Solar is the way to go !?

Ken68

....and here is another......http://www.jrwhipple.com/sr/index.html..

Insulation should be top priority and not having t.v.'s and such on standby..

DO_YOU_KNOW_DAVE

Want to make your own solar panel water heater? Have a look here
WWW.LOWIMPACT.ORG
I have been on the Bio-Diesel course, they are well run and very informative.

Weymouth_Man

rouner wrote:

Hi all, with energy prices going up it seems the wise option and enviromentally sound one would be to invest in photovoltaic solar panels. I am in the process of working out the money needed to invest, grants available and ultimatly the point at which i come into profit!

It seems for enough electricity for the average home you are looking at spending £10k of which £3-4k you can get in a grant so about £6-7k spend. House price rise may result which would prob pay it off! But after a number of years they will have paid for themselves,..and with the rate of energy rises then that time may not be too long!

If anyone has gone down this route or has any useful information I am very open to comments


Rouner

Don't forget the WIND http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=wind%20turbine&doy=23m2&source=15 :rolleyes:

kittiwoz

The wind turbine mentioned above is designed for use at sea and is not really suitable for static use on land. Land based turbines generally operated at peak rated power at wind speeds of 12m/s. This is equivalent to 23 knots. This machine has its maximum rated power for a windspeed of 50 knots = 26m/s = 10 on the Beaufort scale: Storm; Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage occurs. By plotting power output against windspeed using the cut-in speed and two windspeeds for which power is rated it is possible to estimate the power output at 12m/s as 32 Watts. Typical rated power outputs for inland turbines are in the range 0.5-1.5 kiloWatts (up to 3 for industrial turbines). An example of this type is the roof mounted Swift turbine developed by Renewable Devices. This has a rated power output at 12.5m/s of 1.5 kW and has been shown to typically produce 2,000 to 3,000 kiloWatt hours of energy per year. This is approximately 1/5 of what it would produce if it opperated in a constant windspeed of 12.5 m/s. If we assume the Rutland 503 windcharger performs similarly (which is probably generous since it's not built for low windspeeds) it would produce 56 kWh per year. Hence at a price of 10p per kWh you would save £5.60 per year on your electricity bill. At a cost of £259.99 you would therefore recoup your investment in 46 years.