WHO AM I?

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WHO AM I?
....and why have I been invited to speak?
I am Christine Shine, and I am a Member of the
Cotswolds Conservation Board. I am what's
called a core-designer one who goes to the nub
of the problem and works outwards. Over the past
few years, the Board has investigated a wide
variety of systems relating to renewable energy,
from which I have picked a combination that I
feel are right for my home, and, most
importantly, are right for maintaining the
integrity of The Cotswolds AONB and the fabric of
my house.
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What this talk is about
My personal experience in reducing my
carbon footprint and achieving a warm home
whilst cutting my oil use by 47 and generating
all my own electricity.
The challenge to do this without compromising
the visual beauty of the AONB or the basic
structure and design of the house.
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My house
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Characteristics and problems
Characteristics Stone construction in AONB
conservation area This house is not listed. But
in my head it is... I treat it as something I do
no want to tamper with unnecessarily. Heating
problems Stone walls, un-felted roofs. Doors
windows constantly moving.
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Fossil fuel consumption
Pre- renewables and the measures I am about to
talk to you about.....
Electricity 47,000 units per annum Oil 30,000
litres p.a. ALL FROM FOSSIL FUELS
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WHAT I HAD ALREADY IMPLEMENTED
Heat exchanger boiler Heat exchanger system for
the pool
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Sustainability and history
As a core-designer I look at what has gone
before as well as what the future
holds. Historical buildings show me how they
coped with cold. Untouched Cotehele in Cornwall
hangs warm tapestries against stone walls. In
every stately home, I see curtains draped beyond
the floor. I remember great-aunts and
grand-parents whose doors were swathed in heavy
curtains to stop the draughts. Little sheepskin
rugs blocked the draughts at every interior door
in most houses.
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How to do it!
Now we get to the nitty-gritty
ACTION
Part 1 Insulation compatible with a listed
building Part 2 Renewables that are
invisible
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The Wind Chill Factor
Any draught/wind creates an impression that the
room is cold
Impression not reality
Remove the draught/wind-chill and you are back
to core temperature
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Start with doors
Hinges work best on this door
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..... an old duvet works best on this door
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WINDOWS
Just as a radiator is a panel exuding heat, a
window is a panel exuding 'ice'.
Double-glazing is not an option in historic
houses. Secondary glazing is the most effective,
but looks awful, is very expensive, and tricky to
maintain.....
I noticed how sunblinds on some of my windows cut
out the 'sheet of ice' but of course I
couldn't see out!
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Answer see-through blinds!
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Stone walls
Many years ago, Tomorrow's World featured a
Magic Paint. It purported to provide
the equivalent of between 4 and 6 inches of
'normal' insulation. I heard about it from
colleagues in FOE. All I can say is that the
whole house with the exception of two (cold)
areas are now painted with this miracle.
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How it works Miniscule ceramic spheres stirred
into the paint, bounce the temperature of the
room back into the room. If the room is warm
so it remains If it is cool so it remains
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Insulating the roof spaces
Houses like mine have good breathable roof
spaces. No felt plenty of driven snow and
occasional rain dripping through. Lovely visible
gaps where daylight peeps through. It's a whole
'other world' up there you can feel
the building ticking away, doing what it does
best. This of course makes that yellow stuff
useless. One hint of moisture and it is rendered
ineffective.
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BRING ON THE WOOL!
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Nothing could have prepared me for the
sheer comfort of this insulating material. Think
Guernsey seafarer's sweater. Think cashmere
jumper. Think woolly hat and woolly gloves. Think
sheep out in all weathers. Think of wrapping your
home in all this. This is wool loft
insulation. It lasts atleast 25 years. Exudes
warmth when wet and is a joy to handle.
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Don't be shy with this wool. Stuff it into
every nook and cranny. Create a curtain behind
every access panel Go for it it wants to keep
your house warm
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To sum up
Think back to Grandma's house long curtains
and draught excluders (sausage rolls) at the foot
of doors Think medaeval tapestries then but
magic paint and duvets now! Put invisible
rollerblinds behind the curtain track, or
simply in front of curtainless stone-mullioned
windows. You Can always add curtaining, but you
will already have prevented the majority of the
'ice factor'. Wrap your roof spaces in wool!
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Now you are well and truly insulated, a couple of
tips Turn the heating on and leave it on 24/7.
Don't let a stone house get cold. Have
thermostat valves on every radiator. Once your
stone house has warmed through, you will be
turning 'off' several radiators and running the
rest on a low number. This is known as the
candle effect. Always draw your curtains when
the sun sets.
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Part 2 Renewables
Now we start to 'make money'
Whatever your concern for the planet,
however altruistic you are, at this stage of the
game, in 2010, the driving force is likely to be
your wallet.
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Organisations like the National Trust and
English Heritage are well ahead of that game and
for good reason.
A listed building should not exhibit any
alteration to its integrity. And there is
absolutely no need for that to happen.
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Hard-pressed dairy farmers might (and I
don't know the figures) well be able to install
an anaerobic digester to recycle the slurry and
earn enough to make it pay for itself in ten
years or so. An anaerobic digester is the most
efficient generator of electricity alongside
hydro if you have moving water at hand.
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If, like me, you don't have slurry or moving
water... do what I have done A huge PV Array
generates the same amount of electricity I use
at home. This means I have to pay for
electricity during the night, but over the course
of one year, I will have fed 53,000 units into
the national grid and be paid about 17,000
(before tax). The difference between what I have
to pay for and what I have been paid for
generating will be the profit.
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Remember the challenge invisible Don't destroy
the landscape!
Here's my PV Array...... let's move a bit
closer........
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And here is how it is done..................dig
deep!
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Geo-thermal
I went for vertical bore-holes Four of these,
about 4/5 metres apart and 104 metres deep suck a
renewable heat from the earth in a way I
understand. These now heat, via heat pumps, my
indoor pool and have reduced my oil
consumption by 47
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Once again remember the 'invisible' challenge
to protect the landscape
Before
After
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Thank you for listening and I hope I have
stimulated your imagination! Be creative. Go
back to a time when central heating did not exist
then come forward to the present day where a
mix of the two can seriously reduce your bills
and your carbon footprint. A list of sources can
be found on the AONB website.