A FORMER airline pilot has created a sound-proofed engine room that he wants to patent as part of his project to make his Teesdale home more sustainable.
Last year Tom Vlaming, 75, from Romaldkirk, officially took his property off the grid, relying on energy drawn from 38 solar panels. His system converts the energy and batteries store it until needed.
As a back-up an LPG generator was installed and it automatically starts to generate electricity if cloudy weather limits the panels.
Although he has not needed the generator so far, Mr Vlaming is aware of the noise it makes so he has created an “engine room” that shields his neighbours from the noise.
He said: “When I initially bought the generator, when they were testing it, I was aware it was very loud, especially for my neighbours.
“So I wanted to design something to reduce the noise. I spoke to my friends at Atkinson’s Joiners and Andrew Walker and between us we came up with a design. Utilising boards and insulation with air cavities between, we have been able to reduce the noise by about 85 per cent.”
The system incorporates common building materials – plasterboard and insulation matting – spaced at specific distances. It has worked so well in absorbing the noise that Mr Vlaming says he is looking to patent the design.
He added: “I’m going to talk to the patent office and patent the building design on how it can insulate the noise because I think there are many more applications it can be used for.
“We have done something well and I’m keen to give people the opportunity to see it.”
Since disconnecting from the grid in November, Mr Vlaming is delighted with how his sustainable system has performed, even when the dale was battered by storms Arwen and Malik which wreaked havoc with the electrical infrastructure.
His wind turbine at Cow Green uses a design he patented eight years ago and doesn’t have blades.
He said: “During the two storms I took a drive to see how my wind turbine was doing because I was a little worried about it, but it was fine and still turning. There are places with traditional turbines with blades and they had to stop them as they can’t cope with the wind. So, I am very pleased mine is working.”
He plans to modify the turbine, fitting it with an AC inverter and increasing the size of the cabling so it can produce more power.
“The wider the cable the better the electric flows,” he added. “With AC there will also be less friction so it will be faster as well.”
Mr Vlaming has also increased the number of batteries at his home. Fully charged, it they can provide enough power for up to five days.
He added: “Even on the cloudiest days we are generating enough power for the house.”
Mr Vlaming is also considering organising a presentation evening to outline his system for residents interested in becoming more eco-friendly.
Mr Vlaming said: “It could be such a great idea for many places like Raby because they would be able to be self-sufficient with the power.”
