The New Workshop and Engine Shed

I have been making the most of the better weather in early March to press ahead with a very much needed new workshop and engine shed.

Here is a front view of the new shed. It faces southwest so that it catches the afternoon sunshine.

The shed is 9m from the house and makes use of the concrete base from the old shed.

This base has been very much extended now 6m x 3m and incorporates an isolated area to mount the two engines for my household combined heat and power system.

The workshop is heavily insulated so that it is a comfortable workplace all year round. Behind the workshop is the engine shed area which houses the two engines (main and back-up) their generators and all the other ancillary equipment such as the thermal heatstore and the wood burning boiler system.

As well as containing the vegetable oil fuelled generators, the shed will have my solar water heater fixed to the front roof for maximum sunshine.

A pair of insulated hot water pipes buried in a trench connect the systems in the shed back to the household heating system.

With the engine running during the day and the wood fired boiler taking over at night, the renewable energy systems in the shed will be able to provide complete heat and power for my house.

The whole project can be found on my webpage www.powercubes.com/listers_3.html