Info, news & debate

Solar electricity

Jon Halle shares his thoughts about the future of community energy

What does the future look like for community energy? Interview with Jon Hallé of Sharenergy

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On the NonCorporate blog, we’ll be interviewing people who are out there building a non-corporate economy on the ground right now. We’ll be finding out exactly what they’re doing, what they’ve achieved, what problems they face and what they’d like to see change – and we’ll be asking them how we might co-ordinate the non-corporate

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SuperHomes: free open-house events for you to have a look at homes with renewable and energy-saving technologies

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This year marks the 10th year of SuperHomes, the innovative and multi-award winning national network of over 200 homes which have all reduced their carbon footprint by a minimum of 60%. There’s a record 100 free Open House events occurring across all parts of UK

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A Freifunk WiFi-node is installed as part of a low-tech internet network in Berlin, Germany - via Wikipedia Commons.

Resilient networks: building a low-tech internet

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A solution to the absence of high-speed wireless networks across some developing countries and increasingly appearing in the form of WiFi based community networks in numerous countries in Europe, building a low-tech internet could have benefits for all. With excerpts from an original Low-tech Magazine article by Kris De Decker, we explore how a less resource-intensive and more energy-efficient

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Water and space heating from photovoltaics (or wind) using a grid diverter

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This is an idea that allows you to heat water via solar electric panels instead of exporting surplus electricity to the National Grid. This makes sense because it then means that you can do the work yourself instead of hiring an (expensive) accredited installer – plus you can use second-hand gear.

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Low-impact & the city 3: our solar pv system is one year old – how’s it performed?

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We had solar panels installed on our flat roof on a London terraced home one year ago. The panels are attached to plastic tubs filled with ballast. During the daytime, we use the electricity as it’s generated, so we make sure we use the washing machine / charge phones / anything else we can think of

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solar for africa

How you can help cottage industries provide solar in African villages (not for cheap electricity – just for electricity)

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We had a solar electric system installed on our house in London last year by Norman Phipps of Assured Solar. We’ve had the system for a year now, and its output was almost exactly what Norman predicted, which means we’re headed for a 9-year payback time.

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