Renewable Matters

rayh

As a relative novice to Boards.ie I am a little confused as to the content of this the Renewable Forum. According to you Charter the content, but not limited to the following.
• HRV - Heat recovery Ventilation
• Wood Pellet boilers/stoves/burners
• Multi-fuel stoves and burners
• Heat Pumps - Geothermal and/or air-source
• Solar panels - Water heating and PV cells
• Domestic Electricity Generation - Turbine, windmill, etc .
From my observations a considerable content seems to be devoted to solid fuels, back boilers and fossil fuels systems. I am at a loss to know how these matters can be considered against the Charter for this forum on Renewable.
In a recent post I was rebuked and charged with ranting when I suggested that before we proceed to install fossil fuel systems we should consider these systems within the wider context of the future energy and CO2 emissions implications.
Is there something I am missing?

copper12

Rayh
I owe you an apology for my last post I hope you accept my apology
I hope you don’t take any offence by my next few comments.
You need to come down from your high horse .
People in this forum, are real people, just trying to get by; so it’s not what you say it’s the way that you say it .
I have no doubt you are passionate about the environment
You say you are confused about this forum renewable energies.
We cant just take one giant step; and change over to green energies; I sure you are aware of the huge cost, involved, to any one trying to introduce these theologies. Yes we can all change; and we all have to change; our ways if not for ourselves then for our children and grandchildren. some of us have been doing so long before it was fashionable. I no longer worry about the world I live but I do worry about the world my grandchildren’s son’s and daughters’ will live in.
The reason you were rebuked in your resent post was because your contribution, had nothing’ or little’ to do with the post . And while you were very articulate’ you were not very easy to understand’ so plane English pleas, so even people like me can understand; what it is you are trying to say, without having to open an dictionary . I don’t mean to be disrespectful .
I try and practice what I preach’ many years ago’ I changed all my lighting to energy saving bulbs; they were probably; five time the cost of what they are now.
I started making bio diesel; about four years ago’ I am using it in home heating’ and the family car’ and a van.
I Planted hedges around my site; not because it was cheaper’ but because it was better for the environment’
It’s a lot easier to look at a wall; than to try and maintain 200 metres of hedge; but it’s helps keep me healthy’ and takes only two days .
So rayh; a gently push’ rather than a shove’ if you want get your point across
I will respect you more for it

muffler

rayh wrote: »

As a relative novice to Boards.ie I am a little confused as to the content of this the Renewable Forum. According to you Charter the content, but not limited to the following.
• HRV - Heat recovery Ventilation
• Wood Pellet boilers/stoves/burners
• Multi-fuel stoves and burners
• Heat Pumps - Geothermal and/or air-source
• Solar panels - Water heating and PV cells
• Domestic Electricity Generation - Turbine, windmill, etc .
From my observations a considerable content seems to be devoted to solid fuels, back boilers and fossil fuels systems. I am at a loss to know how these matters can be considered against the Charter for this forum on Renewable.
In a recent post I was rebuked and charged with ranting when I suggested that before we proceed to install fossil fuel systems we should consider these systems within the wider context of the future energy and CO2 emissions implications.
Is there something I am missing?

Right, just to explain. First of all I shouldn't have to do this and secondly your query could have been dealt with by PM. But as you pointed out you are relatively new so we will give you a bit of leeway here.

This forum together with the Arch Tech forum is a sub forum of Construction & Planning forum. Depending on what topic is thrown up people here will offer comments, advice, opinions etc on that specific topic. All comments posted should be relevant to the topic but in saying that it is difficult to stay "on topic" all the time and that is why we can tolerate a few stray comments now and again but only when we think that the original issue is being addressed by other comments or that someone will post appropriately and bring the discussion/debate back on topic again.

We have a regular core of people here who are all professionals and they give up their time to help others with offering advice and opinions and discuss and debate the various topics that arise. In the thread you referred to we had 2 people with simple requests of how to get improved heating for elderly relatives. You went completely off topic and your comments would have been more appreciated in the green Issues forum. i make no apology for you being "rebuked" as you put it. I have a job to do and I do it to the best of my ability.

I would hope that you will follow the lead set by others and continue to post here but you will have to stay on topic and avoid preaching about other matters that are of no consequence to the thread, the forum or the people who post/contribute here. The charter you refer to is not the be all to end all you know. We, the moderators, have to deal with a lot of problems and it doesnt help anyone when we see entire posts that are off topic.

Now strictly speaking this matter should have been dealt with either by PM or in the feedback forum. I trust this has answered your query.

rayh

Thanks Copper12 and Muffer for both of your contributions and I am sure it will take me some time to get my head around all the issues raised.
Copper12 I do accept your apologies, but I am not too sure if I know why you are apologising.
Yes you are correct I have a high horse in respect of how our society views the future challenges with respect to energy and CO2 emissions.
In 2004 as part of a Sustainable Communities project we undertook an energy audit of our community (just under 500 dwellings) and resultant on the findings we sought and received funding to upgrade 12 dwellings from SEI under its House of Tomorrow programme (required >40% reduction in energy).
We have now completed this programme at a cost to the community of nearly €200k ranging from €5k to €70k and 2 issues have become abundantly clear to me;
• The challenges of reducing our energy and reducing our CO2 are not as daunting as we may have envisaged. Very significant savings in both energy and CO2 can be achieved at little cost and in particular in relation to insulation. Almost 80% of the savings on our project was achieved by insulation alone while the other end of the scale we had one house where we reduced the energy load from 407kWh/m2/yr to 78kWh/m2/yr and another where we reduced the emissions from 14Tonnes/CO2/yr to less than 3T/CO2/yr.
• Poor Incremental decisions – Never before has it been so clear the targets we must meet with respect of our use of fossil fuels and carbon emissions and we will most likely reach these targets sometime in a series of increments. In our project we had 12 different decisions yielding different costs, different energy and emission results. Generally the cheaper costing decisions yielded the higher saving per energy or CO2 unit, but in each case they will have at some point to make the next move, so regardless of whether we decide to make a series of small decisions or a lesser number of large decisions. The key point is that we make each decisions being mindful that we do not inhibit the next stage in the process.

It is difficult to cover such a large issue like this in a brief presentation like this and hope I have put some clarity and or justification on my “high horse”.
Finally Muffer, who or what is PM?

muffler

I will answer the easy part first. PM = Private Message (or Messaging). Click on a users name and you will see an option in the drop down menu to "send a private message to XXXX". By clicking on that you can send a message to another user which is totally private. We dont even have access to PMs.

Now the slightly more difficult part. rayh you will need to drop this compulsive habit you appear to possess about changing the world. Your post above typifies all that is wrong with your posting habits. We dont need or want rants, lessons, dictations (call it what you will).

All we ask is that you stick to the topic.

sydthebeat

i must admit i find rayhs last post most interesting....

perhaps rayh, you could start a new thread and deal specifically with the ideals of upgrading communities and your experiences with same...
i would have many quesions myself, such as how much help / aid / advice did you get from SEI?? was it a one way struggle or a two way partnership?

what measures did you take to get a dwelling from 407 to 78 kw/yr/m2??

are you constantly reviewing and recalibrating results??

muffler

sydthebeat wrote: »

i must admit i find rayhs last post most interesting....

perhaps rayh, you could start a new thread and deal specifically with the ideals of upgrading communities and your experiences with same...

Not a problem with that at all but it will go to the green issues forum though if his previous posts are anything to go by.

Do-more

Sorry Rayh if your already aware of it, but it might be helpful to make you aware of the Green issues forum which is probably more suited to the topics you are looking to discuss.

copper12

rayh wrote: »

In 2004 as part of a Sustainable Communities project we undertook an energy audit of our community (just under 500 dwellings) and resultant on the findings we sought and received funding to upgrade 12 dwellings from SEI under its House of Tomorrow programme (required >40% reduction in energy).
We have now completed this programme at a cost to the community of nearly €200k ranging from €5k to €70k and 2 issues have become abundantly clear to me;
• The challenges of reducing our energy and reducing our CO2 are not as daunting as we may have envisaged. Very significant savings in both energy and CO2 can be achieved at little cost and in particular in relation to insulation. Almost 80% of the savings on our project was achieved by insulation alone while the other end of the scale we had one house where we reduced the energy load from 407kWh/m2/yr to 78kWh/m2/yr and another where we reduced the emissions from 14Tonnes/CO2/yr to less than 3T/CO2/yr.
• Poor Incremental decisions – Never before has it been so clear the targets we must meet with respect of our use of fossil fuels and carbon emissions and we will most likely reach these targets sometime in a series of increments. In our project we had 12 different decisions yielding different costs, different energy and emission results. Generally the cheaper costing decisions yielded the higher saving per energy or CO2 unit, but in each case they will have at some point to make the next move, so regardless of whether we decide to make a series of small decisions or a lesser number of large decisions. The key point is that we make each decisions being mindful that we do not inhibit the next stage in the process.

Why didn’t you just say that in the first place
If your first post was in this tone then myself and others would most likely not have had a problem with
Instead it was confrontational
You are correct is saying that insulation is the way forward and if this is what you meant then just say so
Generally the cheaper costing decisions yielded the higher saving per energy or CO2 unit
To me and you this is plain to see but for others they are more likely to be impressed by sales talk and install an evermore expensive heating system that supposedly will save them money and help the environment
When in fact they will make little difference to the environment; but a big difference to there pocket
It’s not what you say
It’s the way that you say it

rayh

Muffler – It is now abundantly clear to me that we are at great distances and that there is only one inevitable outcome for which I do not intend to offer any challenge. However I am concerned that my posts seem to have been poorly delivered or otherwise and for this I must apologise.
With respect to the PM issue. Is there somebody that I should contact as I do not have any issue with anybody or what was said, but I would like to have resolved any outstanding issues before I conclude my contributions to this forum?

muffler

rayh, I think you may have misunderstood my previous comments. To put it simply if you post in the RE forum then you can start threads and respond to threads/posts regarding any of the topics covered in this forum. If you want to discuss the environment then you should post in the green issues forum.

I certainly dont want you to walk away from here. Id prefer if you stayed around and contributed to the forum and I know you are more than capable of doing that. As I said earlier all I want is for you to stay on topic.

Regarding the PM issue you mention Im sorry but I dont understand what you are saying about having to contact someone. If its of any help you can send a PM to me if you wish.