Solar energy whilst renting?

kittycatface

Hi
We will never at this rate be able to afford our own house and are currently renting privately. Is there any way of using solar energy without making adjustments to the house or using fixed panels? lighting etc??? I already use rainwater to flush toilet but am looking for any other ways to save on bills and fulfil our eco ideals (not shared by landlord!) We are in S Yorks which has the highest percentage of solar panel use in the country, keep going past houses and getting jealous! Any help gratefully received, thanks.

mildred1978

Even solar panels aren't green, I'm afraid. They cost more in terms of energy being produced than they capture in a whole lifetime.

You could buy a little one to charge your mobile. Apart from that I don't think there's anything.

davidanddeirdre

mildred1978 wrote: »

Even solar panels aren't green, I'm afraid. They cost more in terms of energy being produced than they capture in a whole lifetime.

You could buy a little one to charge your mobile. Apart from that I don't think there's anything.

There is an energy cost to all forms of power generation. How would you grade the different modes in terms of

a) production energy cost
b) in use energy cost?

bloss0m

Cant see how you can unless your landlord was willing to pay up of go for rent a roof scheme

Personnel I wouldn't have them unless I paid for them to have fitted

jamesingram

mildred1978 wrote: »

Even solar panels aren't green, I'm afraid. They cost more in terms of energy being produced than they capture in a whole lifetime.

Sorry, but thats wrong.
Energy return on energy invested in production is approx 1-5 years depending on make etc. after that it's a net gain.

jamesingram

Rent a house with PV

if your home isn't well insulated, your landlord may be able to get it improved for free or at a low cost .
Energy companys will have to pay high fines if they dont reach thier CERT targets ( carbon offsetting stuff ) so are currently desperate to give it away cheap or even pay some people to take it.
more here
http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/forum114/comments.php?DiscussionID=9054&page=1#Item_0

saso777

Any investment for solar panels is returnable for 3-5 years and they last much more. Maybe if you have backyard in the house you can put them there not on the roof so this is much easier adjustment.

kittycatface

thanks everyone for your contributions! back to the drawing board until contract is up in september i think!

boypacer

One idea I did have as a renter who wants to be green was to look into the solar panels that you can buy for a canalboat. (Search for 'chandlery' for boat suppliers).

EricMears

boypacer wrote: »

One idea I did have as a renter who wants to be green was to look into the solar panels that you can buy for a canalboat. (Search for 'chandlery' for boat suppliers).

If you feel you'd like to generate some electricity 'to help save the planet' then that sort of kit should help you feel good. Pretty confident it won't save you any money though !

Getting electricity from solar panels is justifiable for a canal boat (even more so for deep sea yachts) because there's no cheap or easy alternative but the cost per Kwh generated would be considerably more than even the 'robbing RECs' would charge you.

paddyrg

PV cells - depends on the manufacturer and how efficient they are. Earlier ones took more energy to make than they could capture except in absolutely ideal circumstances. More modern ones break even in energy terms more quickly if you measure everything in terms of carbon (which is a pretty useless scale, but the best available). They do still require mining of minerals, and an intensive and dirty production process however.