… or what is the most economical way to keep the air conditioning on all day? If we are 39 degrees in May, I am afraid for my pets in July…
Icon, do you own the house or rent?
If you own it, there are programs available from Taipower that may be worth putting in solar,
if you don’t own it, it would not be cost effective.
Bob the Solar Shui Dian
That sounds interesting. Details?
If there’s any way of shading your exterior walls, that’s a help too. Or hanging something like a tapestry on the interior to keep the heat/ cold from radiating as readily.
Off topic I guess but…
Wouldn’t solar power be a bit daft in Taipei considering all the grey days we have? Would any modifications to the house pay for themselves quickly?
You can start by insulating your dwelling well. Most buildings in Taiwan are poorly insulated to begin with. Proper insulation also means you won’t hear loud scooters as well, and you won’t have as much critters coming in as if you were not insulated. For a place you aren’t looking to stay for long, buy foam weather strips and seal every door and window, and if there are space under the door install a door jamb and seal it. For sliding windows I am not sure how to do this but what I did is I just jammed foam under and over the window, making it inoperable. Alternatively you could always install those special sealed window but they are pricey. If you own the house or are living there longer you can add additional insulation by lining the walls with studs and stuff the space between that with insulation, and cover it with boards or dry wall, whatever you prefer. Also install those sealed windows… keeps out sound and pollution pretty well, assuming you want a window that you can open/close.
Good advice about the insulation, Taiwan’s houses can never have enough insulation.
Also, get rid of any incandescent lights and switch to CF and/or LEDS.
If you are shopping for new appliances, ex. A/C’s, look for the inverter models, and also compare energy labels.
You pay Taipower 3$NTD/KWH for what you use, they pay you 10$NT/KWH for any that you produce, You have a meter that measures your side, and theirs measures the incoming. At the end of the billing cycle, the two meters are compared, but yours is worth 3 times as much.
Actually, even though Taipei may not look very sunny, it is still enough light to produce power.
We use NASA satellite data to do our calculations. For AZ, where I come from, and one of the best solar spots, they calculate 5-6 solar hours per day. So if you have a 5KW system X 5 hours per day, you should produce 25 KWH. In Taidong, where I have worked for several years, the average is 4.5 hours. Taipei is around 4 hours per day. You could still produce 20 KWH per day. Taipei also gets a bit windy, if you use a hybrid system, you could save quite a bit more.
So for those of us who live in big apartment buildings - or for that matter, the formerly-standard six-floor buildings - is solar power an option at all? I’d assume an apartment would have to set up a unit on the roof, and I have no idea how the wiring would work. Do people do this?
[quote=“saddletramp”]Good advice about the insulation, Taiwan’s houses can never have enough insulation.
Also, get rid of any incandescent lights and switch to CF and/or LEDS.
If you are shopping for new appliances, ex. A/C’s, look for the inverter models, and also compare energy labels.
You pay Taipower 3$NTD/KWH for what you use, they pay you 10$NT/KWH for any that you produce, You have a meter that measures your side, and theirs measures the incoming. At the end of the billing cycle, the two meters are compared, but yours is worth 3 times as much.
Actually, even though Taipei may not look very sunny, it is still enough light to produce power.
We use NASA satellite data to do our calculations. For AZ, where I come from, and one of the best solar spots, they calculate 5-6 solar hours per day. So if you have a 5KW system X 5 hours per day, you should produce 25 KWH. In Taidong, where I have worked for several years, the average is 4.5 hours. Taipei is around 4 hours per day. You could still produce 20 KWH per day. Taipei also gets a bit windy, if you use a hybrid system, you could save quite a bit more.[/quote]
What is the installation fee for a system like this and are there any physical pre-requisits for the building? (i.e. physical features that the building has to possess)
Thanks!
[quote=“saddletramp”]Icon, do you own the house or rent?
If you own it, there are programs available from Taipower that may be worth putting in solar,
if you don’t own it, it would not be cost effective.
Bob the Solar Shui Dian[/quote]
Well, we’ll probably be moving to a rooftop -rented- but I asked teh landlord and he’s giving me a lot of freedom to “rearrange” the place. I am worried, though, about how warm it’ll get and how confortable the pets will be.
Insulation will be vital, I’m looking into that.
As to sunshine, well, I think the sunnier it gets, the hotter it gets, the more energy we can produce for cooling the place. Even under cloud cover, enough power will still be generated.
I’m also very interested, I have a rooftop with about 16 ping of space, unshaded and south facing, currently leccy bill is only 800 for two months since don’t use much electricity, but would love to go off grid and get paid for it =D
Rooftop needs to be insulated well… most aren’t. Otherwise it will be an oven in the summer, and a freezer in the winter.