Niche-tec

Before you can find a solution you need to know what the problem is. We have solar panels. How much power do we generate? How much of that do we use locally? How much goes back into the Grid?

There is a need to quantify these figures (so being an engineer) I have created the CU monitor to measure these electrical data. Any heating solution is likely to need electrical power and knowing what we can source from the solar panels is a factor we need to quantify.

Currently our heating is performed by a our gas boiler. We may use the fuel burnt by this to approximate our future needs, or at least how much energy it took for a year. How much gas did we use in heating the house and cooking our food in a year?

The Government is trying to find ways to make fossil fuel heating in homes a thing of the past. But the way forward is proving unpopular https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-55020558. With the Government’s commitment to renewables it’s only a matter of time until it becomes punitive to do nothing https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/heat-in-buildings. So I am taking some positive action. My mission is to find a cost effective way forward.

The current energy state of our house:

• 10 years ago I joined the minority of UK householders who paid to have solar panels fitted. These have generated power steadily and reliably for all that time. The FIT (Feed In Tariff) paid for the installation in about 6 years. The FIT payments are due to continue for another 10 years.
• We have gas fired central heating.
• Our house has cavity wall insulation and 10cm of loft insulation.