Saturday 2 August 2014

More solar

We're getting ready for winter! This week we had a delivery of good, dry hardwood, just the thing to throw out plenty of heat from the wood burner come the winter months. Yesterday scaffolding was erected along the south side of the house and six more solar panels were added. We thought that we might need to boost our electricity supply for the recently converted Aga in the dull, dark depths of winter.
You'll notice that the day already looks a bit overcast.
Well, hurray, we've had a decent rainfall. It started just as the lads came down the ladder.
Things are cropping quite well from the garden but I'm sure they'll crop a whole lot better now that they've had a good drink.
Next week someone is coming to line the chimney, a job that is long overdue. Do you find that a whole raft of tasks come along all at the same time? We shall feel quite organised for a while, no doubt while another load of jobs-to-do silently musters!
Connie came round to say 'hello' and did a lovely drawing of Himself.
Doesn't he look fine!

9 comments:

  1. Smiling at Connie's drawing...

    Thanks for sharing solar installation day!

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  2. Do you have any estimates in how much power your solar panels will be able to provide you with year-round, month by month? Or is this a test it out kind of thing? (You are being more brave than us, you can tell by my questions!).

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  3. And then, will this solar power be enough on its own to power your future electric car?

    How much electricity does an electric plug-in car take to charge?

    How much will you be relying on solar vs. the electrical grid?

    Lastly, big huge kudos to you for moving ahead on this!

    Smiles to you! Your miles ahead of the likes of us who try to be green-ish!

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  4. Whoops! That's 3 comments and this is #4...

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    1. Questions, questions, Wildside, and I've not really got any well-informed replies! We have acted on a long-held wish to become green. I have been anti-nuclear for many years as I abhor creating toxic waste that has the potential to poison future generations. Neither do I like this country having to buy fuel from Russia with all that that implies. I'll look into our paperwork and try to answer some of your questions in due course.

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  5. Love this! I have been thinking more and more about solar panels, but have not yet begun to look into them. We need to reduce out electricity/heating bills and of course, lessen our footprint on the planet! you have inspired me to take a closer look into this!

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  6. We spent quite a few years looking into developments and incentives in renewables before buying our air-source heat pump and solar panels. It's a new industry and therefore developing and improving - and becoming cheaper- all the time, so the decision is when to jump in. At the moment we have the car charger but not the car! We are waiting for more vehicle choice, MUCH lower purchase price and a far more comprehensive infrastructure before we buy.

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  7. Wildside here again! Don't worry too much about answering my multitude of questions -- it is interesting to hear your backstory tho' about your decision to go solar. I have just spending too much time online of late, but also re-learning that you can just simply ask the internet anything you want to know...

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  8. You'll never know what will happen in the dead of winter, so it’s best for everyone to have a reliable heating device, to make sure they won't be affected by the extremely cold weather. It's great to see that you've prepared some countermeasures, in case your heater failed you midway. Not only did you stock up a good amount of dry wood, but you also installed a solar panel. Some might think that it wouldn’t function well during winter. But as long as you remove the snow regularly, you should be able to get a moderate amount of energy out of it. Cheers!

    Johnie Schueller @ Terratek

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