Search results for: “feed”
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Feed-in Tariffs subsidy to be cut by more than half
Looks like the out-break of PV panels scaling up the roofs of my neighbours houses may be facing a hurdle to further progress. As reported late last week in the Guardian ‘the [subsidy] rate will be reduced from 43.3p per kilowatt hour of solar electricity to just 21p’. This information was contained in a PDF…
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Feed-in Tariffs
Whilst I have no immediate plans (or money) to install any electricity generation technology at the barn, I like to keep an eye on future opportunities and thought a review of Feed-in Tariffs may be in order. The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme has been available through electricity suppliers since April the 1st 2010. The aim of…
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Feed-in tariffs … coming soon to a roof near you!?
The feed-in tariffs scheme certainly looks to be of great interest. For the unitiated, feed-in tariffs are the governments new scheme to encourage the takeup of renewable technologies through financial benefits. These financial benefits are two-fold, firstly in the form of savings made to on-going energy costs and secondly through a payment made through the…
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Building Progress ~ April 2012
Update on building progress during April 2012… hello Amy!
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Further reflections on the national planning policy framework
I’ve been giving some thought to the mooted change in planning policy that threatens a relaxation of planning laws in relation to building on green field sites. I posted a couple of weeks ago about the National Trust petition opposing the new planning policy framework and looking for more information came across the Daily Telegraph’s…
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Working with Lime Mini-site
I’ve spent many a happy hour over the last fours years or so working on repointing the barn. If you’re interested in trying your hand at working with lime, especially doing pointing or repointing work on masonry walls, then please take a look at my pointing with lime mortar three part series that will hopefully…
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Biomass Boilers
With a small patch of woodland containing mainly young ash trees, a patch of willow around the pond and plenty of hedges I’ve long been interested in the potential for burning ‘home-grown’ biomass, from chips, through twigs to logs. So I thought a review of the domestic biomass boiler options was in order… There are…
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The Great Wall
Suffice to say the garden is a bit of a bomb site…but it’s getting better…
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Woodland Mini-site
The barn is in a rural location and sits within some land, some of the land is wooded. With a heating system consisting of solar thermal hot water panels and a multi-fuel stove, there is a need for fuel to burn. That most of that fuel should come from the woodland and that woodland be…
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Combined Heat and Power
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems generate electrical power and heat simultaneously. There are three main technologies utilised to provide CHP systems – External combustion, Internal combustion and Fuel Cells. External combustion Central to the generation of electricity is the Stirling engine. A Stirling engine operates by being heated externally and so is described as…
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Environment for Children
I was invited to a talk by Christopher Day in Cardiff so thought I’d take a look at his work to see just what he was about. Can’t say I established that fully, but I did find an very interesting article by Christopher that feeds into the research I’ve been undertaking recently into my sons…
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Step 7 = high level design
Your design ethos will be the very highest level of your design. Beneath that the next level of your design is to define the major systems, materials and design elements that you want to incorporate into your project. No need to be too specific initially … start vague and define… Here’s a checklist to get…