-
Solar assisted heat pumps - night time solar
I have a keen interest in all the new renewable systems that are coming into play at the moment and am totally fascinated by solar assisted heat pumps. They now seem to be replacing traditional solar thermal. The thing i just can't believe is that these systems actually generate hot water at night or in bad weather or…
-
Step change from consumer to producer - one step at a time
Sometime over the past week I have read on the internet about the step change from consumer to producer. This has made me consider small changes that I can make to be greener. I drink herbal tea I thought about the difference been the mint tea bag I buy and the mint in my garden that i make an infusion of. Both healthy ,…
-
Hydro power from a stream
Hi, We have recently bought a property in France and it has a reliable stream running around it. Its an old watermill. There is a large duck pond that holds a considerable amount of water. This then flows over a holding 'gate' / 'board'. I was looking to do a simple hydro energy scheme to heat the hot water via the…
-
Using refillable hand wash bottles and where to source refills
I am the treasurer for our local guide hall, and until a couple of years back also was responsible for the running of the building, buying supplies etc. Recently, the person who now does this suggested that we should switch to using refillable pump bottles for the hand wash, on the basis that it would be more eco friendly…
-
Do solar panels compare well with other RE options?
When I was considering solar panels I looked at other renewable energy options such as a domestic wind turbine. But I could not find any company that wanted to install a wind turbine for me whereas there is a whole industry geared-up to install solar panels. So the solar panels went in at the beginning of March. Reviewing…
-
Freezer on Economy 7 ?
This just came to mind - be interesting to hear any thoughts... I'm planning to get a small chest freezer for the garage. I'm wondering if I put it on a timeswitch so it only operates during Economy 7 hours it will stay cold enough for the rest of the day. This will be a second freezer and only be opened once a week, and I…
-
off grid electricity
Hi All, Just looking to buy a plot of land to move onto and have been quoted the best part of £27,000 by Western Power distribution to connect to the Electricity Grid. Is there an alternative supplier i can try or will it be a case of an "off grid" solution? TIA
-
Rainwater Harvesting
Has anybody looked at the economics of this? You collect rainwater (from your roof) in a big sealed tank. This keeps it fresh enough that you can use it for flushing toilets and washing clothes as well as watering the garden so you save money by cutting your water bill. The storage tank should last for decades but you need…
-
First blackout of the wind power heavy system
So it seems a power station tripped and some wind turbines went offline This is not abnormal, However what was abnormal is that we had only a few CCGTs in the system yesterday due to high wind output If you have 5GW CCGT in the system that's not a lot of inertia so if 1GW goes offline you lose 20%+. If it was low wind and…
-
Wind farms degrade rapidly
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ref.org.uk/attachments/article/280/ref.hughes.19.12.12.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi9jdzXr4_kAhX_SBUIHdVUDm4QFjAPegQIChAB&usg=AOvVaw1OqmEOqOhQGq--ntaeYdgX Why isn't this mentioned in pro intermittent discussions more often? Wind farm outputs degrade very rapidly as the…
-
Solar panels generating but no saving on bills
We had solar panels installed in November 2018. There are fourteen 300W panels facing West with no shading, a Solis 3.6kW inverter and an OptimisePV wireless immersion control. They were installed as part of the Solar Together scheme from Suffolk County Council. Unfortunately not by a local company. The panels are working…
-
Awful service from heat pump installer
Hi I had an air source heat pump installed last year and the unit is still not working correctly. They keep promising to send an engineer down but - over a year later - the issue is still ongoing!! What can I do? I see they are members of RECC, MCS approved installers etc... Should I contact them and complain about one of…
-
Talking about solar PV, inverters, efficiency and performance
There's a lot of confusion (on my part anyway) about the size of inverters and the role they play in solar PV installations. We hijacked a different solar PV thread, and are moving it here to continue discussing the technicalities of solar PV installations. This is the last response: “One last thing* another reason for…
-
Scotland to charge 20p deposits on bottles and cans - MSE News
The Scottish Government has today announced plans to charge 20p deposits on bottles and cans, which will be refunded if they're returned, in a bid to increase recycling...Read the full story: 'Scotland to charge 20p deposits on bottles and cans' Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.
-
Food recycling going missing overnight. Animals?
For about 2 weeks our food recycling has been disappearing overnight, but no mess. The waste is in compostable plastic bags in a black bin with a handle which flips over to "secure" the lid. The whole bag is gone in the morning and their is no spillage of food anywhere. It's just gone. In this weather the waste is pretty…
-
Reduce car numbers with a vehicle quota
For London or rather inside the M25 Have an annual auction to be able to drive within the M25 for a period of 1 year Perhaps holding the auction in September the year before The lowest bid is the clearing price for everyone There are perhaps 4 million cars within the M25 Start with an auction process for 3.5 million…
-
CO2-sucking cement for precast, reduces emissions by 70 percent
Interesting article in the excellent "Tree Hugger" site, where a pre-cast concrete manufacturer is using CO2 rather than water in it's curing process, reducing overall carbon in it's production by 70% and also reducing the curing time from 28 days with Portland cement to 24hrs. Win-Win.…
-
Coffee
Hi all I'm a parcel driver and have a habit of buying a couple of coffees a day from Costa /mcDonald's /wild bean. This costs £2-3 a time and gives me a paper cup for the bin. However it's convenient for my job as i can use drive thru or BP garage cafes. Can anyone recommend a way I can cut down and still get the coffee…
-
Plastic Free Money Saving Tips
Hi all, I am new to the forum as I have been looking for further ways to reduce my single use plastic waste, and this forum popped up. So far, I have re-usable cloth and fabric bags, (for shopping, which I do at the market for fruit and veg and bring my own reusable small cloth bags for these), a re-usable ceramic rubber…
-
The UK grid is already solved we do not need more mass PV/Tidal/Nuclear/Wind
The UK grid is solved in the near future with what exists, what is under construction and what is committed to The UK does not need new nuclear or mass PV or tidal, the UK needs and has needed additional interconnectors for 30+ years fortunately many will come online over the next 5 years including 2 lines in the next 12…
