12 thoughts on “World Environment Day”

  1. Ian Thorpe
    June 5, 2013

    This must be a very exciting development for you. We are frustrated by the fact that, as we live in a Grade 2 listed property, we are not allowed to install pv panels either on the buildings or in their ‘curtilage’. We have a family member who has developed his electrical installation business towards air-source heat pumps, and he believes they are the future for space and water heating in domestic and business premises. In the meantime, we do our best to use as little non-renewable energy as possible.

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      June 6, 2013

      As we built a house with very high levels of insulation and an air source heat pump we were keen to generate some of our own electricity. When we were designing the house solar panels were not a viable option, this situation has now changed. We would have liked a wind turbine, but the MOD have frustrated our plans by putting a blanket ban on wind turbines in our our of South Uist claiming that they will interfere with their radar. On this I will not comment as the language would be intemperate. However I wholeheartedly agree we have to move towards the use of green energy and begin to take responsibility for the care of our planet. I’ll now put my soapbox away.

      Reply
  2. Cathy
    June 6, 2013

    Love that picture with the sun-god holding up the mini solar panels!! We have had our panels (covering our extension roof) for over 2 years and are very pleased with them – even though they haven’t generated as much electricity as the figures suggested we have saved more on our usage than than was forecast,probably as we are both at home (sort of) during the day. I would certainly like to cut down the fuel (gas) we use so a different boiler is something I would like to think about.

    Reply
  3. bridget
    June 6, 2013

    Brilliant! Could’nt be better for the day that it was.

    Reply
  4. welshhillsagain
    June 9, 2013

    Well, I came here to comment but find my husband has been before me and inevitably has said what I had to say! We love our ancient house but are also quite tempted by the idea of building something which makes best use of energy. One of my bugbears is the current total absence of connection between the regulations which support the conservation of ancient buildings (clearly a worthy cause) and the drive to reduce energy consumption. You would think they were two different fundamentalist religions right now.

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      June 10, 2013

      Unfortunately government does not not really grasp the concept of joined-up thinking never mind co-ordinated policies. Although I do not have the problem of listed building consent I am very conscious of the impact of what I do on the landscape and always do my best to minimise the intrusion. It is always difficult to balance the aesthetics with practical considerations, but sometimes practical solutions have to win.

      Reply
  5. Hannah
    June 10, 2013

    Lucky you, I dream about being self sufficient when it comes to heating and hot water. I’ve promised myself that one day I’ll get solar panels fitted. Enjoy!

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      June 11, 2013

      Thank you. I doubt if we will ever manage complete self sufficiency, but we’re working on doing the best we can.

      Reply
  6. Astrid
    June 11, 2013

    Bravo for your solar panels! A great way to Go Green.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.