Longcraig Update – October 2024
Ian Harrower
Longcraig Scout Centre
Looking forward to 2025
As 2024 draws to a close we appreciate that a small number of Groups were disappointed this year, due to having a few activity bookings cancelled as we did not have enough of the right kind of volunteers available on the day, or because the weather conditions were such that it was not safe to proceed.
Although our 2025 booking system doesn’t kick in until early next year, we’d like to give anyone affected by these disappointments the early bird first choice of an activity slot for next year ahead of time. If your Group falls into either of these categories please get in touch to discuss what options are available for you: please contact bookings@longcraig.info in the first instance and we’ll help you from there.
LONGCRAIG – NET ZERO – how it all works
Last month, we announced the fantastic news that the Net Zero project at Longcraig, installed earlier this year, had gone live and was producing enough electricity to enable the Centre to operate.
This month, as promised, we’ve got more detail about the systems we installed and how they all work. Read on!
Main objectives
The principal purpose of installing the renewables was twofold:
- To present a ‘greener’ appearance to the Centre and how it operates
- B) to reduce our annual bill for utilities (mainly electricity) following the exorbitant cost increases inflicted over the past couple of years.
This is how it all strings together –
Main power generation – Solar PV. The proposed panels were selected to combine a comfortable fit, without crowding, on the available roof space. Initial rough calculations estimated the roof could support around 16kW capacity, the supplier’s selected proposal settled at 15.84kW., based upon an installation of 36 panels each 440W. Generation capacity clearly follows both a daily predicted curve (assuming good sun conditions) and also seasonal variations which can be computed based upon location, roof angle, surrounding shade/shadow and other geographical factors.
Energy Storage:
Electrical energy – Batteries: we selected 4 x 5kWh batteries totalling 20kWh which closely emulates the 21kWh expected theoretical consumption. The batteries have a maximum linking capacity of 5, so we retained the option to fit one further one in the future.
Thermal energy – Hot water tank: power can be sent directly to the hot water exchange tank which contains around 300litres of water, which then transfers heat through coils to the domestic hot water outputs. Control of the energy applied to the tank is further enhanced by a Solar Boost unit which actively directs power when it is required or when there is surplus energy available.
Direct feed – the PV energy drives directly to any building consumption required during generation hours.
Heating – hot water:
As part of the facilities upgrade, the incoming water supply was separated as it entered the building. One pipe goes directly to the kitchen, the other serves the cold water tank and thence the toilets and hot water system.
The main hot water tank is described above, and supplies hot water on demand for showers, wash hand basins throughout the customer facilities.
A separate 30 litre hot water storage device was installed in the kitchen, adjacent to the sinks, which provides almost instant hot water on demand. Whilst not an integral part of the renewables project, this enhancement avoids the need for the kitchen taps to ‘waste’ hot water from the old tank location, amounting to some 30 metres of piping each time the tap is opened. Rough calculations indicate a saving of up to £350 a year based upon energy prices in 2022 through this element alone.
Space heating – customer facilities: This is provided by way of an Air to Air Heat Pump, one external pump unit providing heat to 5 separate outlets covering the two main changing rooms, two toilet and shower areas, and the staff facility. The pump unit can generate just under 11kW of heat output, and is powered by the PV generated electricity at a maximum rate of 2.8kW. (an efficiency factor of 3.92) Each of the 5 outlets can be independently controlled for: temperature; fan speed’ horizontal and vertical air flow direction. Heat up time from cold is around 10 – 15 minutes.
Space heating – other areas: Providing Heat Pump heating to the kitchen, workshop and two upstairs training rooms was not going to be possible without installing a complete second Heat Pump installation. Because of the much more sporadic nature of the heat demand of each of the four spaces, it was decided to adopt a much lower cost, but more fuel hungry when in use, installation of Infra Red Heat bars in each room. Once again, each is independently controllable for temperature, and they can be adjusted to optimise the heat output to the areas where people are most likely to benefit. These heaters are quick to heat up, only warm the people in the rooms, and don’t clutter the floors!
All of the heating is controllable by phone Apps, which can also set timers, over-rides, and instant adjustment through the WiFi within the Centre.
So, what’s the benefits?
- Our shower areas and changing rooms are now warm! BUT, the warmth also helps dry them out, so they are much less damp and musty; the floors are easier to sweep out and when mopped they dry off in a short time.
- There is plenty of hot water to service all our showers, and it doesn’t run out when the first 6 people have had their showers!
- Better hot water supplies in our kitchen (for washing dishes!)
- Controllable warmth in the two training/meeting rooms on the upper floor, replacing our very old oil filled radiators and an even olde portable gas heater.
- We’ve yet to trial it fully, but we’ll have renewable power through the winter months which means we can provide heated spaces and hot water to support winter activities. More importantly, we hope that we will be able to keep the critical parts of the building free from frost so we don’t have to drain down the water.
- Significantly reduced electricity bill especially during the summer months when there is longer daylight. Not quite Zero, but very close, and effectively Zero on most days unless it is really dull all day.
What did we have before?
In summary:
- adequate power generation on the premises to fulfil our needs for hot water and for power to run the Centre.
- Energy Storage so we can use the energy when we need it, not just when the sun is shining!
- Much reduced overhead of electricity supplies, means more money available to support activities, training and operational needs.
Training Opportunities
- VHF Marine Radio Course (one day) Saturday 9th
This one day course leads to the RYA Short Range VHF Certificate, which is a requirement to operate a Maine Band radio used for communications at sea. These can be used for anything from large yachts, to dinghies, kayaks, even paddleboards and are now seen as just as important a safety measure as buoyancy aids or helmets. The course will be run entirely indoors. It’s also encouraged for anyone working with boats, whether at Longcraig or elsewhere.
- Powerboat Level 2 Course (one weekend) 16th to 17th November
This can be a follow up to a Powerboat 1 Course or it can be done directly. It is a necessary pre-qualification for anyone seeking to do the Safety Boat course (see above)
- Paddleboard training /Assessment Day has now been arranged, this will be held as two One Day sessions over the weekend of 8/9 March 2025. The Assessor team from Lochgoilhead will be leading this event to support our own activities. The aim is to either assess for a permit or provide a suitable plan to each person to get one.
For information on, or to register an interest in, any of these courses please contact us at getinvolved@longcraig.info
Volunteering Opprtunities
As the demand for our activities grows and we constantly seek to expand what we are able to offer, we need more volunteers to help us implement our plans. We now have a super-duper warm up to date activity centre to welcome volunteers into!
Ther are two distinct types of volunteers that we can effectively make use of:
TYPE 1:
These volunteers are the people who make the centre operate. We have spaces for:
Skilled water activity people who could lead activities on the water;
Semi-skilled people who have some skills but we can help develop those to a level where they can lead activities;
People with some skills to lead our shore-based activities (for bad weather days or to expand the operations of the centre)
Volunteers who can help in a number of ways ‘behind the scenes’ – with e.g. finance, marketing, recruitment, maintenance, boat or building repairs
Please simply contact us at getinvolved@longcraig.info with your details.
We’ve set aside the following dates where we will hold an introduction session to welcome any potential new volunteers and explain further what wed o and how you can get involved:
Tuesday 12th November 7pm
Saturday 14th December 1pm
We’ll take care of the rest!
Do you have any parents in your Group who might be interested in this? Please do let them know!!
TYPE 2:
We can also offer a different type of volunteering, which is to provide an opportunity for groups of adults, scouts or explorers to come along during the ‘closed’ season and give us the benefit of your volunteering – this could be just for one event, or it could be – say – once a month for a period of time. This can count to a number of outcomes, such as DofE volunteering, various scout badges and awards, or simply to lend a hand for a few hours. Things you might get involved in could be checking of buoyancy aids, fixing boats, painting, and decorating some parts of the centre which were not impacted by the recent building improvements, beach protection work, or behind the scenes stuff like preparing our land activity kits.
If you’re interested, please get in touch to make arrangements or discuss further.
