I’m currently selling my 5 bedroom house in Mayenne and I’m going feral, I’ve had enough of the rat race and am looking for a 10ha parcel of land with a lake to build a large log cabin, I’m a builder and have no problem doing the construction myself, BUT, have any of you got experience with solar panels and battery hook up, as I’m sick of EDF, and rising electricity prices,
I have been looking at various you tube videos and web sites that deal with solar pannel/battery (lithium) hook up with back up windmill thingys(technical term) but I couldn’t understand any of it, and it gave ma a headache, I need help, PLEASE
PS. Im looking for a girl Friday as I’m single at the moment, and I appreciate this isn’t a dating site for ex pats, but I’ve completed Badoo, and don’t know where to turn, 
idealy if you are female and have a basic knowledge of solar energy get involved 
I’m not female, but am also now very interested in alternative energy. Looked at wind turbines and wind - decided against wind as more temperamental on a residential scale and more expensive. I don’t have it to hand, but there is a very good youtube video noted, after quite some trawling! Key points are, minimize your load by using low wattage appliances etc, to minimize the size of system, and optimizing habits e.g. not having washing machine on at night. With Linky it’s great to be able to optimize your usage before taking the plunge, which is what I’m currently doing. The other key point, as I inderstand is is that there us a limit on the system size that a diyer can install. Other considerations are whether you install on the roof or ground as on the ground needs permission. Now tired, but will try to send you the youtube link tmrw, as there is a series and importantly also guides through sizing the system. Bonsoir!
Brilliant.
I’m neither female nor a solar engineer - but your mention of a lake did remind me of an environmental project I worked on in the UK many years ago - they used their windmill just to pump water up into the top lake, and used a water turbine for their actual power generation - hence constant supply.
Please ensure that once you’ve decided what you want to build/install… you do apply for and obtain the appropriate Planning permissions.
It would be ghastly to put all your efforts into realizing your dream… only to find things/buildings/whatever have to be removed due to some Planning muddle/mistake.
Best of luck.
Finally, this is the channel I was mentioning - this is just one of the videos, but they have many others covering other aspects of solar - very informative and well explained. One of the other key points, and important, is calculating the available sun hours where you are - my plan was to obtain this technical info from a company actually selling the solar panels. Good luck and hope this is useful 
Thanks to you all, the YouTube clip will be watched this afternoon, and I didn’t know that I may need permission for ground based solar panel arrays, as for planning permission, I will certainly make sure I’m well within the law and everything is tied up with a big bow on top for the local planning, mairie, etc,
Food for thought, thanks all
Absolutely, very important. I am nowhere near the Mayenne but some places seem to be more lax than others. Not far from here, on the corner of a main D road and a rural turning there is a small piece of land about 4 or 500 sq. metres and possibly inherited by a single man. At first he appeared with an old Merc, then a small caravan, then a large mobile home, then fenced around then chopped down several of the trees etc. etc. ,you get the drift?
Now several years later there are also various sheds, garden machinery large green plastic ‘nissen’ huts and a decent sized veg patch. It is not exactly an eyesore but not pristine either and, at each stage of developement I wondered when the axe of bureaucracy would fall. But he is still there and good luck to him. 
Nearer home, on the same road a house for sale was bought and bit by bit the garden can only be described as a scrap yard with a skip always in evidence and freezers, cookers and all sorts of assorted refuse lying everywhere. years on and nothing has changed.
My own modest experience is when, just after the Sarkozy period, I built myself a shed and when I was topping it off with tiles a friend and neighbour, who is also a councillor, would stroll down and chat to me as I worked. It was only later that it occurred to me that the Maire had asked him to keep an eye on me. I then checked on planning rules and came across an article saying that Sarkozy had increased the sizedof such structures without needing planning. Mine was even larger then the new dimensions. 
Nothing has ever been said. 
So look around before starting work before even applying to see what is considered normal. 
Also make sure your lake is easily accessible for wading into or deep enough to dive in, for year round wild swimming. Nothing better.
Of course, it’s not always the buildings… it’s the land itself… and the lake (that will have its own controls).
Always worth a chat with the Mairie before getting started…
Indeed best to check with the Mairie before Purchasing any land.
I’m a builder by trade 35 plus years, and have obviously had dealings with French planning and local mairies, I’ve lived here nearly 25 years and in that time I have seen several English (and French) people flout the rules, it’s just not worth it, and can prove very costly and time consuming, rest assured I will go down the relèvent routes when choosing land etc,
Certain parts of France that really interest me for my project like the Brenne are more or less a no go for new constructions, and certain départements are riddled with woodworm and termites, making a log cabin a no no as well, even treated wood is not safe where termites are concerned 
I am thinking about the Vendée at the moment, but will need to do some more digging into planning rules and regs,
My plans for the cabin have already been drawn up, and it’s r value, solar panel arrangement, and metal roof may not appeal to everyone, but I’m thinking about the future, fed up of EDF, roof repairs, and big cold houses with single pain glass 
I really have no clue about the solar panels instalation and would like to do this myself, (to save money, and for boasting rights) I have had the calculations done to run a 100m2 cabin using LED lighting and cooking with GAZ, shower gaz, wood burner for the winter outdoor summer kitchen using wood etc etc, but do need help with the whole installation of the solar panels,
Failing that I’m going to have to bite the bullet and pay a professional, and I’m a tight wad, that would break my heart,
I will just have to keep watching YouTube videos for the time being, still no rush, I still have to sell my place,
Sounds like the way to go - I live on about very large parcel of land in the country and also trying to decouple from the mains services, looking to the future and being far more environmentally conscious. Before my house became my permanent residence i.e. when it was a holiday home, I had a builder reline all the walls and ceilings with plasterboard and insulation - unfortunately the insulation he used was barely existing, so now I have the dilemma as to how to ‘easily’ increase the insulation in the existing walls and ceilings - still trawling for the ideal way forward, but as you’re a builder, do you have any reco’s??? Just having the first real Winter in the house and it’s perishing. Roll on Summer 
The other topic I have been interested in is hot water from the wood stove, but everything I’ve found so far looks a little awkward and potentially unsafe - did you also look at this???
You could try a solid fuel Rayburn/Aga type. We used to produce all our hot water from a small wood-fired Rayburn in the kitchen, water circulation by thermosyphon to a tank with a heat exchanger coil inside.
Have you looked at insulation wrap for the exterior of your home with batton and wood cladding, obviously if this would detract from the aspect, look, of the house, you may have no chiose but to track and rail insulate the interior,
I have looked into using a wood burning stove for hot water and heating, and it’s not cheep, also there is no way I could install that myself, and I don’t like paying people if I can help it, have you thought of solar panels and an air/eaux heating instalation, you will probably need a 9kw feed to your house but EDF will buy back excess electricity made by using your panels in the summer,
I’m going completely off grid for my next project, solar panels and lithium batteries, drilled well and water purifier, Iris or bamboo water treatment, and wood (heat déplacement kit) or bottled GAZ for cooking, heating hot water etc
I know the GAZ thing will be frowned apon by certain people, It’s not very eco friendly, but I do have my limits, comfort being the most important, and as I’m building with wood and going off grid I’m doing my bit, (that’s how I’m justifying it anyway)
Are you sure it is the walls and ceilings, the biggest problem we have is the tiled floors throughout all the building and being a 17th century building our floors are built onto soil/rubble, when they last renovated they put a damp course down, concreted and tiled, no damp but really cold on the feet.
There is nothing we can do as the we love the tiles and the bathroom and toilet are mosaics, but while the walls and ceilings are great, the floors aren’t.
Et oui, same as, original tiled floors in my place too, only a couple of ways round this, and as most people don’t want to loose there original flooring it’s a loose loose situation,
If you don’t mind loosing original flooring, underfloor heating and a new concrete floor, or batton and insulation, coupled with wooden tongue and groove flooring is the way forward, but very expensive,
Or really big thick rugs, that’s what I’ve done,
We decided that keeping the tiled floors was the only option, the kitchen, living room, TV room, hall, conservatory, bathroom and toilet are all tiled and in perfect condition, so we take the hit cold wise.
Carpets are not really practical apart from two barrier carpets, as we have 9 cats and a dog 
We have dogs and we just have large Indian and Chinese carpets everywhere. They are very hardwearing. Key for me also is the mat by the side of the bed. The last thing I want to do is get out of bed onto a cold tiled floor.
Same as, big chineese rugs and small one by the bed, it’s a comfort thing, and I’ve invested in some really thick Bart Simpson slippers for the winter months, my last pair(raindeer) were killed by the dog, but she doesn’t seem to be interested in Bart, for the montent 