Energy efficiency and sustainability

We are half way down on our big tank now with watering each evening. There is still 2/3 in the top tank, so we are moving to another electricity efficiency measure - changing over from town water to our tank supply late afternoon to 8 am. This way we have rainwater showers and can water the garden, but not use the pump during our peak generating hours when we sell into the grid at a premium price.
We recently had a free home sustainability assessment - part of the Federal government's Green Loans initiative. I had hoped for a rating, but it was more about saving cents than dollars.
No mention was made of window drapes, areas of glass and shading of walls, or aspect. Incandescent bulbs were noted and loss of heat into the roof cavity through our extract fans in the bathrooms - which also keep our bathrooms free of steam, although we have never used the fans themselves.
We could get a loan to replace our 10 year old fridge to save a star or so of electricity, likewise with the 10 year old washing machine which also works very well, and being a top loader suits us for reusing bath water.
So I suspect it is another stimulus package to encourage people to spend more money to reduce their excessive power bills. It will be interesting to see the report. Will they lend us interest-free money to get more photovoltaic panels? We can only fit two more with our inverter anyway.
I am still in favour of it as it provides jobs for assessors - money from Canberra to Toowoomba. And we did get something out of it so far - we put a timer on our beer fridge so it turns off during peak generating hours, when it is usually not opened anyway. Ten days on we seem to have an automatic defrosting beer fridge, working better than ever.
With our new off-peak water pump program we may be saving a couple of units a day to sell to the grid.

Some hot weather

It has been a pleasant mild summer but it is very dry yet again. It's a good thing we put in the tank as this is when we need it. The level is dropping steadily. Sunny Boy made a record the other day when there was some cloud.
Meanwhile I have been enjoying tennis from Brisbane, then Sydney, and Kooyong, as well as cricket.
We used to do a lot of sewing during the summer of sport on TV but alas, college days with boat cruises and balls are over and there is just a bit of mending to do.
Outside, there is daily harvesting of beans to be done and these are being distributed to work, Tai Chi and tennis.
It was good to be back at tennis on Friday.

The Sunny Boy Report

While we have been away, Sunny Boy, our operational manager at the Cotswold Hills power station, has been supplying the neighbourhood. Our latest electricity bill has arrived and we earned $108 of solar bonus for the last 91 day period, leaving us with the sum total of $18 to pay. This includes the $25 ambulance cover for the period.
The white elephant has also been accumulating assets. We had around 50 mm of rain while we were away and the tanks are close to full. Today I am making a bit more space in the plastic tank on the shed and we may get an overflow on the elephant if the predicted rain comes tonight.
With all this wind, we really should be harnessing its energy somehow.
I am not walking today due to the low cloud, strong wind and misty rain. Also it is quite cold out there.

The Solar Bonus

Today I received an amended electricity bill which includes the solar bonus. It was paid for 22 of the 92 days of the billing period and we received $20.68 [44 cents per unit supplied to the grid]. Our average daily cost of electricity for this winter period was $1.13. It did take nearly 3 weeks in July to get Ergon organised with it, but it now seems to have been sorted.

Frosty mornings

We have had a few frosty mornings in August and are waiting on warmer weather to plant for spring. It makes a great difference to the house when cloud obscures the early morning sunshine, but Sunny Boy works well most days and pays well for our heating when it is required. The sun also provides us with plenty of hot water and our tomatoes continue to thrive against the solar heated brick wall.

Into July

Rain fell in the first week of June, then it returned to normal and has become quite dry again. Meanwhile the tank is built and last week I missed my walk as the dirt was replaced around the tank. Since then we have moved six railway sleepers now radiating out from the tank down the bank towards the north and east. We no longer have a mountain of dirt, but there is plenty to play with around the tank.

We are enjoying now moist and overcast weather, a bit windy, but hopefully some more rain in coming days to settle the dirt before the plumber digs trenches to connect the tank to the house.
In the absence of rainfall, the solar energy has been appreciated. We are looking forward to the Solar Bonus Scheme generating income for the Cotswold Hills Power Station.

May report

Despite some predictions of good rain in the last days of May, we have only managed 5 mm for the whole month. It has been quite windy in recent days. Our recent electricity bill shows that we generated 413 kWh or 58% of total power used for the quarter.
Today is World Environment Day and my thoughts have moved to wind power generation. A 1 kW system is not very expensive, especially if it could be directed through the existing inverter. This may be next year's project. Meanwhile the tank is poured and waiting for a lid. Then for the fun of replacing dirt around it and redeveloping the site.
Food for thought? We are enjoying lettuce and rocket from the garden, pea and ham soup with home-grown carrots and spring onions, ricotta and ruby chard pie, and still some beans.
Last Tuesday we walked between Spring Bluff and Murphy's Creek cemetery.
Yesterday I mowed the paddock. We are rethinking our management of the native grassland. Although we had a good stand of Queensland blue grass last year, we have lost a great deal of it due to the extremely dry conditions. It has done well on the upper part of the block which was top-dressed with soil last year. In the favoured area below the roof bubbler, it does not seem to suffer from mowing on the highest setting, so we are looking at more frequent mowing than once or twice a year. There are a few prickly pear and white foxtails but only odd Rhodes grass plants.
We have found a new volunteer gum seedling adjacent to the volunteer ironbarks on the top bank above the house. It has grown between the abutting ends of two railway sleepers and is about 15 cm high. It is very pleasing to have well-positioned natural renewal of the native vegetation of this ridge.

Beautiful Autumn weather

Rainfall for March was only 41 mm but we choose to look merely at the superficial and enjoy the growth that has occurred over recent months. It was a relief to have a cool and overcast summer and I was fortunate to plant so many tubes, which are all doing well. While things remain green after our rain last week, we remain positive. Leeks and ruby chard seedlings have been planted out, coriander and carrot seeds sown, and I have been given some rocket, chives and strawberries. The broad beans are growing well and we have corn to harvest. Beans continue to be picked from our screen.
I have also picked a couple of bunches of paper daisies - Xerochrysum and have more seedlings coming up, so we may get an earlier flower display this year.
Sunny Boy has reached 476.2 kWh by the end of March and we have had interesting news of a new Queensland Government initiative, whereby we will be paid 44 cents per kWh of electricity fed into the grid, about three times the current tariff. We meet the eligibility criteria and have registered our interest.

Sunny Boy

Sunny Boy passed 400 kWh on 13 March, three months after launch. He continues to come up with the goods even on overcast drizzly days like yesterday.

Sunny boy's double ton

Sunny Boy passed 200 kWh this week. In the 49 days since generation commenced, we have used 490 kWh and generated 220. This equates to the estimated average daily production for Brisbane and has been achieved in mostly cloudy skies with very little actual rain. Diffuse light conditions appear to be more effective than clear skies with direct sunlight. Maximum daily production has reached 5.99 kWh.

The force is with us

We have just turned on the solar power system. It is overcast with possible showers forecast so it is a gentle start. It is almost an anti-climax after waiting so long and it now being late afternoon. It must be almost time for a drink? There is probably a direct relationship between power generation and the yardarm, although it is probably quite a tall one 10am-4pm and not conducive to good health. We will keep you updated.

where is the inverter?

It is coming on Friday. Perhaps the current overcast skies and increased chance of rain are somehow related? Will the skies clear and things dry out when we are fully connected? Part of the appeal of solar power is that we will have a bet each way.

Solar power

We saw very few photovoltaic cells and solar hot water systems on our trip despite travelling through areas of Australia with very high solar exposure. There have been good subsidies for these but I suspect people still ask - will it pay for itself and what is the cheapest at this point in time? Are these valid questions or should we be thinking in a broader sense? We are an affluent country which adopts some new technologies like dvds, ipods and big TVs readily.

a disturbance in the force

Not an original title but we have been waiting on an inverter that will fit the space above the meter. And time has flown by with a trip to Melbourne on the 21st November. We drove down the Newell Highway for a 40 year reunion at Ormond College. we enjoyed the trip with storms building west of Dubbo and coming down not long after we got there for the night. The wheat crops in the Riverina were baled into hay and the billabong near Rutherglen had dried to puddles. We are not so badly off here

Solar power

Our sunflowers celebrate the Force which we will soon be using to generate electricity, as well as heating water. Six panels are now installed and we are waiting on the inverter and new meter. With all the recent reports on Climate Change it is good to be moving ahead.