Justification required for solar/renewable energy supply

[ShortFatBloke]

Hi All,

Firstly my apologies as I've sneaked in as a 'civilian'* to ask for some impartial advice.

I've been tasked with looking at the possibility of installing six dog kennels on site where I work (don't ask!) and I'm looking at low cost ways of heating them. Being a big, touchy-feely American/global company, if I can come up with a renewable source of doing this I get extra brownie points (and more likely to get it approved). There's also the question of which budget it comes out of (Capex rather than overheads).

OK, so the questions are:

What's the best way of providing a small source of heat - enough to keep a dog warm (150 cu ft at approx. 16-18 Deg C) assuming that the room is suitably insulated?

Assuming that the cost of the renewables would be spread over 5-8 years (?), what's the best renewable way of providing the power for the heater - pv, wind, giant doggy hamster wheel etc?

How would this compare to plugging into the national grid?

The site is on the south coast of the UK (on the Solent to be exact) and there's enough room so orientation is not an issue. Also, the kennels would only be used between 8am and 6pm at most.

I know that there are a lot of variables and assumptions in the above but a 'gut feeling' response would be great.

Regards,

SFB

*i.e. not an electrician

 

[malcolmsanford]

There are several draw backs to PV alone. When you want the heating is in the winter and yeild will not be at it's highest. Then you would need to store it for night time usage so again unless you want to install quite a few batteries not feasible.

Wind is the same purely wind generator supplies rely on the wind, no wind poor yeild. Though it is possibly more efficient than PV, in a UK enviroment

The best way would be a heat pump which relies on providing energy and heat from ground source. Again a pure heat pump system would be quite costly not only to install but to bring it into each kennel as the only source of heating.

IMO I think you might want to try a combination. You can get very efficient tubular heaters that work at very little wattage, attached is just a sample and are cheap to run.

Tubular Heaters

If I were designing this for you I would use mains grid for the kennels and incorporate renewable energies in other sections. Ie Offices, house, etc etc.

 

[TedM]

What sort of wussy dogs need heated kennels - especially if they are only in there during the day?

Our dog sleeps in the unheated stable and has been OK there even with night-time temperatures dropping to -20C. Her bed sits on a 4" block of polystyrene and the only problem was that her drinking water was frozen solid every morning. OK she's a long haired German Shepherd and as tough as they come - but really.

 

[dansk]

Hi - The best way and most cost effective is to install electric underfloor heating, connected to the day time electric, and use Solar PV to offset the annuel usage. www.warmfloorsonline.com

 

[ShortFatBloke]

Thanks for the replies fellas - TedM, I couldn't agree more

The suggestion has now gone back to the bosses so I wait anxiously!

 

[jerriais]

You could design the kennels to utilise passive solar gain, basically lots of south facing glass and some thermal mass (stone or brick) in the construction and well insulated and ventilated for summer. Sounds crazy but there are homes in Canada built to this standard (also called passiv haus) that require no heating fuel, even in a Canadian winter they get by on sunlight and the warmth generated by the occupants. Find a local architecture course and set it as a challenge for the final year students.