News
Alvesta and Claremont Homes
Alvesta is pleased to announce it has just completed its largest ever commercial contract with Claremont Homes – a large nursing home development in Chichester where we have installed underfloor heating and solar panels to reduce running costs in the years to come.
Alvesta and Pearce Construction
Alvesta has been awarded a contract by Pearce Construction, one of the largest house builders in the South West, to create five homes (the first for Pearce Construction) which comply with the new code for Level 3 Sustainable Housing.
This requires that houses are 25% more energy efficient than the most recent 2006 building regulations.
Alvesta will achieve these savings using air source heat pumps, solar water heating and underfloor heating.
1970's style 'council house' conversion
Alvesta is pleased to announce a contract with Trans send and North Devon Homes to convert a typical 1970's style 'council house' into a modern 21st century house utilising a low temperature skirting radiator system from Italy called Climaboard, a thermal store and a heat pump mounted externally.
Temperature recordings have been made throughout the house beforehand for 3 months and will be made for 3-6 months afterwards.
The owner of the house was in fuel poverty before the conversion, spending over £1000 per annum on fuel and the house was still cold through the winter. This is the first recorded transformation of a council house from fuel poverty into affordable sustainable housing.
The wind and the William
With all the sobering news lately about global warming and war, it's important to remember all the positive things that are also going on in the world at any given time. Case in point: the story of intrepid Malawi youth William Kamkwamba who, despite having no education or training, recently engineered and built a windmill that powers his entire village. It's certainly the most inspiring story we've read this month, and we think you'll agree.
After having to drop out of school due to lack of funds, William Kamkwamba from Malawi decided to learn as much as he could from books that had been donated to his primary school's library. One of the books detailed how to build a windmill that generated enough electricity.
With much trial and error, some local materials, and an investment of about 16 dollars, William constructed a windmill that could generate enough energy for a few light bulbs and a radio. While a few bulbs might sound insignificant, the difference changed William's and his family's life entirely. Instead of using expensive paraffin candles, which produce smoke and irritate the eyes, William and his family now use the energy generated by the wind to light up their house. The engineering youth also hooked up a car battery to his generator to use as a backup in case of a non-windy day.
The 12-meter tall windmill (it was originally only 5 meters) is made out of scrap timber. The blades, originally made from PVC, now steel, power a bicycle dynamo, the type that power a bicycle headlamp, which in turn provides electricity to the battery. William uses this energy for his house, as well as to help others recharge their batteries. Just recently, he moved from a car battery to a deep discharge battery, which will help improve with the power storage of his house.
You can read Kamkwamba's blog for updates on the windmill and his other big plans.
Story from http://gristmill.grist.org:80/story/2007/7/11/154632/450
Case Study: Wind turbine installation, rural Wales
The turbine is a 10kW 6 blade VAWT on a 9 metre single mast and was installed on a smallholding just outside the village of Cilcain in Flintshire, North Wales. This village lies in the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and although supportive of alternative energy, because of the sensitivities of the location, the local planning authority insisted on a single mast and that we painted it in a colour of their choice.
The owner has already invested in other renewable technology in the form of a ground source heat pump and photovoltaic panels and this new investment was to secure not only a large proportion of the power supply to the farm but also to generate some revenue from selling power back to the Grid.
The installation involved getting a 60 foot articulated lorry through a small village and down some narrow rural lanes. This was completed in a few hours thanks to the skill of the driver, some gentle pruning over overhanging trees and co-operation from the local residents many of whom came to see what was happening and voiced their support. Once on site the installation onto a base previously prepared by ourselves took about 8 hours.
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Wind Turbine Installation - Alvesta HQ
The installation of the wind turbine at Alvesta HQ has been completed, see pics below.
This complements the range of other operational renewable energy sources at our base at Mullacott Cross, Ilfracombe, North Devon.
At the HQ we also have heat pumps, underfloor heating and solar panels. Practice what you preach, the proof is in the pudding! (visit www.alvestaltd.com for more info)
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Final stage
A taste of things to come...?
There are many reasons that people cite in favour of the use of renewable energy solutions: environmentally friendly; self-sustainability; financial advantages. Well, how about another? A recent article in the Times reported on an occurrence that may become all to familiar in the near future due to dwindling fossil fuel stocks.
"Hundreds of thousands of people were hit by electricity blackouts yesterday (May 28th, 2008) when seven power stations shut down. The unscheduled stoppages were regarded as an unprecedented sign of the fragility of Britain’s power infrastructure.
Operations were cancelled, people were stuck in lifts, traffic lights failed and fire engines were sent out on false alarms. Householders were unable to use any appliances or make phonecalls as the blackouts hit areas including Cleveland, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and London."
Click here for the full story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4016552.ece
Power from the People
Wouldn't it be great if you could create your own energy to power your home. If you had access to an unlimited supply of (almost) free energy. No more bills (within reason).
Given the right conditions, economic, political, etc., this could be a reality in the future. Not only will we be able to power our own homes, we will be able to sell power back to the grid, and also know that what we do benefits the environment as a whole.
Government intervention could helps us, the people, over the first hurdle to make this notion a reality.
The excerpt from the article below (guardian.co.uk) elaborates on 'government intervention'.
British buildings equipped with solar panels, mini wind turbines and other renewable energy sources could generate as much electricity a year as five nuclear power stations, a government-backed industry report has shown.
A large-scale switch to micro renewable energy units could save 30m tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of nearly 5% of all the emissions produced in generating UK electricity, the study found.
The report, commissioned by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, said if the government offered the right combination of loans, grants and incentives, nearly 10m "microgeneration systems" could be installed by 2020, significantly reducing Britain's emissions and energy costs.
It estimated there are nearly 100,000 of the units installed in Britain, including about 90,000 solar water heaters and limited numbers of biomass boilers, photovoltaic sunlight-to-electricity converters, heat pumps, fuel cells and small-scale hydroelectric and windpower schemes.
If no action is taken, said the report, Britain could expect about 500,000 micro generators to be installed by 2015 and 2m to 3m by 2020. But with the right incentives, nearly one in five buildings would in effect become mini power stations, feeding electricity into the grid or generating enough to be largely self-sufficient. Some of the greatest gains would come from combined heat and power units, which are suitable for large blocks of flats, estates and businesses.
Britain has been widely criticised for not doing as much as other countries to encourage a mass market for small-scale renewables. Germany has invested nearly £10bn in photovoltaic sunlight to electricity conversion schemes, and Sweden has made it very attractive for consumers to install heat pumps.
The small-scale energy revolution would depend on the government stimulating the market with consumer-friendly schemes with a financial incentive. "For widespread uptake of microgeneration to occur in the UK, sustained policy support will be required," the report said.
The authors proposed a variety of incentives including a "feed-in" tariff scheme, which would reward people who invest in producing their own electricity. A similar scheme has been introduced in most European countries, and is part of the Conservatives' energy policy.
Other possible incentives include grants to cover 50% of the initial costs of equipment and installation. If the government subsidised half the cost of some of the technologies, Britain would save 14m tonnes of CO2 a year, or 3% of all emissions, for a cost of about £2.2bn a year by 2030.
A third option would be to provide discounted low-interest "soft loans" payable over 25 years. This, suggested the report, would lead to 8m units being installed by 2020. But it cautioned that the life of the loan would probably exceed the life of most power units. It also proposed a scheme whereby consumers would provide some of the cost of an electricity-generating boiler in return for a long-term reduction in their power bills.
The report has been published at a critical time, with the government's energy strategy to be outlined soon and microgeneration targets to be decided later in the year. With rising energy prices, and the Conservatives suggesting they will encourage microgeneration projects, the government is likely to adopt some of the suggestions. Energy minister Malcolm Wicks said: "Microgeneration has the potential to make a significant contribution to energy use in the UK and, combined with energy efficiency measures, will help towards reducing our carbon emissions. The concerned individual can take an active role in the battle against climate change."
The industry called for binding targets on microenergy, which it said would lead to greater certainty for investors and lower costs for consumers. "The report shows that with the right policies, citizens can save money and make a difference to tackling UK emissions," said Dave Sowden, chief executive of the Micropower Council. "Setting binding targets would play a substantial part in fulfilling the prime minister's pledge that all homes should be low-carbon within the next decade."
The report did not consider the problem posed by planning requirements. David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Wicks have all had applications to erect wind turbines on their roofs rejected by planning officers..gif){kind=small}
This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday June 03 2008 on p9 of the UK news section. It was last updated at 09:15 on June 03 2008.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/03/renewableenergy.alternativeenergy1
