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They've been in Germany for two years already, and I think there are already about two million of them there. They've been really popular. And I haven't heard any stories of awful things happening.

That's why Germany has had them for a couple of years and it's only coming here now. UK agencies have been setting the standards to make sure they're safe - we've been talking about this for at least six months in the UK, waiting for the standards to be agreed. And now here they are.

I haven't seen one, and this is a very recent announcement (although the retailers have been preparing for a while). I expect that people actually buying them will only really kick off early next spring.

That's right. They just supply your home. But actually, the grid can cope just fine with electricity being supplied back to it. Look out for an upcoming episode of the Everything Electric show where I meet one of the first UK users of a scheme to actually trade energy with the grid properly.

Plug-in solar panels are coming to the UK from August 27th! It's been in the pipeline for a while & it's already common in Germany. But it's BRILLIANT because it opens up these technologies to renters & ppl w/o their own roof. Plugs into a normal socket & supplies ~ 10-20% of household needs. ☀️🎉

It’s been a LOVELY weekend of science, ideas, brilliant people & curiosity here at the Latitude Festival. Hooray for all the best things humanity can do! It’s also lovely that people are still asking me to sign tea towels. Everyone should know both where their towel is & also how their towel works.

It's the first proper morning at the Latitude Festival and I'm being allowed on a music stage for the first time! I'll spend the rest of the weekend on stage at the @cosmicshambles.com Forest of Science & Culture, talking about science, but it's fab to be part of a live performance of Ocean Songs.

The dates for my Gresham College lectures for next year are now all listed online (six in total, only three shown below), and they'll all be streamed live online. You can also attend in person if you're in London - it's a small but very distinctive venue. www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/se...

Why shouldn't adults get to play with the toys? Toys are about learning, and everyone still has stuff to learn...

Wheeeeeee

I’ve seen a lot of black squirrels in Canada. Their slightly sinister colour was more than offset by their portly silhouettes, since winter came very late and no-one told them they could stop eating to prepare.

I had a lovely day filming for the Everything Electric Show (out mid-August) and not losing my marbles as we discussed the smart homes of the future and a new scheme to help homeowners trade energy at wholesale prices. It was obviously not at all just a pretext for playing with the marble run...

My favourite road sign so far this year, just outside Grasmere. We didn't see one (although when you're going up a really steep hill on a bike it's pretty hard to look), but I hope there was at least one watching us. 🐿️🐿️🐿️

There's loads of life in the Thames, including at least one endangered species. So cutting it off to create a tidal energy barrier would be destructive. And there's too much boat traffic and it's too shallow for free-standing turbines, I think. But it is a lot of energy!

There's loads of life in the Thames, including at least one endangered species. So cutting it off to create a tidal energy barrier would be destructive. And there's too much boat traffic and it's too shallow for free-standing turbines, I think. But it is a lot of energy!

I never quite get over the huge tidal range of the Thames in central London. This is Vauxhall bridge, 40 min before low tide, and it will rise six metres above this level today. And almost no-one in London will notice!

I respect France's commitment to not working on a holiday.

Arrrrrrrrrgggggghhhhh

Oh no! How ridiculous. We need more ferries, not fewer!

We got back to the UK in time to watch the England football match last night... they were playing in even worse heat and I can't imagine how they could run at all. Fingers crossed that you'll be on the move again soon 🤞