Monday 29 November 2010

Going Green

It seems a long time my last post so I thought it was time for an update.

It is reputed that France has one of, if not, the best health services in the world. With that said, they certainly got it wrong this time. We were told by the Doctor that the baby will arrive at least one week early. The baby has still not arrived and now Emma is officially overdue. I have a sneaky feeling that he may decide to come in the early hours this morning; perhaps that is why I am up late writing this?

In the time I have been waiting to welcome my new son, I have been taking time to get some work done around the house and the gites. We have decided to go green and have a heat pump system installed in the house. This heats the house just like a central heating system except that it runs on electricty. The system is outside and it sucks in cold air and does some fascinating stuff to heat the water for our central heating. It seems to be working well and the great thing is that it costs a quarter of what a normal system would cost to run. That is good news in my book!

As we have taken our first step into green energy, I am obsessed with going further and exploring solar and wind energy. It seems to be windy most days here and that is the next thing I hope to install. There is something very satisfying about renewable energy; apart from the cost of course! Being able to free yourself from the slavery of the energy companies is a liberating thought; literally!

The temperature has dropped considerably over the last few days and the snow is on its way. Now we have the heating in the house, we feel relieved; however, I am finding more and more drafts. I have been like a man possessed today and have been searching out all the holes that are letting the cold air in. As I do not have sufficient material to close the holes, I have been putting masking tape over them. This will stop the drafts in the short term and will help me to remember where they are when I get round to doing it properly. The parents in law are staying with us at the moment and I am sure that they think I am mad.

I am sure by the time of the next post, we will have a new addition to our family. This will be, definitely, the last one mind!

No comments:

Post a Comment