Re: energy in UK

On Sun, 20 Apr 2025 16:13:38 -0700, Don Y
<blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:

On 4/20/2025 11:42 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:

So, it alerts other traffic to your presence.  But, it doesn't fix
your problem, does it?  Or, does it summon "roadside assistance"?

 
It is anonymous, that's an important feature so that people don't get paranoid.
But you can register a phone app that talks to it, if you want.

>
So, its value to YOU is in making your "disablement" visible to
oncoming traffic -- without having to expose your body to an
assault.  If you were NOT inclined to "set out flares" (the original
version of the "triangles"), then you likely wouldn't bother with
this, either.
>

So the authorities get information at somewhere about all active beacons at a
given time, and they can dispatch the police to go have a look. There is no
promise that they do. But those electronic panels on the roads that tell you
"accident ahead" should activate. Also information on car navigators like a
TomTom (I did not see it).

>
So, its secondary value to you is in alerting you of traffic problems
before you find yourself "stuck" in them.
>

I don't know if that emergency room is yet built and active.
 

If you have to exit the vehicle to check under the hood or
replace a tire, you are still at risk and a potential distraction
("rubber-neckers" -- gawkers)

 
Certainly. Just my case.
 
But there have been a bunch of people killed while they were just setting the
triangles. The authorities thought that the beacon would help with those.

>
Yes.  Motorists (and police officers) standing on roadways -- even far
off on the shoulder -- are regularly hit/killed by morons who have their
heads up their ass instead of eyes on the road!
>
We had a young mother struck and killed while pushing her infant daughter
in a stroller (tram?) on the side of the road.  Some young kid who
felt it was more important to adjust the car stereo than drive the car...
>

AFAIK, we don't have those smaller transformers.

>
Every two residences (on one side of the street), a transformer is sited
between properties, on the property line (actually, an easement), on
the ground (our utilities are below grade).

 
I have seen them in Canada. But we don't have them. In my block, we had 4 naked
wires on the roof, going from home to home. Now they are no longer naked, they
are 4 thick cables in plastic, braided. At the small pole, they bring a
connection down for some houses. No rule.

>
In neighborhoods with overhead wiring, the high tension travels atop
"telephone poles" to similar transformers mounted high up.  From there,
the secondaries come down a pair of wires supported by a steel cable
to the rooftop "service entrance".
>
But, the same issue of these small transformers exists to effectively block
high frequency signals from propagating far.
>

On modern neighbourhoods, they are subterranean.

>
Ditto, here.  Though our neighborhood is almost 50 years old.
Other parts of town have lots of flying services; you'd not want
to fly a kit there!
>
It is apparently more costly to put them below grade.  Though I
wonder how much "damage" is avoided by doing so?  Perhaps the
cost (to the utility) is lower for flying services as any
damages to it can be offloaded to the "offender"?
>
OTOH, each time they widen a roadway, there is considerable
cost in relocating the airborne services that travel along those
roads.  Often, very high tension, cross town feeds (which tend to
follow major arteries) on very tall, metallic towers.

Buried services are about five times as expensive as aerial services.

Joe