m25man Posted May 24, 2011 Report Posted May 24, 2011 For what purpose? You will be hugging trees and wearing corduroy next! We are techies here, we were put on this earth to create a carbon footprint as big a Brazil and consume several rain forests to make our next iPad...
Dos_Box Posted May 24, 2011 Report Posted May 24, 2011 We have One Planet Computing talkign at the conf about this very thing
Dom_ Posted May 24, 2011 Report Posted May 24, 2011 I support a few schools which have solar panels, they're solar-century branded, and there's a co-op logo somewhere there too... Were in before I started and I have nothing to do with them though
elsiegee40 Posted May 24, 2011 Report Posted May 24, 2011 Got them at the school where I'm governor. Installed for free on an eco grant a couple of years ago. I'm not sure that grant's going any more though.
witch Posted May 24, 2011 Report Posted May 24, 2011 One of my schools has them, under the same scheme as elsigees, I suspect.
bossman Posted May 24, 2011 Report Posted May 24, 2011 @kennysarmy: We looking at getting funding from various eco projects via our funding officer. If all goes well it will help offset some of our carbon usage on our ICT. We have already shaved around 10k per annum off our energy usage costs with various other projects around the school.
p858snake Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 The primary school I attended did it years ago when I was a student and doing a "recycling" unit for class stuff, so that was about ~9 years ago.... (scary) Although AFAIK they wern't running for a while when I was there, no idea what ever happened with it.
laserblazer Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 Forget solar panels, what we need is playground equipment that generates power. There has to be a way of tapping into all that energy. Kid sized hamster wheels, that sort of thing. Schools could make a far bigger contribution towards energy conservation by turning things off!
Andrew_C Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) Schools could make a far bigger contribution towards energy conservation by turning things off! And I told our Bursar so; quite bluntly. Hasn't stopped them going down the solar route. Planning application in for several buildings (many listed). What would have made a bigger, quicker difference, but without the razza-mataz or grants would have been the fitting of thermostats that actually work. My building of 20 labs, a lecture room, library and sundry other rooms has ONE thermostat, and no one knows where it is, or what it is set at. Consequently some rooms are cold and miserable, while others have the windows open all year to keep the heat down! Edited May 25, 2011 by Andrew_C spling
Sirbendy Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 Could be worse..you could have an intelligent building with ground source heating, aircon, a computerised building management system and the latest self actuating windows, and still have that. Not speaking from experience, honestly...*cough*
6Foot2 Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 Could be worse..you could have an intelligent building with ground source heating, aircon, a computerised building management system and the latest self actuating windows, and still have that. Not speaking from experience, honestly...*cough* We have some of those features in our Maths block. After the building was handed over to us the automated windows [open and close as environmental factors change] malfunctioned and opened the skylight windows in the atrium during a downpour. Result: Damp students and staff all round!
Gibbo Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 We need to grass more rooftops. It would create the perfect hiding place on a warm summer's day.
Jay_Jay Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 We have solar powered gates at our entrance, then our canteen has solar tubes which was funded from the eco grant.
bladedanny Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 We need to grass more rooftops. It would create the perfect hiding place on a warm summer's day. We have a green roof and I've made sure the Wi-Fi reaches it ready for this summer (the whole week of it). We're an eco school, veg patch, self regulating windows and vents, recycled toilet water etc. No solar panels though. Don't think we get enough sun here, a wind turbine would be more beneficial here at the moment.
Butuz Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 Only implement solar panels once you have done _everything_ else possible to reduce energy use. They are not a cheap or quick fix they are a good very long term way of reducing costs (i.e 10-15 years or so to pay back and a further 10-20 years of effective profit afterwards). Butuz
m25man Posted May 25, 2011 Report Posted May 25, 2011 The trouble is that most of the grants/funding for these things have all but stopped right across the EU. Germany especially had a huge boom Market for them and the EU was a goldmine to be looted. Now the recession has hit everyone hard Germany in particular has a surplus production capacity that they are keen to keep running there is also the threat of cheaper Chinese cells. I read somewhere that they have got the costs down to around $5 per watt so I'm guessing you would need to invest around £125 per PC on Solar Panels to offset the running costs? Ok these figures are numbers on a post it note but how long really does it take to get your investment back? With a heavy EU subsidy not long but without it, years I expect. Sounds like a job for an accountant and a serious spreadsheet
mpgibbs Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I know Network and Cabling Solutions in Kent sell it - may be worth speaking to them or looking at their website networkandcabling.co.uk
Disaster Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Only implement solar panels once you have done _everything_ else possible to reduce energy use. They are not a cheap or quick fix they are a good very long term way of reducing costs (i.e 10-15 years or so to pay back and a further 10-20 years of effective profit afterwards). Butuz Is right. My old man has had some installed on his offices roof. Nice bit of wedge every year though after they've been paid off.
Butuz Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) Yep and if you've got an absoloute south facing roof for example then combined with the new FITS incentives you could get payback in under 10 years if you get a good deal on the installation etc (or even better if you install it yourself and get it checked and signed off by a solar company/engineer). It really does make sense if you are not planning to move. Put it this way if I had a south facing roof I would 100% have 4kw worth of pannels on there and the sooner you do it the more you'll earn over it's lifetime. Unfortunatly I dont have a south facing roof and its a listed building, so a complete no go for renewables Butuz Edited June 23, 2011 by Butuz
RabbieBurns Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 one of our main buildings has full solar cover. Not entirely sure much about it, just found out about it when I installed anew firewall it was unable to talk to the outside world and had to unblock random ports for it. on another note, someone i know here kitted their roof out with solar, and now get a cheque every month from the electric company rather than a bill. Cost about 10kAUD to install, which was after a .gov rebate, so will still be a while before their paid off.
Greenbeast Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 As we've moved slightly off topic and gone to residential install, i would heartily recommend solar thermal. Especially if you're a bit handy. I installed my own panels two years ago and they have perfromed marvelously. For example this year i've not used the boiler (or the washing machine element) since 30th March.
CESIL Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 Unfortunately if your Headteacher is agin the idea then you won't get far... I have been suggesting improvements such as thermostats on all radiators (we have none) or solar panels on the main roofs here (all south facing with no tree in the way) and all our Head says is "Is it worth it?" I normally reply that as a tax payer I think it is definitely worth it... [edit]...and considering how many days school is closed we would be adding a substantial amount of power to the grid... [/edit]
Butuz Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 I guess if your head is incapable of thinking long term then you won't get anywhere with renewables as financially it is all long term, nothing short term. The only short term improvements would come from enhanced green image / eco schools etc. Butuz
CESIL Posted June 23, 2011 Report Posted June 23, 2011 The only short term improvements would come from enhanced green image / eco schools etc. ...but the long term savings might help to reduce the pension shortfall for the public sector...perhaps that should be my tack next time I mention it to the teachers/head
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