by Jess Ward

Powering up your house or business can become a very costly thing, not to mention damaging for the environment.

Earthquakes, oil leaks which lead to pollution and the use of toxic chemicals are just some of the issues related to the extraction of fossil fuels that are later used to heat or light up homes around the world.

Oil and gas are popular resources used in majority of the island’s homes, but some residents and businesses have chosen to make use of their surroundings by having renewable energy generators.

I asked residents, who rely on very different elements, about the efficiency of their systems.

Lorraine Fuller’s house in Ballagarey, where four people currently reside, is heated using a roof mounted solar heat exchange system using water-filled tubes. The Glen Vine resident says she has no regrets since having the tubes installed 20 years ago.

’It’s cost efficient,’ she said. ’It has reduced our oil bills, as the boiler’s turned off so we’re not using oil to heat our water often. It has saved us an awful lot of money.

’We’ve replaced some of the tubes over time, but that’s never reduced the efficiency of it.’

Lorraine explained that it has taken 10 years for the solar energy generator to pay off for itself and that the hot water generated through the system has been ’free’ ever since.

One burning question was whether the system is effective in a country that doesn’t get a constant fix of sunshine.

She assured me that the system is ’reliable’ and that sunlight can be picked up even through our cloudy skies.

Only if there is no hot water in the tank will she ’click on’ the oil boiler.

’When it comes to winter if there’s any sun it will kick in and provide some warm water by heating up and topping the tank up. In summer we turn the boiler off again and it will top up itself - it’s very easy,’ she said.

Lorraine was originally warned that buying the generator was very expensive, especially if she and her family weren’t going to stay at their house for long.

She replied: ’It’s like a holiday. You don’t pay and say "that cost me a lot of money!" You pay the money and enjoy it - we’re having free hot water and it’s something that we have benefitted from.

’In England, people get grants for renewable energy. They get free electricity and then they can sell [excess energy] to electricity firms and get money back. Over here a grant for it would be beneficial.’

According to Rodger Harper from Energy Management Systems, which fitted Lorraine’s solar assisted heating system, ’solar thermal linked to a thermal store could provide up to 80% of annual hot water and assist central heating’.

The Salmon Lake Centre and Ballacregga Tea Rooms in Laxey are one example of a business running on renewable sources. The complex is powered by a hydro turbine which gets its water supply from the reservoir behind it along with the Laxey river.

Alan Clague, a director of Stewart Clague Services and Ballacregga in Laxey, said: ’We installed it four years ago, which generates up to 10kW of electric 24/7, as long as there is adequate water supply which comes from behind it.

’Lots of people think it’s the wheel itself that creates the power, but it’s there as an ornament really of where the original one used to be.

’The turbine generates enough to power the building, consisting of a function room, a tea room and a kitchen.

’We’re making our own electricity so we are self-sustaining and it’s fully renewable as we are using the power of water coming down from Snaefell.

’Anything that’s not used within the building is transported to the grid. Rather than wasting electricity, you can sell it back to Manx Utilities Authority (MUA). The thing with restaurants and cafes is that they use a lot of electricity, so we don’t sell much back.’

The idea for the turbine came from Mr Clague’s father Stewart, an engineer who worked with others to install the Ossberger turbine. A Mitsubishi Electric City Multi WR2 heat pump system was also installed to control heating and cooling.

This 100% carbon neutral system allows the complex to control the room temperatures for events like weddings.

In 2015, the complex was awarded the ’Private Sector: Best Innovation’ at the government’s Energy Awards in 2015 and last year the turbine powered Brunel University’s TT zero emissions bike.

Mr Clague added: ’Touch wood, from when we first installed the hydro turbine to today it has been 100% reliable.’

â?¢ Windmill owner, Elizabeth Sheen from Kentraugh, will feature in next week’s Isle of Man Examiner. An open day at the Kentraugh Corn Mill, run by Mrs Sheen, takes place on Saturday (May 12) at 10am-1pm and Sunday at 11am-5pm. Donations welcome.