And then there was ... SOLAR

So, one thing that the Dear Husband and I were adamant about, was to move towards a more sustainable lifestyle.  High on our list was a solar installation. Solar hot water was installed by the builder, but given our electricity bills are/were in the vicinity of $700/quarter we felt that any investment to reduce that bill, would be worthwhile.

We (ok, Dear Husband) researched inverters, panels and installers.  As luck would have it a dear friend used our front runner and provided invaluable feedback.  

Next step, the package - we were keen on the SMA inverters and phono panels, however apparently the SMAs are in short supply.  We were advised we'd be looking at waiting up until July at the very least before it was likely that some stock would be available in Australia.  Damn!

Based off of our installer's recommendation we had a further look at other inverters, including the Power-One Aurora.  Dear Husband who takes all things technical very seriously, insisted on researching it to make sure we weren't being told porkies (suspicious, much? Perhaps given recent experiences...).  Fortunately, Dear Husband was happy that the deal was still good and we proceeded with installation. 

A 5kW inverter is now attached to the meter box and 25 panels are affixed to the north-facing roof.  

Our 5Kw inverter

Phono panels, sucking up the sun juice ;-)

We've signed the contract to feed back to the grid and ran the system through its paces!  On went ovens, microwave, washing machine, dryer and computers along with the regular household items (TV, toaster, kettle etc) sitting on standby.  And, the meter box didn't tick over once!  We are producing more than we were using! WOOT!

Actually, by the calculations that have been done since installation, we'll produce in the vicinity of 16kWh on a normal Brisbane winter day.  In summer, that'll jump to 23kWh! That's ~7.5MWh per year!!

We've worked out that our $14K investment will be paid off in less than 5 years.  That's assuming that the power we generate will significantly reduce (hopefully wipe out) our electricity bills and return a slight income each year.

And much to our delight, just this weekend gone, it seems that we had a serviceman do *something* and we are now feeding back to the grid. YAY!

Suz x

Truly blessed

Nothing warms your heart more than 2 excited children trying to pamper you.  After all, they tell you, it's Mother's Day.

Woken by children's cold feet as they hide them between your legs after climbing into bed, dressed and donned in their Masterchef aprons, giving cuddles and kisses.  Designing menu plans, wrapping presents, putting finishing touches on the hand made cards; it's so heart warming. This love, that's what warms my heart.

And I know I am so blessed. 

As I sit here in bed, listening to the excitement and giggles that are happening in the kitchen, I can't help but think of those less fortunate; those women who have not had it easy with conception or pregnancy; for those women whose day will be filled with sorrow of lost hopes and dreams, of distant memories; and for those children who have lost their mothers. 

Extend your gift of love today and acknowledge these important women and the significance they've contributed to your lives.  Celebrate the matriachs that have contributed to who you are today. 

And if flowers and chocolates aren't your thing, how about these for Mother's Day gifts?

Unicef Gifts

Have a wonderful day!

Suz x

Still here, busying away

I've been absent, I know.

I promised an update on features, I know.  

I have been battling the Builder, still.  We are arguing over the variation for stone benchtops in the kitchen and the (my) calculation of liquidated damages.  The reality is, it's a couple of thousand dollars we are bickering over.  We could probably write it off, but it's the principle, y'know? 

I also love a good fight ;-P   And it is really challenging on the contract law, front.  Which I love. It's what I do at work (when I'm not referee-ing the internal politics!) and it's the reason I signed up to do a law degree ... which, I've not been terribly dedicated to of late (I've actually taken a brief hiatus).   But our contract issue has turned into a matter of dishonesty.  Fraud, actually.  An amendment occurred to a variation, post signing.  Following lots of discussions regarding, it seems it wasn't the builder, but the sales company who we signed the contract with (they sub the work out to the building companies who we then deal with and pay etc).

Now that it has been pointed out to the Builder, we are part way there.  We are however, still disputing the approval date given by the council (ridiculous, I know!).  

But, despite all that, Dear Husband and I have been madly trying to get time to do all the other things.  I think I have almost finished designing my vegetable patch, we've picked a fence and gate that we both agree on and we are starting to work out how we are going to design the path/garden between the front stairs and the pedestrian gate.  

This is what I'd love my vege garden to look like:
 

Courtesy of  http://kellymccaleb.tumblr.com/

I think I'd actually raise the garden beds a little, maybe 2 sleeper widths high.  I'd add some obelisks as features.  I was thinking of having some fruit trees beyond the fences at the back.  And there may actually be a need for a scarecrow - although I want something that is not so typically ghastly.  Am on the hunt for ideas...

And the front fence will hopefully look something like this:

We like the second top rail with feature paling as something a little different.  And in white, although we're a bit worried at how much white is featured on the house already.  Hopefully a lily pilly hedge will peak between the bottom rail and top rail to break up the whiteness, but I don't want it peaking way over the top like it is in the pic above.

And our fence will hopefully have these front gates, or something very similar:

 

 

The debate continues whether to have these on a sliding mechanism, or open as farm gates.  I prefer the latter but Dear Husband and the children like the idea of them sliding behind the fence.

And hopefully, we'll put in a cobblestone path to our front pedestrian gate.

I like this colour and style:

Courtesy of http://www.featurepics.com/

 Laid in a pattern similar to this, maybe even with a feature of some kind ....

 

Courtesy of http://www.split-rok.com

Dear Husband is also still keen to lay a concrete slab under the house, but wants an engineer to look over our plans - the hope is, if we get pipework laid and the concrete reinforced, we could build in underneath (down the track).

So obviously, still heaps to research and consider.  

It can be quite overwhelming but exciting all at the same time!

Suz x