair that did not lift completely and was a definite orange color. I wish it was cheaper, as $10 for one application is a bit steep.
(Yes, I'm over paying hundreds of dollars to the stylist over the fast few months.)
I have tried toners, funky color mixed with conditioner, and other tricks, but this works the best - although like the rest, just delivers temporary results.
wow. i'm impressed for such a cheap product. i had used revlon frosting on my dark brown hair, which i had previously dyed over to get rid of these patches of white that i have (genetically.) obviously this white hair has no melanin at all, so it takes high strength dye to color them. anyhow, i just decided to "go with the flow" of this hair and frost it to cover it up, rather than continue dying it darker brown. i wound up with yellow and orange highlights and tons brassy brown hair. very ugly on my skin, which is pale and perhaps yellowish/greenish (pale olive i guess.)
anyhow, i used a bottle of this stuff for 10 minutes (the max recommended usage) and my highlights are now a beautiful beige-ish blonde color. it looks much more natural. the orange tones in the brown spots are also significantly toned down. no damage to my hair, either! it isn't a "miracle" and doesn't produce a major change, but to be so gentle it did a very good job.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No
I was at my wits end. I dyed my dark brown hair blonde but it always ended up a orange tinted brassy color. I lived with it for awhile and then tried to go back to dark but I just don't like it as much as the blonde. So after trying purple shampoo, different colors, and a few other things I did some research on how to get rid of the brassy and found this product. All I can say is yeah! Finally the brass is gone. It's a lovely shade of ash blonde and I love it. I realize everything doesn't work on everyone but I say try it at least. It may just do the trick.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No


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Maine Community College System--News Release
Program and staff reductions coming as well, says Fitzsimmons
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
CONTACT: Alice Kirkpatrick
207-767-0116 x 3 (Wed: 232-7177)
Email: email@example.com
AUGUSTA, Maine – Aiming to reduce program cuts and layoffs to avert a $3.2 million shortfall next year, the Maine Community College System Board of Trustees voted today to increase tuition from $68 to $74 per credit hour. The increase means full-time students will pay an average of $180 more in tuition, or $2,220, this coming academic year.
The increase follows six years of a tuition freeze that has brought Maine's rate within $326 of the national average, based on data from The College Board's 2004-05 survey of states.
"We have made tremendous progress in lowering the bar of college affordability in Maine over the past six years," said Joanna Jones, Chair of the Board. "Despite that progress, knowing that we serve a student body that faces financial challenges every day, this increase is a very difficult decision," she said.
MCCS President John Fitzsimmons said that some program and staff reductions will be necessary, even with the tuition increase. The budgets of the seven community colleges will be finalized over the next month, with final decisions on programs and staff expected by mid-May. Up to 35 positions could be impacted, including administrators, faculty and staff, said Fitzsimmons.
In the past three years, State appropriations to the MCCS rose by a net 3.1 percent, while enrollment has surged by 58 percent – for an additional 3,700 college students. In the biennial budget passed last month by the Legislature, the MCCS is pegged to receive a 2.58 percent increase – for a total of $42,542,033 – in fiscal year 2006. The System requested six percent.
"We appreciate the Governor and Legislature finding some relief for us, but our rapid enrollment growth, combined with big cost increases in health care, retirement, fuel, and other areas, leaves us with no choice but to raise tuition and make unpalatable cuts," said Fitzsimmons.
In other action, Trustees approved a request from Central Maine Community College to discontinue diploma options in electromechanical technology, graphic arts and printing, and machine tool technology (these programs will continue offering the associate degree option). CMCC was also granted approval to add a one-year certificate in medical coding.
Trustees also approved their meeting and events schedule for 2005-06.
- end -


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The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) has released draft documents of the Core Arts Standards that have been developed by a committee of music professionals from across the country. These drafts are being offered for review and comment by the public through Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 12:01AM, PST.
AOSA recognizes that there are many items in these standards about which our membership might have opinions and ideas. We strongly encourage you to make your voice known by reviewing and completing the survey for the standards found at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/V8BBZKG.
There are several documents to review prior to completing the survey. Those documents can be found at this link http://nccas.wikispaces.com/Music+Standards+Drafts+January+30%2C+2013.
The documents include (with links below):
Download Important Introduction and Contextual Information
Download Music Standards – Pre K -12 Scope and Sequence View (Excel)
Download PDF Version Music Pre K – 8 General Music Standards
Download PDF Version Music High School Strands
Download Creating Model Cornerstone Assessment – Grade 8
Download Performing Model Cornerstone Assessment – High School Music Skills
For more information on the Core Arts Standards, visit http://www.arteducators.org/research/nccas.


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Minnesota ice fishermen are reeling since the FAA prohibited the Wisconsin beer company Lakemaid to deliver beer with drones.
The pop start Justin Bieber was arrested last Friday morning for drunken racing, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license on Miami, Florida. He was released on a "standard" $2,500 bond. Police said that SUVs were blocking the traffic, which "facilitated an open road" for two cars to race.
Jasleen was born last week at the University Hospital Leipzig, weighting 13lb. The baby was born vaginally, not via a C-section, according to the hospital.
A couple of stray dogs in Moscow have mastered the complex subway system of the city. It's not uncommon anymore for Moscow citizens to see dogs on the subway wagons.
IBNS (International Bank Note Society) names the most beautiful note in the world every year. Notable notes include Kazakhstan's 5,000-tenge and 10,000-tenge notes from 2012 and 2011 featuring designs that are vertical on one side and horizontal on the other; as well as Uganda's 50,000 shilling note from 2010.
A study from the Pew Research Center has found that 56% of Americans are all in about NSA's phone spying, with 41% finding it unacceptable. 62% thought that the pursuit of terrorists outweighed privacy, although young people think privacy is more important. When asked if email monitoring will help to prevent more attacks, 52% said 'no'.
The best 50 beach bars in the world include the Dune Preserve Beach Bar in Anguilla at #1, Baba Nest in Thailand at #2 and Shipwreck Hut in the Cook Islands at #3. The truth is that there is no magic formula to follow to appear on this list, with spots ranging from the chic and elite to haphazard shacks.
A new study has suggested that shark tourism could be a bigger moneymaker than shark fishing. Money spent on shark-watching could increase to $785 million in the next 2 decades, whilst shark fishing generates $630 million per year and is declining.


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Luise Rainer as O-lan in The Good Earth
- Other Nominees
·Irene Dunne as Lucy Warriner in The Awful Truth
·Greta Garbo as Marguerite Gautier (Camille) in Camille
·Janet Gaynor as Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester in A Star Is Born
·Barbara Stanwyck as Stella Dallas in Stella Dallas
Rainer was the first person to receive two Academy Awards for acting, and she won them in consecutive years. The first was for her emotional performance as the actress and great beauty Anna Held in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and the second for the very different role of O-Lan, a long-suffering Chinese peasant, in The Good Earth (AAN). Her career soon went into decline, however, and all four other actresses nominated in 1937 are better remembered today. Rainer's win can perhaps be attributed to the fact that The Good Earth, based on Pearl S. Buck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, was one of the major prestige pictures of the year. It was dedicated to Irving G. Thalberg (AAN), MGM's powerful boy wonder producer, who died while supervising the film. It also boasted an enormous budget, spectacular cinematography (AA) and special effects (especially in the locust scene), meticulously researched sets, and a top cast including 1936 Oscar winner Paul Muni.
Luise Rainer (b. Jan. 12, 1910, Vienna, Austria)


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This is the key point: if you ask me, ensuring renewable heating systems work well is down to the quality of the installation – and that means it's up to you installers!
Following the EST heat pump field trial, a lot of work was done on the MCS installer standard, MIS 3005. With it, I think the domestic renewable heating industry is ready for the RHI. MIS 3005 is now a pretty robust standard; it requires detailed measurements and calculations and forces careful consideration of the most important elements of a new installation. But it's also there to help you – the ground-loop look-up tables for GSHPs, for instance, make sizing a domestic ground loop straightforward. All MCS standards must be followed in the domestic RHI and we're working with MCS, who are beefing up their surveillance, to make sure they are.
For heat pumps, the domestic RHI is designed in a way that pays more to installations designed to be more efficient. That's on top of the extra fuel bill savings customers will benefit from. We have done this by basing RHI payments on kWhs of renewable heat using the Temperature Star Rating in the Heat Emitter Guide. There's an example of how this will work in chapter 3 of the policy document.
We've introduced this measure because we want installers to have both eyes on (a) reducing heat losses (which increases the Temperature Star Rating and reduce customers' fuel bills); and (b) designing an emitter system that can run at low temperatures (which also increases the Temperature Star Rating). We expect installers to target properties that are already well insulated because of this, since these installations will find it easier to get to 4, 5, or 6 stars. Do check your calculations thoroughly because this is an area where we anticipate Ofgem will have a thorough audit regime, in addition to the surveillance already inside MCS.
Designing the most efficient system possible is important but I think it's even more important to check your own work so that actual performance matches design performance in every case. That's why RHI payments will be increased by £200/year – £230/year for any customer that buys a Metering and Monitoring Service Package. Have a look at our guidance document on what this involves and who's eligible. For the customer, a Metering and Monitoring Service Package provides peace of mind that their installation is working well – subsidised by the Government.
For the installer, this is a golden opportunity to review real-life data from the installations you do and learn from it. For instance, you can confirm flow rates, flow temperatures, cycle times and supplementary or immersion heater use. (When I review data from RHPP installations, I can't tell you how often I see heat pumps turning ON/OFF every few minutes – it's bad for efficiency and wears components, so please don't let it happen!!)
As a manufacturer, reviewing this data with your installers is a great way to support and build the reputation of your supply chain. For Government, we can aggregate the data and make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn from the most common pitfalls. I think they're a great opportunity to make sure your current and future customers get a genuine 6-star service, so if the equipment you install is eligible, I hope you consider designing this equipment into your installations straight away.
Here's a final thought: if you've read DECC's recently-published heat strategy, or played with DECC's brilliant – and now international – 2050 calculator, you'll see that this Government is committed to domestic renewable and low-carbon heating for the long term. So the future is bright. How bright, if you ask me, depends on you, the people in industry. Do you have the aspiration to offer a 6-star service? To go and check for yourselves and your customers (using metering) that all of your installations are functioning as well as they can? To hunt out continuous improvement? Invest in training and skills? And drive down costs? At DECC, we hope so. The domestic RHI is there to work hand-in-hand with industry to make these things happen.
At the head of the blog is a statement by Chris Wickins
'This is the key point: if you ask me, ensuring renewable heating systems work well is down to the quality of the installation – and that means it's up to you installers!'
The other key point, which can easily dominate, is the Carnot Efficiency of the pump. The Carnot Efficiency is controlled by two numbers, the inlet and outlet temperatures of the pump. These are the maximum theoretical values for 5/30C, 5/55C and 5/60C:-
This caculation comes from Carnot's Law (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnot's_theorem_(thermodynamics)
The 5/30 at 12.12 represents the best air-to-air heat pump (aka an air conditioner). The 5/60 at 6.05 represents the high temperature air-to-water retrofit heat pump (as pushed by the draft domestic RHI). The 5/55 at 6.56 represents the 'After the "sping 2014″ launch you will not be able to get D-RHI for any high temperature application requiring flow > 55°C'.
These efficiencies turn into electricity bills. The pumps at 5/60 therefore cost twice as much to run as the pumps at 5/30. The improvement supplied by 5/55, as compared to 5/60 is 0.51 (about 10%). Just another 90% to go to catch up with an air conditioner.
It costs half as much to run an air conditioner at 5/30 as it does to run a high temperature air-to-water retrofit at 5/60, for the same heat production. If installers have to offer 'best value' in accordance with consumer mis-selling legislation, then how do they justify selling a pump at 5/55, let alone a pump at 5/60, as compared to a pump at 5/30?
In the Carnot Law, it's right. However in reality, the HP has much more efficiency losses during the circulation and pressing. So you need to divide the COP by half in the real world. It's right an Air-Con system looks like a more efficient way of doing the heating, however, RHI doesn't support Air-Air system, you have to have some system that can do the DHW as well. Besides, I don't think Air-Con unit works that efficient as the colder it gets, the warmer you want in your room, vice versa…So the COP will drop dramatically if you consider it's 0C outside and you need 35C in your house plus you need something extra to heat your DHW.
If you only need to warm one room up and you have main heating system and hot water from a gas boiler, I would recommend you to have a small Air-Con in one of the rooms that doesn't have heating. Would be nice. Hope that helps.
Just having spent 3 years chasing my tail over Green issues I feel well and truly let down by the Green deal/MCS/local council.Very briefly as part of a change of use condition we had to find 10% renewable energy We had SAP documents produced on" as is" and" will be" for the Kwh consumption (63000kwh) which bore no recognition to energy bills(much lower) of our Victorian town house. 6.3 kWh needed to be found. Our appeal on the 10% was refused so the only way to get 10% was an ASHP.(Solar impossible)
According to the SAP we were E E for Co2,if we didn't improve the house but just use the ASHP we were E E but only 1 point away (as far as I can make out from a D onCO2)
Having installed ASHP,draught proofed sash windows, insulation etc in excess of10K
Green deal gives us F and F HELP get my sanity back please.
The flaw in RdSAP is even you are having a 'GREENER' heat pump put in as a renewable, it won't count it as renewable in the software because it uses 'ELECTRICITY'. So I would say, forget about the SAP rating, it's useless to HPs, they are only gas friendly!
We're building a new passive house, that has a worst case (-10 deg C outside temperature) heating requirement (ignoring passive gains from occupants and appliances) of just 1.6 kW.
I've just been asked some questions by our MCS accredited supplier re: the U values of wall, roof, floor, walls, doors, windows etc, plus their dimensions. No problem, I gave them to him and suggested he's also need the permeability and heat recovery ventilation data. "No", he says, "the official software assumes ventilation rates room by room without heat recovery ventilation".
The result is that the "official" RHI software is going to massively (as in around 400 to 600%) over-estimate our heating requirement.
Is this barking mad or what? It looks like if we want to claim RHI we'll end up with a massively over-sized heating installation, that will then run on average at maybe 5 to 10% of it's capacity, which will be ludicrous innefficient.
I thought RHI was intended to promote efficient heating systems, it seems I was mistaken. Why on earth doesn't the RHI system accept something like SAP, which, despite some failings, does at least allow for MVHR and reasonably accurate heat loss rates.
There is lots of good debate on this site with many very respected views on matters that appear to be working and those that are clearly not.
I have grave concerns over the use of deemed annual energy consumption figures and having experienced RdSAP in action, I just can't believe some of the figures both this and the Green Deal OA actual churn-out.
Two things spring to mind at this stage:-
1) Has anyone at DECC or the EST actually produced an illustration on how the RHI payments will be calculated in reality? This would help us to at least understand which inherent metrics or variables have an effect of the final RHI payments to the customers.
2) Has DECC seriously considered the RdSAP impact on the 20/20 targets for the UK reduction in carbon emissions through the take-up of Renewables? Surely, if the annual consumption / RHI figures are suppressed, then so must the carbon saving too!
Carbon target alarm bells ringing loudly!!
Thoughts welcome, thanks.
We have done some retrospective research on MCS calculations we have carried out using the room by room calculator. We have noticed a MAJOR issue:
On an example MCS Certificate, it shows an Estimated Annual Generation of 16,707 kWh. This is taken from the Heat Loss Design Table, where it's calculated as the sum of:
1. Space Heat Consumption = 12,341 kWh
2. HW Consumption HP = 4,366 kWh
We understand that the 4,366 kWh for DHW is calculated:
( 3 + 1 ) x 1 x 45 x ( 55 – 5 – 10 ) x 4187 / 3600000 / 70% x 365
What we can't understand is how the Space Heating Consumption is calculated. In the DHDG spreadsheet downloaded again from the MCS website to get the current version as of 27 September 2013, this seems to be hard-coded as 12,341 kWh for all installations! That doesn't seem right. Surely the Space Heating Consumption is calculated from the design heat loss, using factors such as the degree days, floor area, wall areas, U values, etc.
Can you explain why the 12,341 kWh is hard-coded in the spreadsheet?
The ramifications of this are plain and clear – RHI could be incorrectly calculated and ALL MCS installers using the approved DECC sheet could end up having to issue all new MCS certificates – who is going to cover the cost for this?
I wonder if anyone else has discovered this?
The field trials were a great piece of work and certainly an eye opener, installers must undertake appropriate designs, install correctly and commission the appliance with care, ensuring also the customer is very clear on how to use the system to its maximum efficiency as correct use of the system usually means a change to lifestyle, but has a major effect on the operational efficiency of the system.
A question I have is that metering of the system makes absolute sense and many will take up this option, there must however be a "cap" to the amount of metered installations which can be completed and claiming the additional payment incentive, is there a target number?
I am a potential buyer of of ASHP but am very confused, along with the four potential installers (all mcs) who have visited the property. It appears impossible for installers to give me RHI payment predictions although they all come within 10% of each other on the heat loss figure. One installer is particularly keen on a high temperature HP, and so am I, as it less disruptive in terms of radiator and water cylinder change. Others say that such a system will not be eligible for the RHI payments from April 2014.
I am willing to pay for a system but not unless I can have confidence in the predicted running costs and RHI payments. I cannot be alone in delaying implementation until, if ever, I get clarity. Bad for the industry, bad for Green Deal take up and bad for reducing CO2.
When will this picture be clarified to encourage widespread adoption of the technology ?
An early reply would be appreciated.
Reading the papers from DECC you could assume to see your legacy installation agreed to be >/= 2.5; Your problem is, that you will end up with an SPF of 1.5 or even lower and thus the heating system will be more expesive than any fossile system installed/planned. The D-RHI payment is by far not enough to make this work!
Watch out to get a proper heat pump delivering a SPF of > 3 thus your installation/payback will work. It is not just about emitters it's also about heat pumps used. After the "sping 2014″ launch you will not be able to get D-RHI for any high temperature application requiring flow > 55°C.
Is it fact that >55 deg systems won't attract RHI ? Surely if they can achieve an SPF of >3 then they will be eligible ?
I , as a consumer, look as though I'm being forced into a significant amount of radiator changes to allow a low temp a system to be used which may only have an SPF of 0.5 better than a good high temp system.
For GSHP and domestic RHI. Can you acheived 100% of the RHI payments if your SPF is 4.1. I am being advised that for any system >4 the "1-spf calc" doesnt apply ? Is this correct the DECC policy document doesnt mention this concession?
Householders considering the RHI will want the best possible financial return. In part, this could be achieved by selecting an installer who is most prepared to bend the rules. It is clear that the EPC process is malleable and pretty easy to see how the heat demand figure can be inflated. Indeed, DECC has accepted the variance could be +/- 20% and that has a significant impact on tariff payments. Worse, further benefit accrues if a rogue installer chooses to self-certificate any installation with a generous 'star rating'. Their offer will be very appealing to the householder.
Folks who are tempted to behave in this way are unlikely to be the 'six star' installers that Chris is so keen to embrace. Instead, they will be opportunists attracted into the market by the lure of public subsidy and the lax regulatory regime. They have been given a charter to prosper. All might be okay if there was any meaningful enforcement but the MCS certification bodies are hardly noted for their ability to spot errors yet alone impose sanctions on the guilty. And anybody thrown off MCS could rejoin the next day!
It would be a real shame if the market was hijacked by rogue installers. In some cases, they could be merely ignorant; in others cases, they could be a deliberate intent to take advantage of inadequate policy. Somewhat sweetly, DECC assumes that all installers will play nicely. Sadly, experience gained in the solar PV market suggests this isn't likely to be the case.
But it gets worse. Honest installers could possibly get themselves into trouble.
Imagine a scenario whereby a bungalow owner advises that they will be laying ceramic tiles on a screeded ground floor; ideal condition for UFH so the heat pump installer could legitimately claim a low flow temperature and a 'six star' rating. Bingo, a high RHI payout, everybody is happy, trebles all round. But the next day, the householder has a change of mind and chooses to lay a heavy carpet. Suddenly, in order to heat the rooms, the flow temperature requirement jumps up 15C and the 'star' rating plunges. What happens?
If DECC claims a random audit will take place to protect against abuse, who will be guilty? The installer who didn't realise the homeowner had changed a floor covering or the homeowner? It can only be the home-owner. Maybe they deserve to be stripped of their RHI entitlement. But what if the change in floor covering was prompted by a new owner acquiring the bungalow? Would they know any better? And does Ofgem require notification every time a floor covering changes and does somebody need to determine the impact on flow tempetature and update the rating?
This is possibly an extreme example but there are all sorts of ways to distort the real efficiency of any installation. Those with the greatest appetite to explore those possibilities will prosper. And they will not be 'six star' installers. I hope I am wrong: in reality, I have far more experience of this market than anybody at DECC so I fear I am right.
The solution, of course, is the use of Look-up Tables to eliminate any 'gaming' around the deemed heat demand figure and a fixed tariff regardless of perceived efficiency. Running cost savings should be enough to encourage more efficient designs. Installer success should be based upon an ability to deliver an installation that performs as projected rather than a willingness to exaggerate or cheat.
Amd policy should support this ambition.
I agree with all of what Simon Lomax has stated, particularly the last comment relating to rewarding installations that actually perform to predicted running costs. This will encourage best practice installations and new 'UK' manufacturers into the market (if they know their product development and efficiency will be rewarded)
If DECC leave things as they are I am not particularly looking forward to becoming a dirty salesman (I am currently honest and open to customers, selling the benefits of running cost savings and our installation expertise), but every installer will abuse the system, so I guess I will have to join the club. At the end of the day I am here to earn a living and sell, not really my problem if the people who write the policy have very little common sense or empathy. Only kidding of course I will follow DECC's back of fag packet rules!
Are any of the 20 or so 'bloggers' going to get involved? Or are they all busy working…or re-writing a bullet proof policy!
Is this blog still live/monitored??
Not had a response from my previous question to DECC, submitted:
August 15, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Do we just install high temperature air source heat pump systems, in the hope that DECC will eventually provide final details that they can/can't receive RHI payments?
Bit of a risk for the consumer, if they are paying £15k plus for a system…some clarification on this subject would be much appreciated.
Chris, I have just read one of your comments from the DECC webchat:
"You are correct that new ASHP systems with a design emitter flow temperature of 55oC won't be eligible for the scheme. The minimum Temperature Star Rating for ASHPs is 3 stars."
Does this completely rule out high temperature ground and air source systems? Therefore in practice you are asking every property owner with standard radiators to replace them with UFH or fan convector radiators, is this correct?
Jacob, sorry for being slow to reply to you. I hadn't looked at this for a while.
High-termperature systems are not ruled out from the RHI. However, all 'new' (i.e. installed after the scheme opens in Spring 2014) heat pump installations need to achieve an SPF>2.5 judged using the Heat Emitter Guide. In the Heat Emitter Guide, GSHP at all flow temperatures result in an SPF > 2.5 but this isn't the case for ASHPs with higher design emitter temperatures.
Legacy systems (i.e. systems registered on the MCS database before the RHI opens for payments) will get a default SPF of 2.5 regardless of the design emitter flow temperautre because a lot pre-date the Heat Emitter Guide. Or alternatively, they can assessed according to the latest version of the MCS installation standard, which may result in a higher SPF being assigned.
I hope that helps. CW
Chris, thanks for your response.
I have many issues with DECC's policy for the domestic RHI, I have outlined several in this blog and my comments below. I feel that DECC have failed to engage properly with installers and the renewable heat industry. You have made/are making decisions without applying empathy, eg putting yourself in a position to actually sell, design and install this equipment. Here are a few more of my issues, I will keep them coming:
How will the star rating selection process be monitored? At present it is open to discretion. The green deal is the same, people are stating that their walls are not insulated when actually they are, just to bring up their kWh usage. People will do the same with the SPF.
I had a green deal assessment completed a few weeks back. It came out 40% less than the MCS method. A large room in the property has over 50% of wall space glazed. The assessor felt this was not excessive in his calculations (I assume he ticks a box for this and then the software makes a few more assumptions!). I asked him to change the calculation to excessive glazing, but the kWh usage actually came down!! Try explaining this to a customer who is considering 2no. ashp units to run an 18.5kW heat load. There are also only 2 u-value options for cavity wall construction, something like before and after 1989, another area lacking detail and open to discretion.
The RHI payments cover only half of the install costs of ashp systems (well installed and specified systems), the rate is far too low. Everyone will install pellet boilers, the price of pellets will skyrocket. The UK is an ireland and does not have the biomass capacity to fuel large pellet requirements. We are already importing from Canada (Drax), Sweden (pellet supplier who states their pellets are UK manufactured) and other parts of Europe. The European market for pellet supply is already saturated. The pellet manufacturing market in the UK is not sustainable, try speaking to people in the industry, they are already pulling out as there is no money in it, to manufacture or deliver the pellets. Bagged pellets offer a saving of less than 15% against oil, its pathetic. ASHP's are the solution for the domestic market (where gshp's are not suitable), however DECC have failed to recognise this by applying a low tariff level, due to poor quality ashp installations, that have ruined the market for competent installers. It will all end in tears when people install pellet boilers and they are not making any fuel savings. What is DECC's long term strategy? Do you want to encourage biomass more than heat pumps?
How is the electricity produced using ASHP's is a point in question, burning fossil fuel? At least biomass is "young" carbon that is easily replenished.
I agree that biomass can be replenished, but most commercial RHI installations are biomass, most domestic installations will go down this route, due to 12.2p payments, compared to 7.3p for ashps. Where is all the fuel going to come from? If the government build some nuclear this will significantly reduce carbon emissions associated with grid electricity for heat pumps.
Biomass boilers in particular wood pellet boilers are very economical to install and do deliver sizable energy savings compared with an oil fired appliance. Wood pellet fuel is around 30% cheaper that heating grade oil and if designed and installed correctly they knock spots of an oil fired boiler. We know this for a fact as we have fitted many of them and all have reported reduced fuel consumption after year 1 compared with oil. This is mainly down a correctly sized appliance and the right accumulator tank. Air to water heat pumps have there place in the market but in our experience they are better suited to a new build property with a low heat loss and a low temperature emitter design. All the norm with a new build. If we installed Air source units everywhere across the country where would we generate the electricity to power them from? Biomass is really the only stand alone technology and has been awarded the highest domestic RHI incentive. It is also a technology that consumers understand and is very robust in it operation. Something that can not be said of heat pumps. I would point out that we are both MCS registered for Biomass and Air Source so we have installed and tested both systems. Biomass is the future for the majority anyway.
Tony, Steve and Lewis. We at Worcester Renewable Energy would agree with you. Making RHI payments against the heating energy consumption over a year in kWh for spacing heating and domestic hot water from an EPC based on reduced data SAP, not even full SAP, is not as accurate as calculating the requirement using full heat loss calculations based on actual U-values, EN ISO 13790, CIBSE Guide A and BS EN 12831 as required under MCS 3005 3.1a Clause 4.3.12 c).
This does indeed also seem to greatly contradict the statement in MCS 3005 3005 3.1 page 21:
"Notes on determining the total heating energy consumption
The Standard Assessment Procedure for dwellings in not recognised to accurately determine the heating and domestic hot water energy requirements of real dwellings"
We foresee the differing heating energy consumption figures presented to the client on the EPC and by the Installer as required under MCS causing confusion and dissatisfaction as the figure on the EPC will inevitably be significantly lower than the MCS figure and because RHI payments are to be made against the deemed EPC figure, customers will undoubtedly query the figures and potential loss of income.
An example of this is borne out by one of our recent projects where the total heating and energy consumption for space heating and domestic hot water from the EPC is 21,640kWh (18,246 heating/3394 hot water) compared to 33,834kWh (30,227kWh heating/3607 hot water) from MCS calculations which translates to a 12,194 x (1-1/3.6) x 7.3p = £642.89 loss of RHI income/year for the 6* Installation.
This difference between estimates and associated issues surrounding income could be eliminated if a metering and monitoring service package was installed and RHI payments made against this as is the case with second homes and bivalent systems but as payments under this method are still capped at the deemed figure this will only cause further issue if the actual metered energy use exceeds that estimated.
There are a few comments about differences between the ENERGY consumption figures on the EPC and those calculated using the spreadsheet provided with MIS 3005 so I'll try and address them.
We have done quite a bit of analysis inside DECC on the MCS spreadsheet ENERGY calculation. (We think the first part of the spreadsheet used to determine POWER is brilliant by the way.) The final column of that spreadsheet – the ENERGY one – uses the heat loss coefficient (in W/K) and degree days (in K.days) with a (default) base temperature to estimate annual energy consumption (in kWh/year). It's our assessment that the assumption of a 15.5oC base temperature (which is the default in the MCS calculation) could be too high, especially if the building is highly insulated and consequently the adventitious heat gains from water heating, cooking, lighting, appliances, solar and metabolic sources provide a large fraction of the heat demand at any given time. This could mean that the MCS calculation is overestimating compared with an EPC, which is what people are reporting in this blog, through the webchat and in other correspondence. From CIBSE guide A, if the base temperature in Birmingham is 14oC rather than 15.5oC, the number of degree days decreases by 19%.
With regard to the notes on page 21 of MIS 3005, I have to admit to being involved in drafting those. They aren't very balanced and I have therefore been trying to get them replaced with something more factual for a while now. It remains true that SAP doesn't vary energy consumption according to location or occupancy and occupant behaviour (NB: RdSAP does now vary energy consumption according to location). However, SAP and RdSAP do make a thorough estimate of adventitious heat gains from water heating, cooking, lighting and the other things I mentioned earlier, which are very important when determining annual space heating energy consumption. The spreadsheet provided with MCS doesn't do this – all those factors have to be wrapped up in the base temperature assumption.
Remember that MIS 3005 only requires the installer to "assess the annual heat load for the building (space heating or hot water) using any suitable performance calculation method" in clause 4.3.1 a). RdSAP is one of those so you don't have to use the spreadsheet determine the annual space heating ENERGY demand if you think it will be confusing for customers. You must still assess the space heating POWER required on the design day, which the spreadsheet does in accordance with BS EN 12831, though.
Here's another source to look at… Have you seen the comparison of [Rd]SAP with measured heat use from the EST field trail phase 2? The agreement between RdSAP and measured data on page 122 of this report looks OK to me:
It's not the biggest data set but it does provide some confidence that RdSAP is appropriate to be using.
Estimating annual space heating energy consumption is difficult and there's an active academic community debating it. It would be great to have more evidence to look into this further so if anyone is able to share full RdSAP and MCS spreadsheet calculations (with all of the accompanying inputs) then please send them to email@example.com.
The Green Deal is a shambles and a scam (7% interest and the finance is still not available 1 year on!!!). What a huge mistake by DECC including this with the domestic RHI, do you have any common sense? Sometimes you have to acknowledge when something has failed, move on and create an improved solution. The Green Deal EPC is like computer code to the untrained eye (in fact the green deal assessor we use does not understand the figures) and does not make any sense. The potential savings in £ do not stack up and are often more than people are already paying for their existing heating bills, how is this possible?
What a joke, who designed the Green Deal? This person(s) needs an injection of common sense, good installers have plenty of this and can explain figures and systems to the customer (why don't you leave all the responsibility with the installer???). The Government has backed the big boy companies, so that they can try and make a few quid out the Green Deal, and they have failed to engage with smaller companies, the scheme is a scam.
The green deal assessor that we are using has just phoned me to say that he is now not doing assessments. He has to spend 6 to 10 hours completing a survey, trying to explain figures that do not stack up (and that he does not understand) and he is then bombarded by emails, because the customer does not understand the assessment. Well done DECC! Don't ruin the domestic RHI, you have worked hard to get it to this point, we don't want another green deal failure.
The green deal EPC needs to be scrapped and the MCS room by room heat loss method should be used in its place. The MCS method provides room by room data in kW (heat load) and kWh (heat usage), which any customer can understand. When improvements are made this reduces the kW and kWh, making it simple to calculate running cost savings and explain this data to the customer.
Stop messing installers around, you say you want to build a new renewable heating industry, your domestic RHI policy is anti business and anti customer, sort it out! I would be happy to meet with DECC to demonstrate a plan that includes lots of common sense and a system that will work.
Yes we want to be a 6-star installer and already follow the MCS standard. Its a shame we don't have a 6-star government department.
Steve, this is something most installers cannot understand, After the energy Saving Trust did a survey a few years ago and found heat pumps were not performing and many were undersized, DECC specified that an MCS installer were not permitted to use the SAPS calculation when determining the heat loss or heating requirements for a property as it was too inaccurate and not fit for this purpose. Now for some reason they deem it suitable to calculate the grant which on a Ground Source unit can be over £100,000.00 (yes the number of zero's is correct) of tax payers money. The only reason I can think of is that SAPS underestimates the heating requirements of a property, therefor the grant will be lower. Call me a sinic but it may also be a way of boosting the Green Deal Statistics!
I am in the process of having an ASHP installed with the intention of claiming the RHI payments so I had a Green Deal assessment done. This showed the total space heating requirement is 20,577kWh on a floor area of 268 sq m. The MIS 3005 calculation shows a space heating requirement of 34,932kWh on a floor space of 243 sq m. I am confused by the very substantial difference in these figures and concerned since the RHI payments will be based in the EPC figure which is significantly lower than out typical annual consumption.
Just had a Green Deal assessment carried out for one of our customers who we are installing an air source heat pump system to replace his 15 year old oil boiler. The GDAR estimates it will cost him £21 more a year to heat his property with ashp as opposed to oil. We have installed over 400 heat pumps and we know this simply isn't the case. The default data being used in EPCs and GDARs is incorrect and could make me look stupid when I quote the savings that can be made which after 7 years experience in installing, sizing of heat pump systems from 5-160kw know to be true.
As mentioned by Steve Jackson above the EPC also shows much lower estimated annual space heating requiremnts than what is produced by MIS3005 which is surely a better indicator, when based on location, altitude and heat demand of buildings.
I understand the reason for bringing in independent assessors but for us who have been designing heating systems successfully and estimating usage and savings very accurately for years it is more than a bit annoying to see what some of these reports are spitting out.
Hardly any of our heat pump systems have running times of less than 2000 hours a year yet EPC typical run times seem to be more like 1500hrs (probably brought about by the fact boilers are used frugally, maybe 6-8 hours a day for six months). I then look like I am incapable or even deceitful with the figures that I am using when this simply isn't the case.
The RHI is designed to increase uptake of renewables but if you were to look at some of these reports you would think otherwise.
The guideline prices are also simply wrong: £9-14K for a 2.5kwp solar pv system – nobody in the market would do this for over £5-6K.
Until these reports reflect accurate estimated annual usage and savings, I feel the consumer is going to become more and more confused and it will only damage an already fragile market.
Any thoughts anybody?
I'm glad to see that there are plans for 'beefing up' surveillance. It's not often an industry looks for greater regulations, but in the case of ensuring that installations are up to a high standard in a technical industry; I think it's essential.
Good blog Chris, we at Worcester Renewable Energy agree with your comments.
That said we do not understand the rationale behind DECC's decision making process to make Domestic RHI payments for heat pumps and biomass boilers against a deemed estimated annual heat usage from a EPC rather than that deemed by the MCS installer, as is the proposal for Solar Thermal.
Under MCS requirements MCS installers already accurately calculate the FLEQ run hours from the results of full room by room heat loss calculations in accordance with BS EN 12831/CIBSE.
DECC and MIS previously moved away from SAP stating that is was not accurate enough for heat pump sizing and running calculations due to its generic nature based on a notional building rather than the actual building in question where the heat pump/biomass boiler are to be installed.
To now propose to make RHI payments on it is surely a backward step.
There is no mention of biomass systems that are above the 45Kw MCS upper limit, it was said that these systems would be allowed if they were metered,
I have a number of these systems awaiting some news, there are many households that easily come above 45Kw
Hi Malcolm
Thanks for the comment – I work on the policy alongside Chris. Any systems that are above the MCS upper limit will not be eligible, as all systems must be MCS certified and installed by an MCS installer. This is the same as our position in the consultation. From our perspective, the consumer protection and quality assurance provided by MCS is critical to the success of the scheme. If the MCS limit was extended then these systems could be eligible in the future. One last point – if a biomass system of 45kW or less is installed alongside another renewable system or a back-up boiler, this would be eligible but the biomass would need to be metered.
Not being able to install >45kW biomass systems and claim d-RHI is a glaring error which should have been corrected after the comments received during consultation. There are many larger homes, typically solid wall properties off the gas grid which cuold be served very well by a single biomass boiler. To suggest that more than one heating system should be insyalled to reeduce the biomass size is to heap extra cost and complexity onto customers. What is Decc going to do to rectify this situation?
Hi Lucy,
Further to Andrew's question dated 15th August the 45KW. Legacy installations were not considered.
I have now got to go back to see several customers who have had two or three seasons of heating using biomass boilers over 45Kw in size and explain to them that in order to get any RHI payment I shall have to remove their properly sized and efficient system and replace it with an undersized biomass boiler with a further back up system and heat meters in order to qualify for the domestic RHI. Due to costs and space restrictions this will in most cases have to be an oil fired "assist" boiler. So I am therefore having to scrap a perfectly good biomass boiler that is covering 100% of their annual heating load and replace it with an undersized one that will only cover a percentage of their annual load with the balance covered by burning oil. How does this fit with your concern for consumer protection and quality assurance, and carbon emmission reduction?
I also take issue with your comment that "This is the same as our position in the consultation". If you are implying that your policy has been consistant on this matter since July 2009 it has not. If you look back at the consultation in Feb 2010 you state "Work is now underway to extend the upper limit of MCS by the end of 2010. For
biomass the limit has already been extended to 300kW, and other technologies are
similarly under consideration. We anticipate that for all renewable heat technologies up
to the upper limit, the RHI will require that beneficiaries use only MCS-certified (or
equivalent) installers and equipment."
It is madness to have a policy that excludes the largest domestic heat users from the RHI incentive. These are the properties that biomass works well for and their conversion will save the most carbon.
I believe your original policy draft was correct, i.e. that installations up to 45 KW should be be fully MCS accredited and over this limit the boilers should comply with emissions targets, and therefore efficiency targets, and the installation should comply with all aspects of the MCS installation standard.
Having been in the industry some years now and having first hand experience of rectifying poor designs installations that were done purely to get a sale with no mind to efficiency or product longevity, I am thrilled to see that we may finally achieve a level playing field, MIS does this to a degree, however designer training and registration under an approved body has to be the next step, and enforcement therein!
Its a positive time for the industry and it looks as though everything is in place now for a successful scheme.
I would point out that the increase in annual RHI from a 5* to a 6* system is very small (~1.5% increase) and would not cover any additional investment in distribution but I applaud the aim of the legislation.
Good Blog Chris and we at NIBE agree with all your points!
Installers are the key to the success of RHI and development of renewables in the HEAT Strategy. Installers are the first point of contact for most potential homeowners so have to the correct information and training.
Good summary Chris, feedback from the market now the euphoria/relief has faded is that many reputable installers are thusfar a tad confused about the (very sensible) approach to paying only on renewable heat, so there is a job for MCS to do here on making sure this is well communicated.
6 Star installers? Fully in agreement with your sentiment BUT we MUST now address the serious training deficencies in our industry. The quality of training on the design of heat pump systems is frankly shocking and needs to be addressed urgently if we want to deliver on the sentiment of MIS3005 and good intentions of the domestic RHI (which I applaud and am pleased that the fuel cost savings from a quality install are a big part of the payback figures).
I think you know my views on the mercenary approach the main training bodies are taking towards heat pump installer training and nothing seems to be improving. There is STILL no accredited training that covers the scope of MIS3005 – so if we are to grow this market, where are installers going to get educated on what they need to do (and why).
The idea for encouraging energy efficiency is great but unfortunately the difference in payment from a poor system to the best performing system does not nearly reflect the difference in cost of installation. With a SPF of 2.5 the grant (7,3p and 18.8p) is reduced by 40% and with an SPF of 4.3 (the highest level achievable in the heat emitter guide) the grant is reduced by 24%, reflecting a difference of only 16%. The difference between installing a very basic radiator system running at 60 Deg C on a ground source system with an SPF of 2.8 (or probably just leaving the existing radiator system in a retrofit and costing nothing) or installing an underfloor system running at a flow temperature of 35 Deg C with an SPF of 4.3 is a lot more than 16% of the grant funding. The idea is good but the current emitter guide is just that, a very rough guide. With correct design, construction and equipment like whole house heat recovery units, SPF's of much higher than 4.2 are achievable but do not seam to be recognized.
Hi Tony
Thanks for the comment. I work on the policy with Chris. We did quite a lot of analysis on this issue, looking at the costs of upgrading systems to higher design SPFs (in terms of the emitters and also the ground loops for GSHPs) and the relationship between rate of return and SPF. We found that up to a point, the combination of higher RHI payments and increased fuel bill savings resulted in increasing rate of return with SPF for both ASHPs and GSHPs. The fuel bill savings were a very important part of the overall rate of return, so it's important not to just consider the RHI payments in isolation. We agree that the Heat Emitter Guide is only an estimate, and may not match reality – in the future, we'd like to move to metering of all installations, but at the moment we don't think the industry is ready for that. In terms of heat pumps achieving an SPF of much higher than 4.2 – none of the heat pumps in the EST Field Trial Phase 1 achieved close to that level, and while more recent results from RHPP are showing a small improvement in performance, we think there's a way to go yet before we see heat pumps routinely achieving SPFs outside the HEG boundary.
A rousing call to arms Chris! I fully agree that MCS accredited installers need to enter this industry with nothing more than excellence as a top priority. If acheiving the highest standards is not in your remit then please think again about renewable heat.
There is a good case for using hybrid systems in order to maintain the best efficiency. EG air source heat pump with condensing boiler switching at the bivalence point
So far I did not come across this in the documents.
Thanks for your comment. Bivalent systems and hybrids are allowed in the domestic RHI provided they're metered. We published a technical supplement to our policy to document explaining where we anticipate the meters will need to go:
The standard MIS 3005, the robust approach MCS take and the high quality of MCS Installers, means the Renewable Heat Industry has the foundations to ensure the RHI is a resounding success.


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By Karen Cohilas - bio | email
ALBANY, GA (WALB) – Albany's city manager drastically reduced the punishment for a police officer who violated department policy and put people at risk of identity theft. Captain Ernest Williams will be suspended for five days without pay.
Police Chief John Proctor originally recommended he be suspended for 30 days for dumping sensitive city documents in an alley back in March. Those documents contained critical data including social security numbers of police officers and civilians.
Williams appealed to city manager Al Lott who reduced the disciplinary action last week. Williams has worked for the city of Albany for more than 30 years and serves as the bodyguard for Mayor Willie Adams.
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Many large publishers use a bipad number - for additional information: http://www.bipad.com/
Smaller, local and regional magazine publishers use a UPC.
According to George Laurer, inventor of the UPC Barcode:
"The long and the short of this is that the BIPAD provides no advantage to the publishing industry over the standard U.P.C. because it is only unique to the title and provides no additional information. There is no reason to have a BIPAD number and a number issued by either GS1 or a reseller. The bottom line is that the Publisher must make the business decision as to how their magazine will be distributed. Note that not all Wholesalers require a BIPAD number. The numbers now being assigned by GS1 or those from a reseller, cannot accommodate the 5 digit BIPAD number."
Before you incur unnecessary charges for a 6-digit company prefix from the GS1 and a 5-digit bipad number, ask your distributors if a simple UPC barcode will work for your magazine. If so, purchasing from Nationwide Barcode will save you a lot of time and money.


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America's Literacy Directory is an online data directory to help learners find local literacy programs that provide help with reading, writing and math skills, GED preparation and testing, English as a second language programs, and citizenship or civics education. (posted December 28, 2011)http://literacydirectory.org/ … [Read more...]
Website Supports Literacy For All Children!
by Gail Leslie National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness Often people believe that literacy is something that starts to percolate in kindergarten and first grade when children begin to learn to read. In fact, literacy, like communication, begins early in life. Children grow up understanding that the world is full of colorful signs, letters, and numbers that have meaning. For children with disabilities, especially those with complex needs and sensory … [Read more...]


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Penticton & South Okanagan News
Stabbing victim a good guy
Acquaintances of the 40-year-old man who was stabbed several times at a Penticton motel on Tuesday, said he was a good guy who didn't deserve what happened to him.
The man, named Gordie according to friends, was stabbed after he rushed into a room at the Mayfair Motel to assist a woman who was being attacked.
"Gordie is a good guy who helps everyone in the neighbourhood," said next door neighbour Diane Reddick. "He's an all around helpful guy, and my concern is whether or not he's OK."
The sound of screams, smashing and banging coming from the motel room next door woke Reddick early Tuesday.
She claims she almost became a victim herself.
"Everyone jumped up and started getting dressed, and my husband went to assist," she said. "I was in the doorway and he, (the assailant), ran at me after he attacked the other woman. He only has one eye and is a big man, so it was very scary."
She further recalls the man staggering out with the knife and Gordie following him out. Gordie was spurting blood everywhere, she said.
When the police arrived on the scene, there was a tussle to subdue the man with the knife.
The woman, who was choked during the initial attack in the motel room, declined to comment further on Wednesday.
She said Gordie was her ex-boyfriend and a good guy.
A friend Jesse Kenward remembered when a car went into the Walmart sign and was burning, Gordie was the first one to go right into the middle of it and pull people out.
"He grabbed the fire extinquisher from the front of my house, and obviously in this case he was the first one to jump into action," he said. "It's sad he got consequences for being a good person. Unfortunately, that's the way the world works sometimes."
While Reddick believed Gordie had been released already. Kenward said he was on his way to the hospital to find out how his friend was doing.
Penticton RCMP Sgt. Rick Dellebuur said as far as he knows the victim is doing alright and did not suffer life threatening injuries. Dellebuur was unsure if he had been released from hospital or not.
Meanwhile, the 40-year-old Penticton man involved in the stabbing appeared in a Penticton courtroom on Wednesday.
He has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of break and enter, one count of assault and one count of wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
The man has been remanded in custody for a 30 day psychiatric assessment.
As the man is in custody Castanet has chosen not to release his name to protect his estranged family, including his young children.
Comments on this story are pre-moderated and approval times may vary. Before they appear, comments are reviewed by moderators to ensure they meet our submission guidelines. Keep it clean, keep it civil, keep it truthful, stay on topic and be responsible. Comments are open and welcome for three days after the story is published. We reserve the right to close comments before then. Comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of Castanet, but only of the comment writer.
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Definition of officeholder in English:
officeholderSyllabification: of·fice·hold·er
Pronunciation: /ˈôfisˌhōldər /
A person who holds public office.
More example sentences
- They also passed a law that public officeholders possess the moral characteristics of 'piety, justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality.'
- Political parties have operated infrequently in the past, and public officeholders tend to be independents.
- He challenged the media to put similar public pressure on those officeholders.
Definition of officeholder in:
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Word of the day flagitious
Pronunciation: fləˈjiSHəs
(of a person or their actions) criminal; villainous


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Short S&P 500 ProShares
Is The Correction Over?
By Federico Zaldua - June 13, 2013 | Tickers: VXX, SH, SDS
Nobody knows if the 11-session, 5.27% S&P 500 decline from the high of 1687.18 on May 22 is over or not. The easiest way to figure it out is to look at the cold data relating to all past corrections in the market greater than 5% to determine the odds that the current sell-off is at an end.
History shows that the median 5%+ correction since 1927 more »
The Fed's Bubble: How Long can It Last?
By Bob Chandler - June 9, 2013 | Tickers: GAS, POR, SH, XLU |
The Federal Reserve is currently purchasing over $80 billion in bonds per month to keep interest rates at an all time low, this helps inflate other asset prices. The action, called Quantitative Easing, or QE, seems to be working; the stock market's up about 18% and home prices 10% in the last year. But there is also evidence that these gains are the symptoms of a particularly dangerous bubble more »
2007 to 2013: A Look at the Markets
By James Kerin - May 3, 2013 | Tickers: ABX, PALL, SH, GLD, SDS |
At the height of the real estate bubble in October 2007, the DJIA traded at 14,164.43. Financial institutions had heavy exposure to the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market in the form of mortgage-backed securities, while banks were frantically writing and packaging sub-prime mortgages. In the meantime, the credit default swap (CDS) market was virtually unregulated; insurance companies were selling them with abandon. On the surface, the US economic more »
Why Inflation Is a Problem and the Hidden Bubble it's Creating
By Bob Chandler - March 27, 2013 | Tickers: AEE, MRO, SH, VOD
Many economists fear that the Federal Reserve's unprecedented asset buying program may cause an inflation problem in the future. While that may be true, what seems to be ignored is that there is a current inflation problem. Worse, the problem is also creating a hidden bubble that, when bursts, could severely crimp stock prices.
The current inflation problem
The main issue with inflation is the compounding spread between the more »
Short Candidates for Contrarians, Part 1
By DJ Krieger - February 4, 2013 | Tickers: HDGE, CMG, CLF, SH, GT |
"You can't short anything in this market because of the amount of money-printing."
Fred Hickey, editor of the High-Tech Strategist, made this remark last week to Barron's as part of its 2013 roundtable. If you agree with Hickey, you need not read any further.
But some contrarians insist today's happy consensus that the market can only go higher is exactly the sort of sentiment indicator that generally more »
Why You Should Be Bearish
By Joshua Bondy - October 24, 2012 | Tickers: IWM, IVV, SPY, SH, SDS
Investors are constantly looking for ten baggers in the latest trends, like 3D printing, an aging population, and the Chinese growth miracle. Without looking at the big picture it is easy to ignore the possibility that stocks as an asset class are overvalued.
Corporate profits after tax are at super high levels. This is not a simple anomaly from the latest quarterly earnings, but a substantial change over the past more »
Nothing to See Here
By Brad Hessel - July 16, 2012 | Tickers: SPY, DOG, SH, DIA |
Bouncing off the lowest quarterly reading in six years, volatility in the second quarter of 2012 (2Q12) was up 115% quarter-over-quarter, but that only brought it to slightly-above-normal levels. For 2Q12, the average daily change in the value of the S&P 500 index was ±0.76%, compared with ±0.35% in 1Q11.
We track market volatility because it is a reasonably reliable gauge of risk levels. 74% of the more »
How to Protect Your Portfolio With ETFs
By Andrés Cardenal - March 9, 2012 | Tickers: VXX, UUP, SH, GLD, SDS |
Financial markets can be very unstable nowadays; we go from almost panic mode selling to rampant optimism, and vice versa, in a few days. Maybe it´s because the economic scenario is unusually uncertain due to deep rooted economic problems in most of the developed countries.
High unemployment, below average growth rates and elevated sovereign debt levels are long term problems that won´t be solved overnight. In such a more »


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Bright Young Smiles Children's Dentistry in Lighthouse Point is now adding adult dental care!
Dr. Jared Young, D.M.D. the pediatric specialist is joined by his wife Dr. Catherine Young, D.M.D, together the dynamic duo can service the whole family with the very best in dentistry.
We would like to welcome you and your family to our Lighthouse Point office, and to the specialty of Pediatric Dentistry. The office has been serving the Lighthouse Point/Pompano Beach area for over 40 years. The goal of our office is to treat everyone like family. We are committed to providing excellent and personalized children's dental treatment to the Broward area. We believe that great dentistry is based on prevention and education. We will take our time and listen to our patients and parents. It is our goal to create positive experiences that will build trust and loyalty for future dental visits.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy Pediatric Dentists (AAPD) recommend that children have their first dental visit with a pediatric dental specialist at 1 year of age for a prevention visit and to create a "dental home" for the child. Typically, dental cleanings begin at 3 years of age. Parents are always welcome to join their children for their experience at the office! It is never too late to become a patient and we welcome all infants, children, and adolescents. Our office welcomes patients up to age 21. Contact us to setup an appointment today.
Hours & Location
Bright Young Smiles
1930 NE 34th Court
Lighthouse Point, FL
(954) 781-1855
Th: 8-5
Sat: 8-2


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Eddie Van Halen on how he created his sound using MXR's Phase 90 and Flanger pedals.
From Slash's pickups to Eddie's amp, here are five essential pieces of signature gear.
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These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the November 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.
Mark Holcomb demos his signature delay pedal, the Haunted Delay by ProTone Pedals.
The DK2M Pro Series Dinky features an alder body, flat-sawn graphite-reinforced bolt-on maple neck...and a Slime Green Swirl finish!
New Dual Voltage Hot Stone power supplies from Decibel Eleven provide guitarists with added flexibility.
Electro-Harmonix has unveiled its new Nano Looper 360 pedal. From the company: The NanoLooper 360 is a small, extremely easy-to- use, pedal looper with a total of 360 seconds of loop recording time that can be divided into 11 different loops for maximum flexibility and control.
These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the October 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store.
Gretsch has introduced the latest addition to its Center-Block Series, the Gretsch Professional Collection G6112TCB-JR Center-Block LTD 2-Tone guitar. It's a Nashville Junior model with a thinline body, chambered spruce center-block and gorgeous two-tone finish with a limited production Jaguar Tan top and Copper Metallic back and sides.
Vox has announced its new limited-edition Two Tone Custom ACTV guitar amp.
For the traveling musician, choosing the right tuner just got easier with Korg's new Slimpitch. The Slimpitch is a pocket-sized, hand-held chromatic tuner with a bright, full color display.
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No-Knead Bread: Alternative to Dutch Ovens
This No-Knead Bread recipe has become an enduring internet food phenomenon; our theory is that it's shown people just easy bread can be. Fit it to your schedule, make bread in no time and bypass the professional bread oven with an everyday pot.
That pot, though, trips up a lot of first-time No-Kneaders. They want the perfect crackly crust of the No-Knead Bread, but this is dependent on its unusual baking instructions. The recipe says to bake the bread in a covered Dutch oven.
What's a Dutch oven, and what if you don't have one? Do you really need one?
A Dutch oven is simply a heavy metal pot with a lid. Most popular Dutch ovens also have a bright, shiny layer of enamel that covers the cast iron underneath. This makes them beautiful as well as durable - the ultimate stove to table cookware.
We tell you all about Dutch ovens here and we also did a roundup of some of the most popular Dutch ovens.
While you can spend hundreds of dollars on a Le Creuset or Staub Dutch oven, these really don't have to be expensive; Target and other retailers carry good models for only $40 or so. IKEA has a Dutch oven for $60.
But that doesn't help if you want to bake bread tonight! Are there alternatives to Dutch ovens for baking No-Knead Bread? You bet!
Here are a few basic ideas - tell us if you've baked No-Knead Bread in something else.
• Covered metal pot - The most necessary thing for a No-Knead Bread Dutch oven alternative is an ability to stand up to 450°F heat. Most heavy cookware, like the 6-quart Cuisinart pot above are fine at that heat.
This pot is a little big, though; we frequently bake No-Knead Bread in a 4-quart Calphalon soup pot, and this is a good size. If you do any cooking at all then you almost certainly have a pot the right size and shape for No-Knead Bread. You just need a lid - that's all.
If your lids have rubber or plastic handles, cover with a bit of aluminum foil, or skip the lid entirely and use...
• Pot covered with foil - Let's say you don't even have lids for your pots, or you're afraid to trust your lids to the high heat. Cut a square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and press it down to seal the pot after dropping in the bread dough. This has been used to great success by many No-Knead bakers.
• Oven-safe casserole dish - Really, any oven-safe casserole dish will do. Just check the documentation and make sure it's safe up to temperatures of 500°F, just to be on the safe side. Dishes like the Corningware Ruby Casserole and Anchor Hocking basic casserole should work.
Now that you have something to bake it in, go bake some bread! Links to recipes below...
• The Original No-Knead Bread
• No-Knead Bread in a Hurry
• No-Time Bread
8 Comments
I have been baking this wonderful bread in my small covered enamel covered steel roaster with top. I think I bought it for around $7! My bread came out just as wonderful as a dutch oven!
I think I've already posted that I use a 4-quart Griswold cast iron Dutch oven for making no-knead bread and the results have been fantastic. A friend gave this to me a few years ago. It didn't have the original cast iron lid, but I found a heavy glass lid for it at a hardware store and it fits perfectly.
This bread is wonderful, particularly since it has been reformulated recently by Cook's Illustrated magazine so the loaves are more uniform in shape and the taste has some depth because of the addition of white vinegar and beer (lager, not ale), and I make it often.
I have been using a Pampered Chef clay dome (and the pizza board as the cover) with great results.
I have been tempted to buy the Italian Covered Baker from the King Arthur Flour website. It is shaped like a loaf vs the round dome. Has anyone tried it?
I have been making the no knead bread for auite some time now and love each loaf as much or more than the first. I use either a Calphalon 3.5 qt. or the 5 qt. "Dutch Ovens" with great results. I have a question for those "no kneaders." Some lids are domed, and some art flat. Does anyone have a preference?
Great post! Not owning a dutch oven has kept me from making plenty of recipes. Bookmarking for future use!
I know this is an old thread, but thought I'd tell you what I've been using for a few years now.
I bought an old pressure cooker at a thrift store, and removed the seals and vents (plug up the vent with foil or something). After my first few batches of the traditional No-Knead recipe (and being a bit disappointed with the flat loaf), I hit upon the idea of putting an old cake pan in the bottom of the pressure cooker. SUCCESS!! My loaves are rounder now.
yes i know this is an old thread. but here goes my idea. I use the clay Romertoph baker. Just put water in the top and the bottom for 15 minutes. empty water and put into oven as it is heating . when your oven gets up to 450 for your bread, take the top off and pour your dough in and put top on for about 30 minutes, this keeps the top of the break crispy. then take top off and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. The clay baker also makes great roast chicken and other things.
I use a regular metal pot. However all my lids are dented,uneven, and loose. So what I do is while the empty pot is heating in the oven I made some regular dough- just some flour - any sort and water and knead it. I roll it between me hands into a snake. Then I stick the snake to the inside edges of my lid and wet it. When I put my bread dough in the pot and cover it the dough on lid's edges instantly sticks to the pot and seals it tight. :-)


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Heartlands Group of the
Sierra Club
Hoosier Chapter
Visit Our Facebook Page!
Central Indiana Sierra Club followers sign up for Heartlands group activities
At the mid-February open house held by the Heartlands Sierra Club Group in Indianapolis, many supporters came and signed up for various activities and committees. Please join us!
Activities and committies include:
Picnic, Hike, and Trail Cleanup, 10/26/13
at Eagle Creek Park
We are part of the Sierra Club's Hoosier Chapter. Our region includes Central Indiana, including Indianapolis.
The Sierra Club is America's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization. It was founded in 1892 by John Muir, who is called the "Father of our National Parks."
Environmental protection is a family value. Our goals are to explore and enjoy the earth, and to protect its resources, wilderness, and wildlife for future generations.
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