Harvesting Sunshine
My hosts here have recently installed two systems to harvest the huge amounts of sunshine that we all get here in Australia. First they installed a solar hot water system on their roof. Then just recently they installed 12 photovoltaic panels. So as well as getting their hot water heated for free by the sun, they are now generating a major portion of their electricity, in fact more electricity than they use on many days.
The hot water system uses evacuated tubes. This area is frost prone, and as well as being a very efficient system for heating hot water, the tubes are unaffected by frost. (As a bit of cross promotion you can get one of these systems at a discount through BREAZE if you live in the Ballarat region. See here: http://breaze.org.au/projects/shw/134-solar-hot-water)
One thing also to bear in mind apparently is that you should use insulation that is appropriate for solar hot water systems. Below is a picture of what they are using (with some crab apple blossoms!).
They have been able to switch off the boosting to their hot water service now Winter has ended, so now it is costing them nothing to heat their water. I know people in Ballarat with older systems who are still able to heat their water solely with the sun for most of the year.
The photovoltaic system here is very impressive! As they have the space, they have been able to install 12 panels onto a frame, which has space for more panels to be added on later. It makes so much sense to have solar panels here.
I think this is great. They are really making an effort to drastically reduce, if not eliminate, their electricity consumption from the grid. This is especially important here in Victoria, where most of our electricity is still generated from brown coal – one of the worst methods for producing green house gases. So it’s really heartening to see people being proactive and doing all they can to make a difference.
Even if you aren’t able to install these systems there is still a lot you can do to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. There’s heaps of resources out there, for example if you are renting this booklet is great: “The Victorian Green Renters’ Guide: Sustainable Living Tips for Renters”. I found this link on the BREAZE weblinks page, here: http://breaze.org.au/resources/links
And another great way to instantly reduce your carbon emissions is to buy Accredited Green Power from your retailer. Here’s a site which gives independent advice on accredited green electricity retailers, with ratings based on which make the most difference to your emissions: http://www.greenelectricitywatch.org.au/
Greg Horgan says:
My, you have been busy the past year. Loved the Blogs. Told you I would take a look.