I've just realised that many of my books are either set in sunny countries or the protagonists visit them during the story. Kissing Maggie Silver is one of them. Is this because as an English person living in the northwest of the UK I want more sunshine, or is it just that I've travelled to the places I write about? And why am I thinking about sunshine, after all the UK is not known for it.
Indeed, people living in warmer climes mostly think of it as a grey, rainy island with erratic weather. Sometimes they are right. July can be cold and August wet and dreary, only to be followed by days of sunshine and soft breezes through September and October. Then another year gives us a long, hot and dry summer followed by an autumn of biting winds and snow on high ground. It isn't consistent and in many ways that's how we like it. It's why British people are teased for always talking about the weather. It's why, when we holiday, we can sometimes be overwhelmed at having to face the same sunny weather day after day. We seem to like not quite knowing what the following twenty-four hours will bring.
When we take our dogs for their daily walk nearly everyone we meet comments if there has been a sudden change in temperature, or if it's dry after a week of rain and puddles. It might only be 'it's a bit cold today' or 'that cloud looks as if it's going to rain on us in a minute,' or it might be a five minute conversation about how great it is that we've had a whole week of sun. So given the erratic nature of British weather, why would we decide to have solar panels installed? Surely it can't be worth it.
We, however, have a friend who is a battery expert (quite what that means I'm not sure!) and he, after much discussion, has persuaded us otherwise, so now we have solar panels installed on our roof. It's been a noisy and busy week what with scaffolding being erected, then roofers spending a day installing the panels, followed by the scaffolding being taken down again. Initially the dogs made a fuss but then they seemed to shrug and give up, whether that was because the workmen were making more noise than them, or whether they just got used to it, we'll never know!
Anyway the panels are up and running and wow! Despite almost universally grey skies ever since they were installed, plus snow yesterday, the miracle of photovoltaic/solar panels and battery storage means that the house has been running almost exclusively on sunshine during the day, even though it was hidden behind the clouds. This is a bonus we weren't expecting. We knew when the sun came out we would get our free power, but we didn't expect much in November.
Of course at this time of year the hidden sun isn't storing enough energy in our batteries to keep us going 24/7 but it's doing its best. Yesterday, as well as supplying the ongoing power for fridges, televisions, battery chargers etc., it saw me through using the dishwasher, the washing machine twice, the tumbler drier once, and cooking an evening meal before it reverted to online power. We are so amazed by the systems's ability to use the faintest of the sun's rays, that we have to keep going to look at the battery readings. And once the sun really starts to shine we will be able to sell any surplus power back to the National Electricity Grid, so a win win all-round.
And there is something very satisfying about it too. It feels a bit like growing our own vegetables or, maybe a more apt example, foraging for fruit in our nearby woods, something we do every autumn, and which results in blackberry and apple pies, crumbles and cobblers, apple chutney, rosehip syrup and plum jam. Of course everyone likes getting things for free, but when nature is involved it is far more satisfying. To know that our house will now be almost exclusively powered by sunshine is a fantastic feeling...and guess what, while I've been writing this the clouds have rolled back and the sun has come out. Happy days!
