tednsharon

Just got home and can confirm that a small unit in las lomas commercial centre is definitely being worked on but the rumour we heard was that it was not a bar/cafe, but shop as it is in a central location with no outside terrace space. Also, although the workers dinner tent has been taken down, the kitchen units remain presumably it will be re-set up somewhere else on site?

finca steve

Not quite as simple as this.

You are talking about two distinct systems.
1) Hot water.
2) Electrical supply.

The first, hot water is quite simple. The sun heats water in a tube which in turn heats water in a storage tank. This is is the domestic water and you use as require.

The second is the making of electricity via photo voltaic cells. These will produce a low voltage DC which can then be used to charge a battery bank. The output from the battery bank can in turn be inverted into useable 220volt electricity.

Cells produce around 18 volts and can either charge a 12v battery bank or by using them in series produce 36 volts and charge a 24 volt battery bank.

By changing the battery voltage via the inverter to 220 volt you can readily see that from an electrcial point of view you have to produce 10 times the current (amps) at 24volt to produce the same at 220 volt.

Again from this if your panels supply you with 20 amps (at 24 volts) you need to have good sun all for at least 5 hours to make 100 amps.

An immersion heater of say 1.2 kw consumes 5 amps all the time it is switched on so worst case around 60 amps over a 24 hour period, assuming it works for half the time.

This is one consumer and you will need to add lights, TV, vacuum cleaner, dishwater, washing machine, fridge, power sockets etc so it all adds up and whilst the dream is to make enough power to supply all your needs, you only really get around 4 hours of sun providing maximum power per day which we can tell you, as we have the system ourselves, is not really enough if you use a lot of power.

It certainly helps but we have the backup of a large genset to provide the extra.

Antoher factor you also have to consider is the cost which, last time I was involved with an installation worked out at around 10,000 euros for the whole lot. This was about 3 years ago and prices will have gone up. eg panels can cost 1000 euros each - you will need 4. Batteries were around 200 euros each - you will need 12 for a 24volt system and an inverter will cost in the region of 2000 euros for one which can supply around 2kw. Then there is the labour to install it all plus things like cable, lighting protection etc.

For water heating the panel and a reasonable size tank will cost in the region of 2500 euros plus installation.

And don't forget the dreaded VAT

Don't be put off but do decide what system you want and make sure you get a price for it all.

You just have to be mean with your AMPS

Carol&John

Thanks for the photos, Sharon. Hope you enjoyed the break.

Has anyone walked or cycled the flat route recently into Ayamonte? Looking for directions, please. Thanks.

EsuriJohn

Hi Steve,

What a wonderful and simple explanation of the difference between providing hot water and electrical power from the sun.

I would say that if you have access to mains gas and electricity as we have at Esuri it is a difficult choice to make to become "Eco Friendly".

I think if you are looking at new installations as we are it is logical to forgo the gas connection for heating water and go straight to solar water heating as we have done. This means that it is not economical to install a gas hob for cooking as the only gas appliance as we will have to pay standing charges for what will be a very small gas usage. But an electric hob is a big electricity user and together with other appliances will mean that we will have to have a 15kw supply which itself has cost implications for electricity. I will look at induction hobs but they do have a high first cost so that may not be an economical choice just to reduce the supply rating.

Since we intend to live full time in the house I will have the 2 tariff meter installed at the outset and do as we do here in England run the washing machine and dishwasher overnight and as required the aircon (hot or cold with the inverter type).

That just leaves the pool pump and with a timer we could run that for 6 hrs overnight. However daytime use of the pool probably means a boost at lunchtime and that is where we could be green by having a photovoltaic supply for daytime use. I know kits are available for just this sort of dual supply use but think cost might be prohibitive. I suppose I could retrofit that bit as usage patterns settle down.

Regards,

John.

EsuriJohn

No not actually done the whole route but had a careful look from both ends and observed the usual scooters taking workers home from the industrial estate slalom through the red and white barriers and disappear at great pace off down the new road from the r/about. At the other end just by the cannery and below the just completed apartments an old concrete lamp column has been felled across the route as a barrier to cars but it is no obstruction to cycles scooters or pedestrians.

JAG SIDHU

You can cycle along the un-opened Mirador road no problem. When you get to the end join the existing road and carry on to the end. At the end of that road you will see the Ferreteria Mestre on your left, take a right turn here, follow the one-way system and it will bring you out on to the road that runs alongside the river.

matt begley

you can find them at www.sbpropertyservices.com

wheatsheaf42

[QUOTE=John & Kath;6429041]Hi Steve,


I would say that if you have access to mains gas and electricity as we have at Esuri it is a difficult choice to make to become "Eco Friendly".


Aren't urbanisations such as Esuri, which have damaged the Spanish coastline forever, and "Eco-friendly" something of a contradiction in terms? The only access is by air or car, and not a lot is in walking distance when you do get there.
Sorry but the best way to be Eco is not to encourage the coastal developments in the first place and demanding that all new builds should be Eco to start with.

EsuriJohn

[quote=wheatsheaf42;6430049] Hi wheatsheaf,

The nearest coast line is more than 7km away. We have access by air, car, train, and sea. When the commercial centre is finished everything will be within walking distance but we will still prefer to cycle into Ayamonte town.

I agree more should have been done by Fadesa to make the whole development eco friendly, the best they have done is to have a grey water recovery system to use the water for non-potable uses. We have seen how much effort the north of Spain is putting into renewable energy with windmills and commercial solar arrays and this could have been done here as well. Most of the new build houses will be under the new building regs and will have to have solar water heating as we chose to have. The new regs also have much better insulation in walls and roofs so with good design the need for bottled gas heaters should be eliminated.

Regards,

John.

betris

yes this is the system my mate has installed I think.I will ask him.I know he was looking for a low consumpion fridge last time I saw him.I think if I remember right his pannels were a lot cheeper.Im not sure but I think he was getting a back up generator as well.also he is going to be cooking and running his hot water on bottled gas.but all I can do is get the engineers number and he can tell every one the fors and againsts.but I know it was expensive

betris

yes me when my van broke down............never again

Jon-Bxl

When we completed, we were also offered an option of bottled gas - this saves money over the standing charges and it becomes a financial calculation that depends on the type of usage (rented or not), amount of usage (%time spent in the home), costs of bottles, cost of standing charge, etc etc. I was told that it was simple to have 2 bottles and just interchange when one ran out - so no break to the service and an easy refill.

In our place we use gas just for heating the water only - and apparentely these bottles can last a fair while.

It was tempting to have no direct debits, contracts etc etc...

We went for the gas connection, but there is a good argument in certain cases for bottles too... that I had never considered beforehand.

Regards
Jon

big wheels

I have no idea what the charges are for connection, standing charges etc for mains gas.
But we use bottled gas for hot water and cooking here in Sevilla, and at the current cost of €14 per bottle our gas will cost us around €200 for 12 months.

JS&SS

Hi, If there is anyone reading this with a property on RVA 1 Manzana 2, please will you PM me - I want to raise issues with the management company re pool opening times, maintenance of the garden areas etc. Input welcome!
Many thanks.
Sue

jdr

You may have to do that as a proposal through the AGM or maybe the president can do it for you if they have already been agreed at the previous meeting.
The president is the only person they will aknowledge.