tiffy Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Have any SF members installed solar panels or a domestic wind turbine? When watching some of these 'Build a new life in the country' programmes I often watch as panels/turbines are incorporated into the plans so I wondered if we have any such achievements in our own city. I for one would love to have these if it meant my money wouldn't have to go to extortionate energy companies. I'm aware the initial outlay costs but after a time you'd be laughing. I know some housing estate somewhere have solar panels and as such have no heating bills throughout the year, not sure if this estate is in Huddersfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIVA Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I don't know much about this first hand but I'm sure the renewable energy resource specialists at Heeley Farm could advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitcher Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I too would love a wind turbine but I think they cost around £1500 at the moment so be a long time before you'd recoup the cost..I'm told solar panels are better, pity we can't be given grants for them and you don't necessarily need sunshine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddycoffee Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I think that most people are not in a good location to make good use of a wind turbine. For a start you need a large patch of land and to be sighted fairly high up. As for solar power, this I believe is eventually more likely to be of use to people with regular sized houses, especially as the technology is further developed in the next decade. In the UK the government has really been pushing wind generation in large windfarms over all other methods, which is currently the best way to procede as far as our location and the current technology is concerned when dealing with the whole country. However due to government partnerships and investment in commercial wind farms, there is a lack of investment in UK solar energy equipment. Most equipment is currenly manufactured in other countries where the governments have been pushing that technology. I understand that Spain, Germany, Austria and several other countires have good solar power industries for this reason and we don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggi Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I don't know much about this first hand but I'm sure the renewable energy resource specialists at Heeley Farm could advise. There are some factsheets on their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonny Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 We live in a great position for both solar and wind energy (though our patch of land probably isn't big enough for a wind turbine). I wish we could afford solar panels and maybe even just a small wind machine. Anything that would provide energy through natural sources and help reduce our existing energy bills has got to be a good thing. It's about time local councils considered what each houselold could do to save energy and then help with implementing it - even if they provide the fitters and we pay for the cost of the materials it would be a help. That way they're putting their money where their mouth is as far as reducing greenhouse gases etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carltoncdx Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Have a look at at http://www.navitron.co.uk good site for solar and windpower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strix Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 am I missing something? that website is for navigation equipment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitcher Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I think that most people are not in a good location to make good use of a wind turbine. For a start you need a large patch of land and to be sighted fairly high up. There's a website (and I know I should out the link here!) where if you put in your postcode it tells you if windpower is viable or not. Ours was above the average as we live in a very hilly spot so it'd be worth it for us and like the Bonny I believe that we should be given help via labour etc given the curent climate with energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skanky Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 The island of Eigg could prove an interesting case study. They basically grouped together to provide the whole island with power - and it might be better down on a community basis rather than an individual one. They do have the advantage with wind power, but as solar is also heavily incorporated, it shows that a mix of technologies may be the way forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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