It's ooooor oil

[The AuldYin]

I deal with this stuff for my employer and we are swimming in funds to go green,but in most cases still the gas fired boiler is still the preferred option at the moment,you dodged a bullet with air source …very temperamental at least the system we had was,I would doubt GSHP would be viable on one domestic dwelling ,if you have a row of maybe 10 houses to gather the heat collectively.

Solar would only heat hot water I would assume and PV to supply power but that seems to have fallen off the green radar at the moment,we’re now getting info on hydrogen boilers going forward,biggest pain is supplying power to EV chargers as the SG keep throwing money at us to install them in all our sites….a lot of people making green noises but seems to be a space between infrastructure and quality systems just in my experience…..

If you don't mind me, asking how do you ken this stuff?

[Mudskipper]

If you don't mind me, asking how do you ken this stuff?

Working in facilities management,every project is energy saving driven ,and being around people who know far more than me and picking up stuff…..not an expert by any definition….

[islaydarkblue]

Islay ,the timescales you are referring to are probably correct however they really only need UV to operate nowadays so which elevation they are mounted isn’t such a big issue ,new build now have 30% renewables which is usually solar and I have seen them on NE facing roofs.

On one of our large sites the savings from GSHP were genuinely unbelievable compared to what we had ,payback was estimated at 11 years and it broke even within 4 but that is a huge site not domestic ,air source in theory is great basically reverse refrigeration but as I said the installation was horrendous maybe better now…..

Thanks for your post and information.
I cannot see solar panels facing North East generating much electricity as it is only in the middle of June that the sun rises in the North East.
Over ten years ago there was an explosion of the installation of solar panels on the roofs of houses on Islay because a local person was employed on a short term contract of a year to encourage local residents to install them.
One of my friends installed solar panels on his roof. However during a storm his solar panels were blown off his roof and hit the wall of a house situated over 100 yards away from his house. Fortunately this happened during the night otherwise it could have killed someone if they’d been hit by these flying solar panels.
In 2002 the new Gaelic College on Islay had solar slates installed on part of the roof to generate electricity. Whilst the slates look like ordinary slates apart from them being a slightly lighter colour in practice they have proved to be a disappointment when it comes to generating electricity. The cost of the new Gaelic College was paid with taxpayers money.
In 2005 a 6KW wind turbine was installed on an SSI next to the Port Mhor centre in Port Charlotte. The electricity generated from wind turbine can barely power the lights in the building. The wind turbine was paid for by taxpayers money.

[Returnofrros]

I deal with this stuff for my employer and we are swimming in funds to go green,but in most cases still the gas fired boiler is still the preferred option at the moment,you dodged a bullet with air source …very temperamental at least the system we had was,I would doubt GSHP would be viable on one domestic dwelling ,if you have a row of maybe 10 houses to gather the heat collectively.

Solar would only heat hot water I would assume and PV to supply power but that seems to have fallen off the green radar at the moment,we’re now getting info on hydrogen boilers going forward,biggest pain is supplying power to EV chargers as the SG keep throwing money at us to install them in all our sites….a lot of people making green noises but seems to be a space between infrastructure and quality systems just in my experience…..

That's quite interesting.

When I said to the woman who was up doing survey that I wouldn't replace boiler and rads with own dosh in case govt changed rules 're not being allowed to sell house with a gas boiler....she said "ain't gonna happen this country can't go green, smoke and mirrors"

[Returnofrros]

This is a subject that I know a bit about because from 2004 until 30th November 2006 I was a member of the Islay Energy Trust steering group. On 1st December 2006 Islay Energy Trust came into being with the steering group being disbanded the night before.
Ideally solar panels should be installed on an area of roof that is south west facing and there has to be enough space for a minimum of 2.8KW of solar panels. However there is a house in the former Elgin Terrace area of Dundee which has solar panels on the roof which are facing East. Goodness knows which firm installed these solar panels but they must have been desperate for a sale.
A ground source heat pump is very expensive to install and you need a large garden to do so. Ideally ground source heat pumps should be installed when a new housing development is being built.
About 15 years ago a housing association built a small housing development in Bowmore, Isle of Islay and ground source heat pumps were installed when the houses were being constructed with taxpayers money paying for the cost of the development.
However there was one small problem. The contractors installing the ground source heat pumps made a mistake which resulted in the houses being freezing cold in the winter months and boiling hot during the summer months.
The contractors had installed the ground source heat pumps the wrong way round.
I only found out about this mistake as I knew the local electrician on Islay who was awarded the contract to fix the ground source heat pumps to ensure that they worked at the correct time. The housing association attempted to cover up this fiasco as one of the Argyll and Bute Councillors on the board of this housing association lives on Islay and represented the Kintyre and the Islands constituency.
Air source heat pumps. Several weeks ago I read an article in the Sunday Times newspaper about how long the savings from installing ‘green’ equipment to help save the planet such as solar panels, insulating your attic and hot water tank would take to recoup the cost of your outlay.
According to the article an air source heat pump is £68 per year more expensive to run than a gas boiler.
I know several people on Islay who about ten years ago installed an air source heat pump. I do not know how successful they have been but the fact that I have not heard anyone boasting that they have saved a fortune using it compared to an oil fired boiler (there is no mains gas on the island) makes me think that air source pumps are not all they are cracked up to be.
It had an interesting time as a member of the Islay Energy Trust steering group seeing how much money was squandered on ‘green’ initiatives which never happened.

Good post islay

[islaydarkblue]

Do energy bills charge the same amount for the amount of carbon that they create to provide the power. For example does a kilowatt hour of gas heating make as much carbon as a kilowatt hour of electricity? If there is a difference, and it seems logical to me that there will be why not look at replacing the sources of energy that generate the highest carbon output. That's why nuclear power would be best.
, I think!

I am sorry but I cannot answer your question. I know one thing that gas central heating is far superior to oil fired central heating. Another problem with oil fired central heating is that you have to keep checking your oil tank to make sure that is does not run empty which is not a problem with gas fired central heating.
A former golfing friend on Islay used to work in the management side of British Nuclear Fuels.
He told me that a pebble bed nuclear reactor with non nuclear buildings had been developed in from memory South Africa which was suitable for places with a small population.
At the time I was a member of the Islay Energy Trust steering group
At the next meeting I suggested that Islay Energy Trust could install a pebble bed nuclear reactor with non nuclear buildings situated behind Bowmore which is situated in the centre of Islay.
The female secretary of the Islay Energy Trust steering group just about ‘laid an egg’ when I put forward my perfectly possible suggestion.
This is the problem that we are up against. Nuclear power has an unnecessary bad press because people wrongly associate nuclear power generation with the nuclear bomb.

[islaydarkblue]

That's quite interesting.

When I said to the woman who was up doing survey that I wouldn't replace boiler and rads with own dosh in case govt changed rules 're not being allowed to sell house with a gas boiler....she said "ain't gonna happen this country can't go green, smoke and mirrors"

Thank you for your information.
It is time for people to tell the truth about the future of gas boilers instead of pandering to the climate change ‘experts’.
The latest fuel to save the planet is hydrogen powered boilers.
Being a member of the IET steering group has proved very useful for topics like this one. We were advised at a steering group meeting in 2005 that a person living in Portnahaven on Islay was trying to source funding to investigate using hydrogen as a source of power. This person did not get funding and that was the end of the project. Nobody spends their own money if they can get the taxpayer to pay for their project.
Over 25 years ago there was a wave power bus operating on Islay.

[The AuldYin]

Working in facilities management,every project is energy saving driven ,and being around people who know far more than me and picking up stuff…..not an expert by any definition….

I have a daughter who has a masters in sustainability engineering and now doing a PHD in chemical engineering. For the PHD she does work for the government, submits papers etc. She is working on some kind of kit that can be added to your gas boiler that will allow it to run on Hydrogen. It's fascinating stuff but I understand absolutely **** all about it.

[Mudskipper]

I have a daughter who has a masters in sustainability engineering and now doing a PHD in chemical engineering. For the PHD she does work for the government, submits papers etc. She is working on some kind of kit that can be added to your gas boiler that will allow it to run on Hydrogen. It's fascinating stuff but I understand absolutely **** all about it.

Your daughter is clearly operating at a level or ten above me !!! My understanding of hydrogen boilers is that current fittings can be adapted to run on natural and hydrogen gas ,however I’ve seen others that are a fuel cell creating electricity ,your right it can be quite interesting but in my case it’s usually one party saying this is the way to go and the other saying no no that’s shyte go down this road ,doesn’t seem to be any clear roadmap or strategy….

[BCram]

I have a daughter who has a masters in sustainability engineering and now doing a PHD in chemical engineering. For the PHD she does work for the government, submits papers etc. She is working on some kind of kit that can be added to your gas boiler that will allow it to run on Hydrogen. It's fascinating stuff but I understand absolutely **** all about it.

Hope she makes something that works! Made in Dundee at the Michelin Parc would be awesome.