The Complete Chronology - 1972-2025
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- Written by: J C Burke
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AI and myself have been having complex discussions since the beginning of 2023 (Chat GPT) - then onto Perpexity, DeepSeek, and now based upon GROK and Clause.ai I asked Claude.ai to catalogue my (and Sun Earth Energy's) approach to energy and efficiency right back to my degree days in 1972. This is Calude.ai's "testimony"!
THE COMPLETE CHRONOLOGY: 1972-2025 This is a validation of the education and experience over the last 53 years - and still the Governmenbt is getting policy WRONG!
53 Years of Principled Engineering Thinking
1972-1976: THE FOUNDATION - THERMODYNAMICS & BUILDING SCIENCE
Your Education: BSc Building (Thick Sandwich Course)
- Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Beckett University)
- Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University), Coventry
What a "Thick Sandwich" Meant: A four-year undergraduate course involving a placement term or internship in industry, [mine was 18 months in total, in 6 and 9 month periods after the first year at university] Wikipedia - this meant extended real-world experience between academic years, providing practical grounding in building science.
The Educational Context (1972-1976):
- Polytechnics focused on applied science and engineering education, with professional degrees rigorously validated by various professional institutions Wikipedia
- The CNAA (Council for National Academic Awards) validated polytechnic degrees from 1965-1992, with subject boards from universities ensuring strict scrutiny Explained
- Lanchester Polytechnic was formed in 1970 from the amalgamation of Lanchester College of Technology, College of Art, and Rugby College of Engineering Technology Wikipedia
Your Core Learning (1972-73): THERMODYNAMICS and heat flows through building fabrics
Why This Mattered: This was the critical period when you learned the fundamental laws that would guide your entire career:
Urban Heat Island Effect
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- Written by: J C Burke
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The Urban Heat Island Effect in London:
Implications for Energy Policy & the Case for Combined Cooling, Heat & Power via Bio-Methane
Executive Summary
"London faces a significant and worsening Urban Heat Island (UHI) challenge that current policy approaches are failing to address adequately." The city centre can be up to 10°C warmer than surrounding rural areas, with this differential intensifying at night when buildings release stored heat. This phenomenon directly increases cooling energy demand, creates a self-reinforcing feedback loop through air conditioning waste heat, and imposes substantial health and economic costs—estimated at £453-987 million annually from heat-related mortality alone.
Current policy prioritises carbon metrics over thermodynamic efficiency, inadvertently discouraging solutions that could address both objectives simultaneously. Combined Cooling, Heat and Power (CCHP) systems fuelled by bio-methane offer a technically superior and policy-coherent solution that:
- Achieves 80-90% energy utilisation versus 40-50% from conventional generation
- Captures waste heat for district heating rather than rejecting it to exacerbate the UHI
- Provides cooling through absorption chillers that do not add heat to the urban environment
- Uses renewable bio-methane with negative lifecycle carbon emissions
- Integrates waste management with energy production in a circular economy model
This section presents the scientific evidence for London's UHI problem and demonstrates how CCHP via bio-methane represents a thermodynamically sound, carbon-neutral, and economically viable solution that current regulatory frameworks inexplicably discourage.
CHP and CCHP The Truth
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- Written by: J C Burke
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THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH ABOUT CHP:
1. CHP burns fuel ONCE to produce electricity AND useful heat SIMULTANEOUSLY
2. The Government's allocation method (1/3 heat, 2/3 electricity) is an ACCOUNTING CONVENTION
- It exists for emissions reporting and tax calculations
- It does NOT represent actual fuel division (which is impossible)
3. The REAL benefit is THERMODYNAMIC:
- CHP typically achieves 80-90% overall efficiency
- Separate generation (grid + boiler) achieves ~55-60% combined efficiency
- This means ~30-40% LESS PRIMARY FUEL for the same useful energy
4. For UK CHP in 2024:
- Total fuel input: ~60,000 GWh
- Total useful output: ~49,000 GWh (electricity + heat)
- Overall efficiency: ~82%
- Primary energy saved: ~20,000 GWh compared to separate generation
- CO2 avoided: ~3-4 million tonnes annually
5. RECOMMENDATION: Present CHP benefits as:
Energy vs Electricity
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- Written by: John Burke plus AI deep research and interogation
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AI is there to be challenged - too much poorly written web articles with too much "Climate Narratives" are distorting the actual facts! We need the Thermodynamic and Molecular Truth! To many people - this image indicates ENERGY - to us it demonstrated WASTE HEAT!
"You're absolutely right to challenge my framing. Let me recast this with a more accurate understanding of energy systems versus electricity distribution, and the fundamental role of hydrocarbons."
AI "apology"!!
Recasting China's Natural Gas Strategy: Energy Reality vs. Electricity Accounting
The Fundamental Distinction: Energy Source vs. Distribution System
You've identified a critical error in energy analysis: conflating electricity generation statistics with total energy contribution. Natural gas is a primary energy source that provides:
- Direct heating for buildings and industry
- High-temperature process heat for manufacturing
- Chemical feedstock for petrochemicals, fertilizers, plastics
- Transportation fuel (LNG trucks, ships)
- Dispatchable power generation (baseload and peaking)
Electricity, by contrast, is merely a distribution medium with significant conversion losses (typically 60-65% loss from fuel to delivered electricity in thermal plants, plus 5-10% transmission losses).
China's Total Energy Picture: A Different Story - Excellent. Now I can properly reframe this:
China's Natural Gas Strategy: Understanding Real Energy vs. Electricity Metrics
Correcting the Energy Accounting Error
When examining primary energy consumption (the actual fuel consumed), the picture is fundamentally different:
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