u/Fantastic-Kale3300 — reddlx

Not trying to start an argument — genuinely curious about this.

Maybe it's just a sign of getting older and paying more attention, but in my mind, since around 2001 the national mood for the average person in the UK seems to have shifted into something relentlessly negative. Reports of violent crime, political scandal on repeat, a stagnant economy, and a general sense that social standards are slipping — it all adds up to what feels like (to me) a kind of collective hopelessness.

Which makes me wonder: was there a point in the last 30/40 years where the majority of people in this country actually felt good about living here? A period where the national outlook was broadly optimistic rather than just braced for the next headline?

Or is this just how UK media works — a perpetual cycle of reporting everything that's broken, with no real space for anything else?

Keen to hear whether others feel the same, or if I'm just falling into the trap of doom-scrolling my way to a skewed perspective.

Hey all, looking for some guidance on the best placement for two solar panels on my detached garage.

The garage has a pitched roof with one side facing east and the other west. My initial plan was to put one panel on each side to capture both morning and afternoon sun, but I'm second-guessing whether that's actually the most efficient approach.

A couple of things complicating the west side install: it backs onto our neighbour's garden (they're happy with it, no issues there), but access is awkward due to shrubs on their side. It's a low single-storey garage so I can work around it, but it's noticeably trickier than the east side where I can just throw a ladder up.

My setup is two 460W panels running into an EcoFlow STREAM inverter, which maxes out at 800W and can only accept two panels total.

So the question is – given the access difficulty on the west side, is splitting the panels east/west actually worth it over putting both on the east-facing side? I've attached the solar path chart for my location if that helps.

Thanks in advance.