Strawbale House

The more I think about the state of solar electricity generation and government support the more I understand that gross metered feed in tariffs are a really powerful means to increase the uptake of solar panels amongst the public.

The current scheme of RECS is severely flawed as it doesn’t really increase the uptake of solar power in Australia. Currently mostly people that are already interested in solar power generation are installing photo voltaic panels and using the RECS to help with the upfront cost. The problem with this is that the RECS embody all the environmental benefits for the next 15 years and once sold, the owner of the solar system really can not claim any environmental benefits for the system.

Basically by selling the RECS the owner has sold his benefit most likely to a coal or gas powered electricity provider and as such all the electricity produced by the solar system for the next 15 years carries all the green house gases and other environmental nasties (coal sludge anyone?) that the power station is off-setting when it purchased the RECS.

The current plan of the government to offer 5 times the amount of RECS form the middle of the year only makes this situation worse as any solar electricity system is still producing the same amount of clean energy but when selling the RECS the power stations actually get to claim 5 times the offset for  their nasties than is actually being offset.

Looking at it in this way, really the only one benefiting from the new scheme are the big power generators. The public and the environment will suffer as a result of the introduction of these “phantom” RECS.

A gross metered feed in tariff on the other hand measures the actual amount of clean energy being produced and by having a gross metered feed in tariff a whole new sector of clients will be attracted to solar electricity generation. A gross feed in tariff makes it a lot easier to look at solar electricity generation from an investment perspective as it is relatively easy to work out how long the pay back period would be and what return on investment would be possible.

So please, anyone caring about the enviroment and wishing to see a dramatic increasee in power generation from renewable sources should sign the petition at http://www.feedintariff.com.au/ to show the government that we do care and that we want them to fulfill on their election promise to look after the environment.

Rosalba and I have purchased some Cantilever shelving to store some of the recycled material we are using to build our house. This shelving has arrived as a giant “Meccano Set” which Rosalba and I started assembling on Sunday.

We bought two sets and in this picture you can see the second set how it was delivered before we have assembled it and installed it. Most parts can easily be handled by a single person except for the uprights which you can see at the bottom of the pack. The uprights are really heavy and are still quite heavy even when carrying with two people. The only tools we needed where a couple of spanners and a tin snip to cut the bands holding the packs together.

In this next picture we have already assembled one set of this “Meccano Set”. Assembling and setting this up took a bit more than 2 hours to do and was actually quite intensive. Setting this up was also made slightly more difficult by the fact that it was raining when we did it and all the parts where wet and a bit slippery. The shelving was easy to set-up, but you definitely want to be at least two people as carrying some of the bits by yourself is backbreaking.

This last picture shows how we have been able to already clear up the shed a bit and how much cleaner it looks than just having it all stacked on the floor.

Unfortunately we ran out of time and out of nuts to assemble the second set. So we have another set to assemble and set-up. We’ll most likely do that in about a fortnight which should also give the supplier of the shelving enough time send the missing nuts to us.

All in all, the shelving was not cheap, but it will defenitley out last us and every single arm on this shelving is rated to cary up to 500 kg, which will mean we can store almost anything on this shelving. The arms alre also adjustable which is great as well and we are really happy with it.

Solar Girl from the “Solar Energy – Green Lifestyle for You” blog has given our blog an award. Wow, how special is that!

Thank you very much Solar Girl.

These are the rules for “I Love Your Blog” award:

1). Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2). Link back to the person who gave you the award.
3). Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4). Add those links to your blog.
5). Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

And these are the 7 blogs I’m passing this award to:

Snoskred – Life in the Country
soho-life.com
Lightening Online
GrubbyGumboots
Forced Green
Blue Turtle
Good 2 Be Green

I changed a desk lamp I already had to use LEDs instead of the CFL tube. I mainly did that because I wanted to do something “crafty” and because I like LEDs and how their light comes with almost no heat.

Of course the LEDs also use less power than the original CFL did. The CFL was using 9W while LEDs now are only using 2.4W and still giving comparable light output.

Anyone interested on what I used and how I did it, have a look at my Instructable where I detailed all the steps. To read the step by step account go to: http://www.instructables.com/id/Retro_Fit_a_Desk_Lamp_with_LEDs/

Just a quick message to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I reckon 2009 will be a most interesting year for all.

On the house front: Our house plans have gone to a certifier and we hope that early in the new year we will get approval to start building our new home.

The Australian federal government announced today that it would scrap the unpopular means-test for the rebate for installation on solar panels. This means-test restricted the rebate to households earning less than $100,000.

The means-tested rebate was worth up to $8,000 where as the maximum rebate under the new system will be about $7,500. This small decrease in the available rebate comes with a bit of a sweetener as the new rebate will now also be available to businesses and community groups.

The maximum rebate, for an average-sized 1.5 kilowatt system, will be about $7,500 and a smaller-sized 1.0 kilowatt system will attract a rebate of about $5,000.

Disappointingly, the value of the rebate will fluctuate and it will decline from 2012.

The current system will stay in place until July, when the new system will take over.

Source: The Canberra Times

Rosalba and I attended a one day event organised by the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre (S.E.A.C.) about Transition Town initiatives in South East Queensland. The Transition Town movement aims to provide solutions for dealing with peak-oil and climate change. Even if you don’t believe in peak-oil or climate change, the Transition Town movement still paints a path to sustainable and re-generative living.

The venue was the Eumundi Bamboo Forest, a most tranquil and inspiring setting as can be seen by the pictures.

The day especially highlighted what we as individuals can contribute towards building a supportive and resilient community without needing to wait for governments on any level.

We went into this day with a vague feeling what the Transition Town movement is about. By the end of the day we had a good understanding and felt empowered to take action to bring awareness to our local community of the need for change.

Bob Cameron of ROCKCOTE gave a very insightful talk about how his business reflects the permaculture principles. “There is no waste in Nature”, says Bob. So if we are to have true sustainability we must imitate nature. ROCKCOTE has taken this model and built a factory and showroom on the Gold Coast which is able to manufacture paints and renders while being energy positive and using only rain water harvested of the roofs of the company buildings.

What was also very inspiring was the ability to network and meet with like minded people who truely care about our only planet and have commitied their time and efforts towards creating resilient communities.

Kin on the Aussie Bloggers Forum was so kind to organise a Secret Santa for forum participants.

Yesterday my secret Santa present arrived and it is an absolute hoot. The bits I received were pretty cool (see image on the right), but the message, which I share with you below, made me laugh and chuckle all the way to the end.

“Buying for a man, who is in on “office” swap, is HARD! So I asked my husband “What do all men want in their office?” He told me …

1. Something topless. (check √)
2. Something to keep track of all those numbers offered to him at the christmas party. (little black book – check √)
3. Something to keep his tip protected. (whatever that means???!) (liquid paper – check √)
4. The opportunity for something ’sticky’ (notes – check √)
5. Something to label home made movies with, so they are not distributed around the office. (DVD marker – check √)
6. A supply of plastics, scented + glow in the dark. ( check √ – I hope small is ok?
7. Office Bullsh!t … (will reindeer sh!t do?) – √ check

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are not easily offended, if so … I apologogise now , if not, enjoy

Not so secret Santa
(I am a string red vegetable – can you guess?)”

Well, now I have to work out what a “string red vegetable is”. Can you guys help me please and leave me a comment with your guess who my secret santa is.

Just a very quick update. I managed to get a lot of recycled hardwood floor joists and some recycled hardwood tongue and groove hardwood flooring.

We are currently planning to use the hardwood flooring in the master bedroom, Study, Sewing Room, and Media Room.

The hardwood floor joists will be used for the deck.

We’ve also had the first feedback from the engineer which has prompted us to make some further small changes to the position of some doors. I’ll show you all the new floor plan once it has been updated.

Last weekend Rosalba and I attended a Strawbale Building Workshop in Yandina. This workshop was part sponsored by our Architect WD Architects. Other supporters included Rockcote, Wildlife Warriors, and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

Our tutors where Lance Kairl, and Chris and Colin Newton.

Lance is South Australia’s most experienced straw bale builder with 11 years of experience building strawbale homes.

Chris’ experience is in all sorts of earthen clay and lime renders to finish of a strawbale home. Chris’ husband Colin is a structural engineer.

The workshop was held over a long weekend from Saturday to Monday and was packed full with information and great hands on experience.

During the workshop we built a load bearing strawbale wall of a tea house for the Yandina Community Permaculture Gardens.

We had quite a bit of fun stacking the bales on the first day and found out pretty quick that it is a bit harder than stacking Lego blocks as you can see in the picture in the right. We ended up disassembling and re-building this corner 2 times until we were happy with the result.

The main lesson to be learned on this corner was that you should not try and cut corners by trying to kick and shove bales into a tight spot if the bale is to big. You should actually make the bale smaller by the appropriate amount.

On the second day we made cob out of “waste” straw and clay. We used this cob to patch any gaps or holes in the strawbale walls before we applied any of the render.

When making cob it is important not to make the mixture to wet and heavy as otherwise the cob just falls of the wall instead of sticking to the wall. Also, for larger patches, cob should be applied in thinner layers and let dry a bit before applying further layers.

On the third and last day we applied the first coat of render onto the strawbale wall. The render on a strawbale wall is normally applied in three coats with a finished thickness of between 35mm to 50mm.

Unfortunately three days was not long enough to finish the wall and apply the second and third coat of render as each coat needs to dry and cure for a few days before applying the next coat.

The result of our three day workshop can be seen in the picture on the right.

Both Rosalba and I have had a really good time during this workshop. The tutors were very knowledgeable and open and all participants in the workshop were a pleasure to work with. Rosalba and I have made some great connections during the workshop and we are both keen and eager to get some more experience.

For people in the south-east corner of QLD, Chris and Colin Newton intend to have a workshop at the beginning of January 2009 to finish their own home built with straw bales. So if you are interested in the process of building a strawbale home contact Chris to confirm dates and availability.

A side benefit for us of attending this workshop is that we have met many people that are interested in building homes as a community and many are willing to help each other out building each others strawbale structures.