3:39PM GMT 09 Nov 2010
17 CommentsLife without fuel bills is a fantasy of Reggie Perrin proportions. However, for a growing number of people, being energy self-sufficient has already become a reality.
Take, for example, Melanie Towns, a child psychologist in her late fifties, who bought the beautiful Belsford Mill, outside the village of Harberton, near Totnes, Devon, nine years ago.
“One of the charming things about the mill was the fact that it still worked — it could still produce power,” Melanie says.
“The downside was it could only produce enough for limited heating and cooking. I wanted it to do more — to fuel an underfloor heating system and produce hot water.”
Feeling inspired, she undertook some serious research into her mill, which had been a working corn mill until 1949. Essentially, the system, at the time, had the overshot wheel driving a Fordson Major Tractor gearbox attached to a generator.
Her first major improvement was to install a water source heat pump, at a cost of £5,000, which increased efficiency. She also added a load controller (£1,000) that allowed her to manage the electricity more accurately. For this comparatively small sum Melanie is not only “bill-free” in terms of energy, she also collects £1,800 a year from the Government’s Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) — a reward for producing sustainable electricity.
“But this was more than a money-saving exercise,” says Melanie, who is selling Belsford Mill for £995,000 (through Jackson-Stops & Staff; 01392 214222) because she needs to downsize now that her children have left home. “I became fascinated by the challenge of managing the water and I also met lots of very nice people through the work going on here. A blacksmith helped me with the wheel, I got to know Gerry Pope, a world expert on hydropower, another chap came to help with the electrics — there is a whole community of mill enthusiasts out there.”
Energy self-sufficiency has the support of the Government — Britain aims to achieve 15.4 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2016 (it currently achieves about six per cent) – and is a mainstream concern for buyers.
“It isn’t just the chunky cardigan folk who are interested,” says William Marsden-Smedley of property search company Prime Purchase. “Apart from the appeal of reducing our carbon footprint it makes financial sense. Heating a country house can be exorbitantly expensive, but having a source of renewable energy makes a house more saleable.”
Less expensive homes, too, are “off the grid”. On the Isle of Arran, Morton Muirhead and his wife, now in their sixties, have lived for the past 10 years on a 51-acre farm, outside the tiny village of Kilmory, which is now for sale at £275,000 (Bell Ingram; 01738 621121). Their three-bedroom, Swiss chalet-style house is two miles from the road and 17 miles from the nearest settlement, Brodick.
Morton describes it as being “as close as you can get to full self-sufficiency”. He farms a herd of rare breed Dexter cattle and has red deer stalking, duck flighting, pheasant, snipe and woodcock shooting as well as trout fishing nearby.
As for his energy source, he relies on a diesel generator, which he runs for about four hours a day to charge a heavy set of lead-acid batteries that provide 240 volts of electricity for the remaining 20 hours.
“What is begging to be done is for someone to supplement the diesel with either solar or wind-turbine power,” says Morton, who needs to move to be closer to health care.
“It would cost between £5,000 and £10,000 to install solar panels, and wind turbines would probably cost about £2,000. I’d have put them in myself had I been staying.”
Washlands Farm in Sible Hedingham, Essex, has a rather more sophisticated system. The owner, James Carter, heats and lights this modern five-bedroom house and its indoor swimming pool from a geothermal system of underground pipes, warmed by the earth.
A spokesperson for ICE Energy says the average cost to install a system of this kind would be about £11,000. The property is now for sale at £2.5 million (Jackson-Stops & Staff; 01245 467468).
Richard Daglish harnesses the power of the wind at Helland Barton Farm, his converted five-bedroom farmhouse with three holiday cottages and 119 acres of land, which he is selling for £1.95 million (Savills; 01872 243200) outside Delabole, North Cornwall. Daglish has erected an 11-kilowatt Gaia turbine – a form of windmill — which stands 60ft high and has a wing span of 43ft.
This system cost Daglish about £50,000 and produces 25,000 units of electricity a year – enough lighting and heating for the cottages and the main house when the wind is blowing at 20 knots. When the wind speed slackens he has to buy in from the grid. When it is strong he sells his surplus.
“The power varies like the ebb and flow of the tide,” Richard says. “Overall, I make about £6,000 a year from selling the electricity, which supplements the £40,000 we make from holiday lettings.”
There is serious money to be made from renewable energy. Estate agents Knight Frank reported last month that thousands of acres of British farmland are being optioned for solar photovoltaic (PV) schemes – converting the sun’s rays into electricity. This could be hugely beneficial to farmers. Knight Frank estimates a six-acre PV scheme could generate £260,000 per year.
But to the private individual the attraction of renewable energy has little to do with money. “One thing that is seldom mentioned is that harnessing your own energy - particularly from a mill – is such fun,” says Melanie Towns at Belsford Mill.
“When I move I want to find a smaller mill that needs fixing and do exactly the same again.”
Micro
Main article: Micro hydro
Micro hydro is a term used for hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 KW of power. These installations can provide power to an isolated home or small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power networks. There are many of these installations around the world, particularly in developing nations as they can provide an economical source of energy without purchase of fuel.[12] Micro hydro systems complement photovoltaic solar energy systems because in many areas, water flow, and thus available hydro power, is highest in the winter when solar energy is at a minimum.
