Work Help Needed

[glowworm]

Chaps i need you to tell me what you know about renewable technologies for domestic properties and who you would turn to for information and advice.With rising energy costs and fossil fuels running low the govement has taken steps for new build houses under the Code for Sustainable Homes which from April 2008 will give an energy rating to each new property built.This will be in the form of a star rating from 1(the lowest) to 6(the highest) a bit like the rating for washing machines and fridges.This will also be linked to EPC's Energy Performance Certificates for all properties.ECP's give information about a buildings energy performance and are accompanied by information about how it can be improved.

This bottom line is that all this will cost and i want your honest views as i need this information for future work.

Please be honest and feel free to ask me any questions.

[Erik]

I think it's a good idea. My next house will have R-40 walls and at least R-60 in the ceiling. Hopefully a solar power system and rain catchers too. It will cost, but I'm fine with that, and over time it should save some dough.

[Marcin]

hi.
I've been working in Ireland since 2005 as an architect and from my expirience your bigest problem(in Dublin) is work quality.
Typical big developments have very poor insulations mainly becouse of it. if you are building your own house, you need somebody with proper knowledge to checkout insulations, another way you are trashing your many

[podge]

John I’m with Erik in the fact that I think it’s a good idea, it may cost a bit more to start with but the long term benefits are going to outweigh the cost of the initial investment.
And apart from saving you money (in the long run) it also gives the feel good factor that you’re doing something to save on the old CO2 thing that all the boffins are harping on about.
As for whom I’d turn to for advice on the subject well mate that would be you as per our pervious chat about the solar thing.

[Freediver81]

I currently working on a solar enery venture, and I can tell you that the photo voltae solar energy producer for a regular home would cost around $50,000 and it would generate around 5 kilowatts per hour for about 5 hours and you would need to replace the batteries once every two years (nearly a third of the initial cost!!!).

The venture I'm working on is a lot more effective, environmetaly friendly and cost efficient in the long run, but we are still in the stage of raising funds and registering a patent.

[fcallagy]

Gloworm,
i sell the pellet stoves here in Ireland from an italian brand called palazzetti PALAZZETTI UK - Fireplaces & Stoves I have mixed views on the whole renewable issue whith a hell of a lot of misinformation and scaremongering. Two things to do regardless of what fuel you choose to do are,
1. Insulate as much as you can but bear in mind that fires etc require ventilation as do humnas so you need to allow for regualr air changes. there are heat recovery systems which are like air handling units for domestic homes that clean the air, discharge the old air but add the heat to the fresh air coming in.
2. If you are going for a wet central heating system ensure its zoned ie that you can heat your hot water seperatly and your bedrooms and your living rooms. all these zones should have room stats that are linked to a digital timer. Eg you have the heating in the living area timed to come on at 5pm so the timer says go but the sun has been beaming in to the house all day and that area is warmed up to the level of the stat the stat then tells the boiler not to come on. when the temp drops the stat tells the biler to come on to bring the temp up to the set temp on your stat.
Regardless of the engine driving it whether its oil gas or pellet thats the wet heating system best suioted for our climate i think.

Underfloor is a good source but has a longer reaction time than radiators eg if its cold today the heat is on but if the sun has been shining in the room may be too hot so you turn the heat down. when its cold again you turn it up but it takes a few hours to come up through the floor. Its a great heat in thats its even throughout the room and you can place the furniture anywhere but i feel its more expensive to run.

i am supect about solar panels at present these cost thousands to install how much do you spend on hot water? not as much as on central heating and if your copper cylinder is factory insulated and on a thermostat its cheaper again. panels imho have too long a payback (over 10 yrs) and I feel that something will go wrong that need to be replaced before that. If you are building from new they may be an option as the capital cost may not be as high as a retro fit. They may also be grant aided as in ireland and this explains why they are so popular here as you can staisfy some building energy requirements by having them on the house.

is this a house you are buying or building.

[glowworm]

Fergus thanks for your lengthy reply and maybe i should have been clearer in the begining.I do work for one of the largest manufactuers of Domestic boilers and renewables technologies(solar/heat pumps/biomass/air movemnt and PV)in europe and i was trying to get some feed back as to how people view these things.

I am having a new boiler with weather compensation and solar panels coupled to a new controller in a couple of months and i understand your views as regards to pay back periods.

Does a payback period become a major factor for people when deciding?

[Erik]

Originally Posted by glowworm

Does a payback period become a major factor for people when deciding?

I think it's combination of factors: affordability balanced with a desire to 'do the right thing'. If I had unlimited funds, I guarantee my utility bills would be '0' (or 'naught' if your on Coronation Street haha) or damn close. With that, I'll go in debt if I must to work towards that goal in the next few years. So I do the things I can afford to do- flourescents throughout the house, hang some clothes to dry, turn off lights, recycle.
So I'm not really concerned with the payback factor- just affordability upfront. If the money comes back to me, great, but I'll sacrifice to do what I believe is in the interests of others and the planet.
As a sidenote, a poll was taken in Canada last year, asking what was the most important issue, with health care, the environment, justice etc as choices. Environment was the number 1 concern, even among many card-carrying Conservatives.

[octpora]

hello from the oil sucking USA

From seeing the way that the most hardened environmental destroyers feel about their consumption, The majority of whom have money to blow anyway, many really are looking for an immediate return on their time/money investment and/or comfort factor.

For the rich, they don't want to loose the puffy pillow under their well powdered tush unless it is to get a puffier one. Sure, they will establish 'green' business practices, but the buildings they actually live in will not change unless they are getting more.

For those not monetarily endowed and perhaps indifferent, an even transition is sufficient to satisfy their desires. A new, energy efficient mechanical apparatus is a considerable purchase for some. Most of the sales and adaptations, it seems to me, might be in the new construction where financing is a given anyway and therefore not so painful, or for systems being replaced as the old one took a crap. From my perception, it seems , as others have mentioned, that a focus on a more efficient structure is the way to go. A home with thicker walls to allow thicker insulation is not really that much more to construct with planning, have a much more appealing feel due to more substantial window and door sills, and when wrapped up as a package with better mechanical units would probably have mass appeal.

But that is just from an American who drives 40,000+ miles a year.

[glowworm]

It's great to see some responses from North America but i would like to see more responses from Europe.

Europeans have very different views to oil than North Americans probably as fuel in Europe costs so much more.

Petrol is £1.04 per litre and Diesel is £106.9 per litre

This thread is about how you all perceive energy products of the future.

[glowworm]

If i've got my sums right (which is doubtfull) that makes a US Gallon $7.87 in the U.K.

[BatRay]

Originally Posted by glowworm

Diesel is £106.9 per litre

That sounds awfully high for diesel.

I understand that Europeans have a vastly different view about oil. American culture and American cities were built with the automobile in mind, and our public transit is nothing to write home about in general. Cars are almost a necessity. However, with that said, I can understand the desire to cut your dependence on oil. If I had my way, electric cars with solar panels would be widely available, and public transit would take care of much of our in-town transportation needs. As it is, the major car manufacturers bought out the public electric trolleys decades ago and junked them. We have a hard time holding onto the few forms of public transit that are left. We are left with pollution and gridlock. Yes, our perspectives are different, and that leaves some Americans wondering how it would be if we started looking into alternatives.

Solar technology is developing, and the progress is pretty remarkable. One of my relatives got a solar array for her house, and the power bill went from about $200 per month to $200 for the entire summer. It is only a partial array, but that's a substantial savings. To answer your question, pay back is an important aspect of upgrading to alternative energy. That doesn't necessarily mean the new technology has to pay itself off quickly. Customers just like to see a reduction in their monthly power bill.

I know it's kind of an outlandish idea, but some people are beginning to use green roofs, which can insulate a building, keeping it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Some major buildings in Chicago have implemented this idea, even so far as to have miniature parks on top of skyscrapers.

In my opinion, biomass is a vastly underused method of power production. Cogen plants are brilliant, and the material that they burn is extremely renewable. That is a technology that should be used more widely in any case.

Has your company looked into deriving fuel from plant matter? Some companies over here are looking into that option, and it is promising.

[glowworm]

Nice reply Batray. Yes diesel is very expensive in the UK and i do nearly 40,000 miles every year! Not quite £106 per litre but more like £1.06.I paid $130.02 for 16 US Gallons today when i filled my tank.

Yes my company is very big on Biomas and even grows it's own tree's on a 200 hecter site which are then harvested and chipped to feed the biomas boilers that heat the factory.Bio Fuels are in the infancy domesticly but the company i work for has aquired a Fuel company specializing in Bio Fuels.

Solar Thermal is the easiest way to lower fuel bills and do the best thing.Energy prices here are rising and we are running low on our own reserves of Natural Gas the primary fuel for heating here in the Uk so that means we will be relying on Russia,Iran,Qatar and Algeria for our fuel.

It is a sellers market.

[fcallagy]

sorry gloworm talk about being taught to suck eggs, anyhow perception in Ireland is that we do need to change but we are still suspect of new technologies to us. The market is being helped by grants at SEI - Home content however it has been flooded with cheap boilers with poor features and not particularly efficient models. It should have been regulated with a rating on the appliance similar to electrical goods.
I see wood logs as a viable alternative along with pellets depending on the house size but the market needs to grow the fuel supply to give punters the confidence to buy.
We don't sell boilers and hoppers yet just stoves with back boilers. We have sold a good number of units which is nice business when they retail for between 3-5000 euro however we sell the pellets as well purely to supply our customers, we also help with grants etc. A colleague up the road has only sold one stove in the same epriod but he does not supply the pellets etc so the only way i see it working is if its done as a complete package.
The fuel issue here is also being discussed along with the fact that maize and rape seed may be pushing up food prices as these areas are now being used for fuel crops rather than food crops.

[octpora]

Isn't alcohol production a biomass option in addition to being an alternative fuel?

Even the sterilization of the carb source could be carried out with solar ovens, and the little yeasties work, and then solar to distill and . Then everyone gets to have alcohol in their car! and their home! and to cook with! and If we do it right, even some vegemite/tomato/cheddar sandwiches.

Are you aware of any technology that would make the home brew a viable option (like some of us really need it to be so) for an alternate source? Or, better yet, a government and social system that doesn't feel the need to bleed its people for revenue by forming its policies around oil?

I'm thirsty...