Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 2400 Location: Milton Keynes
Posted: Wed May 04, 05 10:19 am Post subject:
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?
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 ..
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
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. It is currently sitting in the middle of the lounge awaiting the summer holidays ) Then at the bottom of the cylinder is a second "eco" coil that connects to the solar collector (that's panel to us downsizers ).
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
Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 7184 Location: South Kent
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 05 8:01 pm Post subject:
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*...
That's why I'm still using a trad. cylinder set up - I want the satisfaction of building it myself though I accept that the true ecologist would want something more useful.
It is currently sitting in the middle of the lounge awaiting the summer holidays 
) Then at the bottom of the cylinder is a second "eco" coil that connects to the solar collector (that's 
).
though I accept that the true ecologist would want something more useful.
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