Random Renewables Thread

Yeah, I suspect your right, but what's the alternative then? Don't give them money they need? Let them go on the capital markets and source more expensive money that way, which will in turn mean (even) higher rates in 5 years time? That doesn't seem appealing to me either.

Sinks of the Health system where 1/3 of the money spent is on "management".

I don't see a good way forward. Everyone knows we need infra upgrades, that is clear as we're running a grid that was primarily setup in the 80's & 90's. I think this is a case of us just having to suck it up. Fortunately with all the government handouts for "energy crisis" and what not, FIT, etc I've not had a bill in 2 years.

Getting in the Solar and a battery has already nearly paid for itself in 3 years - lol.

Hi, yeah interesting stuff, we had a new boiler 2 years back and the installer left it on the "ECO" setting of 80deg. As soon as he left I turned it down to 60deg.

Now if only I could get my Climote controller to integrate with HA (although I can do most things on the Climote APP) I could try running the sort of things on the video by just adding a couple of wireless temperature devices on the flow and return pipes.

The green agenda is full of untruth. Zero emissions cars charged by electricity which is anything from 30 to 80% fossil generated. 'Sustainable' (I hate that expression) HVO diesel made from 'waste' cooking oils and animal fats, with absolutly no transparency about where all the 'waste' palm oil is coming from.

Here's one for you, 'Ear to the ground' presenter Darragh McCullough writes in todays indo about his experience with his new EV, and his range and charging issues. He recounts that he paid €12 for a 100km fast charge in the Barack plaza, under pressure of time and range. It just occurred to me that herself's c220 can easily do 60mpg , or 4.7L/100km, on that kind of motorway run, thats100km on €8 of diesel at €1.70/litre, about €4.50 before tax. If the Electricity from the charger was taxed at the same rate. It would have cost Darragh €20 or more for his 100km. The whole issue of motive energy taxes is being ignored, but even now it doesn't makes sense if you aspire to commercial fast charging to replace fuel pumps. Add equivalent VRT on the vehicles , and no one would buy one.

Government will not give up this revenue stream any time soon. If you make the point about home charging from your own solar, that too may not be exempt, no more than burning your own home made diesel or petrol (if it were feasible) for road use would br exempt from excise and taxes. The room is bursting with elephants.

Well this is an interesting one

Disappointing lack of fires despite the thumbnail, but the quick version is that putting a mirror beside your heat pump to reflect sunlight onto the condenser might improve efficiency

I imagine any reflective material should work, I'm pretty sure I've seen some shiny outdoor paint for flat roofs that could work

One thought I had was, what if you put some dark foam insulation or something under the heat pump as well. If you can get the angle right you might make a little solar oven thingy just beside your evaporator which stores some heat from sunlight

I do have some questions about heat pump design now, like why aren't the condensers better placed to take advantage of radiant heat? Instead they put the exhaust fan at the front to blow freezing air at me when I'm trying to drink a cider on the deck

Maybe a fan pointing up and an all round condenser would be a more optimised design 🤔

Yeah, bought an Aeno last year to try out, 700w I think.

First used it in large, open-plan kitchen/living area, didn’t really make much difference.

So put it out in a garden office. Made a difference here as I had a convection heater that was heating the air above my head while my feet would be cold all day from lack of movement sitting at a desk. With the IR heater at ground level though, it was heating my legs and the desk itself, so provided a more comfortable heat for cold fingers and toes.

Also if I was in and out of a shed throughout the day, I’d go with IR as convector heat will disappear every time the door is opened while radiative heat will make you feel warm as soon as the door is closed again, provided the heater is left on.

Exact same here. My large garden room / office (25m2 internal space) has no heating. A single IR panel (€100 or so) under my desk on and off does the job of keeping my feet warm while the room itself stays a comfortable enough 16-18C or so just from the inverters / batteries working away

Nah, the true energy revolution is to design a wind turbine powered by people complaining 😂

Well that just means you need planning permission for anything outside that, and given the push for renewables it's probably the best chance to get it.

Maybe if there's some hedging to block the visual impact then it's more likely to get planning

Also I could be wrong, but isn't a field covered under different rules than a domestic property? Certainly those solar farms popping up everywhere don't seem to be having any issues getting planning permission

On a tangent to this, has anyone experience with renting out roof space (a large farm shed) to a solar company?

A relation was asking me about panels recently, he has a shed near mine with an ideal south aspect. Rough calcs had the roof taking 80 panels, 4 rows of 20, so I guess around 35kW potential, with 28-30kWh achievable going by me production

He's not looking to invest in setting it up and there would be minimal power usage from the shed, so rental would be the main income off it.

I think the biggest cons/challenges to this might be the network line not being suitable for taking that much generation. That and having to sign up for a 20-30 year lease with God knows what clauses on it.

He's just looking to rent out the roof, would leave the technical side of it to the taker.

He was asking more about the pros and cons of renting a roof, typical rent, length of contract and any restrictions that it may cause etc.

Yes, to go above 16kva MIC (which you need before MEC) is very expensive and involves ground work.
12kva to 16kva is not that expensive.