Asbestos removal

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Rory

17 April 2013

Afternoon site meeting with Martin & James from ARCO2 / Eco Fab and Simon (Project Administrator) and myself.

Site refresher for Martin & Simon. First site visit for James.

Discussion re the best approach for what to dig out first, where to create a crane location etc.

Then back to my place for and around the table good catch up on where ARCO2 / Eco Fab are with regards to the detailed specification & drawings, so that we can firm up on pricing and get to a consequent contract etc.

It looks like ARCO2 / Eco Fab are a few weeks off the detail, so I’m going to crack on with Mark and others with the soft strip and then demolition.

16 April 2013

A pre demolition survey for asbestos showed up that the 2 loft water storage tanks were asbestos. As were the floor tiles in the entrance to the front.

These bits of asbestos were removed by Alan. Thanks Alan !

Getting Wired

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Rory

This post has been moved to a this “Cables & Pipes” page.

Soft Strip ….. continues a bit further

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Rory

15th April 2013

Mark continues to crack on with taking the house apart.

It is looking like the tongue and groove floor boards are too well nailed and joined and dry to get up without them all getting wrecked / broken.

There has been a good recovery of the roof tiles that are from 2mm to 6mm thick.
– maybe a series of table place mats and coasters ?

This morning, the 15th of April 2013, although most of the tiles were off at the front, from the back (see picture below) it was till a bungalow with a roof.

Walking up the road in the evening, the roof was gone!
– and the photo opportunity of Mark in the chair was too easy.

Pretty dramatic from the rear garden:

and a great view from roof that will, roughly be the height of the bedrooms.

From the rear fields, you can only just pick out the bungalow past the rear garage.

Lighting

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Rory

This post has been moved to a page on lighting.

Soft Strip ….. continues

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Rory

9th April 2013

Well the skirting boards are off, so are all the internal doors and there seems to be a challenge with evolving ideas, to get up the tongue and groove floor boards without wrecking them.

It looks like we may have found a home for a bunch of the skirting boards, internal doors and some of the external doors and windows. A friend is renovating a property in Truro and is going to measure them up 🙂

The loft insulation is being extracted and re-distributed around the village to other properties, new and old.

A lot of the wood, that can’t be salvaged is being broken down and used in my multi fuel burner to heat my current house. Better than landfill or on-site burning it.

Some, but not all of the tiles look set to be looking for a new home.

Soft Strip

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Rory

4th April 2013

Almost exactly 2 years to the day since I put in the first few calls to buy Silver Spray the “soft strip” has started.

Mark is taking the bungalow apart, so that as much of the current building can be recycled or reused as possible.

In just a day, the door frames, skirting boards, carpets and a whole lot more is stripped out.

It turns out there are foundations !

Too much nails and such like to let Pebbles inside the building:

Thermodynamic Panels :: Happy Irish Customers

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Rory

The Irish firm LVP Renewables have been installing Thermodynamic Panel systems in Ireland for a while. Their site has a big list of happy Thermodynamic Panel customer testimonials including:

We are a family of six-two adults and four children ranging in age from 13 to 21 years …. Having now had the system in for 10 months we are delighted with it and there have been no problems to date. We are never in need of hot water as we have had a constant flow since the systems installation in October 2011

Their FAQ page has a few interesting items:

Does this system need a back-up heating system during the winter?

No, this is the only solar panel heating system that will provide you with 100% of your hot water. Also our cylinders come with a mini-emersion inside that can be turned on manually if needed. However if you would like to incorporate a back-up heating system there is a provision for a secondary heating coil in most of the systems we provide (call for specific information on tanks). If you decided that you wanted the secondary coil in the tank then we would advise you to put a manual leaver on the system and only use it if necessary.

What is the difference between an Energie Solar Panel System and Solar Tubes or Plates?

Unlike traditional solar panels (tubes and flat plates) the Energie system offers:

No unnecessary annual maintenance checks. In order to maintain the maximum efficiency of tubes and plates they must be serviced annually.
LVP panels are lightweight (weighing only 8kg) and roof structures do not need to be reinforced. Conventional solar panels are heavy-weighing anything from 40-300kg
Energie Solar Panels absorb heat from both sides unlike traditional panels which only capture radiation on one side
One Energie panel (80cmx200cm) will provide a family of up to 6 people with all of their hot water needs. With traditional solar a large amount of panels is needed to provide similar quantities of water
Energie panels need no back up from oil or gas. Other solar panels need an auxiliary energy source when the sun isn’t shining or when in high demand

Is the system provided with any device to treat bacteria such as Legionella?

Yes. In accordance with current legislation, it is provided with a circuit to rise the temperature up to 70 Degrees, which is manually activated and automatically disconnected

What happens if we install 2 panels on the roof?

The heating time will be reduced by half

Thermodynamic Panel Case Study :: Cork (Ireland) water and space heating

Their site also has case studies including one for a central heating and domestic hot water system in Cork (so SE Ireland).

Most are about water heating only (no heating) with positive comments.

The Cork water and space heating was for:

235 sq m 2 storey stone cottage with a large extension that has:
– 4 bedrooms, 3 bathroom (1 en suite), 1 kitchen, 2 sitting rooms, 1 large hallway, 1 utility.
The Silver Spray property is 281 sq m (4 bedrooms ….
Radiators (not under floor heating)
– average water temp to the radiator circuit 45 degrees C input, 35 degrees average return temp.
– the radiators give the property a 1000 litre water buffer !
300 litre water tank.
I can’t work out what the figures mean !

Thermodynamic panel :: A happy user

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Rory

One of the long GreenBuildingForum threads on Thermodynamic Panels has had some comments from somebody that installed one on their property in Northern Ireland, 18 months ago:

“I have had a thermodynamic panel installed for 18 months now and so far I can’t find fault with it.”
“It provides all the hot water requirements that is asked if it.”
“I have never switched on the built in immersion even when it has been -10 degrees outside and the panel has had an inch of ice on it.”
“I couldn’t justify solar as lets face it who wants something that only works well 7-8 months out of 12 then you need an additional piece of kit as back up, or pay £3000 per bole hole for a ground source heat pump when you don’t have enough land for slinkies or have their own personnel forest to supply a log boiler.”

Installed System

£4,100
Panel
280 litre cylinder
pump and fittings
County Down, Northern Ireland
“Currently there are 4 showers every morning, plumbed to dishwasher and washing machine, and and usual washing in the sink when items don’t fit in the dishwasher.”

Beware of Thermodynamic Panels ?

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Rory

I’ve been sent a scan of a one page article in the Clean Slate publication by the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT, www.cat.org.uk) that has the title:

Think Twice about thermodynamic panels

Compared to an air source heat pump, a Thermodynamic panels is a heat pump connected to a flat panel instead of the heat exchange unit.

The article is concerned that:

Panel collectors might work well in some conditions, but badly in others.
That air flow can be poor around them,
That they can ice up.
That there are no studies on year round performance to back up marketing claims.*
They don’t qualify for the Microgeneration Certifciation Scheme (MCS). So, pending any updated clarification as what they are (heat pump?) they won’t qualify for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

* I’ll have to check, but a few companies and Internet sources do seem to have put their year round data on-line. OK these aren’t independent studies, but there is data about.

If the panel is running at low efficiency, then you have a low or zero coefficient of performance or COP. The article points out that consequent running costs at such times could be more expensive than gas (or even oil).

The report quotes an “Energie” thermodynamic system consuming 4.1 kWh of electricity to heat 250 litres of water from 10°C to 55°C with 15°C ambient temp. The 2.7 COP is “no better, financially or environmentally, than a modern gas boiler).

They say a conventional solar water heating system would use less energy and so cost less. The report references the Energy Saving Trust field trial ( I Google found the link).

The reports concern is that:

In winter a boiler would be more cost effective.
In summer a conventional solar water heating system will be better.

A conventional solar hot water heating system uses almost no fuel.

The CAT advice sheet on conventional solar water heating systems is here.

Confused Conclusion for Silver Spray Water Heating

The end solution for Silver Spray isn’t clear.

No mains gas.
Next to the sea (so an air source unit will fail and need major component repairs and replacement within 5 years.)
Cliff top and narrow plot, plus slope etc means ground source by buried pipes or vertical drilled holes both seem unrealistic.

BUT:

There are going to to solar elec PV panels.
The house is going to be highly insulated and sealed, so there will be a low space heating requirement.

So if Thermodynamic panels can have a good chunk of their winter electricity from the PV panels, they could still be the best solution.

Fire place texture

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Rory

In a cafe chat with designer Pete today, he pointed out that making the fire place / fire breast from, or clad in a more textured material will add a lot to the rest of the downstairs that will otherwise be modern clean lines.

This is also likely to make the TV in the fire breast more visually hidden !

Similar to what has been done to the entrance fire at the Scarlet Hotel.

Other images below.

I like the idea 🙂