Airtight homes.

[peter]

I've never understood the filling in of wall cavities. The gap is there for a reason. 

It should not be filled in.

The airflow through it should be slowed down by substances that breathe like rock wool.
A lot easier in a new build, in an existing wall there could be other problems like a faulty damp proofing course.

[Motherwoman]

It was all the rage back then to have foam pumped into your walls, now of course they ring you about solar panels. Not against panels in theory just think they look so ugly on a property, the installation can damage a roof and you've just granted someone a 25 year tenancy on your property!

I usually let the unsolicited telesales person whitter on for a bit and then ask which bit of the thatch they recommend I put it on.....

MW

[Ricard with an H]

I would love to have an array of solar collectors but not on roof, apart from spoiling this lovely old building and the whole scene in this valley I would mostly be producing electricity when I need it the least.

How about a nice brilliant white plastic double glazed conservatory or a few windows (Vomit) And yes as Peter points out the cavity between the inner and out walls should never be compromised by filling it with foam which negates the reason for the cavity. In modern construction the insulating medium if fixed to the inner wall by a plastic disc slid along the ties to hold the insulation back and stop it bridging the cavity, even incorrectly positioned ties can cause damp to trickle from the outer wall to the inner by tracking along the ties.

[robo]

We only have solar electricity in spain and at this time of year it can struggle to keep the batteries topped up in england with out the back up of the nation grid I think it would be a problem in summer it would work

[Ricard with an H]

The marketing for domestic solar collector performance is nothing short of fraudulent though I do think there is a case for this technology, wind turbines are loosely the same in that there is a case for the technology though because all the double-glazing pimps jumped on-board people with limited intellect on practical matters and the inability to do the required arithmetic are being poorly advised by people out to make a quick profit whilst things are hot.

I'm regularly cold-called by solar marketing people who want to rent my roof-space, in theory it's a nobrainer but as already pointed out they can easily ruin your roof with a poor installation and who has the time and tenacity to go through the small print designed to get then out of most sticky corners.

Small print is designed so you won't read it, often if you do read it and if you understand their terminology you'll find you're getting a dodgy deal.

Six years ago I bought a small wind turbine and solar panel to use with my motorhome as a back-up when I'm in the wilds. The wind turbine proved to be mostly useless inland though fantastic if I was on the the coast and in the clear. Best was that the wind could blow all night and the nighttime wind was generally more steady in its direction-stability. The solar panel was good if the sun was out and you pointed the panel at the sun, on an overcast day it was useless. Even worse is that most motorhome owners have their panels mounted on the roof and pointing at the sky above. You need to be on the equator to get performance from a solar collected mounted that way. Also, the sun moves through 180 degrees azimuth at best and only marginally above 45 degrees elevation in the UK at an average.

I better get my coat.

[Motherwoman]

We're fighting the proposal to site two 380m turbines next to Parkhurst Forest, on the leeward side . They would also be in the flight vacinity of a colony of Bechstein bats, it's not the blades that get them but the changes in air pressure which can burst their lungs.

The company involved knocked on the door of one of the nearest houses and asked to put a noise level monitor in their garden, to which they agreed. The company wasn't to know he was an eminent scientist with an extensive knowledge of electrical generation..... he has pulled all their surveys to pieces. They also weren't to know that a guy on the other side of the turbines is an expert on bats...

The people we are most sorry for are the elderly couple (retired forester) who are so close to the proposed turbines that if it fell in their direction it would land on their front path.

If you take away the subsidy the sums do not add up.

MW

[Ricard with an H]

If you take away the subsidy the sums do not add up.

MW

The attraction of the subsidies and EU targets means we have these monsters emerging on our landscape with little or no planning consultation with residents initially then just going through the motions reluctantly. The last turbine to be approved was yet again an application from a wealthy land owner who had the cheek to claim the electricity produced would benefit the community.

Our connection to the grid is via overhead cables and what appears to be an antiquated system so poorly it's unreliable even during summer. Being without electricity and/or phone/internet connection is a regular occurrence here yet we have wind turbines sprouting up within a few miles. It doesn't say much about the supposed rural initiative with lots of elderly and disabled living at the end of dirt tracks having their services cobbled Back together after each windy few days or a bit of snow.

More and more people are selling up, their property is added to the holiday homes catalogues which remain empty most of the time so when a phone line goes down or the electricity is cut only one person might phone up to complain. We rely on bottled gas, burning oil, wood and coal products yet we have wind turbines.

We are considering a generator.