Great "Alternative Sources of Energy" Hunt

beebearshouse

Mcfi5dhc wrote: »

I converted my MG to LPG about 18 months ago. So far, its been brilliant. Current price is about 46.9p litre, I get about 330 - 350 miles for £20. I bought a map for every LPG garage in the country, but you usually find them fairly easily anyway. I have not had any negative findings with LPG.

Mind if I ask how much the conversion cost you??

Mcfi5dhc

beebearshouse wrote: »

Mind if I ask how much the conversion cost you??

£1650 - this was just before petrol prices went mental, but the prices of conversion are still roughly the same. V6/V8's is a bit more - still under £2000 though I think.

The payback depends on how much petrol you are using - but mine was about 10,000 miles. I have done 20,000 since conversion (every 12,000 miles you need an LPG service, but mine is only £25).

Thanks

ktpie

rfburke wrote: »

The thing about solar hot water is that you need a double coil hot water tank. The standard tank has a single coil which your central heating system runs through. A double coil allows solar water heater to pass through the second coil. If you are getting a new central heating system installed or require a new hot water cylinder then request a double coil tank. They are pretty much standard now and shouldn't cost any more than a single coil tank. You can even get tripple coil tanks for combining central heating, solar heating and a back (solid fuel) boiler.

I've seen coils that would fit in the immersion heater hole for sale on ebay, this is the website any experience of these? Would be cheaper than getting a new tank.

SailorSam

'tggzzz' can you check that site name for me please...withouthtair... i can't get it to come up

bigmerc1

I purchased a 1988 S Class Merc, i.e. top of the range at the time (could do the same with BMW or Audi but go for one of the bullet proof luxury cars that have had money spent on them over their life) with a long service for a little over £1,000 first service and replacement of ALL worn parts £1,000 (brakes timing chains, all oil and filters), conversion to LPG £1,200. Now i am motoring in a very comfortable car that cost wise runs at £0.12p per mile for £3,200. So recycling, boosting local economy, good for environment, very comfortable and safe.

ktpie

SailorSam wrote: »

'tggzzz' can you check that site name for me please...withouthtair... i can't get it to come up

If you click the link it doesn't work but if you type it in it works (or just try this http://www.withouthotair.com/).

DdraigGoch

So far we've cut out the oil central heating and rely on point of use electric heaters plus a lot of woolies/fleeces! Our main heating comes from a 20Kw wood stove, without back boiler. We could have fitted the back boiler but decided not to due to the back boiler taking 12Kw off the fire and we need more than 8Kw to heat the area it's in. We have ditched the electric cooker and now only use the wood fired range. If we want toast or a cup of tea before the fire's kicked in [it takes about an hour] then we use the "normal" electric kettle [which we always fill once and then store the remaining hot water in a Thermos flask for later - instant coffee's ok without bringing back up to the boil], the toaster or even one of those glass ovens [worth every penny!]. The slowcooker has barely ever been out of the cupboard recently Our domestic hot water is taken care of by three point of use instantaneous heaters, one gas and two electric.

Our electricity bills have plummetted and the stoves are fed to the constant refrain of, "Never waste a calorie" as the next bit of scrap wood/paper etc goes on, in addition to any wood we buy in.

Our windows are doubleglazed but as we are decorating the house we shall be replacing the glass with the current e-glass glazing units. Curtains make a huge difference over both windows and doors.

rfburke

I don't have any experience or knowledge but it seems perfectly feasible. The only problem is that you loose the electric element, which is ok but in the event that you are unable to use your boiler (more common than you think most boilers break down in winter) and its a dark day you'll have no hot water.
The sealing around the element aperture would need to be good as well, if the tank is old you could damage the opening and find you are not able to make an adequate seal. Corrosion on the tanks is more common on old ones retrofitted with lagging jackets than ones which are preinsualted.

andyfras_2

A few years ago we installed a home-made solar hot water system based on a design from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT.org.uk) in Wales:

It cost us about £600 including the dual coil tank, low voltage pump with battery and solar charger, and clip-on fins from CAT.

Due to restrictions in size, we have slightly less than 2 square metres of panels, but it provides plenty of hot water on sunny days and needs only a slight top-up on grey days. It can even raise the tank temperature by 30degC in Winter on a sunny day.

We have recently had a Solar PV system fitted which is rated at 1.62kW (PhotoEnergy.co.uk). This cost just under £6000 after the £2500 grant. We sell the excess energy back to EON (fixed rate based on capacity and house size) for £46/year. It's very satisfying to see the consumer meter running backwards when the sun comes out. We also claim ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates) from OFGEM which are worth about £35 each and we expect to get 3 per year. The new rates for solar energy production coming in next year will be worth about 35p for every unit generated, whether we use it or export it, so that should work out at about £500.

Initially, the pay-back time seemed very long, but with these new initiatives and rising fuel prices, it is now probably approaching ten years.

grazer

This sound similar to what I'd like to achieve. However, we have a combi-boiler for hot water and heating. How do you combine a hot-water storage tank with a combi-boiler?

Do you need to speak to your electricity provider to find out about selling back?

Thanks very much for your helpful post.

Graham

andyfras wrote: »

A few years ago we installed a home-made solar hot water system based on a design from the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT.org.uk) in Wales:

It cost us about £600 including the dual coil tank, low voltage pump with battery and solar charger, and clip-on fins from CAT.

Due to restrictions in size, we have slightly less than 2 square metres of panels, but it provides plenty of hot water on sunny days and needs only a slight top-up on grey days. It can even raise the tank temperature by 30degC in Winter on a sunny day.

We have recently had a Solar PV system fitted which is rated at 1.62kW (PhotoEnergy.co.uk). This cost just under £6000 after the £2500 grant. We sell the excess energy back to EON (fixed rate based on capacity and house size) for £46/year. It's very satisfying to see the consumer meter running backwards when the sun comes out. We also claim ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates) from OFGEM which are worth about £35 each and we expect to get 3 per year. The new rates for solar energy production coming in next year will be worth about 35p for every unit generated, whether we use it or export it, so that should work out at about £500.

Initially, the pay-back time seemed very long, but with these new initiatives and rising fuel prices, it is now probably approaching ten years.