Posted on Jan 31, 2009 under Electricity, Solar power |
I never really looked into getting PV solar panels because of the great investment cost. Although, in the long run, the solar panels will pay for themselves and can even make you a nice profit. Last week I stumbled upon a website with solar power companies that are looking for roof space to install their solar panels. They could, of course, just buy or rent a big patch of land and install their solar panels there, but due to insurance issues, this isn’t a very interesting option for them. So, they are constantly looking for roof space to install their solar panels on.
As we happen to have a lot of roof space on our unused greenhouses, renting out the space to a solar company could proof quite profitable. The three biggest solar power companies in the region are all interested in our south facing roofs, so we’ll just have to wait and see who can offer us the best deal. The first of the three companies is coming over for a chat next week.
Posted on Jan 07, 2009 under Off-Grid, Self Sufficiency, Water |
Looking for ways to lower water usage in our household, I decided not to use the big rainwater tank we have. The tank is just too far away from the house. A considerable investment would have to be made to be able to use the water in the house. Still, we want to use less water, after our little pipe problem, more then ever.
The best place to start saving precious tap water would probably be the toilet. A few gallons of water are washed down every time you flush the toilet, often needlessly. Saving water and money can easily be achieved by reducing the amount of water that it flushed down the toilet.
A standard toilet will empty it’s water reservoir each time you push down on the lever or yank the chain. All we have to do is modify the internals of the reservoir a bit to let the toilet flapper cut off the water flow as soon as you let go of the handle. The exact modification needed depends on the type of flapper installed in your toilet.
Some flush systems have a floater that keeps the toilet flapper open. If the floater is attached to the flapper, you might be able to remove the floatation device altogether. When the floater is integrated into the flapper, drilling a hole into the float will disable it. You could also add some steel washers or other weight to counteract the floatation device.
The flapper in our toilet is the float and it couldn’t be drilled without making the flapper leak, so I had to add some weights to it. The toilet now only lets the water flow as long as you hold down the handle, as soon as you let go the water stops. This saves a lot of water and still leaves you with enough flushing power for the big boys.
Some companies sell special weights or other devices to achieve the same effect, but I think it is ridiculous to buy these if you can simply use some old junk to accomplish the same. The reason you want to use less water to flush your toilet is either because you want to save money, live a little greener or both. Not buying a commercial device for this purpose will save you money and save the environment because you will not have the packaging to dispose of.
Posted on Jan 03, 2009 under Water |
We’re trying to use less drinking water this year, but a small disaster happened which will not make it very easy to get a lower water bill this year. When we came back from celebrating the new year with family, I did my usual inspection round through the greenhouses. Upon entering the greenhouses I was greeted by the sound of splashing water and the floors where flooded.
While we where out the temperatures dropped to about -10 and this caused some of the water supply pipes in the greenhouse to tear wide open. It’s amazing how much force freezing water has. Steel pipes ripped open and water faucets cracked right off. Once the ice had started melting the next day, the pipes sprayed water into the greenhouse like crazy.
The previous owner always kept the greenhouses heated throughout the year, so he never had problems with the above-ground water pipes in the greenhouse.
The total amount of water we have lost to this little disaster is 18,000 liters, about the amount we would normally use in 45 days time. We where actually thinking about staying with the family a day longer, I’m just glad we decided to go home after all.
I’ll probably be busy most of tomorrow, trying to get some running water into the house again.
