The Self-Powered House

 With sustainability becoming the latest buzzword to infiltrate itself into our workplace, education system and media, isn’t it about time we took a serious look at in our homes? The increasing emphasis on our need to provide a cleaner, more green future for our children has lead to advancements in technology that have made renewable energy sources readily available for household installment.

Despite the technology being available and an apparent thirst for more sustainable solutions towards energy, we only see these techniques employed on the governmental scale and rarely on the individual household scale. Why is this? Is it cost, practicality, maintenance or some other reason?

Micro Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are generators that are installed on the top of a mast that harness energy from prevailing winds. As expected as wind speeds increase the amount of energy generated also increases. This mans that appropriate wind speeds are required for this renewable energy technique. The lowest wind speeds needed to generate energy is a reliable 3m/s (6.7mph) wind with the maximum wind speed being 15m/s (33mph).

Any energy created by the wind turbine will be consumed initially by the household property. If the household is unable to consume all of the energy then the excess energy created will be spilled back into the grid. The household will then be paid for each kWh exported to the grid.

Costs

The price for your excess energy can vary but currently in Ireland the rate is 19c/kWh for the first 3000 units and then 9c/kWh thereafter. There is currently no tax relief for wind turbines but a scheme maybe introduced soon.

The cost for the smallest 1kw tower is €5,334 rising to €22,643 for the much larger and productive 5kw tower. There is also cheaper DIY and special offers to be found on wind turbines. It is of course important to remember that once the unit is installed the energy is free.

More information on costs can be found at: http://www.windturbines.ie

Maintenance

The working life of the best quality wind turbines is 20 with annual maintenance check-ups. However, due to the nature of the generation damage can occur after the first strong storm.

The average time needed for an investment in an average size turbine is between 10-12 years, there are however, many factor affecting this such as maintenance, damage, power production and demand.

Solar Panels

Another common and accessible alternative to wind turbines is solar panels. Traditional household solar panels will be attached to the residents south-facing roof. There are A 6m² solar panel can produce the energy equivalent of a 3kW immersion heater running for 2.5 hours each day, even in Irelands overcast climate. Solar panels work off radiation emitted from the sun and so can still generate power despite overcast skies. This allows Irelands climate to be as productive as Paris and 70% of the Mediterranean coast.

The two main types of solar panel instillation are those of photovoltaic panels and active solar water heaters. The solar water heaters reduce energy bills and carbon footprints along with producing a constant supply of hot water. The photovoltaic panels are like the wind turbines and provide a source of electricity directly to the house and connected to the grid for spill over. The payment for the spill over energy is the same as mentioned above.  

Costs

The costs of solar panels vary from product to product due to size, quality, power generation and lifespan. At the lower end of the scale a 20 tube water heating system would currently cost €3,300 and photovoltaic systems starting from €3,910.

There are currently government schemes in place to assist with the instillation of solar panels in Ireland calculated at €250 per m² installed up to a maximum of €1800.

More information can be found at: www.eirgreen.com

Looking Forward

These two renewable energy schemes on scratch the surface of systems available at the household level today. Hopefully with increased awareness of these systems and continued government grants we will see a marked increase in the uptake of systems such as these.

Charlie Blakemore

A Greener Trinity Ball?

Trinity Ball is clearly the most anticipated and famous night in our college calendar. With 7,000 students eagerly awaiting this prestigious event, the logistics and running of such an event are often forgot about. With all the hype, it is easy to forget about all the emissions caused by such an event. The hundreds of lights, world class sound systems and the five different stages all contribute to what can only be imagined as a rather large contribution to Trinity’s CO2 emissions. In this blog I will examine a number of eco-friendly festivals and see whether their initiatives could be implemented for the Trinity Ball.

World-renowned music festivals such as Glastonbury and Coachella have become famous, not only for the festival itself, but due to their ability to provide a rather eco-friendly and sustainable festival. They have both adopted a “no trace policy”, which ensures any waste generated at the festival is optimally recycled. Coachella has also become famous due to its solar powered DJ booths. At Portugal’s bi-annual Boom Festival where “biodiesel, solar and wind energy powered 25% of the festival, sustainable bamboo construction techniques literally took center stage” . However it is clear that these festivals are on a much, much larger scale than that of Trinity Ball.

So what could be done at Trinity Ball? Small and creative ideas can be implemented to help reduce its carbon footprint. Something that I feel could be easily implemented is that off providing only organic food produce at the number of food stands. Another idea that could be introduced is one that is similar to what was in place at the former Oxegen music festival. There aim was to reduce the amount of plastic cups that were used at the festival. A pint of beer at Trinity Ball costs 5 euro. My suggestion would be to charge the five-euro for your first pint, and if you return with the same plastic cup, your next pint would see maybe a euro reduction in the price. This would encourage people to keep their plastic cups rather than flinging them on to the ground. This would, I feel, have a significant impact on the amount of waste reduced. Changing the energy sources to a more eco-friendly source would also be a viable option available to the organisers of Trinity Ball. Even something as simple as a pledge by the organisers to ensure that all of the waste is taken care of with the highest diligence is something that would make for a greener festival.

Even small steps towards a greener ball will be something that would be met with great enthusiasm not only by the organisers but also by the college as a whole. If anyone has any other suggestions, big or small, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Kevin Mateer

100% Solar Sustainable Living



Solar panels powering the remote island of Tokelau



I recently embarked on a journey that led me to indulge in long haul flights and regrettably a bigger carbon footprint. Ironically, as I was sitting on the plane, contemplating the impact I was having on the environment, I found something quite compelling in the inflight magazine. Amidst the glossy pages of models and actors brandishing the latest perfumes and clothing, I came across a section explaining how the airline was contributing to different environmental projects and organisations. Amidst the two page spread dedicated to sustainable efforts, there was one article in particular that caught my attention. “The world’s first solar powered territory” it read. Intrigued by the idea of this sustainable haven, I read through the article and later went on to investigate the project a little more through my fervent Google searches.

The remote islands of Tokelau are found in the South Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Hawaii. The islands are comprised of three atolls Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo and are part of New Zealand territory. Recently, in November 2012, the installation of major solar panels in Tokelau was completed. These solar panels have been shown to provide enough solar energy to meet the electricity needs of the islands. It seems that previous to the introduction of solar power to generate electricity for the islands, imported diesel was the primary source of fuel having heavy costs on the environment as well as on the pockets of the local population. For the 1500 islander inhabitants, the move from expensive fossil fuels to solar energy has freed up a lot of money that can now be used for social welfare and other necessary expenses contributing to the wellbeing of the population. The fact that this very real and substantial method of sustainable living has been successfully implemented in these islands is quite an uplifting story, in particular, for me who has recently been exposed to the very real and harrowing consequences of environmental neglect. However I also had to ask the question; what impact do these small islands have on the rest of the world? Will other countries follow suit in the renewable energy efforts? Well, encouragingly, I found that Samoa, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands are planning to follow in the footsteps of Tokelau by 2020 by also getting all electricity from renewable energy sources. From there, my curiosities lead me to review some of the other global efforts for renewable energy projects. It seems that the blueprint and the intentions are in place for a lot of the bigger nations, but the financial cost of developing the projects overshadow the very apparent long-term benefits. However these South Pacific Islands are the pioneers and advocates for true sustainable living and hopefully the rest of the world is closely watching.

Joy Kennedy