Renewables: October 2008 Archives

On boards.ie there is a good discussion going on about HRV systems, with some sound advice on selecting the systems and why they are vast improvement on the hole in the wall ventilation.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055350227

I was very disappointed with the Sunday Times supplement on ECO homes (26th October 2008). My overall impression was that claims were being made with out substantial evidence. Statements that claimed to cut oil bills by one third due to solar had me scratching my head.

The wind turbine section was inaccurate and did not reflect the range of turbines out there or critical factors such as placement, wind monitoring, yaw, need for turbine in an open space, why both smart and net metering is needed. I shuddered when I read that Wind Turbines can be clamped onto the side of a house.

Interview with an Energy Agency and their unbiased opinion would have made for better reading. Facts and figure with indepth analysis was sadly lacking

The Sunday Times needs to up its game if they are to be taken seriously

A neighbour and I were discussing wind turbines the other evening and how selling back to the grid is not really an option until smart and net metering is introduced. An obvious solution to him however would be to divert any excess energy produced by the wind turbines into electrical storage heaters.

This idea has a lot of merit, especially for 6 months of the irish weather, Summer months might be an issue but wind speeds are generally not so high.

The following article/thread on boards.ie provides a detailed overview as to how someone built their own buffer tank, imported a polish gassifier log burner and combined it with his oil burner system so as to reduce his use of oil.

Good description and plenty of photos.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055389164