Wednesday 3 July 2013

We're generating our own electricity now the water turbine is live!

The Turbine Shed
Well, we've overcome floods, high water and manufacturing delays and at last our new replacement water turbine is generating power at Watermill Cottages.

We're generating enough power to run our house and Barleycorn Cottage which has an 'Everhot' Aga-style electric range designed to run on self-generated power.  Excess power is exported to the grid - a 'Wattson' meter shows us how much power we're generating and whether it's being used here or exported.  We're trying to use as much as we can on site as it's more economic.

The old mill leat which used to channel water to the long-gone waterwheel now channels water to the forbay from where it is fed by pipes to the turbine.  It is so lovely to see the water flowing along the leat and trout making the most of a new shady place to swim.  And to hear the conversation, it is a real chatter, as it runs over the old leat stones.

To stroll from Crownwheel Cottage over the plank bridge and along the short track between the leat and the stream through the woods is a delight to the senses - deciduous woods, water gurgling, wildflowers, and dappled sunlight.  The bench by the weir, made from a fallen tree pulled from the stream, offers a place to rest and nourish your spirit, it is so relaxing there.


So once again, the old mill is in production, not corn but electricity.  A few steps closer to being self-sufficient and living more sustainably, harvesting the power of what flows naturally. 

Power to the people, as John says!

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