06-01-2012, 10:00 AM
Gosh, all this puts my backwoods log fed system in the dark. In response to Ed's question about in effect modifying his gas boiler (insulation upgrade) then I personally would not touch anything in a gas appliance except user defined operations as defined in the book of words. I can certainly see where Ed is coming from as regards energy costs, it's a real pain, If the whole nation went solar then a solar tax would follow at some point to be sure. As regarding diy solar it would be an idea that would appeal to many including myself, when I collected our wood stove from the suppliers warehouse/workshop I got chatting to their solar installation engineer, he pointed out to me that they don't use conventional plumbing pipes/fittings etc due to the extreamly high temperatures the modern solar panels can attain, all their pipe work was s/steel with a special high temp insulation used to insulate them, no copper in sight.
For the future then solar combined with other sources is the probable way to go using mass hot water storage, and passive systems, these systems are already on the market but are not always compatible with the average housing stock/property, this is I feel where the problem really lies, our houses in general are very poorly designed when it comes to heat retention and solar gain wether the solar system is dynamic, passive or whatever.
To many vested interests I fear. Energy conservation is the way forward for the consumer.
Lawrence.
For the future then solar combined with other sources is the probable way to go using mass hot water storage, and passive systems, these systems are already on the market but are not always compatible with the average housing stock/property, this is I feel where the problem really lies, our houses in general are very poorly designed when it comes to heat retention and solar gain wether the solar system is dynamic, passive or whatever.
To many vested interests I fear. Energy conservation is the way forward for the consumer.
Lawrence.
