Jane Smith
Member
- Messages
- 190
Nick Parsons, at the South Yorkshire Energy Centre, has asked us to allow visitors up to see our wind turbine during the "Sheffield is My Plant" week. Here's what should be appearing soon on the SYEC website, at this link.
http://www.syec.co.uk/planet.php
We live entirely off-mains and for nearly a decade we depended on a diesel generator for our electricity, which ran for five and a half hours each day in order to charge up our batteries and power our house. In the summer of 2005 we put up a 6kW Proven wind turbine on a 9m mast, and since then it's not only provided most of our electricity, it has also provided so much heat that we've hardly had to run the central heating at all. We've run the generator fewer than ten times in the last 18 months, and have only had our central heating on perhaps 6 times this year.
In conjunction with the SYEC, we invite visitors to come and look at our lovely wind turbine, and to ask questions on how it has worked for us, and to view our rainwater harvesting system we put in last autumn (which is not quite finished yet, and so is easy to inspect).
Visitors are welcome to arrive between 10am and 11am on Tuesday 6 February. I'll be answering questions for as long as I can, depending on the weather and the number of people who attend.
Now a few warnings about the site, which are not intended to put anyone off visiting. Please do not bring any dogs up, as our dogs are very territorial with other dogs and will be outside with us. Our track is very rough and deeply rutted, and not suitable for timid drivers or vehicles with low clearance: if you're at all worried, park at the bottom and walk up, it's only a mile (!). If you do drive up there's room for parking up at the house, but very few passing spaces on the track: do not drive off the track once you're over the cattle grid as there are ditches hidden in the grass verges which you will get stuck in, and block the track. If that happens I will have no way of getting out to collect my children from school, and I will not be pleased. Wear wellies and warm clothes, as it's very muddy up here and much colder than it is down on the road; and if there's any snow on the ground on the day, do not come: the event will be cancelled as access will be impossible.
Despite all those warnings this is a lovely spot. We're looking forward to seeing plenty of people on the day, and are very pleased to have this chance to support Nick Parsons and the SYEC.
END
If anyone is interested in coming up and having a look on the day, post your interest here and I'll email you directions. If you can't make that day (Tuesday is probably difficult for anyone with a life outside period property and wind turbines) then let me know and I'll arrange a weekend meeting. Looking forward to perhaps meeting some of you soon.
http://www.syec.co.uk/planet.php
We live entirely off-mains and for nearly a decade we depended on a diesel generator for our electricity, which ran for five and a half hours each day in order to charge up our batteries and power our house. In the summer of 2005 we put up a 6kW Proven wind turbine on a 9m mast, and since then it's not only provided most of our electricity, it has also provided so much heat that we've hardly had to run the central heating at all. We've run the generator fewer than ten times in the last 18 months, and have only had our central heating on perhaps 6 times this year.
In conjunction with the SYEC, we invite visitors to come and look at our lovely wind turbine, and to ask questions on how it has worked for us, and to view our rainwater harvesting system we put in last autumn (which is not quite finished yet, and so is easy to inspect).
Visitors are welcome to arrive between 10am and 11am on Tuesday 6 February. I'll be answering questions for as long as I can, depending on the weather and the number of people who attend.
Now a few warnings about the site, which are not intended to put anyone off visiting. Please do not bring any dogs up, as our dogs are very territorial with other dogs and will be outside with us. Our track is very rough and deeply rutted, and not suitable for timid drivers or vehicles with low clearance: if you're at all worried, park at the bottom and walk up, it's only a mile (!). If you do drive up there's room for parking up at the house, but very few passing spaces on the track: do not drive off the track once you're over the cattle grid as there are ditches hidden in the grass verges which you will get stuck in, and block the track. If that happens I will have no way of getting out to collect my children from school, and I will not be pleased. Wear wellies and warm clothes, as it's very muddy up here and much colder than it is down on the road; and if there's any snow on the ground on the day, do not come: the event will be cancelled as access will be impossible.
Despite all those warnings this is a lovely spot. We're looking forward to seeing plenty of people on the day, and are very pleased to have this chance to support Nick Parsons and the SYEC.
END
If anyone is interested in coming up and having a look on the day, post your interest here and I'll email you directions. If you can't make that day (Tuesday is probably difficult for anyone with a life outside period property and wind turbines) then let me know and I'll arrange a weekend meeting. Looking forward to perhaps meeting some of you soon.
