Panels are safe

26 Oct 2011: DNC writes: Some people often ask me, what happens if my panels get stolen, eg off a flat roof?
    I was recently thinking about selling on my PV roof and fitting higher efficiency panels (with liquid cooling), when David Hill of Carbon Legacy pointed out something important, which I recognise as a very good anti theft rule.
   When you have a PV roof fitted, the serial numbers of the panels are registered with OfGem, and that set of numbers is what you use for your Feed in Tariff payments. If those panels turn up elsewhere and someone tries to register them again, they will be flagged up, thus identifying where they got to, and from that, who stole them. The only possible use for second hand panels is for off grid installations. They could not be used for claiming on the Feed in Tariffs. The person buying them would know that they were dodgy and would want to know why.
   For special circumstances, such as you move house and the buyer of the old one doesn't want them, or you have had to replace your panels after a number of years, you would have to make a special case to OfGem to re-register them and re-register at the new location, by the original owner or the executor of the original owner.
   I am quite encouraged by this. It means that if you go on holiday, you feel more confident that your panels are safe, and I am sure that if there are such things as 'panel thieves', they have found this out too. There is more to be made by draining tanks of oil etc. 

Hawthorne avoids tree shadow

20 Oct 2011: This photo sent to me by Donald Hawthorne in Ruddington (RS and Carbon Legacy client) shows a pretty well perfect roof, with 16 panels - but there is a problem with some tall trees to the South, that are too nice to shorten. The whole array has been carefully shifted sideways to mitigate the effect of the shadow. This photo taken in October, neatly shows the outline of shadows.

Donald writes: "My 3.86kW installation was done by Carbon Legacy of East Leake. It is just over one year old and my rate of return was 11.3% for the year including a 40% reduction in electricity bought from E-On."

Renewable Energy meeting on 16 November

Renewable Energy Technologies and their financial incentive schemes
Tuesday 16th November 2010
7pm for refreshments, prompt start at 7.30pm


SNC Training, South Notts College
Mere Way, Ruddington Fields Business Park, NG11 6JZ


The third in a series of free evening events:
Short talk and experts to answer your questions


The talk will cover:

• Generating your own electricity via Solar PVs and wind turbines
• Ground and air source heat pumps
• Solar hot water, wood/pellet stoves and boilers
• FITs and RHIs (i.e. the financial incentives)

First, Talk by: David Hill - Carbon Legacy
followed by the chance to put your questions to a panel of suppliers and independent experts, including David NC from Rushcliffe Solar.


Please email info@wbecohouses.co.uk if you are likely to be attending: it is not obligatory, but it helps with planning the refreshments and leaflet printing.


Directions: Follow Mere Way through Ruddington Fields Business Park. Pass the first SNC building on the left, and take the next turning to the second SNC Training building. It has a distinctive suspended curved wall with car parking beneath it. Park here or on the roadside.


Buses to Ruddington village: Ruddington Connection (Trent Barton) & No. 10 (Nott City Transport)

For more information about the Eco House Group, go to http://wbecohouses.co.uk

For more information about Rushcliffe Solar, please email RushcliffeSolar@gmail.com 

The WB Eco House Group is a project inspired by Transition West Bridgford: www.transitionwb.co.uk

Which panels to choose?

2 Oct '10: We get quite a lot of questions about 'Which panels to use' - this is difficult to answer, as it takes 25 years of living with them to know if a class of panels is truly successful, and what the replacement percentage may have been in that time. Some panels are tested merely by quick 'Flash' tests, and that says nothing for the reliability of the panel or the responsiveness of the manufacturer to technical queries or claims.
  David Hill of Carbon Legacy has written a long and detailed article on Rushcliffe Solar site about some of these questions.  http://rushcliffesolar.blogspot.com/p/panel-details.html

Insulation meeting on 19 Oct

Eco adaptation isn't only about putting PV roofs up and fitting heat pumps. The NUMBER ONE and TWO things are to

• improve insulation! and to 
• control draughts!

Please come to a meeting at South Notts College (Ruddington site) 19th October for a good presentation and discussion about these. One of the guest speakers will be David Hill of Carbon Legacy, a sponsor of Rushcliffe Solar.
http://wbecohouses.blogspot.com/2010/09/slimming-or-slashing-heating-bill.html

Welcome to Carbon Legacy!

Rushcliffe Solar's group of sponsor installers now include Carbon Legacy who are based locally in East Leake, just south of Rushcliffe.
   They cover almost all aspects of renewable systems, Photovoltaic panels, Ground Source Heat pumps, Air source HPs, Solar thermal, and Wind turbines. Carbon Legacy have a good website, with some interesting examples of work done, including work with Architect Bill Dunster at Upton, Northants.
   They have a very knowledgeable and experienced team, and are capable of national coverage.
(Contact David Hill or Aimee Parkinson on 0845 6972419)