It’s easy for us to just take the energy we use. If you feel a little cold, you turn on the central heater. Want to shower? Only one tap on an app can turn on hot water these days. But the route to getting energy to your home is not easy. This is a brief guide to what happens behind the scenes to power your home.

Solar power

The sun is more than 90 million miles away from Earth, but it takes less than 10 minutes for light to hit it. After sunlight hits the solar panels, it produces a flow of electrons through the panel cells, producing electricity. Each cell produces several volts of electricity and the panel combines the energy they produce to make a larger current and voltage.

For those who have solar panels on their home, the excess power that is produced is exported back to the National Grid and redistributed throughout the country. But one drawback is that solar energy cannot be stored. However, new development by Tesla claims to overcome the problem.

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Gas

The UK gas supply mostly derives from the North and East Ireland seas. It was also brought in from other countries throughout Europe. In some cases, the gas shrinks up to 600 times in volume making it easy to transport. This gas is burned in a power plant, producing heat energy that drives a turbine that drives a generator. This converts the mechanical energy of the turbine into electrical energy. Make sure your gas appliances are regularly serviced by a Gas registered engineer and your meter is kept in good condition. For a replacement Gas Meter box, visit https://www.meterbox.co.uk

Wind

The power of the wind was utilized since thousands of years BC, when ancient Egyptians harnessed it to navigate across the Nile. Current technology means that wind turbine blades can now rotate at 10-30 revolutions per second, converted into electricity through a generator, like a giant version of a dynamo-powered lamp on a bicycle. Transformers convert this electricity to the correct voltage for distribution. The National Grid sends this power throughout the country. Like the sun, there is no way to store this energy.

Nuclear

Uranium, a heavy metal, was formed in supernovae more than 6.6 billion years ago and can be found on rocks and seawater. Now it helps supply the globe with as much as 16% of its electricity. Uranium is transformed into a fuel pellet that releases heat energy when the atoms split, producing superheated steam that drives the turbine. This turbine drives a generator, which gives us electricity.

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Coal

The coal seam can run deep underground, as low as 800m and stretches hundreds of kilometers across England. Depending on how far the coal must travel, it is transported by truck, train or barge. The final product of coal goes to a plant where it is combusted and, like nuclear power, drives a turbine to produce electricity.

Ireland has a rich and colourful heritage of mythological tales that future authors have plundered for inspiration and ideas. There is nothing really wrong with this as the tales that were originally told and, most importantly written done and passed on are worthy of a modern interpretation or at the least some very heavy borrowing.

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There are many examples that you can see in the world of Fantasy fiction and they have also influenced the myths of other nations as well. One other important factor is that due to the spread of the Irish around the world for work and to escape persecution they took the tales with them and presented them to a much wider audience. You only have to look at the celebration of St Patrick’s day to see the effect that they have. The parades and pub crawls along with the giving of ST Patrick’s Day Gifts is now a regular occurrence. If you want to join in then ST Patricks Day Gifts available here fit the bill.

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What literature and Art has been affected by the tales of Ireland. The Ballet and Nursery Rhyme of Swan Lake as huge references to the tale of Children of Lir. The exploits of Finn MacCool are similar to that of Hercules (although that may be another example of the Greek influence) and in modern works the connections to the Gandalf and St Patrick can easily be drawn as the walking pilgrim sent to help the people.

If a tale features an Elf it is to the Irish folklore that you should look!

First impressions count, we learn this from a very early age. Human beings work in quickfire way. Our brains take a look at someone, something or somewhere and start to make rapid subconscious decisions and judgements immediately. This is something that biologists are still nowhere near to figuring out why this is.. The main theory is that it relates to our ancestors fight or flight reflex. We needed to know in an instant if we are in danger or if we were with friends and are safe. The same is still true today centring around trust. People buy and work with people that they like and trust and the initial impression that we get from someone helps to inform this. Whether it is taking a look at how someone dresses, acts or responds to you. Many of these features are very subtle and not always picked up by the other person.

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While it might be a sad fact that we don’t spend enough time developing a relationship or suspending judgement about someone we see or meet,  the plain truth is that we do not have the time and our brains are not interested in letting us do that anyway. As a modern example think about entering an office for the first time. You might be there on business, you may be coming for a job whatever the circumstances you are entering into a new environment and the unknown. You will have some expectations and preconceptions (a whole new avenue to explore!) before you go in, but as soon as you see the place, your brain is sending you information and signals about what the eyes are relaying to it.

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So, if the reception area is open and welcoming with say some nice Reception Chairs from  companies like https://www.bestbuy-officechairs.co.uk/reception-chairs/ and the receptionist is polite and helpful, you are going to start with a view that this is a place that you like, trust and can do business with. If it is a cold dinghy affair and the receptionist is rude or officious then you might start to feel that this is not a place you feel comfortable with.

I was told a story once by a friend who worked in retail buying. He requested a salesman come and show him a line of products they were interested in. He turned up in a suit and a very loud colourful shirt. While the buyer never took on the products he remembered the salesperson above many of the others that he actually did buy from. A first impression well made.

When investing jointly in a property, many buyers are unaware that they can make a legally binding record of their individual contributions. And that this investment is protected in the event that their circumstances change, or the property is sold. This legally binding document is primarily used to protect the financial investments of parties investing in a property, and it can also include details about the use of the property and how it will be maintained or sold.

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Legal protection

This document will protect everyone’s individual rights in a jointly purchased property – https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/26/do-we-need-deed-of-trust-reflect-our-shares-house-purchase-. It will make a legal record, with accurate details of the financial investments made by individuals, which all parties will have to agree and sign. Then, if there are any changes in the future, the document will show the exact monetary contributions that were made by all parties, protecting their investment. This is particularly important if there are going to be differing payments made towards the property.

What can be protected?

Along with the usual financial investments such as the original deposit, there are other financial interests that can be protected, such as:

– Mortgage Repayments – the contribution of parties towards the mortgage payments can be recorded, even if parties are paying different amounts, this will ensure that their regular contributions to mortgage payments will be recognised in the event of a sale.

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– Property maintenance and renovations – this will record your agreements towards financing any renovation work or property maintenance, as this is reflected in your financial share of the property.

– Household costs – you can agree which party takes responsibility for other household expenses such as utility bills and taxes.

Consulting a firm of solicitors, or conveyancers, for a deed of trust will ensure there is no confusion over the legality of this document.

So if you are thinking of buying a property jointly, either because you are setting up home together or perhaps down-sizing and investing in a new home jointly with friends or relatives, it makes perfect sense to have a legal record of these financial investments in the property, so in the event of any changes, and you go your separate ways, you can retrieve your share of the property, which will be calculated, when the property is sold.