1 - 08/11/05
I have just learnt that the Clear Skies grant facility is likely to be withdrawn in March 2006 so my timetable is now constrained by that deadline.

2 - 15/11/05
As of today the Davis weather station has been installed and the data-logger output is now automatically uploaded by ftp to this site at regular intervals, currently every 30 minutes when my computer in on-line - go to the Weather page to view.

The station is at the proposed location of the wind turbine and close to the sites of the solar voltaic and thermal installations.

Pictures of the installation will be added when I have time to take them.

3 - 22/11/05
Further to Note 1, the Clear Skies scheme is being replaced by a new GBP30 million funding package so time pressure is off!

4 - 24/12/05
I earnestly commend the CAT course on Renewable Energy to anyone seriously considering undertaking any installation. The quality of the presentations combined with the practical demonstrations is outstanding, and the information centre and shop are excellent sources of manufacturer's data and books on all aspects of sustainable living.

As I go through the notes and relate them to my needs I shall highlight important points and post them on this site, with the permission of the lecturers.

As a first pass it looks as though I should start with a thorough overhaul of energy conservation in the house, including investigating a distributed control system for the space heating and hot water supply, and then follow with the addition of a solar thermal source and possibly a fairly new (to the UK at least) biomass source, a wood-pellet stove, before committing to local primary sources of electrical power, mainly on the grounds of starting with the most cost-effective applications.

5 - 10/01/06
I have now found the details of the new DTI funding initiative to replace the ClearSkies grants. Use the following link to get to it (a 60-page document)

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