The Hawksworth's October Diary - Solar Energy
| Published: 9th November 2007 16:33 |
We are seeing really good results so far by applying some simple focus with minor investment, but with the help of the Mark Group who we employed to do our Insulation, we now have really stepped up a gear in driving down that Carbon Footprint even further - with addition of Solar Panels to support our domestic hot water needs.
Mark Group fitting Solar PanelsFrom early on in the project we had the opportunity to take up the offer of "Guinea pigging" a Solar Hot Water system. But we turned this down at the time, as part of the project was to show what is attainable by applying the basics. By throwing large amounts of money at the project would probably defeat the primary objective of what you the normal person in the street can attain by applying focus and effort.
Now 10 months in and showing such good results and with only 2 visits left, we had the opportunity once again to take advantage of the facility being provided; it also helped us and the BBC show the technology, the science and the costs... along of course with some product and supplier awareness.
Primarily a site survey was required to assess the practicalities of installing a system and the challenges!
We have a Combination Boiler, supplying us with heating and hot water, not generally what Solar is attached to! So the guys from Mark Group had a few ideas and set to work designing!
Also with having a Combi' we needed a water tank... a big one... 150 litres to be precise! Again, more challenges - to put this in the attic would need the timber spars modifying to take the weight.
So, believe it or not... again it's me emptying the garage, moving shelves and a run to the tip with lots of bits that I kept knowing that one day I may need them! But never did! To make room for an array of tanks, pipes and dials.
Along with also having to get the consumer unit and earth cabling upgraded, installing a new thermostatic mixer tap and shower attachment to the bathroom I really had my work cut out ...
VT day (Video Tape to you and me)
The Mark Group guys spent a few days here at the house prior putting up scaffolding, fitting cabling, pipework, hoses, getting tanks in place, etc. So on the VT day it was a case of connecting things up and getting the panels in place.
Dave the Camera man finds his spotTrue to form the rain came down in the morning! But as Sally and Dave turned up the clouds cleared and the Sun came out... hooray!
Filming was fun though; Sally thought it would be good if we could use one of the neighbour's upstairs windows to film from when putting the panels in place. So I called on "Marg" she's a diamond, always laughing and likes a joke... she was just about to hit the bath for a restful afternoon and then Dave's there dragging his camera and tripod up the stairs!
Bacon sandwiches all round, and then some individual filming to get the technology talk, etc from Bill and some comments from myself.
That's another thing you just don't get prepared for when working with the media ... cameras being stuck anywhere for the shot, all the vehicles and noise that can be generated, a feeling of unease as everything gets taken over for a short while!
And without the flexibility and awareness of our good neighbours, work, the family, then it just couldn't be done! One thing I had to do this time was to give everyone prior warning of a noisy piece of kit arriving though! Sally advised that they intended to use an Infrared camera facility on a raised platform!!
Live Day
Venue - The Front Lawn - Huntingdon Drive, Castle Donington!
First thing I noticed was how dark it is all of a sudden in the mornings! But heyho - up as the norm @ 04:30 for a swift shower, and ready to let the team in at 5.00 a.m. Nudge Carol, the kids and gee them up ready for a slice of "Live BBC".
Declan talking to Bill Rumble of Mark GroupAnd yes... Sally was right, around 5:30 I'm sure my neighbours were all woken (so I wasn't Mr Popular! And apologise!) A platform rig rolled out the back of a lorry which sounded somewhat like an un-silenced dumper truck. At this point I could have crawled under a stone!
The usual suspects also on site - Declan, Sally the producer and Dave the cameraman.
Again we had Bill Rumble from the Mark Group who was really knowledgeable on the technology and background of Solar and did a lot of the live chat with Declan.
We were treated with several instances of Declan jumping around in aid to provide a thermal image and introducing our house emitting very little energy indeed! With ourselves also contributing the odd dance move to enhance the heated silhouettes.
The Low Down!
Our system is up and running which was a good job as our boiler failed the following weekend and we still had hot water for a shower!
It's also quite a clever set up, where we have a switch that we can set the temperature that Solar water is used ... if it drops below this then the combi kicks in! With an advantage of also having an electric element in the water tank, that can be used to top up the heat overnight from the Economy 7 electricity during those short days of the winter months.
So we are still testing and will update at the end of the project on this.
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So Solar Power - most people perhaps think of the cost primarily as most! Well the technology is still developing and production costs could perhaps be reduced if more of us invested into these systems.
At present a system can cost between 3.5 to 5 thousand pounds, so it may take a little time to get such an investment back! (10 + years at today's estimates, perhaps this time could reduce with rising costs of utility bills). But it's down to the individual to make the choice, if we are to reduce that Carbon Footprint we at some time, will need to embrace better and greener ways to support our lifestyles.
Perhaps incorporating such technology in new builds as a requirement may be the way forward. It may make these houses more attractive,( for starters you have more control of your bills) and push owners of older properties to also invest to attract buyers?
Introduction of government tax relief, etc. may be something that should be solicited; they are also responsible in supporting us all in reducing our carbon emissions. Further debate is required by all to find the best way forward.
One day I'm sure we'll look over the landscape and see solar panels, wind turbines/farms and perhaps even newer technology to make us more self sufficient!
With the current oil demand and the spiralling costs of crude, coal fired power stations and the need to build nuclear ones, we at some time need to find something to replace our carbon based energies dwindling supplies.
Solar power, wind turbines, etc. are a need for now not just the future.
Useful Links
BBC Breakfast October Video of the morning
Solar Power information from the BBC
I have set up a temporary email address for those wishing to seek any further advice or submit useful ideas - please feel to contact us HFM@ntlworld.com
Paul & "The Hawksworth's"
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