All posts tagged: Heating

The Kratom Civil War Is Heating Up, and MAHA Has Picked a Side

The Kratom Civil War Is Heating Up, and MAHA Has Picked a Side

Published by skeptic

A decade ago, kratom advocates fought a surprisingly successful campaign against a proposed Drug Enforcement Administration ban that claimed the obscure Southeast Asian plant posed “an imminent hazard to public safety.” They won bipartisan allies from Bernie Sanders to Rand Paul, and helped create a billion-dollar industry out of kratom, which has pain-relieving effects they said could help fight the opioid epidemic as a far safer, natural alternative to pills. Now, many of those same pro-kratom activists are calling for a ban on products containing concentrates of one of kratom’s active components: 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, an ultra-potent extract with opioid-like effects. And it’s causing major friction amongst consumers, sellers, and advocates of both substances. “This is a chemically manipulated, full-blown opioid that is now in the marketplace,” claims Mac Haddow, the senior public policy fellow at the American Kratom Association, a kratom industry lobby group. “They masquerade as kratom products.” The proliferation of 7-OH in gummies, capsules, and shots with brand names like Magic 7OH, 7 O’Heaven, and Pure OHMS across thousands of gas stations …

Ed Miliband ‘plotting underfloor heating ban’ in net zero brainwave | UK | News

Ed Miliband ‘plotting underfloor heating ban’ in net zero brainwave | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Ed Miliband is plotting to ban the sale of underfloor heating systems that use too much power as part of a fresh net zero drive, according to reports. The Energy Secretary wants to bring in new efficiency requirements that would make a third of exisiting “space heating systems” illegal to sell. Mr Miliband’s renewed push for carbon neutrality could also see temperature controls being made mandatory and some towel rails only allowed to operate for six hours a day, The Telegraph reports. He hopes the new regulations will force customers to switch to pricier home systems with functions designed to limit energy use, including restricting heating to certain times of the day or switching off entirely after detecting inefficiency linked to issues like draughts. Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho accused Mr Miliband of pursuing a policy that amounts to “Soviet-level intrusion” and means “our lives are being dictated by net zero legislation”. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice added: “Mad Miliband’s latest net zero push to restrict underfloor heating and electric towel rails is utter …

Scientists reveal why the Earth’s upper atmosphere is cooling while the surface is heating up

Scientists reveal why the Earth’s upper atmosphere is cooling while the surface is heating up

Published by Jenni Sidey

The air high above Earth has been moving in the opposite direction of the world below it. While the planet’s surface and lower atmosphere keep warming, the stratosphere, the layer that begins about 11 kilometers above the ground and stretches to roughly 50 kilometers, has been cooling for decades. Climate scientists have long treated that split as one of the clearest fingerprints of human-caused climate change. What they did not have, until now, was a detailed account of exactly why it happens the way it does. A new analysis from researchers at Columbia University lays out that mechanism in unusually clear terms. The work points to a central answer: carbon dioxide cools the stratosphere according to how it interacts with specific parts of the infrared spectrum, and some of those wavelengths are much better than others at letting heat escape to space. “It explains a phenomenon that’s a fingerprint of climate change, has been known to occur for decades, and has not been understood,” said Robert Pincus, a research professor of ocean and climate physics …

Rural communities demand help taking up green diesel | Politics | News

Rural communities demand help taking up green diesel | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

Nearly two million homes could save tens of thousands of pounds by using a renewable diesel instead of switching to heat pumps, it has been suggested. Dozens of villagers in Cornwall’s Kehelland are among the 1.7 million UK residents living off grid who could benefit from Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a renewable, synthetic, paraffinic diesel fuel made from waste fats, vegetable oils and animal fat. TV presenter Fern Britton is among residents of Padstow, in Cornwall, who has made minor tweaks to her existing boiler to heat her home using HVO. She said: “I am an HVO user and I love it. I loved that my existing boiler was so swiftly adapted to take HVO, and that we are not in the house pumping extra carbon into the atmosphere.” Heating and cooking industry trade body OFTEC said the rollout of the biofuel, starting with a 20% HVO blend, could deliver the equivalent carbon savings of 347,000 heat pump installations. HVO tanker in Cornwall (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster/Daily Express) Read more: New heat pump rule announcement today …

The 11 Best Fans to Buy Before It Gets Hot Again (2026)

The 11 Best Fans to Buy Before It Gets Hot Again (2026)

Published by skeptic

Vornado Box Fan Model 80X for $100: While most people who need a box fan are, frankly, going to run out to Walmart or Home Depot and grab one for 20 bucks, you should be aware that there exists a Rolls-Royce of box fans. “It has 99 speeds,” the brand’s rep told me when it came out. “Yeah, right,” I thought. But, sure enough, this thing actually has 99 speeds, accessible via up and down buttons. I have no idea under what circumstances one might need this many speeds, but there they are. It’s also got a kickstand to reduce wobbling, a digital display, and a 1-to-12-hour timer. Plus, the silver-and-black casing looks good—like you meant to have it in your house, not a remnant from that one summer your AC broke during a heat wave. Photograph: Kat Merck Shark TurboBlade (Bladeless) for $250: Though this 2025 blade-less model is billed as a tower fan, it doesn’t look or act like any tower fan I’ve ever seen. It evokes a windmill more than it does …

Heatbit Maxi Pro Review: a Space Heater That Also Mines Bitcoin

Heatbit Maxi Pro Review: a Space Heater That Also Mines Bitcoin

Published by skeptic

But once you’ve set up your device, Heatbit will track and file your mining revenue to your phone, even if you don’t yet have a bitcoin wallet set up. After you reach the transfer minimum of 100,000 satoshis, or one thousandth of one bitcoin ($66 at April 2026 prices), you can transfer this to your wallet and, presumably, spend it. Heatbit’s app is compatible with the Lightning networks and most major exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, OKX, BitFinex). Unlike many air purifiers that activate only when there are air quality issues, the Heatbit continually pushes air through its HEPA filter while the miner and heater are active. While Heatbit recommends filter replacement once every six months, in practice, the app showed that the filter was being used up by about 1 percent a day. For whatever reason, my Heatbit app refused to believe that I was not in Seattle, and so my exterior air quality readings were all tied to King County, Washington. Early quirks aside, the ease of onramp is admirable for a device not aimed …

Europe’s path to energy independence starts with clean heating

Europe’s path to energy independence starts with clean heating

Published by skeptic

Tom Vasseur, Director, and Bianca Bittencourt, Strategic Communications Coordinator at the Cool Heating Coalition, a EUSEW partner organisation, detail how Europe’s reliance on imported fossil gas leaves households exposed to geopolitical shocks, making faster investment in clean heating and energy independence urgent. While Europe’s fossil fuel import dependence might initially seem an abstract issue, the consequences are tangible for households across the continent. Space and water heating accounts for 77.6% of an average EU household’s energy use, and about a third of those are heated by gas.1 In 2025, 90% of our gas was imported from third countries, creating a vulnerability to energy coercion that could affect millions of homes. Diversification of gas suppliers or away from fossil fuels? Historically, Europe’s main fossil gas source was Russia. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU reduced gas imports from Russia from 45% to 12%.2 Recently, the EU adopted the REPowerEU Regulation, which aims to deliver on EU import diversification goals by permanently banning Russian fossil gas imports. The challenge now is replacing gas imports to …

UK households with vacuum cleaners face £4.80 charges from April 1 | UK | News

UK households with vacuum cleaners face £4.80 charges from April 1 | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Vacuum cleaners could be costing some households in the UK around £4.80 a year from the start of next month, according to calculations by The Express. From April 1, people in England, Wales, and Scotland on a standard variable tariff, and who pay for their electricity via Direct Debit, will pay 24.67p per kilowatt hour (kWh) on average. That’s a 7%-reduction on the current price cap of 27.69p per kWh, with Ofgem saying the main cause of the drop is Government budget interventions. As a result, your electricity bills may soon be lower, but it’s worth noting that using multiple appliances can add to your electricity costs over time. That includes appliances like a vacuum cleaner that you may only use for short periods throughout the month. Cleaning guru and This Morning expert Lynsey Crombie, who has worked with various cleaning brands, previously told Woman and Home that while vacuuming habits are a personal preference, “our data tells us most people will do a full home vacuum once a week, typically 25 minutes in an …

Home heating: Expert tips to keep your home warm – without huge energy bills

Home heating: Expert tips to keep your home warm – without huge energy bills

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore The UK is being dragged back into the icy clutches of winter as Arctic air blasts the country. Temperatures have been largely in the single digits and snow has dusted some parts of the country over the weekend. Staying comfortable during the colder months is important. The challenge, however, remains achieving this warmth without incurring excessive energy costs. “People rely on their heating more at this time of year, so we want to help households manage their heating effectively, keeping costs down while staying warm,” says Joanna O’Loan, knowledge manager at the Energy Saving Trust. And Sam Jump, head of business development at underfloor heating specialist the Wunda Group, adds: “During a cold snap, there are several simple ways that homeowners can cut down energy usage to save money on their heating bills without switching the heating off. “The single most …