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sean

Someone else making small domestic turbines

This lot look interesting too:
http://www.renewabledevices.com/
sally_in_wales

Like the minimalist look- can't see many neighbours complaining about those! Did you find out how much they were?
sean

£1500+VAT. 1.5kW output. Estimated lifespan 20 years.
Res

They look quite sexy. Would'nt mind one of those. Must write to Santa.
sally_in_wales

I know we've got some people here that understand the technical jargon that goes with these- would love a considered opinion about whether these are 'a good thing' or , relatively speaking of course, a lot of cash that could be better used elsewhere. The blurb on the website makes them sound cost effective over their lifetime, especially if you work on £1500 = 75per year over 20 years-, but I don't know enough about how these things perform in real life to be able to judge. Does look as though these type of roof mounted turbines are becoming more accessible to those of us who just want to do our bit though Smile
tahir

I've asked these questions on a website that is full of people that have the qualifications to understand the cost and environmental benefits (or otherwise) of small scale wind turbines but no one has stepped up to clarify matters. I'll keep you posted though.
sean

The article suggested that this would generate £300 worth of leccie/year.
Res

I suspect it might tip me shed over though Shocked
nathanbriggs

Expert - ish

Well I'm a power expert, and turning into a micro wind expert because of my assocition with www.windsave.com

So my standpoint would obviously be YES they are worthwhile, but I can back it up with hard data.

We have our latest generation wind turbine system arriving this week for installation it will be on my weblog here after thursday 5th www.nbriggs.blogspot.com if you are interested.

if you have any questions ask away here or pm me
nathanbriggs

Expert - ish

Blue Peter

Very interested.

So, what sort of hard figures can you supply?


Peter.
nathanbriggs

Obviously we have numbers on:
average installation costs (for micro)
average production based on rotor size and wind diagram
Carbon recovery and ROCs (changing daily at the moment with the legislation)
Pay back and ROI
and countless others as pertaining to our own systems and several DIY sites we have investigated.

The problem with all these "initiatives" is that the numbers get inflated until they start to become incredible, hopefully getting them from a source will help!

As a greenie myself I am all for saving energy but I think in the UK that personal wind is one of the best possible paybacks, closely followed by solar heat. The advantage of Micro Wind is that more people have a chance of fitting a pole than building a solar store.
sally_in_wales

Can you do us an idiots guide? I'm not really all that technically challenged, but I do have problems following the specs on tehse things, and I'd love an 'if you wanna achieve this- look for a model that does such and such' type guide.
tahir

nathanbriggs wrote:
I think in the UK that personal wind is one of the best possible paybacks


I've got plenty of that, how do I save and store it?

Seriously though I'd love to see more data on the windsave and also how planning authorities are likely to view them
Nanny

wind turbines

my husband found this site for anybody thinking seriously


www.clear-skies.org/index.aspx

looks like grants my be forthcoming ..............
Blue Peter

nathanbriggs wrote:
Obviously we have numbers on:
average installation costs (for micro)
average production based on rotor size and wind diagram
Carbon recovery and ROCs (changing daily at the moment with the legislation)
Pay back and ROI
and countless others as pertaining to our own systems and several DIY sites we have investigated.
.


I think that lots of people would be interested in those numbers. Will you be putting them in your blog? or can you provide them here?

nathanbriggs wrote:
As a greenie myself I am all for saving energy but I think in the UK that personal wind is one of the best possible paybacks, closely followed by solar heat. The advantage of Micro Wind is that more people have a chance of fitting a pole than building a solar store.



What do you mean by solar store? I thought that you were referring to solar water heating, but do you mean something else?


Peter.
Rikki

It seems to me that wind turbines are only cost effective - both in terms of personal finacial out lay, and in terms of CO2 saved - if you look at really large turbines shared by serveral households such as a village or town. The £1500 roof top ones will take over 30 years to recoup the cost of installation, and have an expected life of ..
tahir

Blue Peter wrote:
What do you mean by solar store? I thought that you were referring to solar water heating, but do you mean something else?


I've been speaking to an architect recently who's designing a passive solar house for someone that uses the loft space as a giant heat exchange unit (water pipes) and the foundations to contain a huge heat store (a large water tank). I think that's the sort of thing he's talking about
Rikki

When I was investigating new hot water cylinders for connecting to my soon-to-be-built solar hot water panel (collector is the proper term) I ended up with a traditional type but much bigger (250 litres) and with two coils. The primary - half way up - is connected to the boiler (sorry, will be connected to the boiler. Embarassed It is currently sitting in the middle of the lounge awaiting the summer holidays Laughing ) Then at the bottom of the cylinder is a second "eco" coil that connects to the solar collector (that's panel to us downsizers Rolling Eyes ).

BUT there are other types available, called thermal stores. In these the coil is right at the top and connects to the mains cold water feed (so no cold cistern in the loft) and the body of the tank connects to the boiler. The stored hot water heats the water flowing through the coil when a tap is turned on, but can also be used to flow through the radiators. I toyed with this as a way of using solar energy to heat the house as well as the domestic hot water, but couldn't see how to include the solar collector in the scheme of things.
dougal

Rikki wrote:
I ... couldn't see how to include the solar collector in the scheme of things.
Just as with ordinary hot water tanks, there are different types of thermal stores and heat banks.
You can find them equipped with additional coils to which solar collectors, wood-fired back-boilers, etc can be connected. They are a splendid way of integrating multiple heat sources. And allowing boilers to run for long periods at maximum efficiency.
But with a DIY collector, you aren't going to be gathering worthwhile, useful or even significant quantities of heat during the central heating season... no way are you going to have a surplus of heat beyond your hot water requirement! And unless you have underfloor heating, central heating requires that the heat be available at a high *temperature*...
Rikki

That's why I'm still using a trad. cylinder set up - I want the satisfaction of building it myself Confused though I accept that the true ecologist would want something more useful.

Do you have a functioning system yourself? Question
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