solar energy in kent Going Solar: Solar Energy in the UK

Thanet array seen from top of North Downs near Lenham. Turbines are about 30 miles away - see map


Headlines

Major ice-shelf loss for Canada
The ice shelves in Canada's High Arctic have lost a colossal area this year, scientists report.

China's 'rapid renewables surge'
China's rapid investment in low carbon technologies has catapulted the nation up the global renewable energy rankings, a report shows.
Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk
A large chunk of an Arctic ice shelf has broken free of the northern Canadian coast, scientists say.
Desert sun to power europe
Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU

Sustainable Ashford ?

SEE-STATS, register of renewable development in Kent and the South East

energy saving trust

Clear Skies

Spinwatch - Carbon Offsets

A Consumers guide to Retail Offset providers

 

Feed in tariffs

Some comments on Solar Water Heating

Britain goes green!

Homeowners may be forced to improve energy efficiency when renovating (Telegraph)

The Government is about to release yet another plan to promote renewable energy in the UK. Lets hope its not going to be managed by the same people who cocked up the LCBP grants scheme!

Any plans to promote greeen energy with Government support needs to be simple and consistent.

I would also recommend that any grants are available to all.

But allocated only for systems where the supplier / installer advertises a freely available pricing structure ahead of and included within any direct sales activity.

See Greenpeace's Efficiencity - an animated tour of what city's could be, sadly not what the eco towns are being built as!

Costing the Earth on bbc radio - All about Solar Energy - listen again

Did you know that Britains Food reserves used to be 100's of days. Now they are down to about 15!

There are no more grain mountains, no more wine lakes, food prices are at an all time high, an increasing number of countries are banning food exports; there are food riots all over the world. People can't afford to eat, so what do our government do: Steal from the Poor to give to the Rich

"In many cases some of the biofuels which they're using won't cut carbon dioxide emissions and could indeed lead to more carbon dioxide emissions" Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth

Read Article

From the 15th April, all fuel that we buy will contribute to the growing mass starvation in the world! 2.5% of Petrol and diesel will be made from food (called biofuel).

The cost in energy in making the biofuel is equivalent to the energy in the fuel. It is an incredibly stupid idea! Not only that but it depletes the land, leads to more deforestation, and hides the problem - we need to change!

Click here to Petition the Prime Minister to stop this madness

My latest project - A Renewable Energy Map being developed alongside True Energy.


Govt anounce 15 ECO towns (or was that mega housing estates)

The menu to the left is fairly clear but this is what I am concentrating on:

Solar Energy - Water Heating: Installed in 2005 , Solar heating is possibly the most cost effective way of using solar energy, especially if you have oil fired heating, but don't expect to use it to heat your house, just your water. Lots of practical information

Solar Energy - Electric: Installed 2003 The great white hope, but hugely expensive for the domestic user though a good bet for the commercial customer - tax advantages and often cheaper than some office cladding!

Wind Generation: A new industry that is just starting to take off with the consumer market, but risks being installed inappropriately. A good bet in the right place, ideal for businesses with 24/7 processes needing electricity.

Shop! Purchase Solar electric and solar hot water products : Online shop selling solar systems for off-grid homes, solar panels both PV and water heating, off grid solar lighting. Not my shop, but an off-shoot from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales

Switch to green electricity: Okay its just the same electricity that you had before, but I suppose its a vote in the right direction.

Grants and assistance: From our 'Brown' Government, not much!

Forum: August 2007 Just started this so not much on it yet. An opportunity to comment on your installation, ask for advice etc etc.

My Solar House

 

solar energy house

What next?

Lessons I am learning.

Though the PV is very much a case of install then forget it, any excess electricity is sent to the grid, the Solar Thermal needs a bit more thought.

If the boiler has heated the hot water cylinder, the solar, however hot the sun is, won't get a chance, the solar panels shut down when the tank reaches the preset working temperature. I've set the boiler so that it heats the cylinder to a max of about 50C, the solar so it goes up to 60C

The solar water heating will cope with all heating from mid May through to the end of September

During a wet and cloudy August or July, the solar heating doesn't quite keep up with the hot water use - wife not happy. In this case I can't get in to re commission the boiler as the swifts have taken up residence and they object to me spending too much time near their chicks - 2nd brood of the year!

Its a hard water area, time to consider a water softener or some kind of water treatment in order to keep the hot water cylinder happy. I think that the stated energy generated doesn't seem to be matched by the volume of hot water.

So that I use even more of the self generated solar PV electricity, I have fitted timer switches on my freezers so that they automatically switch off during the middle part of the night. these also have an extra layer of expanded foam to keep the cold in.

Front Windows: We were planning on replacing our front windows which are wooden box sash but single glazed. On looking at the various options we almost settled on highly insulating scandinavian double glazed units. But though the brochure prices indicate about £600 a window, the quoted price is nearer £2000! I have 7 windows to replace, that means £14,000... Wow!

Does it really cost £2,000 to make a single double glazed window out of what must be standard shaped bits of wood? Well, we are sticking with the original windows which will be repaired and have ordered secondary glazing at a total of less than £1,300 for all the windows!