CHAPTER TWELVE

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Greener Energy

LET’S GET THIS OUT IN THE OPEN right up top – our planet is struggling. The prospect of global warming and climate change are terrifying and if we don’t do something about it soon, we could quite literally kill the earth. What’s brought us to this brink? Us. Humans. People. Who can save us? Who are the only ones in a position to reverse our destructive course? The same – Us. Humans. People.

In this chapter we’re going to explore some of the greener, more eco-friendly energy options open to us right now that could make a huge difference, and do so with one eye on self-sufficiency and the other on being practical, because while the ideal would be for us all to turn vegan, live in yurts and use our own poo to fertilize our tomato plants, that’s probably not going to happen. But that doesn’t mean we should sit back and do nothing. So this chapter seeks to find solutions that are both doable and sustainable in today’s busy, bustling world – for any home, from an apartment in the centre of town to an off-grid self-sufficient smallholding in the sticks.

So okay, to reverse all the damage we have inflicted on our planet is going to take a colossal effort, and if that feels too big to think about, switch it around and think of it this way: every ton less of carbon we emit right now into the atmosphere will decrease the future human suffering of our children and our grandchildren, and give them less of our mess to clean up. One part of that change is greener energy.

ELECTRICITY

A few points before we get going. First, don’t think only about generating your own electricity: think about saving it. Turn lights off, fit low-energy or LED bulbs, never leave appliances on standby, don’t over-fill the kettle, use energy-efficient appliances, and don’t run the washing machine half-empty. Secondly, if you are inspired by some of the ideas in this chapter to generate your own electricity, remember to be safe: care should always be used when handling electricity and electrical equipment. And if you plan to erect anything such as solar panels on your roof or a wind turbine in your field, check first with your local council to see if planning permission is needed or any other regulations need satisfying.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Life revolves around power. We can’t do without it. Sure, we can limit how much of it we use, and that which we do use, try and be a little more careful with it, but we can’t do without it completely. That we cannot change. But we can choose where we get our power from.

‘Traditional’ ways of creating power involve burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which are terrible for the environment. However, there is an alternative; in fact, there are several alternatives, and they all come from natural, renewable sources, known as ‘clean energy’.

Solar

The sun is a ball of energy, the power from which can be captured by panels mounted either on the ground or on the roofs of buildings. The collected power can then either be turned into electricity or used to heat water.

A photovoltaic (PV) system is the method of gathering and transferring sunlight into electricity, and can be either a standalone system unattached to the grid, or grid-connected, and range from small set-ups designed to run a single home, all the way up to businesses or power stations. Being safe, reliable and clean means this has become incredibly popular, with many people plumping for panels on their roof.

Not to be confused with the PV system above (the two are not one and the same), a solar hot water system will not charge your mobile, but it will give you a really decent shower. Again it starts with panels facing the sun, the rays from the sun heat water running through pipes within the panels. Unfortunately, as brilliant as this system is, it will only work on sunny days, so you will need a backup boiler or face a smelly winter.

Wind

Kinetic energy, the energy possessed by something in motion, in this instance wind, when harnessed, can be turned into electricity. The most efficient way of doing this is with wind turbines. Most turbines work by having blades attached to a rotor on some kind of pole or tower that are turned by the wind, driving a turbine which generates electricity. The theory is great, although in practice the weather is a fickle thing and wind can spring up and die down as it pleases. Siting of the turbine is the most important piece of the wind turbine puzzle: get that right, preferably high up on an exposed hill and it can be a wonderful form of power. Wind turbines also tend to work better the bigger they are, for both of which reasons they are not normally considered ideal for residential use.

Domestic hot-water system using energy from a solar panel

Hydro-electric

Imagine a wind turbine turned upside down and the blades dipped into a fast-flowing river, the rotation from which is sent back to the shore and converted into electricity. As long as the river is flowing the power output is reliable and cheap to produce, though of course you do need to be living close to a river to start with.

THE BIG THREE, AND OTHERS

While solar, wind turbines and hydro-electric are the big three hitters in the renewable energy field, they are by no means the only players. Honourable mentions must also go to biomass energy – the burning of wood; wave energy – hydro-electric at sea; geothermal – digging down to access underground heat sources. All are brilliant in their own way, but can be quite specific – you need to satisfy certain criteria, such as living besides the sea for wave energy, for it even to be a consideration.

STORING YOUR POWER

All forms of renewable energy suffer from ‘feast and famine’. When the sun is bright, solar is fab, giving you loads of lovely power, or when the wind is gusting and the turbine spinning like a comet in space, there’s electricity aplenty – so much so that if you’re connected to the grid you can sell them your excess; and when the sun goes down or the wind drops, you can buy it back. But what happens if you’re not connected to the grid? The trick is to store the power while it’s flooding in so you can draw on it later. For this, you’re going to need batteries.

There are two main options for home energy storage batteries, working on different chemical compounds of either lead-acid or lithium-ion.

Lead-acid battery

Tried and tested, this option is the least expensive of the two and has been used in off-grid set-ups for decades. The downside is they have a relatively short lifespan, averaging around 10 years, and they’re big and bulky, but that said, they’re still the number one go-to for off-gridders.

Lithium-ion battery

More expensive but smaller and longer lasting than their lead-acid counterparts, lithium-ion batteries charge faster, require less maintenance, have higher energy density and lower self-discharge rates than lead-acid batteries.

WOOD

A blazing open fire on your living-room hearth may be unbeatably welcoming and attractive, but as a means of heating your home, it’s a non-starter. Instead, consider a wood-burning stove, which is a far more efficient way of utilizing fire for warmth. Many wood-burners have glass fronts, meaning that you do get a chance to get lost in contemplation of the flickering flames.

Wood releases the same amount of CO2 when it burns as it absorbed during its growth. For this reason, wood is considered a renewable fuel, and all the better if it comes from sustainable sources such as managed forests, or, of course, if it is wood that you yourself have coppiced – the ideal from a self-sufficiency point of view. For a clean burn, always use logs that are dry, well seasoned and preferably split.

A wood-burning stove with a back boiler will heat water that can be used for radiators in other rooms, meaning that a whole house can be heated with a single wood-burner. Highly efficient systems are now available, including built-in glass-fronted fireplaces with thermostatic controls. Stoves with flat tops can also of course be used for heating kettles and pans – and simmering that bean soup for three hours is less worryingly fuel-intensive once you pop it on top of your wood-burner. A system combining solar thermal panels with a wood-burner, using wood that you have sustainably harvested with your own hands from your own land, must be the ultimate in this area of self-sufficiency, and is a totally realizable dream. There are not many things you can say that about!

GREEN ENERGY SUPPLIERS

For those lucky enough to have the right set-up and space to explore their own renewable energy supply, it’s a no brainer. For the rest of us, there are still options in the form of green energy suppliers, and a quick look online will highlight companies only too happy to help you.