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Our first attempt at growing more of our own vegetables got off to a great start when Anuradha organised four raised beds in the sunniest part of the garden. But although planting happened in the Spring and the rabbits were kept off with netting, we were defeated by the weeds. Now Franny and Adam have […]
Time to do the calculations again after almost 2 years of operation of the solar PV. We’ve written to our suppliers to ask why last year’s output (1.5Mw from the top 16 panels) is 20% down on what they projected/promised. What’s also puzzling, as you can see from this reading, is that even at noon […]
Of course, maintaining our pool at all (originally a water tank) is hardly green. But given that mixture of indulgence and health rationalisations, has the enclosure we’ve now put up made it greener or not? The enclosure came directly from the Czech Repubic in a giant Ikea-style flatpack. Phil put it together with a little […]
A demonstration at the Bletchley Park Computer Museum. This version of the original Domesday Project was put together with the BBC.
LEARNING POINTS Episode One Section 1: Breathe Don’t underestimate how very difficult it is to break the news. Make sure you do the training! The bereaved will remember every word you say, forever, so it is vital to get it right. You will need to be in as calm a place as you can be […]
If you’ve been keeping up, you’ll know that Ardenham Energy have generously agreed to replace our original solar inverter, since the shaded panels were pulling down the performance of the whole array of 16. So in the pouring rain the scaffolding was put up again – amazingly in only about 3 hours. Then the installers […]
We received an invitation from the energy company Segen to visit a wind turbine that has been installed near us. I was particularly interested to see it and get some practical information, with the idea that perhaps we could have a turbine in the clearing at the top of our wood, if it were on […]
We were so moved to come across this tiny piece of evidence that greening has its own power – in spite of everything. And reminded of the lines from Yeats: While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey, I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
As well as waiting for the new inverters, it’s clear that we can prevent a lot of shading by trimming a few of the trees. So our friendly tree surgeons came in and cutting a few laterals opened up a surprising amount of sky. We’ll start measuring the impact in conjunction with the new inverters […]
The first 3 days have been very sunny and have produced a total of 26 kWh. This seems disappointing and doesn’t suggest the system will achieve the promised results over the year. Clearly shading from the trees is a major factor. The attached montage shows the shadowing against the output (on the main inverter only […]
It seems all solar installation firms are very busy, and it was mid-May before Ardenham could find a slot. On day one scaffolding was erected on the whole length of the south side of the house. The plan was to put the 16 panels on the highest part of the mansard roof. The following day […]
We’ve been thinking about the economics of putting PV panels on the roof, particularly to offset the power requirments of the ground source heat pump, which takes 2.8 kW when it’s running. Although we are getting this electricity from Good Energy who use only renewable sources, it still costs a lot and anyway the capacity […]
Two Sri Lankan women, one Tamil and one Sinhalese, reflect on the tragedy unfolding in Sri Lanka and the feelings that they share across the community divide. A conversation filmed in 2009 at OneWorld UK.
To the new Prius we’ve added excellent bike racks at only £65 each. They hold the bikes really well, so now we’ve been able to get beyond the impossible local hills to find some really nice cycle tracks. Feeling much better and a little fitter after this week’s eco holiday.
We’ve been keen for a long time to install a wood-burning stove to replace the old aga. The problem was always going to be the solid concrete chimney breast built in the 1930s. In the event it took two very persistent workmen from the Czech Republic most of a day the hammer through a big […]