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superchicalonelyviking · 7 years ago

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Hello from the Gobi Desert! This post is a bit of an epic so you might want to sit down with a cup of tea if you're planning to read it all! We've been in Mongolia for almost a week now, and have found it to be a fantastic place with very beautiful landscapes, where traditional culture is still very much a part of life as parts of the country are rapidly changing and becoming modernised. The traditional lifestyle in Mongolia is that of nomadic herding, where herders move several times per year with their herd of cattle, goats, sheep, yaks and horses, living in a ger (yurt) which is dismantled and taken with them. The extremes of temperature from minus 40 in the winter to +40 in the summer mean they are very tough ! Mongolia became under Soviet governance in the 20's and was a communist country until the early 90's. As a buffer zone between Russia and China, it received a lot of subsidies from the Kremlin and hence in a lot of ways people felt their quality of life was better during this time - there was free healthcare, universal education and if herders didn't meet quotas set by the government (for wool, meat, etc) they were given enough for a basic standard of living, which it is felt did not encourage productivity. As an independent democratic nation it is in a time of transition to an economically productive country - there is a wealth of natural reserves such as gold, uranium and zinc, and it is hoped that if managed properly, mining will bring a lot of wealth to Mongolia. Nowadays more and more people live in urban areas (around 60%), the main one being the capital Ulaanbaatar, where there is better infrastructure and access to services and employment. Here the landscape is not unlike many other Soviet cities with huge crumbling tower blocks and plenty of concrete, however with one key difference- there has been a strong reluctance of many to leave their ger life behind, and hence the suburbs are full of 'ger districts' where people live in small fenced areas, near to shops, electricity and running water, but in their ger. Everyone in Mongolia over the age of 18 has a right to 0.7 hectares of land, so can take this and put their ger on it, sometimes families will combine their land and have a compound with several gers and different family members . The ger districts have a lot of air pollution in the winter due to coal fires, and apartment blocks have been built for people to relocate to, however this scheme has proved unpopular. It seems the traditional way of living is important to many Mongolians, even if many parts of life are become modernised or westernised to make life easier. Some people will live in the countryside in a ger just for the summer months and spend the harsh winter in the city. There are still many herders (difficult to say how many as some people may live a semi-nomadic life, but around 30-40%) who continue their way of life in a similar way to how it has been for hundreds of years, however many with certain adaptations, for example solar panels, cars and internet access. Tourism has been useful for many people living in the countryside, bringing money for them to be able to buy these things. There is little other source of income here other than selling livestock, and hence it can be disastrous if there is a particularly harsh summer or winter. Buddhism is the main religion of Mongolia, along with Shamanism and certain other minority religions. The buddhist teachings came from Tibet and the church was very powerful until the communist years when it was declared that there was no religion, and monasteries and temples were destroyed. Still, however, Mongolians continued their rituals and all over the countryside you can see coloured scarves representing air, sky, earth, water and fire, shrines and prayer flags and gers all have a family alter, often with Buddhist ornaments. Mongolians tend to be quite spiritual and superstitious people and we're slowly learning some of the things which are bad luck (e.g accidentally touching someone's foot with yours- you have to shake their hand to say you didn't mean it). So combined with the dramatic, diverse and often empty scenery, all in all it makes for a really interesting place to visit! On planning the fortnight in Mongolia we realised two things, firstly that we happened to be arriving on the first day of the Nadaam Festival - a national celebration with a tournament of "manly games" on a similar (if not bigger) scale to our Christmas! And also that planning to explore yourself with public transport is quite hard work and can take a long time with lots of potential pitfalls , so we gave up on that and booked a tour. We found a small company which aims to maximise benefits to local people and minimise environmental impact, and it has been great so far! The first couple of days we spent enjoying the Nadaam festival, an annual festival to celebrate the arrival of summertime, it has taken place for hundreds of years and comprises three "manly games", wrestling, horse racing and archery, and recently ankle bone shooting has also been added to the games. Actually women are able to take part in the horse racing and archery. The evening we arrived there was a big concert in Sukhbatar Square (named after a famous revolutionary) with lots of music and dancing, including some mongolian renditions of Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran! A huge fireworks display and on the way home there was a jazz band and salsa dancing in the streets. We went to the field by the stadium to watch the archery, you sit in the stands with lots of families and competitors, many wearing the traditional clothes which are a long coat (which doubles as a blanket) boots and a pointy hat, differing in colour and style depending on the person, with the backdrop of the a mountains North of UB behind. the archery we saw was very different to archery elsewhere, the aim is to shoot leather cylinders which are stacked on the floor in a row around 100m away, so the arrows are shot in a long arc - apparently it takes a lot of strength, for a woman it is equivalent to lifting more than 20kg with one arm! By the leather cylinders, judges stand to signal to the shooter whether they were successful or not, and do so by waving their arms in different ways. The following day we went to the horse trainer's Naadam - a smaller festival outside the city for the people who train the horses for the national Naadam in UB and hence miss the celebrations. First we saw the horse racing - interestingly all the riders are kids , as they are lighter - there has recently been a lower age limit of 7 set! They race for around 40km, so it is quite a challenge. It doesn't seem to be a professional/ elite sport as it is in other places- any family who trains horses can enter and win. We also saw the wrestling, where men wearing a nice outfit of a short and decorated jacket with an open front and long sleeves, and matching pants, with a pair of boots, aim to force their opponent to touch the ground with a part of their body other than their feet . Before the fight they salute the referees and perform the eagle dance, where they spread their arms like eagle wings, pretend to swoop around and slap their thighs. The winning wrestlers from the national Naadam were at the event and were awarded a jeep! They then proceeded to drive around the wrestling ring waving out of the sunroof! In between the matches there was a traditional mongolian folk band, a Mongolian pop band and a 'wolf dance' with throat singing and really impressive dancing. It was a scorching hot day and the area around the ring was packed with people. The stands were crammed full with people climbing onto the railings at the back for a better view. A truck drove round to spray water on the grass to keep it moist whilst the music was being performed and also sprayed the crowd, which people were quite happy with! After the Naadam we went into the countryside and drove for miles into what seemed to be dry farmers fields on the side of gentle mountain slopes occasionally asking at gers for directions - it turns out it's quite difficult to find your destination if it moves onto a new pasture in the middle of vast open countryside every few months!-but eventually found the place we were looking for - a family which accepts tourists and has done since the 60's when tourism was strictly and rigidly controlled by the government. When we arrived there were dried curds and home made yogurt inside the ger, where we stayed for the next two nights. The gers are very cosy, comforting dwellings which are surprisingly sturdy, dry and cool. They are made from a lattice of wooden sticks with layers of sheep's wool covered in a white fabric sheet. They tend to have elaborately and colourfully painted wooden chests and cupboards, decorative silk hanging on the walls, and a family altar opposite the door with photographs, pictures and ornaments of deities and other special items for worship or offering. In the centre will be a stove and there is an opening in the centre of the roof to allow air to circulate. There are many symbols used to decorate the ger and it's contents, for example the endless knot, a Buddhist symbol representing infinite life or live, and the interdependence of things. The ger was surrounded by gentle slopes opening up a huge grassy valley, climbing to the top of the slopes you could see over many mountains for miles, and couldn't see anything or anyone else! Only just outside UB, already it felt like the middle of nowhere-but I guess that's understandable in a large country with a population of only 2.9million. And then there were the stars- there were so, so many! It was so quiet at night, all you could hear was the sound of the herd and the occasional breeze. We drank some whiskey in the back of the van for a while -When you drink alcohol you have to put your ring finger into it and flick it toward the sky as a symbol of respect- Bayara is the driver and Mishka the guide, Mishka is a school teacher but has 3month long summer holidays so has started doing tours to make a bit more money. She said she enjoys seeing more of Mongolia too. They are both very lovely kind people and we've been enjoying spending time with them and have been very well looked after! Bayara really cares for his van, spending lots of time attending to it and maintaining it, we feel very safe with him driving (and with the roads here that's saying something!), There is a carpet and cushions, a small library, binoculars and even a TV! We've been watching Mongolian musicians on it and doing a bit of Mongolian karaoke! We drove from UB down to the Gobi desert, moving from grassy rolling hills to dry sandy moonscapes. We camped by collection of huge limestone boulders which were great fun to climb up, and hiked to the interior of one group of rocks where there is an old temple, now destroyed, but people still make pilgrimages here and everywhere hang prayer flags and blue scarves. On top of the rocks are piles of stones- people place a rock on top and walk around the pile three times, praying to the ancestors or deities .some people also leave money and sweets, and even a toy horse,! There was also a natural spring deep in the rock with a long metal spoon you could use to reach it, it is said that it is very good for your eyes which was lucky as Mat was struggling after getting sand in his eyes, now completely fine so clearly the water worked! There is a lot of wildlife here and we've been spending time in the national parks where we've seen wild horses, wild camels, ibex, lammergeiers, golden eagles and gazelles. There is a special type of wild horse (truly wild,the ones in the UK are apparently escaped ferrel horses!) called a Przewalski horse which became extinct in the wild in the 80s, but was successfully reintroduced (there were some in a zoo in Germany;!) And is now doing well. We're currently in the Gobi Ghurvain national park where there are huge rocky mountains rising up out of the desert, created by the same geological events which created the Himalayas. For a few days it was punishingly hot- at least up to 38 degrees - and heading South was a bit nerve racking! But luckily it has begun raining and cooled down massively- it's also very lucky for the herders who have been experiencing a very dry summer and if their animals don't put on enough weight they really struggle to make it through the very harsh winter and spring. If the animals starve they can't make any money and don't have enough to eat. The water source in the countryside is usually a well, which can run out of water. It really demonstrates how climate change and what seems like a small temperature rise can have disastrous effects upon people living in certain areas. Particularly unjust as their relatively very low impact lifestyle means they haven't contributed to the problem. One evening we turned up to a place to stay in the middle of a vast open desert plain where a family lives with their herd of goats, cows and horses, in a semi nomadic lifestyle where they have a barn and several small out buildings for housing animals and producing curds and other dairy products, but can also live elsewhere in different times of year if the herd needs it. None of the family were there as they'd all gone to the local Naadam, all the buildings were locked, and a few minutes later within seconds a huge dust storm had begun where strong winds were blowing harsh clouds of sand like mist across the plain. Soon you couldn't see or hear further a than a few meters in front of you. We all ran and jumped in the van and closed all the windows as it was steadily filling with a layer of dust. The place felt desolate and completely at the mercy of the elements. There was nothing really to do other than some karaoke and Nishka taught us a Mongolian song and wrote out the words so we can now do a feeble rendition of 'Ayani Sliuvud'! Eventually a motorbike with two sisters pulled up out of the dust and they both ran and jumped in the van. It turned out they'd been asked to look after all the local gers while everyone else went to the naadam! After they drove off to find some phone signal to call the host family and locate the keys we eventually were able to get into one of the gers where we stayed the night . This ger was different to others we'd stayed in as it was brand new and had super modern furniture but still with a family alter, Buddhist scarves and elaborate decorations everywhere. We played some ankle bone games - sheep's ankle bones are different on each side and represent a sheep, goat, horse or camel depending on which side they fall on, and the aim of the game is to collect all the bones by flicking matching animals so they hit each other- a bit like a more complicated marbles. It is generally a really fun and satisfying game and we're hoping to get some to bring home (as long as we can get them through customs!) So will be teaching you all how to play (lucky you !:P) We also got a cheap ukulele from China and a chords app which turned out to have the entire Beatles library on it so Nishka and Bayara have been having to put up with lots of Beatles songs in the evenings ! They like 'i wanna be your man's and '8 days a week' The Beatles have even made it to Mongolia and in UB there is a square called 'beatles square' with a statue of Paul in it! One night we stayed in a provincial centre town (with a public shower, woohoo!) with a family of musicians who played some mongolian folk songs for us in full traditional clothing - they had a type of two stringed lute with a goose head for the neck, and a horse fiddle which is played like a 'cello, and they did this incredible throat and overtone singing. Overtone singing is where you somehow sing more than one note at once, it looks like hard work, and produces an intense and beautiful otherworldly sound which hardly resembles a human voice. I would recommend googling it as it was really amazing and very difficult to describe! Travelling up through a wide valley between the mountains of the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan national park you reach the Khongoryn Els sand dunes which are a ginormous bank of golden sand running roughly parallel to the valley, swept up by strong winds and reaching a height of 200m, spanning 180km! It takes up to an hour to hike up to the top, and the view is breathtaking, like an otherworldly coastline without any ocean, like striding edge made of sand! Over the other side are smaller gentler dunes sweeping for miles like a static sea over to the rocky mountains beyond. The dunes change shape with the weather and make humming sounds in the wind, they are nicknamed 'the singing dunes'. A very fun thing to do there is go exploring by camel! The camels in the Gobi are part of the livestock of people living there, and their meat and milk and wool are all used along with their immense capacity for shifting things(including tourists)- they can carry a whole yurt! Another spectacular sight is the 'Flaming Cliffs' at Bayanzag, a name coined by explorer Ray Chapman Andrews (who the character Indiana Jones was based on) one of the first explorers to take the challenge of visiting the harsh Gobi desert in the 1920's. These are huge cliffs of red sandstone, baked by the sun to produce a glowing orange mars-like scene. Here some of the first dinosaur eggs were discovered, along with a lot of other dinosaur fossils. On the way here we stopped to look at some petroglyphs on top of a big rocky hill overlooking the steppe - they were pictures of deer, horses, camels, people and dogs, carved into the rocks sometime between 3000 and 8000 BC! It is not clear why they were carved here but they are thought to be of spiritual significance. Incredible to see folk art from such a long time ago. The last couple of days of our trip were spent near a place called Erdendalai on a gentle grassy plain, camping alongside the family of one of the people running the tour. This was a lovely time as the family were very friendly and welcoming and there were lots of them around - many people who work in cities return to the countryside with their children for the summer. The first night was very wet and windy so they let us sleep in the ger. They were very happy to see the rain! The grandfather prayed by the altar every morning, spinning a prayer wheel, lighting oil candles and sniffing snuff. A 10 year old grandson called Biliun befriended us and we played a lot of card games, he loved Splendor! He took us on a walk one day to what we thought looked like a small pond about 200m away and turned out to be a lake about a mile away! It can be difficult to judge distances here when there is so little on the landscape to provide any scale. You often see mirages of water below the horizon on hot days, making it feel like you're on a great peninsula, but somehow you never manage to reach the shore. Biliun also came to get us when the goats were being milked (in our tent we heard him asking Mishka for help with the English, then a few seconds later "GOAT MILKING GO!!" ) so we got to do our second milking session of this trip, this time of the goat variety! About 7 people were all milking around 80 goats and there was an impressive amount of milk ! More difficult than milking a cow I think but a kick in the face much less scary, so all in all if I had to choose I'd probably prefer the goat milking. The milk is very tasty too, we've had lots of milk tea, a breakfast of home made rice pudding (nana if you're reading this, almost as good as yours!), the 'top of the milk' - a very thick creamy skin of milk made when it's boiled -, dried curds and even got to make some Khushur- a kind of Mongolian Cornish pasty, the pastry made from flour and water and deep fried rather than baked, eaten mostly during Naadam. Speaking of Naadam, we got to go to another one! This time a small rural festival in a little town we passed through, much less busy and grand but still with a fun holiday atmosphere and with archery, wrestling and horse racing. We are sorry to be finishing our trip round Mongolia as it's so peaceful and beautiful here, and completely off grid (weird to have no idea what's happening in the outside world!) but also looking forward to being back home. We have one more short stop in Yekaterinburg so will try to write about that before we get back to the UK. See you all soon!

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perfectdonutobservation · 4 years ago

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Global Biomass Boiler Market

Global Biomass Boiler Market was valued US$ XX Bn in 2019 and is expected to reach US$ XX Bn by 2027, at a CAGR of 19.20 % during a forecast period.

Global Biomass Boiler Market Global Biomass Boiler Market Definition:

The Biomass boilers have similar properties of oil or gas boiler, which is used to regulate the amount of fuel delivered to the burner to match the heat requirement on the boiler. The Wind, solar and biomass are experiencing strong market growth across the globe. Among these, biomass is used to efficiently produce both power, heat and liquid fuels. Currently, boilers are widely used in the Heat-only applications and combined heat and power (CHP) applications. The global biomass boiler market is experiencing significant growth because of their low carbon residential, commercial and industrial.The report study has analyzed revenue impact of COVID -19 pandemic on the sales revenue of market leaders, market followers and market disrupters in the report and same is reflected in our analysis.

Global Biomass Boiler Market Dynamics:

An Implementation of boiler standards across region during the forecast period is expected to boost high investments in the global biomass boiler market. The regulatory framework and government support in the form of subsidies and tax reimbursements to power generation projects across the globe with the usage of the cleaner sources of energy are also expected to drive the global biomass boiler market.

Additionally, several government policies regarding with the usages of renewables energy are stepping forward toward the elimination of the carbon emission levels is expected to boost the market growth. The Austrian biomass boiler technology is an example of how technological advances can be driven by supervisory requirements and incentives. For instance, the government has increasingly constricted efficiency and emissions standards, which stimulated innovation in the biomass boiler technology. Austrian boiler key players are focusing on the standards by developing equipment with high efficiency and ultra-low emissions, which positioned Austria’s small scale biomass boiler industry in a prime position. It helps to capture a global leadership position and create more than 3,000 manufacturing jobs in the process across the country.

However, despite the number of benefits of the biomass system, there are some concerns over local environmental, which can impacts negatively because of the atmospheric emissions from biomass systems. It can adversely affect local air quality and human health, which is expected to hamper the growth in the market. Additionally, the control of biomass boilers is complex and substantially more intricate over the control of a gas or oil-fired heating system, which also limiting the growth in the market.

Global Biomass Boiler Market Segment Insight:

Wood biomass is popular among the feedstock type, which is widely used in the biomass boiler because of its ease of availability and low cost. The wood biomass includes any part of the tree. Wood is a renewable resource like solar, water or wind power, which offering a sustainable and reliable energy resource. The wood biomass has become a significant source of renewable energy. Wood fuel is massive and contains more volatile ingredients over coal ingredients, which increasing the need for less expensive stoves and boilers for its combustion. Currently, the new style biomass stoves are capable of burning an extensive range and diversity of wood biomass for heat energy.

The industrial boilers are commonly used to form process steam, which helps to provide heating and cooling, and generate electricity. The boilers are using biomass fuels as a substitute to fossil fuels like natural gas, coal, and fuel oil. Biomass-fired boilers are used at the time of an adequate source of biomass fuels exists in the manufacturing industry.

Heating application is expected to contribute US$ XX Mn share in the global biomass boiler market. Biomass boilers have undergone massive developments towards highly efficient, clean and user-friendly systems, which are preferring for heating among consumers. Policy makers have assisted to trigger technological developments in a different direction towards modern biomass heating systems.

Region-wise, Europe region held the dominant position in the global Biomass Boiler Market and it is projected to be continue its dominant position during the forecast period. The stable support offered by the regional government contributed to a well-developed biomass boiler market. The Europe region is predicted to witness significant growth because of the strict regulations taken by government concerning greenhouse gas emission. Additionally, implementation of government schemes like renewable heating incentives (RHI) to lower down the usage of fossil fuels is also expected to boost the growth of biomass boiler market in Europe region.

Some of the key players in the market are usage different levels of sophistication for the designation of the control systems for their biomass boilers. Additionally, boiler manufacturers are participating in the project, which will contribute towards the design by providing specifications essential for successful commercialization.

The objective of the report is to present a comprehensive analysis of Global Biomass Boiler Market including all the stakeholders of the industry. The past and current status of the industry with forecasted market size and trends are presented in the report with the analysis of complicated data in simple language. The report covers all aspects of the industry with a dedicated study of key players that includes market leaders, followers and new entrants by region. PORTER, SVOR, PESTEL analysis with the potential impact of micro-economic factors by region on the market are presented in the report. External as well as internal factors that are supposed to affect the business positively or negatively have been analysed, which will give a clear futuristic view of the industry to the decision-makers.

The report also helps in understanding Global Biomass Boiler Market dynamics, structure by analysing the market segments and project the Global Biomass Boiler Market size. Clear representation of competitive analysis of key players by Type, price, financial position, product portfolio, growth strategies, and regional presence in the Global Biomass Boiler Market make the report investor’s guide. The Scope of the Report for Global Biomass Boiler Market

Global Biomass Boiler Market, By Feedstock Type

• Woody Biomass • Agriculture & Forest Residues • Biogas & Energy Crops • Urban Residues • Others (including Landfill Gas) Global Biomass Boiler Market, By Product Type

• Stoker Boilers • Bubbling Fluidized Bed (BFB) Boilers • Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) Boilers Global Biomass Boiler Market, By Application

• Heating • Power Generation Global Biomass Boiler Market, By End User

• Residential • Commercial • Industrial Global Biomass Boiler Market, By Region

• North America • Europe • Asia Pacific • Middle East & Africa • South America Key players operating in Global Biomass Boiler Market

• ETA Heiztechnik GmbH • Thermax Ltd. • Energy Innovations (UK) Ltd • Schmid energy solutions • VAS Energy Systems International GmbH • Wellons, Inc. • Wood Energy • The Babcock & Wilcox Company • Advanced Recycling Equipment, Inc. • Nexterra Systems Corp. • Leroux and Lotz Technologies • LAMBION Energy Solutions GmbH • Mawera • Kohlbach Group • Lin-Ka Maskinfabrik A/S • Alstom SA • Baxi Group Limited • Jernforsen Energi System AB • Justsen Energiteknik A/S • Ecovision Systems Limited • Foster Wheeler AG • Garioni Naval SpA • Hurst Boiler & Welding Co, Inc. • Polytechnik Austria • RENTECH Boiler Systems, Inc. For More Information Visit @: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/

This Report Is Submitted By :Maximize Market Research Company Customization of the report: Maximize Market Research provides free personalized of reports as per your demand. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with us and our sales team will guarantee provide you to get a report that suits your necessities.

About Maximize Market Research: Maximize Market Research provides B2B and B2C research on 20,000 high growth emerging opportunities & technologies as well as threats to the companies across the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Electronics & Communications, Internet of Things, Food and Beverages, Aerospace and Defense and other manufacturing sectors. Contact info: Name: LumawantGodage Organization Address: MAXIMIZE MARKET RESEARCH PVT. LTD. Email: [email protected] Address:Pune, Maharashtra 411051, India. Contact: +919607195908

#Biomass Boiler Market

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mrstevenbushus · 5 years ago

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How to Combine Renewable Energy Sources

A key goal for many self-builders is to create a comfortable home with minimal running costs – and critical to achieving that is getting the heating strategy right. There’s a host of renewable energy technologies to choose from, so how can you select an effective combination that will help to cut your energy bills and reduce your household’s environmental impact?

There are three main functions to consider when it comes to creating a comfortable living environment, namely water heating, space heating and cooling. In this article, I’ll look at the key principles of linking different renewable resources to effectively deliver these services.

Selecting the best system for your project will depend on your budget, eco priorities and how far you want to go in reducing running costs.

Combining renewable energy sources – the basics

The two key elements to bear in mind when combining renewables are seasonality and time of use. With the former, the trick is to find heat sources that will complement each other – so one is available when the other is not. A basic example would be to rely on sunshine in the summer months, and then set cosy log fires in winter (albeit an open fire isn’t exactly the most efficient use of fuel).

Time of use refers to the fact that renewables are at their most effective in terms of reducing carbon emissions when they preclude the need to draw energy from the national grid. So it makes sense to combine systems in such a way that power is used when it is being generated – eg when running heat sources off renewable electricity.

Latest Renewable Heat Incentive Tariff rates

Applications submitted beforeBiomass boilers & stoves (p/kWh)Air source heat pumps (p/kWh)Ground source heat pumps (p/kWh)Solar thermal (p/kWh)April 20186.54p10.18p19.86p20.06pJanuary 20184.28p7.63p19.64p20.06pJuly 20186.74p10.49p20.46p20.66pJune 20196.88p10.71p20.89p21.09pMarch 20196.74p10.49p20.46p20.66pOctober 20186.74p10.49p20.46p20.66pSeptember 20196.88p10.71p20.89p21.09p

Of course, it’s also possible to combine sustainable resources with fossil fuels or grid electricity – and in most homes both will still have a role to play. Furthermore, if you have natural gas available then you may well find this is among the cheapest routes to delivering space heating, and almost certainly the most affordable to install.

The Stovax View 8HB is a woodburning and multifuel boiler stove capable of outputting 4.9kW of heat to a room, and 8.2kW to water

Reducing your home’s environmental impact

In terms of carbon emissions in use, there’s little to choose between modern gas boilers and most heat pumps – but the latter have a much higher installation cost and embodied energy (that used to manufacture the appliance).

That said, if reducing your carbon footprint is a top priority, then you could consider a hybrid setup that combines a gas boiler and air source heat pump (ASHP). This type of system uses intelligent technology to select the best heat source given the conditions (and costs).

So typically, it would rely on the ASHP in the ‘shoulder months’ either side of winter, when air temperatures are reasonable, but switch to gas in the colder periods of the year when the heat pump would be less efficient.

Incidentally, ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) do not suffer so much from seasonality problems as their energy collecting loops are buried in the earth where temperatures are, in theory, more stable.

The best renewable energy setups

If you’re off the mains gas network or connection costs are prohibitive, then switching to a dedicated sustainable tech solution is likely to become a more attractive option. Here are the key combinations to consider:

Water heating only

The term domestic hot water (DHW) is used to describe that used throughout the house for washing and cleaning. There are a number of renewable options for supplying DHW, but if you’re aiming for a reduced carbon footprint then there’s one that stands out in particular – namely using solar thermal panels alongside a woodburning stove with an integral back boiler, as part of a stored hot water setup.

With this combination, the stove will be providing both hot water and an element of space heating in the colder months when there’s little or no solar resource; while in summer the thermal panels will provide most of your DHW.

There will be times in winter when the sun shines strongly and the solar collectors can operate, so a good controller is needed to make best use of this. Equally, there will be occasions in summer when the sun is shy and the woodburner is off, which means a backup source of energy is required.

This standby resource usually takes the form of an electric immersion heater. While this part of the setup may be fairly expensive to run, the demand on it should be very low. With this exception, the combination of solar thermal panels and a woodburning stove provides near carbon-neutral hot water – so it’s a great eco choice.

Biomass boilers running on pellet or chip-based fuels could do exactly the same job as the stove in this scenario, and are less effort to fire up for a short period in summer if you need to heat the cylinder.

Low-energy self-build home

Key technology: 11kW ground source heat pump and solar thermal panels, both from Worcester, Bosch Group

When self-builders Ian and Joanna Stewart found a plot of land just outside Kelso in the Scottish Borders, they were determined to seize the opportunity to create their dream eco home.

“We had always been drawn to the location,” says Ian, who is a Worcester, Bosch Group accredited installer at James Stewart & Son. “The village is small and friendly – but the plot’s remote position brought the issue of being off the mains gas network.

During the planning stages of the project, the price of oil seemed to be rising on a daily basis, so we felt we had to look at the alternatives. We also strongly believed we should be looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and do our bit for the planet.”

The couple planned to make this their home for life, so identifying the right energy sources was critical. “I spoke to Worcester in depth about the merits of combining heat pumps and solar thermal for our self-build,” says Ian. “It was then a case of emailing over the CAD drawings of the house layout and overall scheme, along with my thoughts about what we wanted to achieve. Worcester designed the whole system for us, right down to the number of collector pipes that would be needed to supply the ground source heat pump (GSHP).”

Worcester recommended an 11kW Greenstore GSHP working in tandem with its Greenskies solar water heating system (as a guide, a 4m2 array would deliver around 4kW of heat input). Underfloor heating has also been fitted on both storeys to complement the GSHP. “The combination of these products satisfies all our heating and hot water requirements using free energy,” says Ian.

For a similar installation, expect to pay around £3,000-£5,000 for the solar thermal system and £13,000-£20,000 for the ground source heat pump. Worcester calculates that running costs for a project of this nature would be around £1,500 per year.

Space heating

Again, there are multiple renewables strategies to choose from here – but when it comes to combining them effectively, you’ll need to take a heat storage approach. Fundamentally, this means fitting an accumulator at the heart of your system.

This is essentially a large, very well insulated hot water tank that includes multiple tapping points and coils to allow for several inputs – such as from a biomass boiler or heat pump working alongside a solar thermal array. Installing this kind of setup won’t come cheap; you can expect to pay several times the cost of a gas combi boiler to fit a solar water heater, air source heat pump (ASHP) and an accumulator.

So if you already have access to mains gas, this route is only really worth considering if the extra investment will be outweighed by savings in the running costs (either financially or in terms of carbon emissions, depending on your motivations). The Renewable Heat Incentive may assist with this.

A wood pellet biomass boiler would do the same job as an ASHP at similar cost and lower emissions. In either case, you would use the same system to provide your DHW via a heat exchanger in the accumulator – so there’s no need for separate domestic hot water storage.

You’ll need to allow sufficient space to accommodate the heat pump or biomass boiler equipment and its fuel, as well as the accumulator (1,000L is a common size for domestic installations). Sometimes, heat pumps are combined with an intermittent source such as a woodburning stove (as opposed to a biomass boiler, which is always online).

Renewable technology eco renovation

Key tech: 13kW split air-to-water heat pump, 2.8kW solar thermal panels and 3.75kW solar PV array, all from Viessmann

When the Jenkinson family noticed others in their community were starting to benefit from energy savings and reduced bills by fitting renewable heating systems, they were keen to explore the options for their characterful country home in Devon. The house had been running on an old oil boiler, which was just 65% efficient, so there was huge scope to upgrade to a better-performing setup.

The Jenkinsons engaged Viessmann partner Lenwood Energies to investigate the options, and the company came up with a package that would be perfect for the young family’s needs. Hot water would be in use throughout the day, so specifying a 2.8kW Vitosol 200-T solar thermal array (which harvests energy during daylight hours) was a natural part of the solution.

This was installed alongside a 13kW Vitocal 242-S split air-to-water heat pump, which powers 10 newly-installed fan assisted radiators and features an integral 220L cylinder for solar heating. The Viessmann system is governed by the company’s Vitotronic 200 controls, which intelligently decide which energy source will deliver optimum performance at any given time. The project also features a 3.75kW Vitovolt solar PV array.

The heat pump has an average running time of 105 hours per week in the winter months, and the property is now entirely heated by renewable energy. “The household now saves nearly £1,500 per annum on its utility bills and the installation costs will be recovered in well under eight years,” says Chris Lenehan from Lenwood Energies.

Cooling

Every cooling system requires electricity to run, but most routes to generating this renewably are intermittent. Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels only work effectively when there’s good daylighting, for example, while wind turbines rely on a decent breeze.

If you are lucky enough to have a spring-fed source of water power then the situation changes; but this is rare. Many locations are not suitable for wind power – but most properties can accommodate some form of PV.

As you’d imagine, overheating is typically only a problem when the sun is shining – so household cooling requirements are likely to coincide with the part of the year when solar photovoltaic (PV) panels can perform to their maximum. For this reason, PV is an ideal partner for cooling systems.

Many heat pumps can also provide cooling as the key component of an air conditioning system. As the time of use matches up well with the time of generation, combining PV and an ASHP for this purpose means you won’t be imposing an additional load on the grid – so it can deliver genuine carbon emission savings.

A word of warning, though – don’t assume that using a PV and ASHP together will help to achieve a reduced net impact in terms of your costs and carbon footprint for space heating. The sun won’t be shining so much during heating season, so the time of generation doesn’t correspond with when the energy is needed most.

Image (top): This self-built eco home features Nu-Heat underfloor heating powered by an air source heat pump – an ideal combination

The post How to Combine Renewable Energy Sources appeared first on Build It.

Article reference How to Combine Renewable Energy Sources

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mccarranhandymanservices-blog · 6 years ago

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jeremystrele · 6 years ago

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2 Modern Interiors With Rich Blue Decor Ideas

We’ve coupled together these two inspirational home tours that each feature a number of rich blue hued decor ideas. The blue accent pieces and decor elements are all set against predominantly white backdrops, peppered with black accessories, monochrome rugs, plus wood tone floors and furniture. The combination of white, black and woodtone creates a relaxing atmosphere where modern blue sofas, eye-catching blue accent chairs and cool blue bedroom schemes add uplifting moments of interest. Each of these two sophisticated blue interiors also incorporate interior sliding glass doors that separate an only bedroom from open plan lounge, kitchen and dining spaces. Modern lights incorporating glass orbs complete the look.

Visualizer: Roman Kurilenko In the first apartment, an open plan kitchen has pure white wall and base cabinets that extend in an L-shape into a white lounge area. The all white decor scheme is interrupted by the flash of a blue headboard wall in the bedroom, visible through sliding glass doors.

A rich blue sofa stands out against the white backdrop in the living room, which is accessorised with a grey cushion and throw. Dark coffee tables are situated on a monochrome patterned rug. Blue toned artwork adorns one wall, whereas green botanical art adds a different note over by a dining set.

In the dining area, a concrete planter holds a living house plant. Three perspex dining chairs sit at a small white dining table. A duo of decorative vases adorn the round tabletop. The natural light from a large window is diffused by a simple white window blind.

Two unique kitchen pendant lights dangle clear glass orbs over the central kitchen bench, where two bar stools are situated to create a more casual dining spot. The pendant lights also illuminate the kitchen sink. A strip of LED lighting under wall cabinets light the opposite workbench. The kitchen wall cabinets are double banked to make the most of the vertical space in the small apartment. Because the units are coloured white like the walls, the abundance of cupboards does not appear overbearing.

Along with the kitchen cabinets and worktop, the kitchen backsplash is plain white to create one cohesive minimalist look.

In the entry hallway there is a run of white cupboard doors that conceal a large bank of storage space. These units can be used for a menagerie of household items to keep the compact living space free from clutter. At the end of the walkway, a neat table under artwork creates a pleasant visual stop.

An LED strip illuminates the blue headboard wall in the bedroom from beneath. A blue accent chair sits by a slim bookcase.

Visualizer: Ruslan Kovalchuk A dark blue sofa takes centre stage in this second interior design, placed upon a black and white area rug with a diamond pattern. Unique coffee tables with a metallic finish can reflect a patterned rug to great effect, like this shiny Cordoba coffee table. Metallic scatter cushions adorn the sofa to tie in with the theme.

Whilst the deep blue sofa stands on a wood herringbone floor, the wood tone kitchen and dining area have a white floor.

Monochrome artwork tucked behind one end of the sectional sofa depicts birds in flight. A white panelled wall runs behind.

A shelf runs the length of the wall beneath the window of the living room. The narrow wooden shelf acts as a desk. The wooden desk chair matches the two seats at the dining table.

Opposite the sofa, a flat screen TV is mounted on a wall where small bookshelves are recessed above and below it at one side.

Dining room pendant lights work to anchor an eating area in place in an open plan room, and this neat IC Lights S Style Pendant does so in a subtle fashion. The original of this design is available here.

Unique glassware decorates the dining room table.

The hob and kitchen sink are situated on the opposite side to the dining area, separated by the gap of the main walkway. On this side of the kitchen, a set of wooden drawer units are teamed with white wall cabinets.

White and wood kitchens look great with bold accessories, this one has a black kitchen faucet with matching black electrical sockets and stove top.

Black framed glass doors give access to an all white bedroom.

The glass doors slide away on each side, creating a grand look. A modern bedroom pendant light acts as a focal point dead centre.

A blue upholstered bedroom accent chair with gold legs stands in front of a closet that has clear glass doors. The on-show closet is kept super organised with the help of a comprehensive range of garment hanging rails, shelves and drawers.

The bathroom has a dramatic grey decor scheme with tiled walls that are accentuated by clever lighting. LED strips are set behind a duo of circular mirrors, making them glow outwardly like two solar eclipses. A metallic pedestal basin cuts through a deep vanity shelf.

A wall hung toilet is mounted against textured grey panelling; the flush plate is grey to blend in with the background rather than to contrast. An anthracite heated towel rail fills the adjacent wall. At one end of the vanity unit, a tall recessed shelving unit holds a selection of boutique toiletries and decorative containers.

Recommended Reading: 30 Blue Living Rooms 30 Buoyant Blue Bedrooms 30 Beautiful Blue Kitchens

For more regular updates from Home Designing, join us on Facebook.

If you are reading this through e-mail, please consider forwarding this mail to a few of your friends who are into interior design. Come on, you know who they are!

4 Bright & Cheerful Interiors That Use White & Wood To Good Effect

Black Decor With Colourful Accents

Scandinavian Style Interior With Pink And Blue Accents

Two Different Methods of Dividing A Studio Apartment

Modern Open Plan With Refreshing Colour Infusions

Refined Room Designs In Grey Decor

0 notes

drewebowden66 · 6 years ago

Text

2 Modern Interiors With Rich Blue Decor Ideas

Along with the kitchen cabinets and worktop, the kitchen backsplash is plain white to create one cohesive minimalist look.

An LED strip illuminates the blue headboard wall in the bedroom from beneath. A blue accent chair sits by a slim bookcase.

Whilst the deep blue sofa stands on a wood herringbone floor, the wood tone kitchen and dining area have a white floor.

Monochrome artwork tucked behind one end of the sectional sofa depicts birds in flight. A white panelled wall runs behind.

A shelf runs the length of the wall beneath the window of the living room. The narrow wooden shelf acts as a desk. The wooden desk chair matches the two seats at the dining table.

Opposite the sofa, a flat screen TV is mounted on a wall where small bookshelves are recessed above and below it at one side.

Unique glassware decorates the dining room table.

White and wood kitchens look great with bold accessories, this one has a black kitchen faucet with matching black electrical sockets and stove top.

Black framed glass doors give access to an all white bedroom.

The glass doors slide away on each side, creating a grand look. A modern bedroom pendant light acts as a focal point dead centre.

Recommended Reading: 30 Blue Living Rooms 30 Buoyant Blue Bedrooms 30 Beautiful Blue Kitchens

For more regular updates from Home Designing, join us on Facebook.

If you are reading this through e-mail, please consider forwarding this mail to a few of your friends who are into interior design. Come on, you know who they are!

4 Bright & Cheerful Interiors That Use White & Wood To Good Effect

Black Decor With Colourful Accents

Scandinavian Style Interior With Pink And Blue Accents

Two Different Methods of Dividing A Studio Apartment

Modern Open Plan With Refreshing Colour Infusions

Refined Room Designs In Grey Decor

0 notes

theconservativebrief · 6 years ago

Link

Climate scientists told us this week in a long-awaited United Nations report that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius would require a gargantuan global effort — and that we have roughly 12 years to do it. But how?

One bright spot in the report is that we already have the tools we need.

Let’s make something clear, though: The emissions we need to focus on now are the ones at the industrial, corporate level, not at the individual level.

Scared by that new report on climate change? Here’s what you can do to help:

• Seize the state

• Bring the fossil fuel industry under public ownership, rapidly scale down production

• Fund a massive jobs program to decarbonize every sector of the economy https://t.co/ZZ7lmunfVW

— Kate Scare-onoff (@KateAronoff) October 9, 2018

According to the Carbon Majors Database, 71 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 can be traced back to just 100 fossil fuel companies. Hitting the 1.5°C or 2°C goals means these corporations, their customers, and other large enterprises must phase out fossil fuels (more aggressively than what Shell laid out in its vision for a zero-carbon world).

Governments will also have to come up with tax schemes to generate new revenue for investment in and incentives for renewable energy, reforestation, and carbon removal technologies. And we need to vote for leaders who will deliver on them.

The Trump administration is obviously contributing little to these efforts, trying its best to roll back Obama’s suite of climate policies and enable the continuation of fossil fuel dominance. But a growing number of younger leaders around the world understand what’s at stake and are pushing for more ambitious goals.

Here are some examples of strategies that are working and need to be rolled out worldwide:

By adding a cost to emitting greenhouse gases, you create an incentive to produce less of them and switch to alternatives.

It’s hard to convince someone to pay for something if they can get it for free. Right now, much of the world can dump their greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at no charge. And we don’t have many straightforward ways to value the carbon that trees and algae help pull out of the atmosphere.

Though the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report didn’t explicitly discuss the economics of fighting climate change, the authors highlighted at a press conference that attaching a price tag to greenhouse gases is a critical step in limiting warming. “Carbon pricing and the right economic signals are going to be part of the mix,” said Jim Skea, co-chair of IPCC Working Group III.

Even fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil is campaigning for a carbon tax.

To date, at least 40 countries have priced carbon in some form. Some have done it through a carbon tax. Cap-and-trade schemes for carbon dioxide are also underway, like the European Union’s Emissions Trading System. China now runs the world’s largest carbon trading market. Even some regions in the United States have cap-and-trade schemes, like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative among eastern states.

But, as our colleague David Roberts wrote on Twitter, “A price on carbon of some sort is, wonks almost universally agree, an important part of a comprehensive climate strategy. But the details make all the difference in whether it’s regressive or not, effective or not, popular or not, passable or not.”

Shutterstock

Renewable energy sources like wind and solar power have already dropped drastically in price. In the United States, renewables are cost-competitive with fossil fuels in some markets. In Europe, new unsubsidized renewable energy projects are coming online.

From a market standpoint, it might seem like the time is near for pulling the plug on subsidies to renewables. But if your goal is to fight climate change, it makes more sense to keep giving cleaner energy sources a boost.

And the fossil fuel industry is still getting a number of direct and indirect subsidies. In the United States, these subsidies can amount to $20 billion a year. Globally, it’s about $260 billion per year. Getting rid of government support for these fuels seems like a no-brainer. But yes, the massive political influence of fossil fuels means this will continue to be extremely hard.

The world is still opening tens of thousands of coal-fired plants every year.

Each of these plants represents decades of further greenhouse gas emissions. Although the rate of new coal power plants is declining, that’s not enough. We still need to shut down the oldest, dirtiest coal power plants and preventing new ones from coming online.

According to the IPCC, to stay on track for climate goals the world would have to burn one-third of the coal its using by 2030.

And while natural gas emits about half the greenhouse gases of coal, the quantity isn’t zero, so these generators are in the cross-hairs too.

Some countries are already taking steps to shut off fossil fuel power. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has assembled a panel to figure out when the country can close all of its coal plants. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, has pledged to end its coal use by 2025.

Economists have also argued that countries should use supply-side tactics to restrict the supply of fossil fuels in other ways, too: like opting against new oil and gas pipelines, refineries, and export terminals.

Energy efficiency is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit in fighting climate change.

Increasing fuel economy, insulating buildings, and upgrading lighting are all small incremental changes that add up to dramatic reductions in energy use, curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s also often the cheapest tactic.

“The combined evidence suggests that aggressive policies addressing energy efficiency are central in keeping 1.5°C within reach and lowering energy system and mitigation costs,” according to the new IPCC report.

Buildings, for example, account for roughly one-third of global energy use and about a quarter of total greenhouse gas emissions. To stay on track for 1.5°C of warming, indoor heating and cooling demands would have to decline by at least one-third by 2050.

Many countries already have building codes that require new structures to use state-of-the-art HVAC systems, double-pane glass windows, and energy-saving appliances. But most of the buildings that are standing now will still exist in 2050, so retrofitting existing homes and offices to use less energy needs to be a major policy priority.

Another way to use our resources more efficiently is to electrify everything: oil heaters, diesel trucks, gas stoves. That way, as our sources of electricity get cleaner, they pay climate dividends throughout the rest of the electrified economy. And products like electric cars are far more energy-efficient than their gasoline-powered counterparts.

However, we need financing, incentives, and penalties to push the global economy to do more with less.

Perhaps the best tools to fight climate change haven’t been invented yet — a battery that can store gobs of energy for months, a solar panel that’s twice as efficient, a crop that makes biofuels cheaper than petroleum, or something even better, beyond our imaginations.

So while we clamp down on heavy emitters and deploy cleaner alternatives, we also need to come up with new answers to climate change.

That means investing in basic research and development. It also means helping nascent technologies get out of the laboratory and onto the power grid, whether through loans, grants, or regulations.

The United States already has a framework for this. The Department of Energy runs the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), a small federal program that funds high-risk, high-reward energy projects with an eye toward fighting climate change. It’s backed projects ranging from flow batteries to wide bandgap semiconductors.

While analysts have argued that programs like ARPA-E increase America’s competitiveness and that the world needs more innovation initiatives for clean energy, the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to zero out its $353 million budget. Congress has nonetheless kept it in place and gave the program a boost in the last spending bill.

California-based Proterra has sold hundreds of its all-electric buses. Proterra

Within a few decades, we are likely to see a worldwide transition away from vehicles that run on gas toward ones that use electricity.

But there’s a lot of uncertainty about how quickly it will happen. And governments have to hurry it along by phasing out the production and sale of gas and diesel vehicles altogether and helping consumers purchase EVs instead.

Fortunately, there’s a lot of momentum building. In 2017, both China and India, along with a few European countries, announced plans to end sales of gas and diesel vehicles. China is hustling toward that goal by providing incentives to manufacturers of electric car and bus makers, as well as subsidies to consumers who purchase EVs to the tune of $10,000 per vehicle on average.

The US is lagging, as per usual, despite the fact our transportation sector today emits more carbon than any other sector of the economy. California, however, is going full speed ahead on EV policy. Its target is 5 million zero-emissions vehicles by 2030 and 250,000 zero-emission vehicle chargers — including 10,000 DC fast chargers — by 2025.

A rainforest in Borneo, Malaysia was destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations. Shutterstock

Tropical forests in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Central Africa are essential for keeping carbon in the ground and maintaining the climate.

And the current rate that we’re clearing them — to make way for cattle ranches, as well as palm oil, soy, and wood products — is putting us on a course for rapid climate change, with intensifying cycles of extreme droughts, more heat, and more forest fires.

All told, deforestation accounts for an estimated 15 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

Halting deforestation can’t be done from afar; it requires working closely with local communities who live in and rely on forests. But governments and corporations can also be pressured to buy commodities only from forest regions certified as “deforestation-free.”

Norway, for instance, now has a “zero deforestation policy,” where it has committed to ensuring “that public procurements do not contribute to deforestation of the rainforest.” Hundreds of companies have made zero-deforestation commitments, too, but we still have a long way to go before they’re airtight and working.

If we could stop deforestation, restore some of the forests we’ve cut down, and improve forestry practices, we could remove 7 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere annually — equal to eliminating 1.5 billion cars, according to the Climate and Land Use Alliance.

Nuclear power currently is responsible for about 20 percent of US electricity — and 50 percent of its carbon-free electricity. As Vox’s David Roberts has noted, the US could lose a lot of this power if some 15 to 20 nuclear plants at risk of closing shut down in the next five to 10 years. Which means that, “saving it, or at least as much of it as possible, seems like an obvious and urgent priority for anyone who values decarbonization.”

Fortunately, Dave also looked at how we could keep these plants open. Near the top of the list is a relatively modest national carbon price (see No. 1 above).

But since we can’t count on a carbon price in the immediate future, it’s worth looking at the other state-level hacks — like zero emissions credits, paid for by a small tariff on power bills — already being deployed to keep nuclear plants running.

Other countries are also wrestling with the future of their nuclear plants. Germany committed to shutting down all of its nuclear reactors by 2022, but the country is now likely to miss its emissions reduction targets. France is now weighing whether to extend the operating life of some of its aging nuclear power plants.

Producing animal products, particularly beef and dairy, creates the majority of food-related greenhouse emissions, while the food supply chain overall creates 26 percent of total emissions. The most obvious way to bring these emissions down would be to engineer a massive shift in dietary patterns, reducing our meat and dairy consumption and shrinking the livestock sector.

“GHG emissions cannot be sufficiently mitigated without dietary changes towards more plant-based diets,” as Marco Springmann of the Oxford Martin Program on the Future of Food and co-authors wrote in a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

But again, this is not about individual choices, not about your mother eating more tofu. This is about asking our leaders and institutions to make dietary change a priority to truly shift markets and lower emissions. Trouble is, no country has had significant success yet with reducing its meat consumption. And as Springmann and his co-authors note, “providing information without additional economic or environmental changes has a limited influence on behavior.”

The kinds of changes we need, they write, include “media and education campaigns; labeling and consumer information; fiscal measures, such as taxation, subsidies, and other economic incentives; school and workplace approaches; local environmental changes; and direct restriction and mandates.”

It’s that last one, “direct restriction and mandates,” that’s most interesting, most daring, and most essential to try immediately.

Some countries like China are beginning to work meat consumption reduction goals into their dietary guidelines. The US should do that too in its next update in 2020. There’s also the Cool Food Pledge, a platform launched in September by the World Resources Institute, to help food service providers slash food-related emissions by 25 percent by 2030. So far, a few companies and institutions have signed up, including Morgan Stanley, UC Davis Medical Center, and Genentech.

Companies and governments could also follow WeWork’s lead and stop serving or paying for meat at company events.

We need to launch many more experiments like this because we still have no idea really how to go about dietary change on the scale that’s necessary to reduce livestock-related emissions. And we need to try.

Every scenario outlined by the IPCC report counts on pulling carbon dioxide out of the air. However, many of technologies needed to do this are in their infancy.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) tactics range from the straightforward (like planting forests) to the novel (like scrubbing carbon dioxide straight from the air).

Governments will need to invest more in CDR technology to improve its effectiveness and bring down costs. Policies like renewable portfolio standards, feed-in tariffs, and investment tax credits can help drive the deployment of CDR, as Julio Friedmann, a researcher at Columbia University who studies carbon capture, noted in recently in The Hill. But the biggest thing CDR companies need to blossom is a price on carbon.

Dive into the Vox archives to learn more about these issues:

Carbon pricing

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/7/20/17584376/carbon-tax-congress-republicans-cost-economy

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/6/15/15796202/map-carbon-pricing-across-the-globe

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/7/20/17584376/carbon-tax-congress-republicans-cost-economy

Closing coal plants

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/4/3/17187606/fossil-fuel-supply

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-30/coal-pollution-gets-much-deeper-cut-ipcc-report-on-climate-change

Subsidies

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/10/6/16428458/us-energy-coal-oil-subsidies

https://www.vox.com/2018/5/30/17408602/solar-wind-energy-renewable-subsidy-europe

Carbon dioxide removal

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/6/14/17445622/direct-air-capture-air-to-fuels-carbon-dioxide-engineering

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/8/18/16166014/negative-emissions

Nuclear

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/4/5/17196676/nuclear-power-plants-climate-change-renewables

Original Source -> 10 ways to accelerate progress against global warming

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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wionews · 7 years ago

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Will PM Modi's 'Saubhagya' bring light to all homes?

PM Narendra Modi, recently announced the Saubhagya, that is, the Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana scheme, under which electricity connections will be provided to all “willing households” across the urban and rural areas. With an outlay of over Rs 16000 crore, the scheme is expected to cover the 40 million families which still lack an electricity connection, by December 2018.

The Saubhagya initiative correctly identifies two major problems plaguing India’s power sector: Overstressed Discoms facing high supply costs and poor households facing high costs of power connection and supply.

To bridge the gap between supply and demand, the government has decided to provide the BPL households with free electricity connection and the APL households with an electricity connection priced at Rs 5000, payable at the rate of Rs 500 per month, to be recovered by Discoms through the electricity bills. Besides, for households located in remote and inaccessible areas, not connected to the grid, the government would provide a solar pack of 200-300 watt peak (WP), including a battery bank, five LED bulbs, one DC fan and one DC power plug.

Inefficient billing practices and electricity theft continue to plague the power sector in India.

The Saubhagya initiative aims to achieve last mile connectivity, a problem with roots in the inefficient management, billing and metering system at the level of individual households and villages in India. The lack of access to electricity stems from the fact that most households do not have the required money to pay for the electricity connections and for the subsequent electricity bills.

While the first problem is resolved by central government’s announcement of free electricity connections to all, the second problem still remains unresolved to a certain extent. Inefficient billing practices and electricity theft continue to plague the power sector in India.

While the government has promised to set up prepaid and smart metering systems for the households to be covered under the Saubhagya scheme, the initiative effectively leaves out those households which are electrified but are still running on older versions of electric meters or paying flat bills for hefty power consumption.

The problems of electricity theft and inefficient usage also continue to stare the policymakers in the face. Besides, the idea of sustainable and clean energy access becomes redundant if the consequent increase in power demand is met through a proportionate increase in the use of coal-fired power plants.

Suitable billing mechanisms must be designed which can gradually render the older version of electricity meters obsolete.

To pursue the idea of power security holistically, therefore, the government will need to rely on three key technological pillars which can prove to be a major disruption in the country’s electricity sector. First, the government will need to promote the use of smart and pre-paid meters in rural and urban households by incentivising their use and taxing their non-use.

Suitable billing mechanisms must be designed which can gradually render the older version of electricity meters obsolete. Aadhar based linking of power connections and generation of e-bills for power use can go a long way in checking for power theft and pilferage. Dwellings for urban poor and slum dwellers, not covered by the existing grid infrastructure, can be provided with the aforementioned solar packs to cover for their daily use and related activities.

Second, the government will need to provide a major policy push for rooftop solar power panels over the next couple of years. The technology, if adopted on a mission mode basis, promises to bring down the cost of household electricity bills, reduce the overall dependency on thermal power plants and finally achieve the INDC goals that the country has set for itself by 2030.

The government will also need to discontinue the practice of providing free electricity to certain groups of agriculturists and industries.

Besides, the provision of rooftop solar plants will help improve the reliability of power supply, reduce fluctuations and minimise the AT&C losses plaguing the grid-connected power infrastructure, as the point of power generation and power consumption will lie in close proximity. This will, in turn, provide a major push for the use of electric stoves and reduce overall dependency on LPG cylinders. The government will also need to discontinue the practice of providing free electricity to certain groups of agriculturists and industries.

This step will push up electricity bills for a short time for the given entities. However, the holistic implementation of the power policy promises to bring down tariffs and improve the affordability of electricity supplied.

Third, the government needs to provide a greater impetus for research on the upcoming Carbon Capture Storage/Utilisation (CCS/CCU) technologies that can help the existing thermal power plants produce clean energy, without rendering them completely obsolete in the face of increasing role for gas based and renewable power plants. While there has been a renewed focus on the use of such technologies globally, these are yet to make any substantial breakthrough in India.

The NDA government, to its credit, has successfully overcome the supply side barriers, such that the country has gone on to become a power surplus nation from a power deficient nation in the course of three years. The focus must now and has already begun, to shift to demand-side management. This will require a major disruption and a complete overhaul of our existing power consumption practices. Only then can the country envisage a successful 24x7 power supply for all scenario.

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carlsonknives · 7 years ago

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Unforgettable Luxury Glamping Holidays at Fir Hill Yurts, Cornwall

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Idyllic countryside with abundant wildflowers, close proximity to dramatic Cornish coastline and a historic estate full of intrigue, and that’s barely scratching the surface. Since being abandoned in the 1940’s, the Fir Hill estate in Colan near Newquay, has recently been transformed into a stunning glamping site, providing stylish traditional Mongolian yurt accommodation.

The Fir Hill yurts are completely off-grid and set within 62 acres of woodland, just 5km from Newquay and a short walk away from Porth Reservoir. There are currently 9 yurts on site, providing comfortable and spacious accommodation, ideal for family holidays.

The Yurt Accommodation

The construction of these traditional Mongolian yurts is perfection. With not a gap in sight and generous use of material layers including thick 100% sheep wool felt insulation, the result is a truly cosy interior, snug during chilly summer nights and yet surprisingly cool during the day.

After a long but pleasant drive and a warm welcome, I settle into my own Tardis-like yurt. Inside I find a kingsize and two double beds, each equally comfortable, along with bedside tables and lanterns. There’s also two large armchairs, and unlike most glamping accommodation I’ve stayed in, there’s also somewhere to hang clothes up and a set of drawers allowing me to tidy away the contents of my bags and make myself at home.

Each yurt is set within its own landscaped grounds, dominated with a spacious decked area which includes a picnic bench. Beyond that, each yurt has its own kitchen shelter containing cutlery, crockery, cookware, a kettle and gas burner.

The camper in me dictates I must be over-prepared for every situation, and I bring my own cool box, crockery and cookware with me. I needn’t have bothered though, everything I need, including a good quality igloo cool box and even kindling for my personal fire pit, is right here.

Each yurt comes with its own well equipped kitchen shelter

My usually invaluable solar power hub proves unnecessary too, as the barn, a funky communal space that guests are encouraged to use, is not only a great space to relax in, but a convenient place to recharge any essential devices.

Despite it being the August Bank holiday weekend, good weather is of course never a given in the UK, but for 5 days straight I awoke to blue skies and blazing sunshine, the ideal weather to enjoy glamping to it’s fullest, and perfect for exploring the grounds of the estate and this part of Cornwall.

The Fir Hill Estate

The estate is a historic treasure trove, rich in archaeological features that provide glimpses into the ancient use of the woodland, including what’s thought to be the remains of a rare Ochre mine, as well as clear evidence of the John Edyvean canal, an ambitious scheme to create a lockless canal sytem, running from Mawgan Porth to St Columb Porth, that was never completed.

I enjoy a lazy afternoon walk through the estate grounds in the company of charming owner, Charlie Hoblyn. As we walk he talks animatedly, revealing future plans, pointing out archaeological features and sharing his seemingly endless knowledge of the trees and plants that we pass.

Charlies words demonstrate a clear love for this place, and his commitment to the land is evident in meticulous woodland management and the planting of hundreds of new trees, ensuring that for every area of ground cleared to accommodate yurts, at least as much has been replanted, and his enthusiasm and passion is infectious.

The sun setting over Porth Reservoir, viewed from the barn

I can think of no better environment for a relaxing, back to nature family holiday, but don’t expect back to basics from this glamping site. The facilities here are excellent.

The barn is a stunning building with the most incredible countryside views that lead the eye down towards Porth Reservoir. Packed full of comfy sofas, stunning wooden tables and a cupboard full of boardgames, the first floor features enormous picture windows; the perfect vantage point from which to view the setting sun.

Inside the barn which guests are free to use

From the secluded woodland setting of the estate, it’s hard to believe the lively coastal town of Newquay is only a few kilometres away. Indeed, the only real clue as to the proximity of the coast are the many wetsuits slung over the small wooden fences that surround each occupied yurt. When I return after a day on the water exploring the dramatic St Agnes coastline, knowing my own wetsuit will soon be drying in the warm evening sunshine is curiously gratifying.

My wetsuit drying in the sunshine after a day on the water

Out and About

Don’t be mistaken into believing that all this part of Cornwall has to offer revolves around the sea though. Whilst the powerful Atlantic is a huge draw to surfers and adrenaline junkies alike, within half an hour in either direction of the Fir Hill, there are an endless number of places to see and things to do.

From walking the superb South West Coast Path, ambling around delightful little fishing villages and sampling fresh Cornish crab, shopping or even trying your hand at local arts and crafts, through to the more obvious crowd pleasers like Newquay Zoo and The Eden Project; the area provides something for absolutely everyone.

Bedruthan Step is a short drive away

I spend my evenings reading, either sitting outside on my deck, or laying on my ridiculously comfortable bed, yurt door flung open, allowing me to glance up every now and again to appreciate the stunning views. The closeness of such ancient woodland is truly calming. The quiet is punctuated by cattle lowing and the plaintive cries of Buzzards; all to the backing of delicate twittering birdsong and the distant carefree sound of children playing.

Enjoying the sun setting after another glorious day

The final verdict

My own five days at the Fir Hill flew by, and a week or more could very easily and comfortably be spent here.

For those seeking an alternative family holiday or for couples wanting a romantic long weekend break at the luxury end of the glamping scale, the Fir Hill offers everything you could want from a glamping holiday, and at the end of your stay, you’ll be sad to leave this slice of idyllic Cornish countryside behind.

Why should you choose the Fir Hill yurts?

The Fir Hill yurts are perfectly located for exploring the north Cornwall coastline. Half an hour south takes you to historic St. Agnes where I booked a superb sea kayaking trip with Koru Kayaking, whilst half an hour north will get you to Padstow and beyond.

The estate is a short drive from Newquay and all of its attractions, I went on the Newquay Sea Safaris seal spotting boat tour and can throughly recommend it.

The Fir Hill estate is stunning and packed full of the historic remnants of the old Manor house and it’s numerous outbuildings. Wild and enchanting, the woodland here is ripe for exploration.

The quality of the yurts is exceptional. Whilst they don’t contain wood burning stoves, their construction is such that even in the colder months, I suspect they would remain comfortably habitable.

The rustic wooden bedframes house ridiculously comfy beds with warm duvets, woolen throws and plump pillows – I promise you will not sleep badly here.

The facilities are excellent and over the coming years are set to get even better, with plans to develop further woodland walkways and to install wood-heated hot tubs.

Generous light, airy and clean shower and toilet rooms (with off-grid power and water heating) are a pleasure to use. Just bring your toiletries, flip flops and a fluffy robe.

A great team including owner Charlie, cousin Phillip and younger Charlie who are full of smiles and happy to chat or answer questions.

Lilly, the adorably placid big grey labradoodle who rolls over for a tummy rub and often pads over to the yurts at breakfast time in hope of a sausage.

Find out more or book your holiday at the Fir Hill Glamping here.

See more photographs of Fir Hill Glamping.

Thank you to Charlie at the Fir Hill for inviting me to stay.

The post Unforgettable Luxury Glamping Holidays at Fir Hill Yurts, Cornwall appeared first on Camping with Style Camping Blog | Activities • Glamping • Travel • Adventure.

Original Source http://www.campingwithstyle.co.uk/unforgettable-luxury-glamping-holidays-at-fir-hill-yurts-cornwall/ For the best knives to use whilst camping check out Carlson Knives http://www.carlsonknives.com/

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mrstevenbushus · 6 years ago

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How to Combine Renewable Energy Sources

Selecting the best system for your project will depend on your budget, eco priorities and how far you want to go in reducing running costs.

Combining renewable energy sources – the basics

Latest Renewable Heat Incentive Tariff rates

Applications submitted beforeBiomass boilers & stoves (p/kWh)Air source heat pumps (p/kWh)Ground source heat pumps (p/kWh)Solar thermal (p/kWh)July 20174.28p7.63p19.64p20.06pOctober 20174.28p7.63p19.64p20.06pJanuary 20184.28p7.63p19.64p20.06pApril 20186.54p10.18p19.86p20.06pJuly 20186.74p10.49p20.46p20.66pOctober 20186.74p10.49p20.46p20.66p

The Stovax View 8HB is a woodburning and multifuel boiler stove capable of outputting 4.9kW of heat to a room, and 8.2kW to water

Reducing your home’s environmental impact

Incidentally, ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) do not suffer so much from seasonality problems as their energy collecting loops are buried in the earth where temperatures are, in theory, more stable.

The best renewable energy setups

Water heating only

Low-energy self-build home

Key technology: 11kW ground source heat pump and solar thermal panels, both from Worcester, Bosch Group

When self-builders Ian and Joanna Stewart found a plot of land just outside Kelso in the Scottish Borders, they were determined to seize the opportunity to create their dream eco home.

Space heating

Renewable technology eco renovation

Key tech: 13kW split air-to-water heat pump, 2.8kW solar thermal panels and 3.75kW solar PV array, all from Viessmann

Cooling

Image (top): This self-built eco home features Nu-Heat underfloor heating powered by an air source heat pump – an ideal combination

The post How to Combine Renewable Energy Sources appeared first on Build It.

Article reference How to Combine Renewable Energy Sources

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