Switched on Eigg

[martin]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7219658.stm - wonder what they're doing with the "old" gennies?

[dan_aka_jack]

There was a brief article about this on The Today Programme this morning.  Of particular note, they broadcast the sound of an "ancient diesel generator"... sure sounded like a Lister!  Mr Lister or Radio4 - exciting stuff.

*edit* - ooh, I've just followed the link to the BBC website where you can watch a short clip, including a few shots of the generator.  Two things of note: 1) the video didn't mention that most of their energy is coming from hydro; 2) I wonder why they were spending £100/week on diesel instead of using WVO?  Are there no chippies on the island?!?

[Smooth Hound]

I cant think of any generator that would burn 100 pounds worth a week,
 

[RichardKB]

This will bring a lifestyle change to some of them games machines, computers dish washers.

30 years time headlines on island paper investigation into obesity in our children.

Rich

[KenB]

SmoothHound,  List,

It takes between 0.5 and 1 litre of diesel fuel to produce 1kWh of electricity.  A typical Lister uses about 0.75 litres/kWh.

Diesel is well over a pound a litre in suburbia,  probably about £1.20 in the Scottish highlands.

I suspect the Eigg locals have tapped into a supply of red diesel, marine diesel, or central heating oil costing about 45p per litre, which they can justify using.  The Lister will be quite happy on heating oil.

£100 is only 222 litres at that price, and its quite possible that some might be using electricity for heating and cooking because there is no gas, and not a great deal of trees for firewood.

You could get through £100 of diesel in a week with a consumption of 42 units per day - quite possible on a farm or croft or guesthouse.

The interesting parody is that many of the Eigg residents are looking forward to a permanent electricity supply and the possibilities of more consumer goods, to ease their lifestyle, whilst some on this forum are looking for the exact opposite.  There is more to happiness than a dishwasher and a tumbledryer.

Here's some details of their new electric system

Electrification project

The next major project of the Heritage Trust is to enable the provision of a mains electricity grid, powered from renewable sources. At present, the island is not served by mains electricity and individual crofthouses have wind, hydro or diesel generators and the aim of the project is to develop an electricity supply that is environmentally and economically sustainable.

The new system will incorporate a 9.9 kWp PV system, three hydro generation systems (totalling 112 kW) and a 75 kW wind farm supported by stand-by diesel generation and batteries to guarantee continuous availability of power. A load management system will also be installed to provide optimal use of the renewables. This combination of solar, wind and hydro power should provide a network that is self sufficient and powered 98% from renewable sources.

The Heritage Trust has formed a company, Eigg Electric Ltd, to operate the new a £1.3 million network, which has been part funded by the Lottery and the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company.[4][5][6]




Ken

 

[camillitech]

My mate used to service allot of the Listers there and installed a few diesel/inverter systems, whenever he came to visit me he was either just on his way there or coming back. There are mutterings about doing something similar here though as we're 8 miles from the nearest pole I couldn't see us getting connected, still it's quite an exciting thought though.

If there's a problem with the undersea cable to Raasay, (usually dragged up by a clam dredger) they send a genny over that burns 60/100 lts an hour and red diesel is over 50p a liter here

cheers, Paul

[Eleanor]

Hi Paul, I presume that's the North Pole! Do you think they would do it for free? We are about 8m (metres) from our nearest pole but Scottish Hydro want about $14K (should be pounds) to dig up the road for half a mile! The way electricity prices are rising it seemed a better option to invest the money in renewable energy equipment.

Is someone profiting from the Eigg project, presumably electricity bills will start falling onto mats?

[KenB]

Paul,

I've just been reading your blog - quite fascinating, and I marvel at your "Accidental Crofting" lifestyle.

Thanks for the local info on Eigg and the other islands - for someone sitting at his desk in suburbia, just 19 miles south of central London, it is worlds apart from my field of experience - though I did have 7 very windy years on the Isle of Man.

If red diesel is over 50p a litre, I guess heating oil is about the same.  You mentioned coal-sacks in your blog, and also that there was peat available.  (I used to help my father dig peat when I was a teenager on the IOM).

Would I be right that most Islanders use solid fuel, wood where available and heating oil?

I see you have a 2.5kW Proven turbine, what battery capacity do you have?

Any further insight appreciated.


Ken

[camillitech]

Would I be right that most Islanders use solid fuel, wood where available and heating oil?

I see you have a 2.5kW Proven turbine, what battery capacity do you have?

Any further insight appreciated.


Ken

Hi ken when I first moved here most people burnt wood, coal or peat, with a few houses on storage heaters but over the years the solid fuel rayburns got converted to oil and most of the new builds have either oil or LPG. There's only one guy left who cuts peat and most of the storage heaters went to the dump. What I can't understand is with all electricity round here coming from hydro schemes that were built 50 years ago why they aren't encouraging people to use it instead of fossil fuels We could be the powerhouse of Britain here between wind, hydro, wave and tidal but all the schemes get thwarted by NIMBYs or developers are made to jump through so many hoops that projects cost way more than they would anywhere else. A recent example of this being the Glen Doe hydro scheme that has just been completed near Loch Ness. A huge underground tunnel was cut through solid rock and the builders had to take it all away by lorry and we're not talking of just a few thousand tons

Our main battery bank is 48v and just short of 1000ah and to be honest if we were careful with our electrical usage the stanby lister would be used only for my welder and diving compressor. However mrs C does have a fondness for the washing machine/tumble drier and we have a large electric oven range cooker and as she puts up with most of my eccentricities I don't labour the point instead I'm gonna install some solar PV and a hydro turbine.

There are some good renewable schemes being talked about for Raasay at the moment, with some consultants visiting only yesterday to look at hydro/wind options and there is allot of enthusiasm for a wood harvesting/cutting/splitting and delivery service but it's early days and does not really affect us anyway as we're pretty self sufficient in that department already.


Cheers, Paul

[Eleanor]

Paul, thanks for this very interesting information.

Our main battery bank is 48v and just short of 1000ah and to be honest if we were careful with our electrical usage the stanby lister would be used only for my welder and diving compressor.

It confirms our hopes that a 2/2.5 kW turbine will provide around about enough to run an average house without requiring a battery bank of enormous proportions.

I was wondering how much difference (on average) there is in the time you need to run the generator summer Vs winter. I suppose PV panels in the summer when it hardly goes dark there will help quite a bit.

Thanks, Eleanor

[camillitech]

Hi Elenor,

I'm thinking your not too far away from us so probably have a similar wind resource In which case a 2kw would probably do you fine. Our genny hardly runs at all in the winter and with a bit more thought and a little less use of electrical appliances it would never run between september and may. However we are running 2 fridges, 1 freezer, TV, sky box, laptop, 2 phone chargers, dual fuel range cooker, microwave, washer, tumble drier, cordless hoover, etc etc in short all the cr4p that every other suburban housewife has + I have a small well equipped workshop full of lots of  power hungry tools In the summer the genny comes on probably every couple of weeks for about 8hours, this does not include 'load starts' that's when the inverter starts the genny to assist with heavy loads. Although our inverter is 4.5kw you can pass 7kw through it continually, it will sense a heavy load, autostart the genny, synchronize the AC and assist the inverter. However these can be avoided by not switching the washing machine and tumble drier on whilst your roasting a pig or using the 4 slice toaster even with my power hungry family I think a 1kw PV array would go along way towards mr listers retirement



Took this this morning on the way down from that 'north pole' 

Cheers, Paul

[Eleanor]

Hi Paul,

Love the photo! Thanks for taking the time to reply. It is extremely useful information. We're not too far away (or won't be when we get there!). Strangely enough we came within a whisker of going to look at 1 Balachurn a couple of years ago but ended up buying a croft near Gairloch instead. Did someone buy it and do something with it?

You have let the cat out of the bag that I won't have to give up any of the creature comforts of life!  You are running the generator a lot less than I expected. We have a 5 kW unit and and from what you have said are now hoping that for much of the time it will only run when the washing machine or something similar is going (I think I might be able to forgo the tumble drier as the nice people of Skye seem to attract a lot of the rain heading our way  . There will of course also be various toys (I mean tools)  As you are very out of the way the fridges and freezer must be quite important. I think these could be the most difficult items to do without? I'm impressed that you are able to run a dual fuel cooker (electric oven?) but a microwave seems be an efficient way of cooking.

What make is your inverter? We have been looking at them and they seem very expensive in the 48V variety.

Thanks again

Eleanor

PS Hope Mr Lister has made arrangements for his pension? Sounds like he'll be needing it soon!

[camillitech]

Hi Paul,

 Strangely enough we came within a whisker of going to look at 1 Balachurn a couple of years ago but ended up buying a croft near Gairloch instead. Did someone buy it and do something with it?


What make is your inverter? We have been looking at them and they seem very expensive in the 48V variety.


PS Hope Mr Lister has made arrangements for his pension? Sounds like he'll be needing it soon!

Hi Elanor,

You did the right thing not buying Balachurn, it's a damp, dark midge infested hole that gets very little sun someone did buy it with the intent of doing it up and living there but there's not been much done in the year or two they've had it.

My inverter's a 'Trace' SW4548E and people on here are probably sick of me banging on about it but it was recomended by both Hugh Piggot and my mate Bill Steel from 'Generator services' as being the best that money can buy. I would not through choice buy anything American but it's streets ahead of anything else and more to the point easy to program and idiot proof.

Mr Lister will always have job and even if he's made redundant I can program my inverter to start him up once every 3 months as it has an 'exercise start' facility

Cheers, Paul

[Eleanor]

Hi Paul, sounds like we had a lucky escape  . It did look a bit close to the bank behind it. Thanks for the inverter info - if HP recommends it then there's no contest (and idiot proof too  . Best I go and read your earlier posts to save you having to go on about it any more! BFN Eleanor

[martin]

there was a very interesting "follow up" piece about Eigg this morning - apparently each consumer is liimited as to what they can draw at any one time, to discourage profligacy......... podcast here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/yyenv/