Green Energy in Action

For spiritual as well as practical reasons we try to live in harmony with our environment. Here are some of the ways this works in practice.

Electricity from sunlight

Go straight to Dashboard

In February 2010 we started generating electricity from photovoltaic cells. The 36 panels on our chapel roof can generate a total of up to 6.4 kilowatts at a time. Even on cloudy days they produce enough power to run some of our base load of fridges, freezers etc.

On a cloudless summer day using our system:
6 seconds of sunlight will power a low energy bulb for an hour
10 minutes of sunlight will power a vacuum cleaner for an hour
35 minutes of sunlight will power a large fridge for a day

The photo shows the panels and also a small weather station just near the apex of the roof. Thanks to this you can view online, not only the weather conditions at Othona, but also how the photovoltaics (PV) have been performing. When you click through to the Dashboard you can use the small icons by the meter displays to swap to graphs of recent performance. To see the dashboard click here.

We are most grateful to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and the Green Energy Trust (Scottish Power) for grant funding, as well as to two kind individual donors. The system was installed, and the Microgrid dashboard is maintained, by Naturalwatt.

More Photovoltaics

In November 2012 we added a second array of PV cells, this time on the roof of the Lodge where some of our core members live. It's a separate system, installed by local contractors Spiller & Cox Ltd., so the energy generated doesn't show up on dashboard mentioned above. In full bright sunlight it can generate some 3.6 kilowatts.

The two PV systems, taken together, not only reduce our electricity costs very significantly. They also return power to the grid and through the Feed In Tarriff will be earning us an estimated £5,000 a year for the next quarter of a century.

Water Heating from sunlight

When you stay with us the hot water for your showers is also boosted by sunlight. The solar panels were fitted some 30 years ago, but with a bit of TLC are still going strong.

Sewage treated by reeds and gravity

Once the solids have been extracted, our sewage and waste water is all ‘cleaned’ by horizontal flow reedbeds. Our position on a hillside means this is achieved without any need for pumps or other powered equipment.

Dry logs for better fires

Logs burn far more efficiently if they have been seasoned properly: out of the rain but also well ventilated. In 2009 we built a deluxe new logstore to make this more possible. So we make the most of heat from our log fire.

Fun and Awareness

There’s a double benefit when we go green at Othona. Because so many visitors here also get encouraged to think about the environment. That’s not all solemn or technical either. One family week in summer 2009 we test-drove an electric car and built a raft to demonstrate wave power generation. What you can’t see in the picture is the LED showing electricity being generated by the swell at nearby Hive Beach!

A Green Sister

Our sister centre at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex is just as keen as we are on an environmentally responsible lifestyle. They generate much of their own electricity from wind (up till now planning restrictions have ruled this out for us in Dorset) and are building a thoroughly ‘solar’ building. To find out more click here.