Helios Eco Lab, Helios Eco Lab, Kouvarás (2025)

17/09/2025

Our black Nissan Leaf Tekna started life in the UK in 2013 as a smart state of the art electric car with a 80 mile / 128 km 24kWh battery. Things rapidly moved on with Teslas quickly taking over with great styling and 3-4 times the range / battery size. Nevertheless for city driving, the Leaf is still a very impressive car to this day. We acquired our Leaf from a salvage auction in 2020 after receiving a nasty rear end crash, but no damage to the main mechanical and electrical components. It's amazing how quick insurance companies are at righting off vehicles. Thankfully there is a thriving repair industry that saves decent cars from being crushed and we happily used the Leaf for day to day driving. The biggest problem was the depleted battery. At around 60% it was still a usable run around and chose it as a guinea pig for making a V2H Vehicle to House hack via a 4kW grid-tied inverter hooked up to our main house 28kWh battery. It worked but it required bypassing the proper leaf plugs which was not so convenient plus it became tempremental with a number of error codes appearing than needed to be cleared in Leaf Spy. Clearly the Leaf on-board computer knew something was 'Strange'. In late 2023 the computer finally told us the game was up. I believe there was a fault with the pre-charge resistor and main contactors in the main battery pack. So hard to know for sure but trawling through the on line Leaf community gave this impression. It's hard to know if our 'Hack' had caused the problem or not. So what to do? Remove the main battery, open it up and inspect? Or get a new larger 62kWh battery from China? We chose the second option but a risky one. At over 8,000 euros it was a significant investment but nothing compared to the OEM Nissan battery at over twice the price for the same original size. With great relief the Leaf computer accepted it's new battery and we now have a 379km range on full charge, which is absolutely fine for us. It's an extra 200 kg or so heavier so its not quite so quick like having 3 extra passengers on board and I dont expect the same economy. For anyone thinking of swapping a Leaf battery it's not so difficult, it really is plug and play as the manufacturers say but you do need to find a friendly local garage with a lift, a palette truck and a rising table....those batteries are crazy heavy. Next question is what to do with the old battery. Here in Greece there is nobody who recycles and in any case 60% may be rubbish for a car but its great for certain static applications so we'll hook it up for some experiment or other. Because of the suspect contactors inside we will probably convert the 400V battery to a far safer 48V without the need for contactors. Or anyone out there looking for a DIY home set up let me know.

10/08/2025

Thanks again to the Greek Fire Fighters, you did an amazing job, so quickly and bravely, 100% respect....just a couple of hectares of farm land lost but could have been much worse.🙏

18/04/2025

What to do when your ageing (10 years) 28kWh 48volt AGM (Lead)Battery starts to show its age (voltage drops)? Lithium batteries have come down hugely in price and are now the obvious choice, they are compact and can be fully charged and discharged whereas lead will prematurely degrade if you go below half. Our lithium battery started life as a 400 Volts Peugeot 208e, modified beautifully by Andreas to work with 48 volts. Problem is, mixing battery chemistries and age is not possible unless you rig something like we show on this post with the small but more powerful lithium battery charging the lead battery via a dedicated old Studer inverter we had from an old project and a second hand but great quality 30 amp charger. It's a little complicated and inefficient with all the conversions DC-AC-DC but after a few tests with smaller chargers now works well and is a viable solution for other older battery upgrades.

19/03/2025

Having open days and giving training seminars is great fun, so when Volvo asked to come to Helios Eco Lab as part of a training programme run with Dimitris Vintzilaios at PPP Learn we of course agreed. We showcased the whole solar electric ecosystem in order to give the Volvo EV team an immersive experience showing the opportunities and benefits of sustainable practices and in particular demonstrate how solar home charging for example is so very convenient and cheap. Volvo EV communications currently revolves around the vehicle attributes, purchase cost, low running costs, charging, range, performance and so on but the sustainability story is much bigger and Volvo felt, and we agree that there is more to say including the considerable effort made by Volvo to use recycled materials within their supply chain.
The message we have for Volvo and ultimately Volvo customers goes much further than just financial savings and technology. EV and solar EV in particular opens a whole new paradigm where cars are able to power a house or grid and vice versa. Embracing the whole spectrum of solar coupled with EV, customers can see what unshackling from the major energy and fuel networks means. Sounds good on paper but coming here the team were able to see the full extent of the possibilities of the transition to decentralised clean energy.
The environmental perspective we provide here in full too from the use of recycled materials for doors, stairs, furniture, lights and power banks to home grown pumpkin soup for lunch and using repurposed scrap cardboard refrigerator boxes instead of throw away flip charts. Plus of course lots of brainstorming, discussions topped with a Climate Fresc workshop facilitated by Dimitris.

23/01/2025

SHINE BABY SHINE, BLOW BABY BLOW, this is the new mantra I propose for those of us who refuse to accept a future defined by the new USA administration. The photo shows the Helios Eco Lab off grid solar system comprising 54 panels on the roof and outside pergolas providing year round energy for the house and electric vehicle charging meaning after the initial investment and around a 7 year payback because we have batteries, we dont spend a cent to energy companies and oil companies, sounds good eh? Not everyone loves wind turbines but located off shore and combined with solar and a decent amount of energy storage then Greece blessed with sun and wind could reach it's target of 82% renewables by 2030, already (2023) it is 57%. For me it's too slow but it's moving, so too many other countries including by the way the USA. In reality, despite the rehetoric renewables are too big to derail, not least because its cheaper than fossil fuels but it would help if we the people stood up and demanded better from their governments and better still, just put solar on your roof and take back control.

17/01/2025

Really happy with this amazing cauliflower, after years of mediocre harvests with bugs later in the season. Seedlings seen behind struggle as they have a limited root system but this plant with a mature root system is in its second year and benefits from being able to gather more nutrient and moisture in our number 1 bed which is fed by an underground water pipe that is fed by house waste water. The same bed that produces amazing pumpkin in summer which I have had tested showing higher calories than shop plants, zero pathogens and of course zero pesticide, herbicide or artificial fertiliser. The story here is perennials or at least biannuals are a better proposition for the home gardener as it’s less work and better crop. The leaves can be harvested all year and are also very edible as any other greens. The not so successful plants feed the chickens who kindly turn them into eggs, nature is so clever don’t you think? I’m sure a proper cycle analysis would show the joys of home gardening without all the packaging, transport and waste would be more efficient than industrialised growing that we are told is needed to feed the masses despite being a huge net polluter, any comments? Oh that’s Laki our trusty dog in the background guarding the plants against thieves😉

01/01/2025

My happy new year message centres around solar thermal panels, one of the “Boring” technologies that people rarely talk about because there’s no AI, there’s no conspiracy theories about solar thermal, it just heats your water to 70 degrees on a cold winter day, and that’s just fine for us to have a lovely hot shower after a hard day. We have an insulated 1000 litre tank located in the basement of the house that stores the energy for a few days when it’s cloudy. KIS keep it simple. It’s cheap too but not as “cheap” as those solar siphon systems you see everywhere that have too small a tank perched on top and looks ugly plus too small panels that require extra expensive electrical energy to heat at night or cloudy days. Overall our system is cheaper for this reason. 8 panels are overkill in summer but we have a neat solution for this where we dump the heat in a 30k litre insulated water store that can be used in winter to heat the house with a geothermal heat pump. The other reason to talk about solar thermal is to acknowledge the passing of Jimmy Carter who in 1979 installed 32 panels at the White House to heat the White House kitchen hot water. He said “Solar energy will not pollute our air or water. We will not run short of it. No one can ever embargo the sun or interrupt its delivery to us”
Well said Jimmy! May you rest in peace knowing your effort in an age of oil was an important step forward.

20/12/2024

Doing my Christmas shopping this week and treating myself to one of those cable drums that I always wanted to turn into a funky table. Much more fun than IKEA, cheaper and a lot more sustainable too.

23/11/2024

People tell us how about making a solar system for flats without a roof so today was a good test for our new 6 x 375 watt panel (2.250kWp) balcony solar system that charges our trusty 5kWh lithium ion battery comprising 2 rebuilt Peugeot 208 E modules with an Easun 5kW hybrid inverter. We got a respectable 1.86 kWp from the panels today and tonight connected a 2kW electric heater, ….super hot. We will need only an hour max to heat a small bedroom meaning we can easily charge the battery again to full tomorrow if there is a moderate amount of sun. It’s totally legal because we are off grid but even if we were on grid we are not touching the network cables of the house. There is a function on the inverter for charging the battery with the house energy if you want. There are balcony solar systems out there that utilise a small grid tied inverter that allows you to feed the house grid and lower your energy consumption that way but I don’t believe they are legal here in Greece because there is the danger that during an outage a technician could be working on an energised cable. Latest technology avoids this possibility and can sense a grid outage and be safe. In fact grid tied inverters only work with a grid and not during an outage. Our hybrid ‘Box' weighs around 35kg and comes with a trolley so it can be used in camping trips, building sites, farms and small houses. Fixing solar PV panels to a south facing balcony is really simple, but can spoil your view a little and the cable management needs careful consideration but the overall benefits hugely outweigh the negatives. Our 5kW inverter needs 6 panels minimum but there are smaller set ups available. The other motivation for us was to provide further back up during winter dark days and when the main house battery has only enough charge to power essential loads like the fridge and lights but not heating, thus enabling us to totally avoid the back up petrol generator.

14/11/2024

We love harvesting food all year around, figs and grapes finished end of summer, pumpkin a month ago. Right now the pomegranate are literally bursting with goodness that we put on our breakfast. Tangerines are also ripening nicely and grapefruit too on the way.

13/11/2024

If like me you found it depressing that Americans voted for a climate change denier, take a look at this video made by the ever smiling, ever positive Alida Anderson who visited us earlier in the year and made this video.https://youtu.be/Qwh3MQU_s5o?si=0uJiv-a7b5XNFPWj

29/10/2024

Anyone interested to support a bid for a sustainable Eco Village at the Markopoulo Park Equestrian Centre, a bankrupt decaying relic of Athens Olympics 2004 which is being auctioned on November 6th? The starting bid is 30 million which works out at around 300,000 per hectare for the 100 hectare site. Our plan is for a permaculture farm with growing beds, that will be fertilized by the horses which in turn will be fed by the farm's green waste. There would be a 1 megawatt solar system enough for the whole development plus local community and the stadium could be converted to a wellness spa to bring in some cash revenue. Is it really such a crazy idea? Have you got a better one? Let us know in the comments, but one thing is for certain if we are to avoid the extremes of the climate and cost of living crisis we need our business and political leaders to use their imaginations to think of a new model to replace our clearly broken and unsustainable system.

Helios Eco Lab

17/09/2025

10/08/2025

18/04/2025

19/03/2025

23/01/2025

17/01/2025

01/01/2025

20/12/2024

23/11/2024

14/11/2024

13/11/2024

29/10/2024

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