Renewable energy from solar energy and woodfuel
by Angus, 5 April, 2012, 17 comments
People respond emotionally to wind turbines but seem happy to see their neighbours installing solar panels. This acceptance of solar made me keen to install solar panels at home, which we have just done.
The process has taught me a lot, not least because it showed me how ignorant I was about the economics of domestic energy use - whilst we all know the cost of petrol few of us are aware of the price of a unit of domestic electricity - maybe physical volumes are easier to understand than something that goes down wires and is measured in confusing units.
Our 19 solar panels produce about 3.5 kilowatts, so if our annual production is about 1,000 hours we should produce 3,500 kwH of energy which turns out to be a high proportion of our domestic useage. Many British homes consume about this amount each year, so if I am able keep our consumption down we might even become net exporters. Read more...
