Solar Panels working - it's great

Since we've had the sensor replaced our solar panels seem to be working better than before. As well as being replaced the sensor was also put in a slightly different position, so maybe that's why.

Between May 7 and September 24 2009 the panels were working for 246 hours total, about 1 hour 45 minutes each day on average. Between 18 May and today, 28 May 2010, they have operated for 56 hours, an average of about 5 hours 36 minutes a day. In addition, the water has been getting up to maximum temperature and has been working in clould as well as sunshine.

If it goes on like this then our gas bills will be even lower, which is great news.

We just need to make sure that squirrels/other wildlife don't take a fancy to the cable again!

The Mystery of the Solar Panel Sensor

I was saying 2 days ago that the sensor had broken on our solar hot water system. Well, the guys have now been out to fix it and the problem wasn't the sensor, it was our wildlife!

The cable had been chewed through and the sensor taken away. We don't know who the culprit was, but grey squirrel is at the top of the list of suspects. But magpies or jackdaws, with their liking for shiny objects, might be possibles, although it would be harder for them to break through the cable.

The squirrels have a track reocrd too! When the power to the garage was linked to the house by a cable along the top of the boundary fence they chewed through that wire and broke the connection. Every so often there would be a bright flash outside, like someone taking a flash photo, it took ages to work out what was going on. Presumably each flash was an electric shock for a squirrel, but it happened more than once so they weren't easily put off!

Let's hope that we don't have a repeat with the solar hot water sensor. This time black cable has been used instead of white and the sensor has been tucked away a bit more.

I'll keep you posted! I'd also be interested to know whether anyone has had the same problem - please let me know.
Carol Hawthorn

Bluebell Woods

Over the weekend we visited our local woods to see the bluebells in flower - they are a bit later here than in most places, but spectacular once they are in full bloom.

What struck me was that there were more people than usual in the woods and most of those had come to see and, in some cases, photograph the bluebells. Maybe some of these people only visit the woods at this one time of year. If so, they no doubt expect the woods to be still there and the bluebells to be in flower, which gives me hope as it means they care about the future of this patch of nature.

As long as there are sufficient people who care about these iconic sights in nature then maybe they won't disappear altogether. We need lots of people to care and to stick up for their local patch when it comes under threat, which means at other times they should be able to enjoy it. In the meantime though we need our local Wildlife Trusts, the Woodland Trust and the National Trust, etc to own and manage these sites, which means funds from subscriptions or grants, so that we can continue to take these places for granted.

Connected to the sun by solar hot water

The sensor has failed in our flat plate solar panels. This event has made me realise the effect on me of having solar panels to generate our hot water. I have become attuned to how they work, almost subconsciously noting what the sun is doing when and whether there's any need to boost the hot water using the gas boiler.

It's not a case of keeping a record, using data or even feeling the pipe connecting the panels and the tank. It's not a technical process, it's an awareness of the outdoor environment.

I hadn't realised it had happened until the panels weren't working. Even though I knew the panels weren't working I got caught out and found there was really cold water in the morning. I had based my decisions on use of the boiler on the amount of sun, completely forgetting the link had broken. Normally, with solar panels, there would still be hot water from the effect of yesterday's sun. However, without solar panels you have to use your boiler every day to get hot water, so it's in use throughout the summer when your space heating is turned off.

I am really looking forward to the new sensor being fitted so that I can get back into my solar cycle again. It's about more than the savings on our gas bills, which incidentally are noticeable following installation of the panels. Payback on the capital outlay may take time, but our bills now and into the future are lower, so worth doing.

We are losing our beautiful insects

Butterfly Conservation have serious concerns about the threats to butterflies and other insects. Almost a third of Europe's butterflies are in decline and nearly 1 in 10 species is threatened with extinction. The European Red List also shows that 14% of dragonflies and 11% of those beetles that rely on decaying wood are at risk of extinction. Loss of habitat is stated to be a cause, such as loss of traditionally farmed grasslands, woodlands and wetlands.

Loss of biodiversity I think is as important an issue as Climate Change. In fact the Rio Summit in 1992 put most emphasis on the biodiversity issue, I remember being at the Natural History Museum and hearing the scientists speak who had been at that summit. Natural ecosystems and the species within them are a vital life support system for the planet. These species and ecosystems are becoming fragmented and disappearing, perhaps without most of us noticing. But we really do not know what we are losing, just how these ecosytems support us in terms of air that we breathe, pollinating our crops, and probably in many ways we don't understand.

I think for our own wellbeing it is important to connect with the natural world around us, it makes us feel better and increases our awareness of what is going on. It's very easy in our culture to live in a virtual world, where what we see and hear through electronic media seems more real than what is outside our own door.

Just making our own garden a haven for wildlife can be very rewarding. A quick walk around my own garden can reveal slow worms, butterflies, signs of a hedghog or fox, a robin having a drink, the changes in the flowers. It is easy to grow the right plants, allow a few native species in odd corners, provide shelter and not be obsessively tidy so that wildlife can share your garden.

Sharing our experience

I try to make my website useful as a resource for others by sharing my experience of installing and using different environmental measures. This week I went a bit further, I invited someone to come and see technology we had had installed in our house. I think this can be really important with environmental technologies that are not commonplace and where it's not possible to properly demonstrate them in a showroom. How do people decide whether to commit their hard-earned cash unless they can see something in action and understand what's involved?

There was a Government report a few years ago that referred to quite an important principle in take-up of any new technology, called 'I will if you will'. Basically when people see that others are taking up a new technology and that they seem happy with it then they are more likely to take it up too.

So those of you who have installed renewable technologies, water harvesting sytems used for toilet flushing, or mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, etc I would encourage you to share your experience. It's good to talk through the pros and cons based on your experience, you get to meet some nice people, and there may be things they've done that you want to find out more about.

If you share your experience with others then maybe we'll get more take up of green ideas and technologies - well, the good ones anyway.

Numbers - what do they mean?

On my website I try to include information that will be helpful to people in making environmental changes to their homes, businesses or lives. Where possible I try to include numbers to show what difference any particular measure will make, e.g. how it will reduce heat loss through your walls, windows or roof.

But where do these numbers come from and what do they mean in reality?

To what extent does people's own behaviour or even poor workmanship undermine these theoretical benefits? There doesn't seem to be much real data out there.

For instance, I quote the Energy Saving Trust advice that topping up your loft insulation to 270 mm could save you £45/year if you already have 50 mm insulation in your loft, and £150 if you have no insulation in your loft. This seems to be saying that adding 220mm to your existing insulation is only saving you £45; whereas starting from scratch with 270mm saves you £150.

How does that work? Why does that first 50mm make such a difference?

Does it matter whether the old insulation is all dusty and looks disgusting?

Is the insulation that was already installed when I moved into this house in 1994 still saving me money on my bills each year?

Do I top it up or does there come a point when I should replace the old stuff and start again?

Don't get me wrong, I do think it's the most important thing to do, to draught proof and insulate your house properly. I just wonder what's behind the numbers we all so glibly accept.

Does anyone know? I would love to hear from you.