re new ables at home

[milanbenes]

aft all,

anybody got any re new able energy sources at home, eg,

solar water tubes

solar pv

wind turbines

etc

looking into the cost effectiveness of such investments

Milan

[EternalOptimist]

I have a small fusion reactor in my garage, it cost me £1.5k from a guy in the pub. It runs on a handful of sand a year and provides enough energy for the whole street.
Well it will do once I can get it to work

[TimberWolf]

aft all,

anybody got any re new able energy sources at home, eg,

solar water tubes

solar pv

wind turbines

etc

looking into the cost effectiveness of such investments

Milan

I think they are improving almost to the point where it may be worth it. I don't see that it would be terribly difficult to make your own wind turbine for nought though (source a suitably rated generator from a scarp yard and cobble together the rest*), or a thermal collector (paint the walls of a south facing room black). Fast growing plant stuff in the garden to burn might give you another 1/2 Watt per m^2 too. Your garden probably contains a few kilos of Uranium also.

*Will probably shake itself to bits and demolish your roof.

[KevinS]

If gas prices keep going up, ground source heat pumps will be well viable..

[Troll]

aft all,

anybody got any re new able energy sources at home, eg,

solar water tubes

solar pv

wind turbines

etc

looking into the cost effectiveness of such investments

Milan

At current prices you will not get a return on your outlay for a great many years- although I did hear that solar pv panels prices were about to drop significantly due to manufacturing capacity increase.

Best thing to do is take the cost hit and kit out your house in all the latest gubbins, then setup yourself as a renewables consultant, get a gang of migrants acting as your install team and watch the money roll in

HTH

[Chugnut]

If gas prices keep going up, ground source heat pumps will be well viable..

They'll have to go up an awful lot.

I looked into these as an alternative for an oil boiler. The only way a quote was acceptable was if I could afford (space) to dig 3 x 42m long x 1m deep x 1m wide trenches in my garden with 160m of pipe in each, with a 2m gap between each trench. Couldn't put them in a field either due to planning permission not being granted since it's agricultural land. Boreholing or alternative heat collection pipe was prohibitively expensive.

They're ok for a new build, insulted to the max, with underfloor heating throughout, otherwise the operating costs can be very rude.

A mate has got 40 solar-tubes on his roof, and they're doing a very good job. Hardly a need for the boiler to come on at all during the summer months. A whole solar heating system can be done for between 2-3k.

[ThomasSoerensen]

there is biofuel in my trousers

[rootsnall]

A mate has got 40 solar-tubes on his roof, and they're doing a very good job. Hardly a need for the boiler to come on at all during the summer months. A whole solar heating system can be done for between 2-3k.

Any links ? Info ?

[KevinS]

They'll have to go up an awful lot.

I looked into these as an alternative for an oil boiler. The only way a quote was acceptable was if I could afford (space) to dig 3 x 42m long x 1m deep x 1m wide trenches in my garden with 160m of pipe in each, with a 2m gap between each trench. Couldn't put them in a field either due to planning permission not being granted since it's agricultural land. Boreholing or alternative heat collection pipe was prohibitively expensive.

They're ok for a new build, insulted to the max, with underfloor heating throughout, otherwise the operating costs can be very rude.

Bugger!! I knew the costs for the borehole would be higher but not that bad (we were considering it for when we do the extension and putting underfloor heating in the new kitchen)..

[DaveB]

From what I can gather the only way to make it work financially atm is in an eco-friendly new build using straw bales rather than bricks/blocks. The money you save on the building materials offsets the cost of putting in the extra eco bits to the point where it can pay for itself in a few years, rather than decades.

Bricks cost around £190 per pallet of 400. Average cost for a 3 bed semi containing 11,000 bricks = £6000.

Straw Bales cost £1.50 each. 1 straw bale = 120 Bricks = 92 bales = £138.

This doesnt count costs for morter, rendering labour etc. You need to clad or render the bales outside which adds to the costs but bales are quicker to build with which custs down on labour costs.