Future energy sources?

[AlexO]

I will be building new house later this year, design

Decent slab, proper steel reinforcement on perimeter, waffle pod in floor area (foam battens)
Steel frame
Chilla lapped plank cladding
Internal plaster walls/ceilings with thick foam backing
Vented roof, sarking under steel roof
Wide eaves with Oz style verandah on three side
Sunscreen film on all windows

will install solar.

If I can buy a second hand nuclear plant off a scrapped US warship, I will consider, but parked well away from veggie garden, maybe next to chicken run as having a few 4 legged, glow in the dark chickens will be great.

When I finish, a BBQ where everybody gets a chicken leg and a boost for their pacemakers.

Hi Whistler. Sorry for the late response to your post above.
Couple of, ok 3 questions.
Can you choose the orientation of your home.
Why are you using Shera board on your external walls. Very low Uvalue.
Why sarking.
We built a basically L shaped structure with the long side pointing North-South. We used 150mm Aerated Concrete blocks on external walls and 100mm on internal, all render finished. Our roof is steel with 30mm of polyurethane foam factory applied which is brilliant for stopping radiated heat getting into the roof space. We have large roof overhangs which are also vented. We also built a car port along the whole length of the west elevation. The bedrooms and man cave are on the east side of the house and are only exposed to direct sunlight for about an hour or 90 minutes when the sun gets up above the shading tree's and when the roof overhangs start to block out direct sun rays. The west side which includes a Thai style kitchen and BBQ area are only exposed to direct sun rays for approximately an hour-90 minutes when the sun drops down as it is setting. I have never found the walls to get above ambient temperature. If you are new building then orientation, shading tree's etc along with high Uvalue build materials help massively to keep the house from overheating due to radiated heat from sunlight. Shading on windows? Mate retro fitted his house and it went from a bright open feeling to a quite gloomy enclosed space, better to use external shading if your windows have long exposure to direct sunlight.
Just my tuppence worth and hoping it helps.

[Whistler]

I will be building new house later this year, design

Decent slab, proper steel reinforcement on perimeter, waffle pod in floor area (foam battens)
Steel frame
Chilla lapped plank cladding
Internal plaster walls/ceilings with thick foam backing
Vented roof, sarking under steel roof
Wide eaves with Oz style verandah on three side
Sunscreen film on all windows

will install solar.

If I can buy a second hand nuclear plant off a scrapped US warship, I will consider, but parked well away from veggie garden, maybe next to chicken run as having a few 4 legged, glow in the dark chickens will be great.

When I finish, a BBQ where everybody gets a chicken leg and a boost for their pacemakers.

Hi Whistler. Sorry for the late response to your post above.
Couple of, ok 3 questions.
Can you choose the orientation of your home.

ANSWER. yes, I am building on a vacant piece of land

Why are you using Shera board on your external walls. Very low Uvalue.

ANSWER. For the asthetics and ease of use to install on a steel frame. I want a wooden cottage look but without the termites. The steel frame between gybrock and Shera will be 3.7 microfibre insulation, the combination gives better than R7 insualtion.

Why sarking.
ANSWER. The reflective properties are around R2 and it is inexpensive to buy, so alue for money. Combined with the foam backed gybrock I will get between R5 and R6 on ceiling/roof. Sarking also adds a little bit to waterproofing, sarking is in my opinion a must if you are using roof tiles.

We built a basically L shaped structure with the long side pointing North-South. We used 150mm Aerated Concrete blocks on external walls and 100mm on internal, all render finished. Our roof is steel with 30mm of polyurethane foam factory applied which is brilliant for stopping radiated heat getting into the roof space. We have large roof overhangs which are also vented. We also built a car port along the whole length of the west elevation. The bedrooms and man cave are on the east side of the house and are only exposed to direct sunlight for about an hour or 90 minutes when the sun gets up above the shading tree's and when the roof overhangs start to block out direct sun rays. The west side which includes a Thai style kitchen and BBQ area are only exposed to direct sun rays for approximately an hour-90 minutes when the sun drops down as it is setting. I have never found the walls to get above ambient temperature. If you are new building then orientation, shading tree's etc along with high Uvalue build materials help massively to keep the house from overheating due to radiated heat from sunlight. Shading on windows? Mate retro fitted his house and it went from a bright open feeling to a quite gloomy enclosed space, better to use external shading if your windows have long exposure to direct sunlight.

ANSWER. All sounds sensible, Last reno's I did was with AC blocks, better by miles than concrete blocks and easy construction, however walls still felt warm as they were exposed to sunlight, it is not uncommon for cracking in AAC blocks

Just my tuppence worth and hoping it helps.

Thanks heaps for sharing your experience

I have a slight legup in design, best mate Dr Tony Sidwell, a world reknowned professor of Building and construction, but no wooly headed academic, had his own construction company as well. Now professor Emeritus QUT.

[Barney]

Subcontractor installing solar panels on our roof today. 9 larger panels (smaller panels are used on the smaller 3kw system), control panels mounted, all wiring and installation complete in 2 days.
110,000 bht all up. 5kw system. Without batteries.

[Whistler]

Did you install an inverter Barney, if so, how did the PEA react?

[BillaRickaDickay]

For me, amongst many things, Cost of Utilities is part of the attraction and why Thailand is a great place to retire too.
Utilities, Electric, Gas and Water are very cheap.
My Electric bill is usually around 700bht a month.
No Aircon, House faces North with no windows on the South, 2 Story, Tin Roof, Upstairs hot during the day, cool at night.
Downsrairs significantly cooler during the day.
Electric useage down to LED Lighting, one Fridge, Various Water Pumps, Water UV Filter, Washing Machine twice a week, 2 Fans.
Cooking by Gas 500bht - 6 months.
Water - Self sufficient apart from the Filter media. Drinking Water 10bht for 10 litres.
For those with no/poor Mains Electric supply then Solar is the way.
110,000bht would pay my electric bill for next 12 years plus.

[Barney]

Only 1 day to install.

Yes an inverter must be installed. You require this inverter unit to convert the DC voltage from the roof panels to AC for household appliance use.
I do not see any need to inform PEA of anything.
The system will utilise the solar system during the day and convert to PEA power in the evening or very cloudy days when output from the cells reduces to a set amount. It is a completely automatic changeover according to a set output percentage from the roof panels, if output drops then PEA kicks in.

2 x a/c inverter units, 2 normal ceiling fans, 1 ceiling fan larger with 72 inch blades, 750 kw house water pump, bore pump is in and to be connected later, small grey water pump in underground pit, electric cooking plates, plenty of lights although LED reduced power, 2 shower heater, washing machine, fridge/freezer. TV etc.
There is plenty of room for future expansion.
Cost was considered in a pro / con assessment but in the end, we have decided on a duel supply system PEA and Solar for the house. Personal affordability was the eventual winner. Long term guarantee on both panels and internal inverter. Its just a novelty I suppose. If it all fails in 15 years just remove and throw it to the tip. Always going through lessons learned in life, both material and personal. Thats what makes getting up in the morning eventful.

We used the same local bloke on the farm to install 2 solar units, 1 for the bore pump into the dam and 1 for the separate irrigation system pump on the farm. That was 12 months ago and working well.

BillaRickaDickay well done on your money saving lifestyle, I'm impressed on the low costs for utilities, but it would not suit me.

I just bought a new bike last month and that cost 107,000.

[Whistler]

Thanks for sharing this Barney, very informative

[noosard]

Barney when there is a power outage do your panels still supply power

[Barney]

Barney when there is a power outage do your panels still supply power

noosard

The solar system operates in the day independent without any requirement from PEA,
At night or in very dark periods the system just auto changes to PEA.
So, daytime no problems from a PEA blackout, but night period problems if PEA blacks out.
We will monitor power supply at this new location once we move in permanently to see what happens to assess if the expense of a battery system is warranted. There are different stages or levels of battery cells that can be procured, depending on what you want to keep operational. I think a full 5kw set of batteries was 120,000 bht. But only a 7 year guarantee on that battery system? At this point in time that's not worth it.

Unfortunately, i''ll be in the lap of the gods at night.
Just living on the edge Eh!
A couple of long neck Chang can take the edge off.

[BillaRickaDickay]

Good info Barney, maybe something for me in the future.
I've not really gone out of my way to achieve my frugal outgoings, circumstances have evolved into what I have now,
I have got used to no A/C, nearly 20years without, but I have to admit I was tempted last year, I'm not minted but still manage to run a pickup, motorbike and have a beer or two when required, more perks that come with living in Thailand.

[rick]

Thanks Barney as well. You said you have a 3 KW system as well? That would be ample for me, what did that cost?

[Barney]

Thanks Barney as well. You said you have a 3 KW system as well? That would be ample for me, what did that cost?

Rick,
Sorry if i confused the issue but I have not got any 3kw system. Just 5kw now installed and 2 separate systems for 2 pumps on the farm.
Ill attach a sheet( unfortunately in thai ) that shows system setup can be 1.5kw, 3.3 and our at 5kw. It just depends on how many roof panels you require to draw your power from.
On the sheet there is 12 panels at 90,000, that is what I chose. But I changed on his advice from 12 smaller panels to 9 larger panels. On top of my 90,000, not shown was an additional 18,000 for full installation. Hence 108,000.
So in summary a 3kw system would be the lower price with less panels ranging from 4 panels up to 12. I chose the larger panels to provide a better efficiency rating.
Yesterday I had the missus turn on the large 72 inch ceiling fan and 1 bedroom AC unit to monitor power consumption, which is shown on the digital display on the small inverter panel, and the power consumption was a steady .8 kw.
Im not in Udon at the moment, living in Naklua for some time to come, but will be back midmonth to check how the missus has gone building another house and cast my inspection eye over it all.

[glalt]

After more than ten years using solar power, my best advice is to double up on the solar panels. They are now cheaper and will last as long as most of us will live, The sun doesn't shine every day especially during this time of year. I have double the recommended number of panels and my batteries are fully charged every day. Also don't buy lead acid deep cycle batteries.Spend the extra money on Lithium batteries. They are unbelievably very much better and will save you money in the long term.

[glalt]

I just keep learning. I bought a 650 baht PWM solar charger. It sucks. It wouldn't keep the lithium battery topped up. I was finally able to find an MPPT solar charger. It was of course more expensive but well worth the extra cost, It cost a little less than a hundred dollars so not too bad. It does a really great job. The difference is that the PWM cuts the panel voltage to just above the battery voltage. My panels in series put out more than 50 volts. The MPPT takes the extra voltage and converts it to amperage. That makes an incredible difference. To show you how stupid I am, being in a hurry, while connecting the first PWM I overlooked a loose battery connection and the panel voltage fried the controller. I bought another one just like it. It works but not very well. Now I have one that is fried and another that works but won't do the job. Just more money wasted.

[tamada]

Interesting read here.

Energy guru Daniel Yergin: «I'm sick of the energy transition discussion»

Daniel Yergin is often called the most influential energy analyst in the world. The American author has a clear answer to the question of whether the age of oil is over.

https://www.nzz.ch/english/energy-guru- ... ld.1821620

[Laan Yaa Mo]

This is good news for Canada's oil industry, sort of.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.7140352

[glalt]

The world will NEVER run out of oil. There are many new proved deposits discovered ever year. The doom and gloom reports that oil deposits are finite is just ignorant or maybe stupid to increase oil prices. Oil usage will eventually fall due to environmental problems and not because of shortages.

[Whistler]

The world will NEVER run out of oil. There are many new proved deposits discovered ever year. The doom and gloom reports that oil deposits are finite is just ignorant or maybe stupid to increase oil prices. Oil usage will eventually fall due to environmental problems and not because of shortages.

Canada's black sands oil mining should be one of the first to fail for environmental problems.

[Doodoo]

Whistle

Canada produces 548 million tonnes of CO2 every year. It requires 31-46 trees to compensate for 1 tonne of CO2. Canada requires 25,208,000,000 (taking the higher number of 46) trees to offset our CO2. The Canadian Boreal Forest has an estimated 500-600 BILLION trees! That means we have enough trees to compensate for our CO2 emissions 19.83X over!

CO2 Production

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10 ... 6477830804
Canada 1.5%

Oil sands producers have planted more than five million trees in a joint program designed to reclaim the boreal forest faster after exploration drilling. PLUS Government of Canada Confirms 2 Billion Trees Program is Exceeding Planting Goals, Announces New Agreements to Plant 56 Million Additional Trees

70 million
For instance, the Australian forestry industry replants around 70 million plantation trees each year.

Canadian oil sands production is expected to reach 3.7 million barrels per day 2030

[Whistler]

Whistle

Canada produces 548 million tonnes of CO2 every year. It requires 31-46 trees to compensate for 1 tonne of CO2. Canada requires 25,208,000,000 (taking the higher number of 46) trees to offset our CO2. The Canadian Boreal Forest has an estimated 500-600 BILLION trees! That means we have enough trees to compensate for our CO2 emissions 19.83X over!

CO2 Production

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10 ... 6477830804
Canada 1.5%

Oil sands producers have planted more than five million trees in a joint program designed to reclaim the boreal forest faster after exploration drilling. PLUS Government of Canada Confirms 2 Billion Trees Program is Exceeding Planting Goals, Announces New Agreements to Plant 56 Million Additional Trees

70 million
For instance, the Australian forestry industry replants around 70 million plantation trees each year.

Canadian oil sands production is expected to reach 3.7 million barrels per day 2030

Canada has a lot of trees, around 300 billion from what I can see, not 800 billion

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+man ... e&ie=UTF-8

regardlss the oil sand mining produces pretty much the most environmentally compromised oil from anywhere in the world

Canada's CO2 emissions per capita is very high, greater than the USA

https://www.google.com/search?q=canadas ... e&ie=UTF-8