Rooftop Solar Panels

[shaunbhoy]

Thanks all. Some food for thought.
Have to admit I am a bit sceptical as to whether or not the "Guaranteed" Govt. subsidy will stand future cutbacks.
Not planning to move from here, but the process is likely to be a tad more convoluted as I essentially have two major roof areas, with one being Thatched and the whole place being listed.
Our gas usage is far heavier than our electric too as we use it for both heating and the boiler. Might consider the heating option.

Cheers all.

[DimPrawn]

Thanks all. Some food for thought.
Have to admit I am a bit sceptical as to whether or not the "Guaranteed" Govt. subsidy will stand future cutbacks.
Not planning to move from here, but the process is likely to be a tad more convoluted as I essentially have two major roof areas, with one being Thatched and the whole place being listed.
Our gas usage is far heavier than our electric too as we use it for both heating and the boiler. Might consider the heating option.

Cheers all.

They won't install them if the building is listed or on a thatched roof, so it's a no go for you anyway.

[wim121]

Thanks all. Some food for thought.
Have to admit I am a bit sceptical as to whether or not the "Guaranteed" Govt. subsidy will stand future cutbacks.
Not planning to move from here, but the process is likely to be a tad more convoluted as I essentially have two major roof areas, with one being Thatched and the whole place being listed.
Our gas usage is far heavier than our electric too as we use it for both heating and the boiler. Might consider the heating option.

Cheers all.

Eeeep, what grade listed are you? Will they allow any panels at all?

If not, is modern insulation an option to save your gas bill a bit? I cant imagine they should refuse as you wouldnt be altering the cosmetic look of the building ....


Maybe a windmill might be good then. Wouldnt touch the property hence no permission holdbacks and you can make you money back very quickly on the DIY mill kits ...

[TimberWolf]

The objective is to substancially save on energy bills via that method at a far lower cost than PV .....







I looked in to wind and did calculations last year. Considering buying one this year.

You still get the fee in tariff price, but you can buy mills off ebay for about £300-£500. Calculating their energy output, alloowing for diminshing levels year on year, the mill has a five year garuantee on parts and breaks even after 18 months and then is in to pure profit. Most backyard mills will last just under 10 years ...

The price of wind generators always surprises me. After all at most basic its just rotors (strips of plastic) and a generator (old washing machine or vacuum cleaner motor). Okay, that wouldn't be efficient and other electronics would be needed to connect to house wiring, but still, you'd think the Chinese could knock something up for £100 or something. I wonder where old washing machine and vacuum cleaner motors end up.

[shaunbhoy]

They won't install them if the building is listed or on a thatched roof, so it's a no go for you anyway.

Not as clear cut as that though. The place was formerly two adjoining properties, only the older one being thatched, and it being the reason the whole place became Grade II listed. The other part of the property was much newer, and has both a traditional tiled roof and a fair-sized flat roof area also.
Obviously the thatched part would not be affected, and the panels would effectively be difficult to view from street level as they would be behind the thatched part, although still with a decent S-SW aspect to them.
Less concerned about the permissions than the actual savings involved.
Quite like the sound of the wind turbine, but as we are in quite an urban setting not sure if that would get a green light.

[wim121]

The price of wind generators always surprises me. After all at most basic its just rotors (strips of plastic) and a generator (old washing machine or vacuum cleaner motor). Okay, that wouldn't be efficient and other electronics would be needed to connect to house wiring, but still, you'd think the Chinese could knock something up for £100 or something. I wonder where old washing machine and vacuum cleaner motors end up.

One starter kit here for about £200 from china ...

Wind Turbine Generator Kit 500W Max 12/24V Option NEW | eBay





You have a good point though, you could build one yourself. All you need to do is coil a few wires and get some earth megnets out of old HDD's. Might be an interesting/challenging DIY job ...

[wim121]

Not as clear cut as that though. The place was formerly two adjoining properties, only the older one being thatched, and it being the reason the whole place became Grade II listed. The other part of the property was much newer, and has both a traditional tiled roof and a fair-sized flat roof area also.
Obviously the thatched part would not be affected, and the panels would effectively be difficult to view from street level as they would be behind the thatched part, although still with a decent S-SW aspect to them.
Less concerned about the permissions than the actual savings involved.
Quite like the sound of the wind turbine, but as we are in quite an urban setting not sure if that would get a green light.

Well if the council give you a green light, you could build your own solar boxes for heating and hot water ...

But will they even allow that on a tiled roof? Arent they absolute pains in the neck where even grade II listed is concerned?

[shaunbhoy]

Well if the council give you a green light, you could build your own solar boxes for heating and hot water ...

But will they even allow that on a tiled roof? Arent they absolute pains in the neck where even grade II listed is concerned?

I used to think so, but as they have quite happily given the go-ahead for almost all of my adjacent neighbours to build extra properties in their gardens, not as precious as I expected.
I will be finding out shortly as I am about to test the water in that regard with a "cunning plan" of my own, in conjunction with a builder mate of mine.



This time next year Rodders!!

[TimberWolf]

One starter kit here for about £200 from china ...

Wind Turbine Generator Kit 500W Max 12/24V Option NEW | eBay





You have a good point though, you could build one yourself. All you need to do is coil a few wires and get some earth megnets out of old HDD's. Might be an interesting/challenging DIY job ...

Hmm, very promising. Any customer reviews?

One thing I did spot though is that it's geared for 14 m/s winds. Average for UK throughout the year is 6 m/s (IIRC), and at 6 m/s that unit outputs a puny 50 watts

[AtW]

Are you guys sad geeks with no life or something?

FFS, stop posting tulip on here and start earning some money!!!