Greenest Building in the World

September 1, 2011

Just read an interesting article on Smart Planet titled “Greenest building in world uses no water or electricity”

It’s a pretty cool building – looks like it’s offices and residential apartments. It has solar panels all over it that provide the electricity for the building and also to power the ground source heat pump (GSHP) that is underneath. All the water that falls on the building is collected and filtered to be used inside.

I must admit, that reading it I felt like we’re not far off with our house. All of the water that falls on our roof is collected into a 5000 litre tank and is routed to the toilets, washing machine and outside taps. We’re not drinking it because I didn’t find a domestic solution that gave me comfort that it would be safe. I’m hoping to get solar panels installed which should provide enough electricity to power the GSHP and contribute to our electricity generally.

You can read the article here: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/cities/video-greenest-building-in-world-uses-no-water-or-electricity/841

Posted in Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), House Blog, Rainwater Harvesting, Solar Panels | Leave a Comment »

Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme

August 25, 2011

Today I made an application for the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme. My dad suggested I looked into it, so I did. Filled in a pretty straightforward form online (see www.energysavingtrust.org.uk) answering basic info as well as GSHP details, and hey presto, I’m told I’ll be awarded £1250 as soon as my system gets commissioned!

Fingers crossed this will be any day now – the guys who installed it managed to blow up the PCB and so it’s never actually worked. Commissioning the system will be a big relief – it’s all very impressive but I want to see it working before I get too excited and also, I get my £1250 quid!

I don’t know exactly what plans are afoot for Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments which I believe will start next year, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to get something back from that too. That’s if the government’s spending cuts don’t get there first.

Posted in House Blog, Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) | Leave a Comment »

Solar Panel Prices

February 9, 2011

Installing solar panels to your home is a sustainable and eco-friendly method of generating energy. There is now a significant financial incentive to install this technology into your home as the government has introduced a Feed-in-Tarrif payment scheme allowing households to sell domestic electricity produced to national energy companies. This means homeowners can dramatically reduce or even eliminate their annual energy bill and in some cases, earn money on top of this.
The tarriffs only currently apply to photovoltaic solar panel modules which work by trapping the sun’s energy and then converting this into electricty. There is a large amount of inforamtion available about pv module prices and how to install these systems.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Money saved, money lost

October 25, 2010

Good news arrived – apparently the wall at the back which had been quoted for a rebuild is actually of a pretty solid construction with deep, wide brick foundations. The good news was quickly followed by bad news. The guttering which had been quoted for partial replacement is actually no good and all needs replacing.

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Work starts!

October 10, 2010

It’s been a long time coming, but finally the work started on 5 October. Scaffolding has now gone up, barriers erected and the overgrown garden chopped back. Angharad’s treasure, the magnolia tree has been chopped down (alas no choice there!). Tiles are being removed. Exciting times.

Scaffolding up!

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“…no house should need oil for heating, and no driver should need to turn solely to gasoline.”

September 29, 2010

So said Mona Sahlin, the Swedish Minister for Sustainable Development. This was a quote from 2006, a time when 26% of their electricity demands came from renewable sources, and their plans were to free themselves from a reliance on fossil fuels entirely by 2020. And it seems they’re still on track. They’ve identified the huge advantages that Sweden will have over other nations when oil prices start to rise out of control and this is driving their strategy. Makes good sense to me. A massive avoidable economic bust in the UK is looming and our government won’t doing anything till it’s too late. Sound familiar?

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We Have a Start Date!

September 23, 2010

Almost 10 months after purchasing the property, we have been given a start date by our recently chosen builders – October 5th. On this date the scaffolding will be erected, with work on the roof starting soon after. It’s a fantastic milestone – it means the design has been completed, planning permission attained, building regs passed, builders chosen, bats pacified. Looking through all that’s been done, it doesn’t seem too long. Here’s to the first brick going down!

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How to put a spin on Renewable Energy

September 12, 2010

It’s a funny thing about news. The Energy Saving Trust publishes an entirely factual, non-biased report showing the results of their study of 83 air-source and ground-source heat pumps. Thereafter follows a series of articles in all kinds of papers ranging from: 1) See, Heat Pump renewable technology is a load of old tosh, we told you so, to 2) See, Heat Pump renewable technology works very effectively and we must pursue it with vigour.

The truth is of course plain to see in the original publication, but wouldn’t it be boring to summarise it as follows:

Heat Pump Renewable Technology is very effective and a worthwhile investment but it must be installed correctly for purpose to get the best results. The biggest efficiency improvement is found when replacing oil or LPG

Not going to sell many papers am I?

Posted in Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) | 3 Comments »

GSHP Consumer Checklist

September 8, 2010

The Energy Saving Trust, at the end of its recent report which followed a study of 83 Ground Source, and Air Source heat pumps provided a list of consumer guidelines – something I’ve been looking for, for a long time. The trouble with everything else I’ve read is that it comes from a source with a vested interest. Here’s the list:

When you should consider a heat pump

  • In a well-insulated existing property off the gas network. Heat pumps have the potential to reduce running costs compared with oil, direct electric, LPG, or coal, and can provide substantial carbon savings over the lifetime of the installation.
  • In new-build properties

How to get the best performance from a heat pump

  • Make sure that your home is as well insulated as possible (with. cavity and loft insulation) before installing a heat pump.
  • Install the heat pump with low temperature under- floor heating or properly sized radiators.
  • Insist upon understandable, user-friendly controls.

What to expect from a heat pump

  • Since heat pumps provide a lower temperature heating than boilers, radiators will feel warm rather than hot.
  • A house with radiators may heat up more slowly.
  • The heat pump will run for longer hours than a conventional boiler, but if properly controlled it will switch on and off with the heating requirements of the house.
  • A properly sized and installed heat pump should be able to provide all of a household’s domestic hot water, but many systems are installed with a supplemental electric immersion heater.

What to expect from a heat pump installer
Potential customers need to ask the right questions when choosing a heat pump, as with any other heating technology. Proper installation is essential to achieve the best performance from a heat pump.

  • Ask the installer to explain how he or she has determined the appropriate type and size of heat pump for your property. The installer should explain how the heat demand of your property was calculated.
  • Make sure the installer explains how the heat pump will work with your existing heating system (including radiators and hot water supply).
  • Ask for guidance to operate the heat pump system controls.
  • Ask how often you should run the heat pump.

Finally, the Energy Saving Trust recommends that householders speak to one of our advisors before installing a heat pump. Additionally, customers should speak to MCS accredited installers and manufacturers to determine whether a heat pump is a viable option.

Posted in Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) | 3 Comments »

How do Ground Source Heat Pumps really perform?

September 8, 2010

The Energy Saving Trust (EST) today published it’s long-awaited report which studied the performance of 83 GSHP and ASHP systems in the UK over at least 12 months. Here is the report.

The EST is an impartial body so we can be pretty sure that their results are presented without ulterior motive. Some of the key findings include:

  1. There was a wide variation in the performance values
  2. Air Source Heat Pumps (mid range COP = 2.2) give only slightly worse performance that Ground Source Heat Pumps (mid range COP = 2.3)
  3. The householders reported good levels of satisfaction with their systems
  4. The heat pumps reduced energy bills, particularly when replacing oil or LPG
  5. The more simple installations performed better
  6. A major cause of poor COP is inappropriate installation in terms of lifestyle and property as well as poor training for users in how to manage the system.
  7. The best performing GSHPs had a COP of 3.2 (4 out of 54, or 7%)

Interesting snippet: “a heat pump installed in 2010 produces 9% less carbon dioxide than an average gas boiler and 28% less than an average oil boiler do per unit of heat. The potential for carbon savings will increase in future under the UK Government’s plan to decarbonise the electricity grid”.

Posted in Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) | 3 Comments »

Wind Turbine Plans Thwarted

August 26, 2010

Plans for a wind turbine in Oxford have been put on hold because the MOD are worried that it’ll interfere with nearby RAF radars. Please. The RAF should surely be capable of flying in areas where there are windmills. It’s a worrying prospect if that’s enough to bring down a £50m Eurofighter. I couldn’t help but think that this was a sneaky campaign from local NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) who are trying every trick in the book to get the idea squashed.

Posted in Wind Turbines | 1 Comment »

Daewoo Shipbuilding go big on Wind Turbines

August 16, 2010

Apparently South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding (not to be confused with the car manufacturer) are planning to grow their wind turbine business from $25m to $7.5bn in the next 10 years. That’s 300x growth and 3/4 of the current size of the company. That’s is pretty ambitious but clearly gives us some indication on how serious a business they consider it to be.

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Grand Designs: Oxfordshire Watermill

August 6, 2010

Tonight’s episode of Grand Designs followed a chap who’d decided to build a New England-style water mill in the Chilterns, on a hill and nowhere near any water, after being inspired by an illustration on a yoghurt pot. He bought the plot 20 years ago and it was his dream to build a retreat for himself and his family. It was very impressive – he seemed to do a lot of the work himself. However he seemed to get ahead of himself with regards the planning process. He build 3 ft higher than the granted planning permission allowed and then carried on building as the council complained. He looked very stressed, but he did seem to bring it on himself.

Posted in Grand Designs | 1 Comment »

Out To Tender

July 27, 2010

Our architect has put together a pack describing the project for the builders to bid for the work. It went out last Friday and it feels like a milestone. The project is really starting to feel real now! Let’s see what they come back with.

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Google buys wind farms

July 23, 2010

Just read that Google has announced they’re investing nearly US$40 million in two wind farms in the state of North Dakota in the United States.

According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), North Dakota is the number one state for wind energy potential in the United States (and has the potential to generate 1/4 of all US electricity demands). Here’s America’s top 20 states.

The two farms, comprised of 113 turbines, will generate 169.5 megawatts of energy however it will not be used to power Google’s data centers or other Google operations. It’s just a good thing for them to invest in.

Great PR for Google, and I get the feeling they actually care too!

Posted in Wind Turbines | 1 Comment »

Are GSHPs as good as they promise?

July 20, 2010

There’s a very interesting article at http://carbonlimited.org/2009/08/11/heat-pumps-emit-more-carbon-than-gas-boilers-so-why-will-they-get-the-renewable-heat-incentive/. Basically it says that because electricity from the grid is partly generated by fossil fuel power stations and that getting this electricity to your house is inefficient, the CO2 output is actually greater if you run a GSHP system than if you run a gas boiler. The author then questions why there should be government incentives to install these systems.

This might be true, but if you power your heat pump using solar panels at your property (or buy your electricity from a green-energy-only supplier) then surely this isn’t true in that instance.

Furthermore, electricity has to be the fuel of the future (as fossil fuels run out, energy has to be sourced more and more from renewable facilities which means electricity) so it must be a good thing that people are installing these systems now.

Posted in Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) | 2 Comments »

Greenhouse Effect

July 12, 2010

The garden is seriously overgrown. Fortunately it all needs digging up so that we can lay the ground source heat pump so there’s no point me trying to tidy things up. However the big glasshouse that we’ve got had loads of pretty substantial trees growing in it and they’re breaking through the glass panels. I borrowed a saw off one of our neighbours and chopped down the offending greenery. Broke a few more panes in the process. There’s a decent amount of kindling there for our wood burning stoves (next year…) Our lovely new neighbours came a brought us an ice cream which was very welcome; it was like working in a furnace.

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Wind Turbines

July 8, 2010

I’d been seriously considering getting a wind turbine for the garden to help supply electricity, particulary in the winter when there’s less sun and more wind. Then I came across a cool feature on the Energy Saving Trust’s website (Domestic wind speed prediction tool), that allows you to put in your postcode, tell them whether the area is rural, suburban or urban, and they’ll tell you how much wind there is in your area and whether there’s enough to justify having your own wind turbine.

Here’s what it said:

“Your predicted wind speed is 3.48 metres per second. Unfortunately a domestic small scale wind turbine would not be suitable for your property, as the average wind speed in your area is below 5 metres per second. The Energy Saving Trust does not recommend installing a domestic small scale wind turbine in areas with wind speeds of less than 5 metres per second. Wind speeds of less than 5 metres per second are unlikely to provide a cost effective source of electricity (based on current technologies).”

wind turbine

It's seems that one of these wind turbines won't turn fast enough in our garden...

Posted in Wind Turbines | 1 Comment »

Drain Heat Exchangers

July 8, 2010

Last night I learned about Drain Heat Exchangers – they work just like Ground Source Heat Pumps, but rather than extract heat from sun-warmed earth, they extract it from warm drain water. I need to look into prices and their efficacy, but on the face of it they sound great. We should be able to harvest the drain-water for re-use in the garden, cisterns etc, and also take the heat from it. How cool is that?

Posted in Greywater Harvesting, Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) | 1 Comment »

Green China

July 7, 2010

Despite popular belief in the UK, China is starting to invest heavily in Green Technologies, understanding that they need to value their environment if they are to remain a sustainable global powerhouse.

For example, in a new suburb of Turpan, electricity will be generated by PV power, heating and cooling will be provided by ground source heat pumps, coupled with natural ventilation and natural light in the buildings.

Addressing climate change and developing a low carbon economy have been included into China’s economic and social development plan. Hu Jintao, President of People’s Republic of China, promised at the United Nations Climate Change Summit that China will be reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 2020. Furthermore, Zhou Shengxian, Minister of Environmental Protection, said “China sets environmental protection as the basic national policy and takes sustainable development as a national strategy so that environmental protection can be transformed”.

Encouraging stuff indeed, let’s hope there’s plenty of action to back it up…

Posted in Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), Solar Panels | 1 Comment »

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