Former monk here. The Benedictine rule calls for sustainable stewardship of the natural environment and many monasteries have rainwater collection, filtration, developed farming techniques, and many have added solar or even hydro if by a source for quite a while, good to see this growing.
And why not? Religion doesn't mean stasis. If churches (other religious edifices are available) can have sound systems with radio mics for the vicar and lighting bars (I have installed LED lighting in several churches, interior and exterior) for visiting theatre groups/events. So why not solar panels? Just think of Jesus and his sunbeams ... entirely apposite.
Was in York last weekend and walked past the Minster. Great to see this action being taken. These building were started by people who would probably never see them finished in their lifetimes. We need that type of thinking for taking the hard decisions around tackling climate change in my opinion.
If heritage buildings can achieve so much just imagine how much could be achieved by our industrial buildings if a small planning requirement was put in place.
There is at least 50GW of potential capacity of roof-top solar and car parks in the UK… that’s 16-25 nuclear power stations depending on the number of reactors. Of course, solar PV has a capacity factor of ~10% in the UK, but still, if you can store, that would still produce about 16% (46tWh) of the UK annual demand in electricity (275tWh).
I've been saying for years put panels on all roofs ! WHY HAS IT NOT BE DONE before glasgow lez or next years Edinburgh lez BUT people don't want an ev,car might explode and take other cars with it or your hoose !
@@eclecticcyclist meh, there are tons of 2nd hand EVs under £10k with decent range. And people don’t realise that their current ICE car is basically a pile of money that they should soon use towards transitioning to an EV (with a small loan if need be to top up). Bearing in mind that this pile of money is more like ICE in the sun… 😏 (see what I did there 😁) given that combustion cars won’t be worth much very soon…
Fantastic and very interesting. I live in a grade 2 listed building with a separate barn. I've looking into solar on the barn and so far have had negative push back. I think I might point them to this episode!!!😊
Excellent work indeed! Imagine a 1,300 years old solar powered cathedral:) Here on the Canadian prairies we are preserving and renovating an "old" 1912 two story house with high insulation, triple pane windows, insulated doors and soon solar PV on the roof. This is the future for all our housing stocks well done!
I've done the same to a 1903 brown shingle in the San Francisco Bay area. Only need double pane windows and with the more moderate climate my solar produces thousands of kW-hr more than we need. All that insulation and heat pumps does the trick.
Well I'm blowed! I did not know so many of our churches and cathedrals had so much in the way of renewables. My local churches are in the Canterbury diocese and having recently been looking into infrared heating for our home, I was going to speak to our church wardens about considering it for our churches and church halls as all of our boilers are getting temperamental. Had no idea the church was ahead of the game with a ground source heat pump in our cathedral, amazing news. What a lovely evening, singing at a carol concert with the Salvation Army band at the church hall and now this wonderful news! Thanks everyone.👍
Imogen & the production team have released an outstanding episode. The approach taken by the York Minster’s project director is exemplary - he needs to be cloned! 👏👏
I lived in York for 8 years and really enjoyed being part of such a great place. (It isn't all perfect mind, I worked in Rawcliffe!) The park-and-ride buses have been fully electric for a good while now so it is good to see these advances being made in the historic sector of the city centre.
We are custodians of a Grade 2* listed building and needed to pay for planning permission to install PV on a roof of a non-listed building just because it was in the curtilage - it was just a paper based exercise but a complete waste of time and money - the irony being that the listed building is a windmill, one of the earliest forms of renewable power 🙄🤦♂️
If we don’t use our precious, old buildings, then we let often them fall into disrepair. I worked for an agency that, in order to rigidly conserve some old buildings, mandated softwood siding and wood shingles, single pane windows, and similar sillyness. This in an area that got over 100 F in summer, had snow in winter, and was threatened by fire often in summer. Woodpeckers destroyed the siding within two years. Buildings have to evolve, yet we can still respect the original character.
lol, the Listed Building regs in the UK even mandate the construction techniques that can be used although they do allow fireproofing for thatch and other flammable ancient materials.
Thanks for this inspiring episode! It is so great to see and hear about projects like these that literally move such heritage buildings into the next century without destroying their appearance!
Very interesting vid for me. I’m in a conservation area and the local council absolutely refuse to allow solar panels on the roof. A video to cover the various options and details on solar panels for roofs would be really really useful
Fantastic to see solar being incorporated into such amazing historic buildings , really great to see this happening. Can we have LOTS of solar panels on every school, government building, office etc. please?
Yes. We need some more ground breaking stuff to be done on smaller historic buildings. People like the National Trust, National Trust for Scotland and the Landmark Trust can lead here as they own hundreds of smaller (as well as larger) historic buildings between them.
It's probably worth letting your neighbours know beforehand, and ask them if they have any concerns You don't want people to object to what you plan to do so it's best to get neighbours on board. Mine isn't listed but I do have a flat roof. I've had structural engineer assessment and I've had planning permission sign off too in part because I actively notified all my neighbours via a letter in their postbox You need planning permission for flat roofs. It's worth perhaps mentioning that the solar panels will be black too, so they won't be bright blue. The colour doesn't bother me, but some people prefer black to blue
Excellent, We have been given stewardship of so much, and care so very little for it. This is THE example we could all choose to follow. God Bless you.
Why don't you show contact information for things mentioned in the latest episode ? I'm personally interested in the - Solar Tiles disguised as Welsh Slate! and at 5:03 Solar Cells? But no other info available for anyone to copy this tech (which I thought is your aim ?) Just putting the manufacturers name on screen would help and also show how much interest there is for their products
When you think about it - churches point east-west, therefore have large roofs that face south, ideal for solar. And are struggling because of diminishing flock, this could help keep vital parts of our material history open for all and help fight climate change. In addition, they have large roofs for water collection.
It's so frustrating when people who should know what they're talking about get that wrong! Also, while I'm a huge fan of solar power, that "KWhr/year" figure feels like a massive fudge - without batteries to shift the midday production peak into the evening demand peak it's a useless figure...
This is a fantastic story. "ASHP's don't work in old buildings".....well that one is absolutely blown out of the water! Hidden solar panels and on a grade 1 listed building. We need a change in planning to allow far more delicate upgrades to be done.
Fantastic episode! How exciting that all our beautiful, historic buildings can be part of transition away from dirty fossil fuels. My daughter is Ops Manager at a theatre charity based in an old Victorian church. I will be sending her the link to this episode!!!
What a great episode! Your guest was a delight to listen to. Thank you. Also, @ 8:10 "doesn't take away from the appearance and certainly isn't sacrilege." are not objective truths but rather opinions.
I've been saying for years now why don't the government put into law that all new builds both residential and commercial have to have solar panels of some sort. It would drastically reduce our reliance on Oil and Gas not to mention put energy back into the grid. People's bills would fall massively and it would help with what some people believe will be too much demand on the grid..No Brainer...
Because they're too beholden to builders. Hopefully a Labour government wouldn't be so namby pamby - though I don't believe that the Labour Welsh Government or SNP Scottish Government have done this either (but I'm happy to be corrected if wrong). Unfortunately local councils don't have the power to insist in this kind of thing.
There already was a law in place that the conservative government tore up. A disgusting move like the post above said just pandering to building companies. It was going to eat into their profits a little bit.
Not sure of the legal requirement, but the big home builders are putting panels on most of their new builds in Scotland. I have huge issue though - in that there's zero effort being put into how to maximise the potential. Most homes have at most 3 panels, regardless of the size or shape of the roof (although most are so poorly designed for solar that it's difficult to put many more on there anyway). There's actually a block of flat's near me that were built recently with the advertising suggesting '100% solar power'. Turns out, all of the panels have been fitted to the NORTH facing roof and are permanently in shadow. The south facing roof, which does benefit from the sun has no panels. . . .
@@stoo149 I’ve seen that once or twice too. They’re just putting on to tick a box for the planning. God knows if they even install an inverter for them, maybe added cost to give as an option to buyers.
We should be pushing for schools and hospitals to go down this route, it reduces their costs, helps the environment, and reduces demand on the grid. We could even get petroleum companies to fund it for a bit of good PR.
To not be able to tell the difference visually between roof tiles and roof tiles with embedded solar panels is truly a gamechanger is areas where historical preservation is paramount... We truly are living in the future as the video so eloquently put it,...
A real shame that the Church of England does not have a comprehensive plan to help roll this all out to rural Parishes. Many will struggle to afford this because they don't have the financial ability of the big cathedrals such as York and Canterbury. The "church" is wealthy but in effect it's either some relatively wealthy city cathedrals & some urban churches, the government arm which is the Church Commission. The CoE needs to have a renewables fund/grant system to deliver such renewables to rural churches. The CoE's expectation is there that rural churches comply with their 2030 deadline but don't seem to support what is required to make it happen. The cost savings are a given but the capital investment is the key problem, plus expert support to help Church Wardens with a complex evaluation& expensive installations.
While in Thailand they discourage solar panes by not guaranteeing to buy surplus solar energy produced. The vast difference in seasonal temperatures makes this important.
They must have done a great work to get people to accept solar panels on the roof of the cathedral. I bet most people were not aware it be could be done so well and were assuming it would require bulky panels and supports on top of the roof.
This is all great news, the fact that one community have done this with little push back should set an example. If they can do it anyone can. Imagine if they’d got in on FIT! 😳
4 in afternoon here and a balmy 7°C, another 17 hours till the sun gets up. Any bright ideas how this city runs on solar power? I suppose we keep the electricity in batteries. In your dreams maybe!
Considering the damage done by acid rain produced from fossil fuel burning power plants, I'd say the buildings would say "bring it on" if they could speak.
Putting 11 panels on the roof of my ex council house generates almost all of the power I need when combined with a 5kWh battery for overnight storage. I think that placing large arrays of panels on industrial buildings is a great way to move towards a SolarPunk future.
Fully onboard with solar etc but is there a need to go near any listed buildings when just miles away is industrial units. But fair play for doing it. I went down to York from Glasgow this year for a long weekend and it’s a brilliant city, love walking the walls.
I feel like the need comes in several parts: 1. They want to, well, reduce their own bills 2. The organisation (city/CoE) made a commitment, and it's a good look when they're following through on it directly, rather than shifting it elsewhere 3. Using famous sites creates a great deal more awareness, which will hopefully push for more projects both similar and also less ambitious in scope - such as on industrial units that you mention
This is an amazing forward thinking project. Great video. A much easier job would be to cover industrial building roofs with solar. I was in Germany earlier this year and the size of some solar arrays on farm buildings and warehouses was bonkers! Could you do a video on what Heritage England is doing about updating their policies to allow private individuals to up date their listed buildings and bring them into the 21st C? It's a crime that people aren't allowed to add double glazing when they do renovation work.
04:08 Eleven thousand kilowatts per year was a slip? He meant kilowatt hours and so the roof averages a 1.26 kilowatt output (more in summer, less in winter)?
Nice project, the Royal castle in Stockholm Sweden has had solar panels for a while. The figure for household use of electricity seems very low. Do they assume gas for heating and hot water?
Very probably yes, many houses here are on mains gas for central heating and water, some have gas cookers too. There's a lot of work still to be done....
Notre Dame needs a completely new roof, that would be the opportunity, but i doubt that they even think about that, considering that they even plan to reconstruct the stupid timberstructure, instead of replacing it with one of steel.
This is the kind of thing that should be possible for most, perhaps all, listed heritage buildings, that I've been insisting on for YEARS. You don't have to pickle everything in aspic to the point whereby these wonderful heritage assets simply become white elephants and end up being abandoned to their own fate, falling I to wrack and ruin, only to eventually be lost altogether. Far too many heritage organisations, their staff, and membership, are so busy riding along on their high horses that they forget what the purpose of heritage [preservation] is supposed to be about in the first place. We ALL need to live in the real world as we find it.
4:08 No, it is not "generating 11,000 kW of power per annum". That makes no sense. He presumably means "11,000 kW_hours_ of _energy_ per annum". And it wasn't just a slip of the toungue. 5:28 and 5:42 he makes exactly the same mistake twice more. Please people - get your units right. At least Imogen knows the difference (7:44) :-)
Most buildings should be moved toward energy independence. The tech is now cheap enough for rapid ROI of just a few years. Nature solved our energy issues before we built them, we just have to reach out & grab it.
There is no reason why you can't mix new tech to preserve historic builds seeing as utility operational cost are a huge portion of their budgets, any reduction adds longevity.
Acidic rain, caustic particulates from oil-induced emissions and general fossil-fuel pollution are what I believe are the biggest causes of damage to old buildings... in addition to doing similar damage to new buildings and life in general.
I know there are ideas for solar roof tiles but I can't understand why the standard solar panels can't be designed to basically double up as a roofing system in the way they fit together. (if you can see what I am getting at) I can't see why it would be technically hard to design or be expensive to do it at the manufacturing stage.
I believe they do make some that sit flush with the rest of the roof tiles. I've heard they have a tendency to overheat in high summer and actually become less efficient if it's too hot. I'm no expert and may have got the wrong end of the stick though, so do research, won't you?!
Take a look at the Tesla roof tiles and others of the same design that connect together just by being laid on top of the adjacent tile. Gold plated contacts ensure reliable connection. They look like a conventional tiled or slate roof when completed.
@@judebrown4103 all solar panels become less efficient when too hot, which is not an excuse not to fit them. In some very hot locations it is beneficial to use some of the generated power to run fans across the panels reducing the temperature with a net increase in power generated.
@@Bettys_Eldestoh no, I wasn't for a moment suggesting one shouldn't fit solar PV. I was merely attempting to answer the question: why are panels fixed onto the roof with a gap underneath and not often fixed flush with the rest of the roof covering? I was suggesting that they are more efficient with an air gap to provide cooling. Interesting about fitting a cooling fan though...👍
@@judebrown4103 what I am trying to suggest is that with a little bit of design the solar panels could easily BE the roof ..not on the top of the roof..there would then be the air of the loft space underneath. (although I suppose it wouldn't be circulating air so they wouldn't get quite as well cooled by that and it might make loft spaces too hot)
Why did you include the staffing costs when highlighting the running costs, would it have been more relatable for the audience to have stated just the energy costs? Then we would have something to compare with our own experience.
£30,000 per day for heating and lighting sounds too high to be correct. Are you sure that this is correct? Also, while hard to compare by using number of panels, it seems strange that 200 panels would reduce York's consumption by 40% when my 46 panels (15.325 kW) in a sunnier latitude would not produce a quarter of the energy that York's panels supposedly do. I wonder if someone has made a mistake regarding York's consumption.
A decent size for sure. I just can't see it being enough to offset a £30,000 per day electricity bill. I suspect that the £30,000 per day should be £30,000 per some other time period.
York Minster, Beverly Minster, Westminster, Southwell Minster, and a number of placenames contain the word for historic reasons: Axminster, Exminster, Ilminster, Leominster, Kidderminster, Upminster, Bedminster.
The church owns loads of land, and electricity moves freely through the network, so instead of installing 199 panels to cover 40% of their use why don’t they stick 1000 panels in one of their fields and cover off 200% of the usage and 100% of the cost? The scaffolding costs alone must be mind boggling!
How is selling oil for heating your home, any different from selling glacier ice for cooling your home? I can’t even think of 420 ways, so I would say it’s no different.
Same in Canada. Conservatives the world over seem to be running with the same play book. deny obstruct and reject any efforts to try and improve the world
I tend to agree, although they *have* just eased some planning restrictions on rooftop solar for businesses - but we need a LOT more than that. Increasing rates for businesses (over a period of years), and then discounting those increases off for those with solar or other low carbon features would be good. Just announce that rates will go up incrementally by an extra 1% a year for businesses that don't comply.
does modern heating ruin buildings? no! Does modern lights ruin buildings? No! solar panels won't ruin anything either. humans are such babies .. things change make it work!
Former monk here. The Benedictine rule calls for sustainable stewardship of the natural environment and many monasteries have rainwater collection, filtration, developed farming techniques, and many have added solar or even hydro if by a source for quite a while, good to see this growing.
That's good to hear.
And why not?
Religion doesn't mean stasis.
If churches (other religious edifices are available) can have sound systems with radio mics for the vicar and lighting bars (I have installed LED lighting in several churches, interior and exterior) for visiting theatre groups/events.
So why not solar panels?
Just think of Jesus and his sunbeams ... entirely apposite.
@@t1n4444 Well, Jesus is "the light and the way", right?
@@klaxoncow
Groan.
Nothing would be more sustainable than the church telling followers to stop having so many kids😂
Was in York last weekend and walked past the Minster. Great to see this action being taken. These building were started by people who would probably never see them finished in their lifetimes. We need that type of thinking for taking the hard decisions around tackling climate change in my opinion.
If heritage buildings can achieve so much just imagine how much could be achieved by our industrial buildings if a small planning requirement was put in place.
There is at least 50GW of potential capacity of roof-top solar and car parks in the UK… that’s 16-25 nuclear power stations depending on the number of reactors. Of course, solar PV has a capacity factor of ~10% in the UK, but still, if you can store, that would still produce about 16% (46tWh) of the UK annual demand in electricity (275tWh).
I've been saying for years put panels on all roofs ! WHY HAS IT NOT BE DONE before glasgow lez or next years Edinburgh lez BUT people don't want an ev,car might explode and take other cars with it or your hoose !
Requirement! That's a key word!
@@stum8374 People want an EV but most can't afford them with current insecurity and high intrest rates
@@eclecticcyclist meh, there are tons of 2nd hand EVs under £10k with decent range. And people don’t realise that their current ICE car is basically a pile of money that they should soon use towards transitioning to an EV (with a small loan if need be to top up). Bearing in mind that this pile of money is more like ICE in the sun… 😏 (see what I did there 😁) given that combustion cars won’t be worth much very soon…
Absolutely brilliant. Well done, York and all the cathedrals on the church of England.
Fantastic and very interesting. I live in a grade 2 listed building with a separate barn. I've looking into solar on the barn and so far have had negative push back. I think I might point them to this episode!!!😊
Your barn could probably be a power station for the neighbourhood. Hope you have 3 phase already £££
If it good enough for York Cathedral it good enough for your barn.
Excellent work indeed! Imagine a 1,300 years old solar powered cathedral:) Here on the Canadian prairies we are preserving and renovating an "old" 1912 two story house with high insulation, triple pane windows, insulated doors and soon solar PV on the roof. This is the future for all our housing stocks well done!
I've done the same to a 1903 brown shingle in the San Francisco Bay area. Only need double pane windows and with the more moderate climate my solar produces thousands of kW-hr more than we need. All that insulation and heat pumps does the trick.
Well I'm blowed! I did not know so many of our churches and cathedrals had so much in the way of renewables. My local churches are in the Canterbury diocese and having recently been looking into infrared heating for our home, I was going to speak to our church wardens about considering it for our churches and church halls as all of our boilers are getting temperamental. Had no idea the church was ahead of the game with a ground source heat pump in our cathedral, amazing news. What a lovely evening, singing at a carol concert with the Salvation Army band at the church hall and now this wonderful news! Thanks everyone.👍
Kings College Chapel, Cambridge is another notable building getting PV on the roof (just about done by now I think).
Imogen & the production team have released an outstanding episode. The approach taken by the York Minster’s project director is exemplary - he needs to be cloned! 👏👏
I lived in York for 8 years and really enjoyed being part of such a great place. (It isn't all perfect mind, I worked in Rawcliffe!) The park-and-ride buses have been fully electric for a good while now so it is good to see these advances being made in the historic sector of the city centre.
We were delighted to welcome you to the Minster. Great to see this wonderful video and so many positive comments. Thank you!
It was our pleasure! Thank you again for having us.
We are custodians of a Grade 2* listed building and needed to pay for planning permission to install PV on a roof of a non-listed building just because it was in the curtilage - it was just a paper based exercise but a complete waste of time and money - the irony being that the listed building is a windmill, one of the earliest forms of renewable power 🙄🤦♂️
If we don’t use our precious, old buildings, then we let often them fall into disrepair. I worked for an
agency that, in order to rigidly conserve some old buildings, mandated softwood siding and wood shingles, single pane windows, and similar sillyness. This in an area that got over 100 F in summer, had snow in winter, and was threatened by fire often in summer. Woodpeckers destroyed the siding within two years. Buildings have to evolve, yet we can still respect the original character.
lol, the Listed Building regs in the UK even mandate the construction techniques that can be used although they do allow fireproofing for thatch and other flammable ancient materials.
Thanks for this inspiring episode! It is so great to see and hear about projects like these that literally move such heritage buildings into the next century without destroying their appearance!
Very interesting vid for me. I’m in a conservation area and the local council absolutely refuse to allow solar panels on the roof. A video to cover the various options and details on solar panels for roofs would be really really useful
Merely do the Google thing.
A good report, marred by continually mixing up energy with power, kWh with kW, so what they've achieved is quite ambiguous.
Great to see this, many thanks! There are still too many not taking these opportunities. Let's all hope for a change!
Fantastic to see solar being incorporated into such amazing historic buildings , really great to see this happening. Can we have LOTS of solar panels on every school, government building, office etc. please?
“I live in a 200 yr old cottage, I can’t have any of that eco stuff.”
Really-
“A massive cathedral can do it!”
Yes. We need some more ground breaking stuff to be done on smaller historic buildings. People like the National Trust, National Trust for Scotland and the Landmark Trust can lead here as they own hundreds of smaller (as well as larger) historic buildings between them.
What a remarkable and inspiring initiative. Gives me much more confidence to look at solar on my Georgian house as that’s only grade 2 listed 😊
It's probably worth letting your neighbours know beforehand, and ask them if they have any concerns
You don't want people to object to what you plan to do so it's best to get neighbours on board.
Mine isn't listed but I do have a flat roof. I've had structural engineer assessment and I've had planning permission sign off too in part because I actively notified all my neighbours via a letter in their postbox
You need planning permission for flat roofs. It's worth perhaps mentioning that the solar panels will be black too, so they won't be bright blue. The colour doesn't bother me, but some people prefer black to blue
Excellent, We have been given stewardship of so much, and care so very little for it. This is THE example we could all choose to follow.
God Bless you.
Why don't you show contact information for things mentioned in the latest episode ?
I'm personally interested in the -
Solar Tiles disguised as Welsh Slate!
and at 5:03 Solar Cells?
But no other info available for anyone to copy this tech (which I thought is your aim ?)
Just putting the manufacturers name on screen would help and also show how much interest there is for their products
When you think about it - churches point east-west, therefore have large roofs that face south, ideal for solar. And are struggling because of diminishing flock, this could help keep vital parts of our material history open for all and help fight climate change.
In addition, they have large roofs for water collection.
Great story. Thanks. This channel is doing a wonderful job.Great work!
Fantastic video and story as always. Glad to see these changes to buildings like this!
Thank you so much for covering this. It's a wonderful report. It can be done!
KW of power a year? I’m confused with the numbers. Surely it’s kWhr per year?
It's so frustrating when people who should know what they're talking about get that wrong!
Also, while I'm a huge fan of solar power, that "KWhr/year" figure feels like a massive fudge - without batteries to shift the midday production peak into the evening demand peak it's a useless figure...
This is a fantastic story. "ASHP's don't work in old buildings".....well that one is absolutely blown out of the water! Hidden solar panels and on a grade 1 listed building. We need a change in planning to allow far more delicate upgrades to be done.
Fantastic episode! How exciting that all our beautiful, historic buildings can be part of transition away from dirty fossil fuels. My daughter is Ops Manager at a theatre charity based in an old Victorian church. I will be sending her the link to this episode!!!
What a great episode! Your guest was a delight to listen to. Thank you. Also, @ 8:10 "doesn't take away from the appearance and certainly isn't sacrilege." are not objective truths but rather opinions.
I'd say "isn't sacrilege" IS an objective truth in this case: no commandments are being broken, and God is not being insulted.
The planning proposal was clearly displayed in the crypt of the cathedral. Not one previous occupant opposed the town planning department. 🤣
What an absolutely fascinating episode - well done, Team EE... 😎
I've been saying for years now why don't the government put into law that all new builds both residential and commercial have to have solar panels of some sort. It would drastically reduce our reliance on Oil and Gas not to mention put energy back into the grid. People's bills would fall massively and it would help with what some people believe will be too much demand on the grid..No Brainer...
Because builders complain it will put them out of business, then hold out their hands for a subsidy
Because they're too beholden to builders. Hopefully a Labour government wouldn't be so namby pamby - though I don't believe that the Labour Welsh Government or SNP Scottish Government have done this either (but I'm happy to be corrected if wrong). Unfortunately local councils don't have the power to insist in this kind of thing.
There already was a law in place that the conservative government tore up. A disgusting move like the post above said just pandering to building companies. It was going to eat into their profits a little bit.
Not sure of the legal requirement, but the big home builders are putting panels on most of their new builds in Scotland. I have huge issue though - in that there's zero effort being put into how to maximise the potential. Most homes have at most 3 panels, regardless of the size or shape of the roof (although most are so poorly designed for solar that it's difficult to put many more on there anyway). There's actually a block of flat's near me that were built recently with the advertising suggesting '100% solar power'. Turns out, all of the panels have been fitted to the NORTH facing roof and are permanently in shadow. The south facing roof, which does benefit from the sun has no panels. . . .
@@stoo149 I’ve seen that once or twice too. They’re just putting on to tick a box for the planning. God knows if they even install an inverter for them, maybe added cost to give as an option to buyers.
We should be pushing for schools and hospitals to go down this route, it reduces their costs, helps the environment, and reduces demand on the grid.
We could even get petroleum companies to fund it for a bit of good PR.
To not be able to tell the difference visually between roof tiles and roof tiles with embedded solar panels is truly a gamechanger is areas where historical preservation is paramount... We truly are living in the future as the video so eloquently put it,...
A real shame that the Church of England does not have a comprehensive plan to help roll this all out to rural Parishes. Many will struggle to afford this because they don't have the financial ability of the big cathedrals such as York and Canterbury. The "church" is wealthy but in effect it's either some relatively wealthy city cathedrals & some urban churches, the government arm which is the Church Commission. The CoE needs to have a renewables fund/grant system to deliver such renewables to rural churches. The CoE's expectation is there that rural churches comply with their 2030 deadline but don't seem to support what is required to make it happen. The cost savings are a given but the capital investment is the key problem, plus expert support to help Church Wardens with a complex evaluation& expensive installations.
All those little spires look like they would accommodate quite a few small-scale windmills, too!
Very interesting how things are changing so fast
Brilliant video, can’t wait to see what this looks like.
Excellent idea. They won't bother anyone. Only God can look at them and He will agree to put light on them.
Great video team, thanks for sharing
Im guessing that having rebuilt the roof after the 1984 fire means it's in good condition to take panels
What was that mini square solar panel thing called? you know, the one they want to put on the Technology Hub roof?
While in Thailand they discourage solar panes by not guaranteeing to buy surplus solar energy produced. The vast difference in seasonal temperatures makes this important.
Another fantastic video by a great team👏 very interesting episode😃
Someone please correct that Gentleman that it's Kilowatt HOURS, not just Kilowatts per year.
He got it right 1 out 2 though, so let’s forgive him 😁
Excellent to add solar, hope we cities with small cathedrals can also get in on the act, despite being quite northern in England?
They must have done a great work to get people to accept solar panels on the roof of the cathedral.
I bet most people were not aware it be could be done so well and were assuming it would require bulky panels and supports on top of the roof.
This is all great news, the fact that one community have done this with little push back should set an example. If they can do it anyone can.
Imagine if they’d got in on FIT! 😳
Very inspiring video thank you. Planning is key and with York it just shows what can be done with all these enormous old roofs on church's etc.
We got a "B", awesome! What a project, congratulations.
I have been enjoyed, so thank you for delivering.
Encouraging viewing.
4 in afternoon here and a balmy 7°C, another 17 hours till the sun gets up. Any bright ideas how this city runs on solar power? I suppose we keep the electricity in batteries. In your dreams maybe!
Considering the damage done by acid rain produced from fossil fuel burning power plants, I'd say the buildings would say "bring it on" if they could speak.
Putting 11 panels on the roof of my ex council house generates almost all of the power I need when combined with a 5kWh battery for overnight storage. I think that placing large arrays of panels on industrial buildings is a great way to move towards a SolarPunk future.
Except in winter which is 25% of the year .
Fully onboard with solar etc but is there a need to go near any listed buildings when just miles away is industrial units. But fair play for doing it. I went down to York from Glasgow this year for a long weekend and it’s a brilliant city, love walking the walls.
I feel like the need comes in several parts:
1. They want to, well, reduce their own bills
2. The organisation (city/CoE) made a commitment, and it's a good look when they're following through on it directly, rather than shifting it elsewhere
3. Using famous sites creates a great deal more awareness, which will hopefully push for more projects both similar and also less ambitious in scope - such as on industrial units that you mention
How much extra heat will be generated by the solar panels compared to trad power supply?
This is an amazing forward thinking project. Great video.
A much easier job would be to cover industrial building roofs with solar. I was in Germany earlier this year and the size of some solar arrays on farm buildings and warehouses was bonkers!
Could you do a video on what Heritage England is doing about updating their policies to allow private individuals to up date their listed buildings and bring them into the 21st C? It's a crime that people aren't allowed to add double glazing when they do renovation work.
04:08 Eleven thousand kilowatts per year was a slip? He meant kilowatt hours and so the roof averages a 1.26 kilowatt output (more in summer, less in winter)?
I will send this to the next person who says heat pumps don’t work in old buildings 😂
Great episode, although those roof tiles aren't cheap. Imagine if we had solar on every roof...
Nice project, the Royal castle in Stockholm Sweden has had solar panels for a while.
The figure for household use of electricity seems very low. Do they assume gas for heating and hot water?
Likely, as that tends to be the norm here.
Very probably yes, many houses here are on mains gas for central heating and water, some have gas cookers too. There's a lot of work still to be done....
Hello,hello anyone know how much grid capacity is freed up. 😊😊😊😊
Notre Dame needs a completely new roof, that would be the opportunity, but i doubt that they even think about that, considering that they even plan to reconstruct the stupid timberstructure, instead of replacing it with one of steel.
Great video! Would love to look at the financial costs and benefits too.
This is the kind of thing that should be possible for most, perhaps all, listed heritage buildings, that I've been insisting on for YEARS. You don't have to pickle everything in aspic to the point whereby these wonderful heritage assets simply become white elephants and end up being abandoned to their own fate, falling I to wrack and ruin, only to eventually be lost altogether.
Far too many heritage organisations, their staff, and membership, are so busy riding along on their high horses that they forget what the purpose of heritage [preservation] is supposed to be about in the first place. We ALL need to live in the real world as we find it.
Great news! I got married in York Minster.
Good stuff but the gentleman got his KWs mixed with per annum
4:08 No, it is not "generating 11,000 kW of power per annum". That makes no sense. He presumably means "11,000 kW_hours_ of _energy_ per annum". And it wasn't just a slip of the toungue. 5:28 and 5:42 he makes exactly the same mistake twice more. Please people - get your units right. At least Imogen knows the difference (7:44) :-)
Thanks
GREAT JOB 🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼
Most buildings should be moved toward energy independence. The tech is now cheap enough for rapid ROI of just a few years. Nature solved our energy issues before we built them, we just have to reach out & grab it.
So cool, I love it!
I see one of the Cambridge college's (Kings?) now has solar.
Kings College Chapel
There is no reason why you can't mix new tech to preserve historic builds seeing as utility operational cost are a huge portion of their budgets, any reduction adds longevity.
Acidic rain, caustic particulates from oil-induced emissions and general fossil-fuel pollution are what I believe are the biggest causes of damage to old buildings... in addition to doing similar damage to new buildings and life in general.
And coal too. Coal contains 1 part per million thorium. So it adds radioactive particles to the air as well as acids.
Kilowatts of power per anum? Please sort out your ideas and your units.
I know there are ideas for solar roof tiles but I can't understand why the standard solar panels can't be designed to basically double up as a roofing system in the way they fit together. (if you can see what I am getting at) I can't see why it would be technically hard to design or be expensive to do it at the manufacturing stage.
I believe they do make some that sit flush with the rest of the roof tiles. I've heard they have a tendency to overheat in high summer and actually become less efficient if it's too hot. I'm no expert and may have got the wrong end of the stick though, so do research, won't you?!
Take a look at the Tesla roof tiles and others of the same design that connect together just by being laid on top of the adjacent tile. Gold plated contacts ensure reliable connection. They look like a conventional tiled or slate roof when completed.
@@judebrown4103 all solar panels become less efficient when too hot, which is not an excuse not to fit them. In some very hot locations it is beneficial to use some of the generated power to run fans across the panels reducing the temperature with a net increase in power generated.
@@Bettys_Eldestoh no, I wasn't for a moment suggesting one shouldn't fit solar PV. I was merely attempting to answer the question: why are panels fixed onto the roof with a gap underneath and not often fixed flush with the rest of the roof covering? I was suggesting that they are more efficient with an air gap to provide cooling.
Interesting about fitting a cooling fan though...👍
@@judebrown4103 what I am trying to suggest is that with a little bit of design the solar panels could easily BE the roof ..not on the top of the roof..there would then be the air of the loft space underneath. (although I suppose it wouldn't be circulating air so they wouldn't get quite as well cooled by that and it might make loft spaces too hot)
Why did you include the staffing costs when highlighting the running costs, would it have been more relatable for the audience to have stated just the energy costs? Then we would have something to compare with our own experience.
Excellent
Hope to see a follow up, with those solar tiles installed and running! And then… turn that minster into a hisotry museum.
Kilowatts a year is meaningless. Kilowatt hours is what he meant.
Was Imogen’s microphone buried under her scarf? Difficult audio.
£30,000 per day for heating and lighting sounds too high to be correct. Are you sure that this is correct? Also, while hard to compare by using number of panels, it seems strange that 200 panels would reduce York's consumption by 40% when my 46 panels (15.325 kW) in a sunnier latitude would not produce a quarter of the energy that York's panels supposedly do. I wonder if someone has made a mistake regarding York's consumption.
Staffing , heating and lighting .
200 x 500w panels is 100kw . Decent size array .
A decent size for sure. I just can't see it being enough to offset a £30,000 per day electricity bill. I suspect that the £30,000 per day should be £30,000 per some other time period.
I was today years old when I learned "minster" is a word. Until now I thought it was just the right bit in "Westminster".
York Minster, Beverly Minster, Westminster, Southwell Minster, and a number of placenames contain the word for historic reasons: Axminster, Exminster, Ilminster, Leominster, Kidderminster, Upminster, Bedminster.
It's a shame Imogen's microphone is often muffled. I see later in the vid it gets moved :)
The church owns loads of land, and electricity moves freely through the network, so instead of installing 199 panels to cover 40% of their use why don’t they stick 1000 panels in one of their fields and cover off 200% of the usage and 100% of the cost? The scaffolding costs alone must be mind boggling!
How is selling oil for heating your home, any different from selling glacier ice for cooling your home?
I can’t even think of 420 ways, so I would say it’s no different.
Imogen
3,000kWh is 8kWh per day.
They need to get some double glazing on those windows!!!
Buildings from the past showing the path to the future.
Come! They couldn't round it up to 200 panels?
5:36 "60.000 kilowatts of power per year" ? My car drives 90 horsepower per year... Makes no sense?
❤
Nothing will happen in this country until the the Tories' are gone .
Same in Canada. Conservatives the world over seem to be running with the same play book. deny obstruct and reject any efforts to try and improve the world
I tend to agree, although they *have* just eased some planning restrictions on rooftop solar for businesses - but we need a LOT more than that. Increasing rates for businesses (over a period of years), and then discounting those increases off for those with solar or other low carbon features would be good. Just announce that rates will go up incrementally by an extra 1% a year for businesses that don't comply.
People will use any BS to wind out of their own responsibilities.
Are you serious? 3000kWhr per year on average? Our household consumes that much electricity in two months.
does modern heating ruin buildings? no! Does modern lights ruin buildings? No! solar panels won't ruin anything either. humans are such babies .. things change make it work!
Prima idee