Green Energy at Bankend
In an effort to provide green energy we have
installed a geothermal (ground source) heat pump which provides under
floor heating throughout the cottage and farm house and contributes
40% of the energy required for hot water. We also have a wind turbine
to supplement the power requirement of the cottage and adjoining farmhouse.
These have been in operation since 2005.
How the ground source heating works
Coils of pipes are buried two metres beneath the garden where the
soil temperature stays more or less constant. Antifreeze circulating
in the pipes extracts this heat from the soil and takes it to a heat
exchanger. Here, it is used to heat the fluid in the under floor heating
and the hot water for both cottage and farmhouse. The cool antifreeze
is then returned to the garden.
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Manufacturer: Kensa. Commissioning date: 14th January 2005
16KW Twin Compressor Heat Pump.
Two heating loop pipes at 1m and 1.5m depth. Total length 2 x 247m filled with anti-freeze (35% ethylene glycol).
On commissioning, flow ground temperature = 5 .5C and return 1C.
Since the erection of 2 poly-tunnels over the pipes, the flow temperature has increased to 8C.
Heat exchanger heats fluid for under floor heating system and hot water system to 40%. Hot water is then boosted twice a day with 2 x 3 KW immersion heaters to the necessary temperature.
How the wind turbine works
The turbine, which is not visible from the cottage, is on a nine
metre mast with three blades with a diameter of 5.6m. It operates
when the wind speed is between about 5 and 25 mph and can generate
up to 6kW. The electricity it generates goes in to the electrical
grid system and so offsets the electricity used in the farm and
cottage. Click here to see a photo of the turbine in operation.
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more
Manufacturer: Proven 6 KW. Commissioning date:
21st December 2005
Turbine base: concrete plinth 2.5 x 2.5 x 1m with reinforcing bars,
Tower: 9m galvanised steel. Rotors: 3 no. plastic blades with a diameter
of 5.6m.
Operational speeds: rotors cut-in at a wind speeds of 2.5m/s (5.6mph)
and increase to a maximum rotational speed of 200rpm at wind speeds
of 12m/s (25mph) and above. The rotor speed is controlled by the
blades and springs which automatically adjust their pitch to maintain
a maximum of 200rpm at full output.
Annual output: (manufacturer's estimate) 7,000 -18,000 KW depending
on site conditions.
Annual maintenance: grease main shaft bearings; grease mast bearings;
clean slip rings; check brake pads, all nut and bolts and springs.
Grid connection: two 3 KW Windy Boy Grid Tie Inverter System
Conservation
A special feature of the Bankend garden is the ‘wollemia’
or wollemi
pine. By owning this pine we are contributing to the conservation of the
original stands (100 adult trees in total), in the Blue Mountains just
north west of Sidney, Australia. These pines (Wollemia nobilis)
existed up to 200 million years ago. They were thought extinct with only
fossil records remaining, when an exploring ‘canyoner’, David
Noble, discovered a stand in a remote area. Its discovery was the equivalent
of finding a small dinosaur still alive on earth.
Read more
Interesting
features:
Foliage - three types depending on age and
position on the tree. New frond foliage is apple green and changes
to blue-green as it grows. Mature foliage has two rows of leaves
on the branches.
Cones - both male and female cones develop
from approximately 9 years onwards
Coppicing - the pine has a habit of developing
multiple stems. This could have evolved against drought, fire or
rock fall.
Bubbling bark - at about five years the pine
develops tiny bubbles on its lower stems
Polar caps - duing colder moths the pine becomes
dormant and the growing buds develop white waxy tips. This is thought
to have helped it survive many ice ages.
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