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Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
Green Building Bible, fourth edition (both books)
These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

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    • CommentAuthorgavstamp
    • CommentTimeFeb 3rd 2012
     
    Has anyone seen the official C & F wind turbine AEPs? I have been trying desperately to see what these turbines can do but cannot find any of their official MCS data. Can anyone help?
    • CommentAuthorpauler
    • CommentTimeFeb 10th 2012
     
    mmmm.....almost smell a rat with C&F production figures and MCS figures,and a court case backed up by UK trading standards!
    • CommentAuthorSt11ckj
    • CommentTimeFeb 15th 2012
     
    I think every man and his dog have been trying to get C&F MCS data but it seems to be as elusive as the scarlet pimpernel!!! Their website is also down "currently upgrading" and all previous power curves have been pulled from dealers websites??? surely if you had been waiting on mcs accred you would be shouting from the rooftops or are the figures not too good???

    which turbine to go for in the under 20kW category is a nightmare..:cry:
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeFeb 16th 2012
     
    Surely the figures should be available at the MCS website - pretty poor show really.

    St11ckj - I agree it's a nightmere but seemed to me there was only one option and that meant going on 3 phase.
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeFeb 18th 2012
     
    Not wanting to over egg it but my Gaia is happily churning out 11.4kW at 8.5m/s wind - nothing else would come close in the small wind category. Seems if the C&Fs did that they would be only too pleased to tell you.
    Perhaps the MCS website should show the production test data, otherwise why have accredited turbines at all?
    • CommentAuthorSt11ckj
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2012
     
    3phase too far away, I called C&F but they wouldn't give me their new figures and claimed I should phone an agent as every site is different!! I called an agent and they claim Intertek haven't released the mcs figures to C&F yet which is a complete load of bull as the figures must have been verified to get the mcs certification..

    I personally think they are withholding the info to get as many turbines installed and then deal with the greif later once they have money in the door!!
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2012
     
    Not really the best way to promote small wind. If you're not 100% up front and honest then it's only going to hurt the industry long term. Probably best to look for another manufacturer as its too much money to take a punt.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2012
     
    Posted By: windy lambNot really the best way to promote small wind.

    Or call You and Your, Watchdog, Rip of Britain...
    • CommentAuthorSt11ckj
    • CommentTimeFeb 26th 2012
     
    C&F 20kW lost a blade the other day near huntly in Aberdeen don't know if it's the same one I saw today heading down the 77 on the back of a lorry towards the Irish ferry?? Check out the British farming forum or check the press and journal for report. This turbine might just be the second best turbine in the world lol
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeFeb 26th 2012
     
    It's always bad news when a small wind turbine breaks - some poor soul paid a lot of money for it! Things break all the time but put that with a reluctance to give out data and one starts to worry.
    • CommentAuthorSt11ckj
    • CommentTimeFeb 26th 2012
     
    I agree with you windy but I fear there will be alot of heartache due the wild claims on their turbines and as you say the reluctance to show mcs output. C&F will be at the dairy expo at Carlisle I would suggest anyone going to their stand to ask for mcs data!!!
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeFeb 28th 2012
     
    St11ckj - I checked out the farming forums and wished I hadn't. Seems anyone who owns a small wind turbine of any make can have problems of varying degrees. Like I said, things break - but it's how those customers are dealt with is, perhaps, an indication of the manufacturers longevity.
    Fingers crossed.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeFeb 28th 2012 edited
     
    Posted By: St11ckjI would suggest anyone going to their stand to ask for mcs data!!!

    Good luck, not to do with turbines, but I was at a building show and there were loads of wood burners there. I asked for performance data, as they claimed efficiency was very high, but not one of them had it 'to hand'. Strange that.
    • CommentAuthorSt11ckj
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2012
     
    I had no luck when I asked mint energy at the show. The guy shrugged his shoulders and said c&f aren't releasing them, why??? He couldn't answer but said Gaia were loving it saying the figures must be crap and that's why they're not released... Their website is still "coming soon" but as you have to publish mcs data on your web page as part of mcs I can't see that happening anytime soon..
  1.  
    I see the CF11 is now on the MCS list - a great relief to a neighbour, who has been waiting on that for ages...
    • CommentAuthorSt11ckj
    • CommentTimeMar 6th 2012
     
    If he can get the mcs data for it to see what he is actually buying and is aware of the warranty being crap and service costs being too high then yes it might be a relief. Wasn't a relief for the poor guy who's wind vain blew off in Aberdeen and was made to pay £1600 for a new one as warranty didn't cover it???
    • CommentAuthorgavstamp
    • CommentTimeMar 7th 2012
     
    <blockquote><cite>Posted By: St11ckj</cite>I had no luck when I asked mint energy at the show. The guy shrugged his shoulders and said c&f aren't releasing them, why??? He couldn't answer but said Gaia were loving it saying the figures must be crap and that's why they're not released... Their website is still "coming soon" but as you have to publish mcs data on your web page as part of mcs I can't see that happening anytime soon..</blockquote>

    I had the same experience with a different C & F reseller, they said they had not been released by the company that carried out the testing. This particular reseller was still quoting the original figures from C & F's brochures which don't seem anywhere near the figures people with C & F turbines are reporting. There is a thread on the British Farming Forum where the owner is talking about his producing 30% less than he was told to expect. I thought the whole point of the MCS was to give us the ability to compare like with like, how can we do so when munufacturers won't release the figures?
  2.  
    St11ckj, £1600 for a windy meter!!!! Blow me (boom boom) you can get a Megawatt turbine ultrasonic sensor for that just about!!!!!!
  3.  
    If the wind meter thing isn't covered buy warrantee then couldn't you get one through an independent supplier for say £160?
    Some ones taking the p.
    • CommentAuthorskyewright
    • CommentTimeMar 7th 2012 edited
     
    I've not seen the anemometer in "real life"[1], but in a picture I saw it looks just like the anemometer on a Davis Vantage Pro 2 (VP2):
    http://www.weatherstations.co.uk/vp_main.htm
    The VP2 is pretty much the cream of the crop of "personal weather stations". If you look in places such as the weather-watch.com Forum you'll see that it's what most people who get really into weather recording come to wish they'd bought in the first place.

    On this page:
    http://www.weatherstations.co.uk/prices.htm
    the anemometer on its own is shown as £156 inc VAT (plus postage, I imagine), remarkably close to WL's £160.

    You'd want to check it was the right part first, of course...

    [1] My neighbour is still awaiting install. The tower is here, but not the trubine.
    • CommentAuthorSt11ckj
    • CommentTimeMar 7th 2012
     
    They changed the anonometer on their models along with a stronger yaw motor in the summer and called it an upgrade costing £3,000 !! Yes you could buy one cheaper but how do you get the turbine up and down plus if you fix it yourself then you have tampered with the machine so warranty could become invalid!!!
    • CommentAuthorpauler
    • CommentTimeMar 7th 2012
     
    See below responce from MCS on MCS AEP figures - after reading, you may well ask yourself what was the point of MCS testing and certifing manufacture output claims....

    I asked MCS the following question:

    I have been trying to obtain the MCS certified figures from C&F wind turbines - of which are MCS approved products. But to no avail. Is there a law against these manufactures with holding the data results from MCS testing?
    Looking forward to your reply.

    MCS Said:

    Thank you for your email.

    At present, there is no requirement for manufacturers or Certification Bodies to make available the testing data which comprised their MCS certification process.

    However, I have attached the general product certification requirements for wind turbines which may be of interest to you.

    I am sorry I could not be of more assistance, but do contact us again if you have any further questions.

    Kind regards,

    Sarah Gaskell | MCS Licensee

    Gemserv Limited 10 Fenchurch Street
    London, EC3M 3BE
    Tel: +44 (0)20 7090 1096
    www.gemserv.com
  4.  
    So the MCS accreditation is rubbish then. They say a turbine has Passed but offer no data, so if you wanted the noise data for your planning application and the manufacturer didn't give it to you how would you verify the noise performance - simply saying it's MCS accredited simply wouldn't wash.
    What's the point of an accreditation if you can't see the accreditation data. Pointless rubbish.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeMar 10th 2012 edited
     
    The term 'gravy train' springs to mind.
    • CommentAuthorskyewright
    • CommentTimeMar 14th 2012
     
    Neighbour no longer awaiting C&F install. Now looking for an alternative. The Gaia appeals but apparently the site is too windy for it. Bergey & XZERES are among the alternatives being looked at...
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeMar 14th 2012
     
    Skyewright -
    Too windy for a Gaia?! well then your neighbour doesn't want to consider anything that hasn't got a well established track record and anyway I thought the Gaia and C&F turbines were in the same wind class. I think Gaias are suitable up to about 7m/s annual average.
    Anyway, Bergey have been around for a while and they have a 10 year warrantee but did hear about some breakdowns but they all have breakdowns so your neighbour really needs to do some homework. Too much money to risk otherwise.
    • CommentAuthorskyewright
    • CommentTimeMar 15th 2012
     
    Posted By: windy lambSkyewright -
    I think Gaias are suitable up to about 7m/s annual average.

    Down where I am the average is 6m/s (measured, not based on published 'stats' ). His turbine site is more exposed. We had a temporary anemometer up there for a while last year. I understand that Gaia themselves think it too windy (there would also be the matter of putting up the Gaia lattice tower, which would apparently require a tracked crane hire that could work out very expensive because of the remote location).

    ...homework...Too much money to risk otherwise.

    Hence the change of mind on previous plans...
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeMar 16th 2012
     
    Gaia do a hydraulic tubular tower for sites without crane access but i'm surprised that it's too windy as your 6m/s site would be ideal (unless you have lots of turbulence of course). But if the manufacturers said it's too windy I suppose they know best!!
    • CommentAuthorskyewright
    • CommentTimeMar 16th 2012 edited
     
    Posted By: windy lambGaia...hydraulic tubular tower...surprised that it's too windy as your 6m/s site would be ideal...

    To clarify.
    I'm in a 6m/s location. I don't have space for a turbine (of any substantial size).
    My neighbour has a substantially > 6m/s location up on the hill and is looking to install a turbine somewhere in the 10 to 15kW range.
    I just mentioned the Gaia hydraulic option to him and he'd heard of it but so far as he's aware it's currently a development rather than something already available?
    He's currently trying to make head or tail of noise data and finding it hard to find similar (i.e. easily compared) data for the Gaia, XZERES & Bergey. He can find similar figures for the first 2, but the Bergey figures he has are in a different form.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeMar 16th 2012
     
    What sort of form?
   
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