[Closed] Homegrown Electricity

stoner to the thread! stoner to the thread!

[url= http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy ]http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generating-energy[/url]

I think there was a Which? report that really slated domestic areogenerators as not worth the money.

Stoner, that's the fella I was thinking about - couldn't remember his moniker.

And thanks, David - I've visited that site already.

Got a busy day so I'll check back later.

I think there was a Which? report that really slated domestic areogenerators as not worth the money.

anecdotally I've heard of people who have both turbines and solar and wish they'd just stuck with solar. The presumption is that the weather in the uk isn't all that great so wind must be more bankable than sun, but unless you'd had an anometer on a pole taking readings for a few years to prove your site is viable than wind's not all that good a bet.

WHS^^^ - we did and it would work for us because we are stuck on a hillside and would be generating circa 320 days per year, topped up with solar - all good but PPPA refused to allow the turbine as it's not in keeping, we can have as many solar panels as we like though! 🙄

I'd be up for a home nuclear reactor if anyone has some schematics? 😆

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10385853 ]DIY Nuclear Rector... But doesn't include plans, but it can be done![/url]

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/solar-water-thermal-panels-the-installation-w-pics ]Stoner's Solar Water Thread[/url]

Stoner is at the renewables roadshow having a coffee with Bear of this here forum. Pv not really my thing im afraid.

You've missed the boat on PV ,Teasel, the feed-in tarif dropped so much at the end of July I doubt you'll see any new installations.

I've had PV for over 3 years and I'm on target for the system paying for itself in the predicted 6,5 years when a tax credit is included. The waterproofing kit leaked but has been replaced by the installer free of charge. Production is nearly double our consumption.

I've had solar thermal for 5 years and that's on target for paying for itself in 11 years with no tax credits or subsidies. It thermo-syphons, has no moving parts and has required zero maintenance except cleaning the glass now and then.

Insulating our house and using more efficent appliances has reduced our energy consumption to a third of what it was. If you want to save the planet then insulate first and worry about energy production after.

The system isn't 'paying for itself', other electricity consumers are paying for it via the Feed-In-Tarrif.

Teasel

I'm an installer of PV panels (amongst other things - over 450 installations thus far) - whereabouts are you?

The FIT tariff has dropped, but so have prices. Viability in terms of the energy production depends on the direction/pitch/location of your roof and any shading.

email: infoatgener8powerdotcodotuk if you want a quote (if in Scotland) or even just to check someone else's quote if i'm not local enough.

Other electricity consumers will be paying for your "cheap" fossil electricity consumption with the disappearance of the land they live on under the waves/drought/storms etc., Ohnohesback.

Make sure it's G83 compliant (type tested system, one installation, so not wind [u]and[/u] PV, and a maximum of 16A per phase, which is 3.68kW).

If it isn't you have to ask your DNO first - and they may charge for any necessary network upgrades.

My sister's shed in Portugal is in a little valley with a stream in it. It's off grid, so I came up with an idea to dam the stream and run a turbine from it charging up a few 12V batteries so they could run some lights and charge phones etc.

Nice idea but I doubt they'll do it.

The system isn't 'paying for itself', other electricity consumers are paying for it via the Feed-In-Tarrif.

Technically you're are correct. However electricity consumers have already been paying for other electricity generating systems for years e.g. Gas turbine systems, nuclear power plants, large scale wind turbines installations etc.
The only difference is that this provides an incentive for small scale domestic installations to take the burden off the grid rather than whopping great coal fired power stations.

The advise to insulate and draught proof your home first before looking at generation is spot on. Doesn't cost much and can significantly drop fuel bills

My sister's shed in Portugal is in a little valley with a stream in it. It's off grid, so I came up with an idea to dam the stream and run a turbine from it charging up a few 12V batteries so they could run some lights and charge phones etc.

Nice idea but I doubt they'll do it.

The local community here are planning to re-commission a couple of turbines fed off the river that used to power a textiles mill in the 1950s and which have been mothballed since - its reckoned they'll generate £100k a year. We live a little way upstream and the castle in 'our' garden (they may feel that we live in their garden but they're wrong) was the first house to have electricity in theres parts - all the light fittings are still bare as lightbulbs were so novel then you would leave them on show. The turbine for that is gone but all the weirs and sluices and the turbine house are still there. I do sometimes wonder whether as a show of gratitude for leaving their castle parked there for 600 years they could re-instate it all and generate some juice and heat for us lowly surfs.

Smudger - I'm interested so I'll send you an email, probably after the weekend as it's all piling-up at the mo.

Edukator - It's a new build so proper insulation is a given. Not sure where you're going with that 'save the world' shit, though...

Current building standards are inadequate if we are aiming at a sustainable future. Passive house standards of insulation and ventilation are what we should be aiming for.

I've had PV for over 3 years and I'm on target for the system paying for itself in the predicted 6,5 years when a tax credit is included. The waterproofing kit leaked but has been replaced by the installer free of charge. Production is nearly double our consumption.

I am impressed, "production is nearly double our consumption" can you provide proof of this in the form of photo of your feed in meter ?

[url= http://pvoutput.org/intraday.jsp?id=6085&sid=4867&gs=0&go=1&da=1&nv=1&s=1 ]Our solar output here[/url]
Drop in August was due to the laptop uploading data crashed while we were on holiday. Going to replace it with a Raspberry Pi soon. Ours was installed last year, not so attractive now. 😐

Jeez, Cheekyboy, why not just call me a liar and be done with it. I've just billed EDf for last year's production: 3425kWh. Consumption for the same period was 1645 kWh. Over the period the panels have been installed production has been nearly double consumption.

I've got a problem in that my contract with EDF includes a clause saying I must consume at least half what I produce. I could no doubt reduce consumtption further but won't as I don't want to be in breach of contract.

Sharkbait - really interesting graph. I see the power varies a lot between each data point (they being 10 minutes apart) - is that the demonstrating the impact of clouds on the system?

Yep. If you watch the display on the inverter the output can increase/decrease dramatically when a cloud obscures the sun - the change is pretty quick (seconds). by looking at the live data you can almost tell what's happened re cloud cover during the day.

Interesting! You could work out the exact numbers of hours of sunshine your house gets. Thankyou for indulging my curiosity!

Not sure why you'd want to, but you could!

Thanks for the chart, Sharkbait. Good to see real world results.

Current building standards are inadequate if we are aiming at a sustainable future. Passive house standards of insulation and ventilation are what we should be aiming for.

I'm curious as to why you presume a new build wouldn't be passive.

Wife's cousin packed up and ****ed off to oz five years ago. Quite unbelievably there wasnt really much of a market for solar energy when he arrived. As a trained spark he managed to set up a bit of a company selling and installing systems, he is doing (not surprisingly) very well for himself now, and just funded a months visit back here with the family including euro Disney all on the basis of a two day visit into Germany to sort his panel suppliers. Right place right time comes to mind!!

Because hardly any new builds are passive, Kaesae. Passive costs a lot more than just complying with building regulations. IMO building regs are inadequate and mean another generation of the British housing stock will consume much more energy than it could/should.

another generation of [s]the British[/s]most any nation's housing stock will consume much more energy than it could/should.

FTFY. Not just a British problem. Passivhaus is something beyond much of the low skilled and high profit construction industry in the UK, despite it just being a little more strict in construction practice.

Current building standards are inadequate if we are aiming at a sustainable future. Passive house standards of insulation and ventilation are what we should be aiming for.

Passive is pretty site dependent - its not easy on tight (city) sites but the current plans get us near enough there by 2016 don't they? Code for Sustainable Homes (which contains a fair bit of guff as well) is phased in to level 6 by then I think.

is it still the case that passivhaus spec is incompatible with part F of the building regs?

Because hardly any new builds are passive, Kaesae. Passive costs a lot more than just complying with building regulations.

I'll let the opening cock-up slide, but you're still being presumptuous in the second sentence in this particular instance.

I was on a sustainable development course last week and came back to a leaflet through the door about getting PV panels fitted to the house, so looking to act on it if at all possible.
Despite the tariffs dropping are companies still around that fit these for nowt and take the cash from the energy generated so that we don't have a significant capital outlay?
Smudger, I'm Edinburgh based. I'll try and drop you an email this week.
Cheers
Fraser

Fraser - am on hols this week - someone will pick up the email but if yu mention mike s, I'll get back to you w/c 22nd.

Am in dalgety bay btw.

Do you really want to lease your roof when if the PV company fits cheap panels there's a chance they'll catch fire and burn your house down? One of my riding mates is an insurance assessor and has two burnt out homes on his patch. Checking with my panel supplier he was able to name the panels concerned, I've forgotten though. He assured me there's no problem with Solar World.

I'm not being presumptuous about anything, Teasel. You're carrying a grudge across from another forum though.

🙂 The irony of that statement is, well, just so you.

You're not important enough for me to bear you in-mind at all, but that doesn't mean I'm going to ignore the high handed and generally presumptuous manner in which you conduct yourself on various topics on this forum.

In this instance, you have no idea what kind of build I have planned, do you...

Btw, if anyone else is getting the solar panel ads to the right, don't click - unless you want 9-12 companies chasing you for business!

AB here...

I'll mail you at the weekend, Smudger. It'll be for a bit of advice and rough pricing but I'm a southener so the business will be going to someone else, obviously.

In this instance, you have no idea what kind of build I have planned, do you...

It had better be a good one because you've been quite the smug monkey so far.

🙂

Absolutely no smugness here.

Glad you appreciate the irony. 🙂

My statement that hardly any new builds are passive is true, that most people aren't prepared to pay the extra is also true. If yours is to be passive it will be one of a handful in the country. Tell us more:

Do you reckon it's better to use triple-glazed windows all round at your latitude or is there enough solar gain to make double glazing a better option on the south side?

What sort of insulation are you going to use: organic materials, recycled materials, the cheapest, high-tech insulators or... ?

Will you be using heat recovery from both ventilation and waste water?

Is the roof designed so it maximises solar gain in Winter and limits it in summer or/and will you be using shutters?

Tell [s]us[/s] me more

Uh...no.

I believe your interest is disingenuous to say the least and if I'd have wanted to have an internet discussion about the build I would've titled the thread accordingly. Some may consider me somewhat remiss for not seeking your opinion on things like insulation but I'm quite happy with the info available elsewhere.

How's the view from your house? Do you have a neighbour less than 130m from the most exposed part of your site? If you can answer "good" and "no" drop me a line.