Clean Energy at last!

Click the picture to go to Eamonn Ryan's website

I met a Eamonn Ryan the other day who is the owner of a company called complete alternative energy. I wanted to interview him for a radio show I was doing about energy in the house on a slightly bigger scale than just recycling, switching off lights etc. He was telling me about a device that is similar to solar but uses more energy from out side than just the sun. He even took me to a house nearby to meet a family who had just had the system installed. I was impressed by this alone as I knew then that there was nothing to hide and he was happy to show me the this system, happy for me to talk to the clients and there fore he had belief in what he was selling.

The panel on the roof is smaller than a
door

To break down what might otherwise be a very technical post that even I would get lost in, he fits a panel to the roof of the side of the building (any side but North) and this is where the similarity to the solar panel comes in. There is then a pump which needs to be fitted and this would replace in many cases the boiler under the stairs/in the hot press. This pump is large but then so is the boiler you would be replacing so, so far so good. The family I met who had just had this fitted, now has hot water all of the time without burning oil or gas or putting on the immersion plus their pressure had improved immensely. They live in the country and so are not on the mains. They are delighted with the improvement and will be saving a fortune in the long run.

Diagram of the pump and panel

Even better in my opinion is the fact that you could get 2 pumps. One to heat the water and one to replace the heating! No more gas or oil required and all because of a panel or 2 on the top of your house.  You do need room for this though and 2 pumps may not fit into many houses but if you are building your own or have the room then there could be no stopping you.
It does cost a few grand and the price depends on how many pumps you are getting I'm sure but in Ireland there are grants for this to help and if you do the sums correctly, you are definitely hanging on to your pennies for the long term.
Please check out Eamonn's website by clicking the top picture and you can even ring him for advice on getting the pump and panel fitted and there is no pressure on you to buy. If you like you can join a mailing list to get tips every month for nothing. Please take a look to see if you can make a change like this in your house and if you are living too far away then maybe Eamonn can find someone fitting this system in your area to make things easier. I am happy to recommend Eamonn from what I have seen myself and from the satisfaction of the clients of his that I met.

Splish Splash I was taking a bath!

Nothing nicer than a good long soak in the bath to unwind and clean up. This week my hubby and I have been discussing baths. Why? Well because we need a shower actually. Still not got one but saving hard now to get tiles and doors and all of that so that we can save water and stop having to put the immersion on each time. Anyway, my other half had a strange conversation with  friend who said that he always has a shower when having a bath so that he isn't wallowing in dirty water. My first question is: " How dirty is your friend getting into the bath if he is wallowing in dirt in his bath?" and my second question is "How precious?" From here a larger discussion came about and he discovered that many of his friends do the same. Forgive me but, there are many problems because of this. Firstly, what a waste of water! I have a bath or a shower (when I get to a shower) and not both. I am not so dirty that I am lying in disgusting water and yes, I do wash my hair in that water. If I need to, then I rinse my hair in water from the tap via the extended shower from the tap or a jug or something. I can promise you I am clean. I realise that every one is allowed to have their opinion but I strongly advise thinking about what you are doing if you are like my husbands friends. In many cases we are too clean now and get rid of the friendly bacteria as well as the bad and cant fight off simple colds. "Chaps and chapesses", let me tell you that we need some bacteria.We are constantly on the antibiotics and now even they dont work so well. We want organic and natural substances for our bodies but over washing means we are no longer 100% natural ourselves. When the water was turned off this winter how did we cope. Very well thank you because we had to. Our parents and grandparents had a bath once a week on a Saturday night in preparation for mass the following morning and they survived perfectly well. How do I know? Because we are here to prove it.
Bathing regularly is a luxury that not all countries have. Our water is clean although perhaps not as clean as it was as I feel we abuse it. Lets appreciate what we have and use it sparingly.

Tapping into our conscience...

Pure, clean and precious

We are at last in the land of the Forty Shades of Green again and its good to be back! The rain has been falling and dare I say I've missed it and the temperatures have risen. So whats next? Well according to the weather forecast, floods! Still, we're not there yet so lets keep fingers crossed that perhaps it wont happen, but it reminds us that things are fast changing in this world of ours and maybe there is nothing we can do to stop the change. Or is there?...

"Beautiful to look at, Lovely to behold, But when the winter comes, consider it COLD!"

Winter wonderland

Its been a really cold Christmas for us Irish who are neither ready, equipped, or able to cope with 6 inches of snow and have much to learn from our North American and Canadian friends who would only laugh at us locking ourselves indoors for days on end avoiding work, school or everyday life, because of our fear of the white stuff. Well I tried to take a leaf out of their book this Christmas and got out the shovel (more like a spade actually) and brushed and cleared the driveway so that at least we could attempt to get out. I was chuffed with my human snowplough abilities. Outside sorted! Inside however was not so good...

Picture of natural beauty