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This is how it goes. (I have been at many planning meetings, in 4 different councils. Spoken at 2 on behalf of our client, OR recommended our client speaks rather than me. Spoken at 2 on behalf of the parish council. If they will allow you to speak as well as your representative, IF you are confident of yourself and of the content being interesting, then I recommend you do so. The planners do the hard work and make the recommendations, but can be overturned by councillors whether they are sensible or not. This doesnt apply if the councillors' objections are invalid, but can come down to opinion. The councillors turn up and chat, and most look at the agenda for the first time. They will vote according to either going along with the councillor who backs it, (or against it) and the general feeling of the meeting. The presence of the applicant can make a big difference, and only by speaking do they know you are : there, a genuine applicant not a developer, care. You have 3 minutes which is like a moment. write down your points, edit, edit again. Read actually out loud and with voice projection and then edit again. Better to make one point well than fill the time for the sake of it. For example, just say how important this is to you and your family and how you have done whatever special things to make it sensitive to the area, and sit down. the objectors might send someone to speak: all the more reason that you do. It is good to get your own councillor to speak for you if you can. Be mindful though that they also represent the objectors. If they are prepared to, then normally another councillor will second it, and their mates go along with it as they don't really care about your area. They will not ask you any questions: the meetings do not run like that. Any questions are to the planning officer. Even if you don't speak, be there and sit at the back and wonder at democracy in action...and perhaps despair.

Possibly the worst of all things as far a cost to run and performance. 3 to 4 times the cost to run compared to a heat pump or gas. Low flow compared to gas combi. Would it be better to use E7 to heat a unvented cylinder for DHW, or a combined cylinder heat pump, basically the same price as gas or a third the cost if run on E7. Space heating with an all in one aircon/heat pump (no outside unit, just inlet outlet through wall), if you have UFH Willis heater's run on E7. Summer heating of DHW with solar either PV or/and thermal solar. That's my thoughts. If knew how our house performance a year before moving into it and wanted all electric. UFH with Willis heated on E7, combined cylinder (stainless or duplex) and heat pump, immersion diverter and solar thermal for shoulder months when PV performance is low for DHW.

Glued those noggins in the steel - they ain’t going anywhere. Regarding this method with drill , timber and clamp ….. It will work but … when I properly workout how many holes I have to do and access to the steel then it’s not going to be much fun . Also ( sad to say ) my Dewalt drill died ; smoke ; splutter ; dead 😞 So had to order to new one . Realising as usual a man fails whilst trying to save pennies I also ordered a cheap mag drill . Not Dewalt ; but it’s yellow 💪

On the question of durability, and looking at the thermal de-rate graph (below), while the 20A model has enough headroom to switch 3kW, I guess it may be worth paying the extra £10 to upgrade to the 30A version? Presumably it either handles the heat better, or generates less, as all models seem to have the same finned case.

Kingfisher extreme climate, recommended by my builders, not cheap but I found it very good and easily applied by brush.

If you are having a larder definitely not under there. I found no point whatsoever in a hall or landing in a modern house, they get plenty of heat from surrounding rooms and almost never turned on.

Many thanks for that -- brilliant. I'm really grateful for the help on this thread and all the others inc blogs etc which provide really useful information - thank you 👍 I remember when we were fitting out this house in 2014, I needed a stove with a low output (the house needed 2kW heat for the coldest 3m of the year) so I started phoning around "Have you got any low kW output stoves, say 2-4kw?" and the answer nearly ever time was "nah thats not right, surely you mean 12 to 14kW...theres no way 2-4kW could heat a house" yet here I am with a 3kW willis and its turned right down so we don't overheat !

We used 100mm concrete, slow response, which suits us as we like a steady temperature, one heating cycling per day. We have 200mm PIR below the the UFH pipes.

We went to committee and it was a joke, my wife explained our plan to fit in and the efforts we made, next our neighbour spoke and told lies, which we were not allowed to question, even a committee member I knew was originally on our side would not look me in the eye and they all voted against our proposal. I then went to appeal (myself) and we won hands down, the inspector actually informed the council in the appeal decision that they were not abiding by their own policies. I am not saying all committees are the same but our area had a reputation for being very difficult to deal with. A close neighbour told me it was because I didn’t give them a big enough bribe 😱. It also depends on whether the objections are valid, one neighbour objected on several issues but each one was thrown out by the inspector as invalid.

Works out double the cost of EPS, and about the same as PIR. We have 175m² to do, lots of steel beams and uneven slabs. Would have take ages to get right and didn't have much room for error.

I warned SWMBO that constantly having the downstairs stat on 30deg wasn't a good ide... F*** this I'm off up the pub.

One member reminded me of this character from the carry on films. Slightly batty....

I read it somewhere. Safety from the beam melting when it gets to 300C, and also protection from looking at an ugly beam. Why not just paint it if not bothered? Red is good for showing that you are proud of your beam.

The figures here are out of date but give the general idea. https://nottenergy.com/resources/energy-cost-comparison/ The key column is the cost per kWh after taking into account boiler efficiency.

I would love someone to work out the round circuit efficiency of burning gas in a gas powered power station to generate electricity to heat your house with an electric boiler. My instinct says it will burn MORE gas as well as costing you a lot more. People seem to make such suggestions thinking somehow we can get any amount of clean electricity we want. While I agree we have to reduce fossil fuel usage, energy security is a more urgent issue. Do we still have any coal powered stations still in a state they could be re started? As unpalatable as that may be to the environmentalists, as a short term alternative to Russian gas, it has to be considered?

Well after a few hours investigation, I'm inclined to specify a Siemens model instead - probably the 30A 3RF2330-1AA22 in my case - for a few reasons: It has a significantly bigger heat-sink At the planned loading it doesn't require additional space around it (though the 30A module is 45mm wide, thanks to the sink) The datasheets are clearer on the acceptable currents : 22A @ 40°C according for resistive loads (category AC-51 of IEC 60947-4-3) for the 30A version; 13.2A for the 20A version* Prices not too dissimilar to Crydom The range is certified for domestic use to IEC/EN 60335-1 (fairly certain I spotted only a reference to industrial applications for the Crydom models). *Siemens have an article discussing current specifications & the need for additional precautions in higher ambient temperatures for this range here.

We used the TLA and it was grand. Hell of a lot easier than laying PIR boards, and similar cost. Basically zero prep other than clearing the floors and shuttering voids. They did both our floors in a day. We used alpha screed, very good. Stapling in the UFH clips was difficult enough, our stapler couldn't cope with it. But if you have a contractor doing that, then not your problem...

thermal lightweight aggregate, screed with EPS beads mixed into it.

@Mike, I did the same. I use the 20A versions and my loads all pull just under 12A so I am at the limit of the CKRX2420 spec at 60°C. I did just think of putting a 5V 100mm quiet fan below the SSRs to give a bit of forced are circulation over the fins to see if this made any significant difference. PS: I do find the nominal ratings of these devices very misleading because at 20A, say, the device needs to dump about 7W and there's no way that this would stay under 60 let alone 25°C without having forced airflow over the finned areas.

find the timber you want to use and then ask the SE if it's ok to use it. never any harm to double check with the SE. for us a quick email and response gave us peace of mind.

You can only reclaim for materials incorporated into the build. They're right to charge it and you can't reclaim it.

I prefer 225 to 200 more likely 220 in practice

@Nickfromwales Nick after you gave me so much help with my build, I am glad to return the favour in a small way. Yes, I've had 2 SSRs fail; one failed safe on and one tripped its MCB before failing. I never bothered to implement the contactor approach. We discussed the root cause on another topic: Because these Crydoms run hot at ~55-60°C, I recommend avoiding wiring any multicore leads (chrimped or not) directly into them. I have a separate connector strip in my box and I run a 4mm single core link from the SSR to this and wire the (chrimped) flex power lead into this. This way both leads into the L1/T1 connections are 4mm single core. The connector strip runs cool (at only a few °C above ambient) so I haven't had any issues since.

As a general rule, check directly with any manufacturer. Vapour diffusion is typically indicated using an SD value or similar. Ask the manufacturer for this value and test results before putting anything on your wall. From the looks of it a hydrophobising 'creme' that Remmers make is called Funcosil FC. In the technical data sheet it says It says it But this is a pretty meaningless term and there is no Vapour diffusion test value. I'd be approaching use of this with great caution. A quick net search throws this up which does provide test results and certificate http://www.stormdry.com/articles/breathable-damp-proofing-for-older-buildings But still, it's worth bearing in mind how long the existing masonry has lasted and thus how long your renovation is likely to last without treatment under those harsh conditions. It seems to have done pretty well under the circumstances.

so the PIR will be inside the VCL? yes, that's possible but me being a paranoid old git I'm concerned about off-gassing from the PIR in to the house. so I want to keep it all on the other side of the VCL so any off-gassing doesn't come in to the house. obviously, this might not be a thing so don't let me stop you!

Also, if you are building a well insulated, airtight house to close to passive house standards, you will probably find you don't need any heating upstairs. We have no heating in the bedrooms and just a small area of UFH in the bathrooms to avoid "cold feet"

Above the floor 😀

Showers WC Pans Baths Built in furniture Kitchen Cabinets Staircases Larders Everywhere else is fine and tend to self regulate when you put other things on top of them anyway.

so agreed I would run the cables, electrician then checks, I connect up and elec comes back and does all final checks. Lighting circuit is looped at switch and a fused spur feeds bathroom Extractor fan downstairs, which has no window. I forgot to add in a perm live as well as switched. So no overrun on Extractor fan. I eventually found a solution that didn't involve having to rip out plasterboard, or even run any new wires. Change the switched live to a perm live (easy done where the fan gets its feed from the light switch). Obviously then through a fused fan isolator switch. Then install a vent axia Bluetooth light sensitive fan. Comes on when it detects light hass come on, or if it gets high humidity and just set it vis Bluetooth controller to overrun for 15mins after light goes off. Works a treat.

We didn't install in these places. Under beds. Under fitted bedroom furniture Under kitchen units. Store room. Under bathroom furniture. In hall or utility, as all other room piping passes through hall and utility.

Well I did not instal UFH pipes under kitchen cupboards, stairs, toilets, basins shower trays and anything fixed to the floor.

I think your PD would only apply to your plot. The removal seems like it was a ridiculous one the council probably can’t justify, maybe they could appeal it not sure how long ago it was.

What product did you use @joe90 , We built in slightly angled brick cills (i think like yours?) and was thinking of protecting these as they may have more moisture than normal running onto and off

Nick, I did initially think of having an SSR and contactor in parallel, and using my control system to do a sequence of: <SSR on><Contactor on><SSR off> .... <SSR on><Contactor off><SSR off> And that way the SSR would only be on for a second or, but the Contactor wouldn't be under load during the switch, but I discarded this as being too clever. IMO the weakness with the CKR range is that they rely on convective airflow for cooling: IMO in retrospect you'd be far better off with the surface mount style directly mounted with thermal paste on the steel equipment enclosure, and here you would be using metal-on-metal thermal conduction to convert the entire enclosure (say ½m² area) into a thermal dump and the ~5W waste heat would only raise the case by a couple of °C.

Like the grave 😊 Triacs don't make any noise, as they do the switch as the AC crosses 0V. Remember that they only have an efficiency of ~99-99.5% and that ½-1% ends up as heat, say 5W @ 12A, enough that you may need have some sort of thermal sink.

As close to the desired flow temp as possible. That will stop the thermostat clicking in / out as much. Sounds like a decent guy tbh. It's as simple as that.

Here's what calls itself a design guide for Interior Japandi design......

I have treated my west facing (new) brick wall as it catches rain from the Atlantic and the first winter it was saturated , since treatment rain water runs off it like glass and yes it’s breathable.

The only comment I can make about this is that I used a silicone based treatment on a solid brick walled Victorian cottage back in the nineties. I thought it was breatheable but I may be wrong about that. It worked well with water beading off and I lived there for another twelve years without any problems.

I find putting a paper bag over my partner's head works as well. Everyone is a winner.

Cls untreated

Our building was 1820. We recovere quited a lot of bricks from the heated walled garden wall (planning issue not our requirement to remove it) to use as replacements and the builder did turn a few around. He had not used any of the newer treatments so didnt want to use anything that would seal the bricks given that A) it wasn't that bad afer 200 years and the new lime pointing would keep the water out. B) most of the damage was around areas that had been repaired with gypsum based motar C) Lime needs quite a while to get to its final state and what effect would a breathable sealer have in that process. The building itself still needs to breathe. So we did nothing and a year and a half later no sign of any problem.

No experience with the treatments you mention but yes, bricks are porous and soak up water. If you weigh one and then submerge it in water for an hour or so and weigh again you will be surprised how much water they take up. if fully sealed I can’t see a problem, but if water does find its way in and then can’t get out and freezes you have the spalling all over again

Omg yes, saw it recently on a “bespoke/high end” (according to the owner) install 🙈

Hilti gun

This is his office/ workshop where he integrates new technology/tries it out/ possibly does some training before let loose on the public. he had The guys from https://openenergymonitor.org to do the monitoring and Trystan did a great video on his own heat pump install many years ago assisted by John Cantor.

What's you gut common sense telling you? If you have lots of west facing glazing then overheating is a significant risk. If you are trying to shave a bit of the capacity of the heating system to deliver / make savings.. then.. if you have kids the doors get opened and left opened! Teenagers tend to open a window to have a fag or throw up out of them after socialising, you may too! Lastly remember that from time to time we may get 15 -20 deg Celcius.. would be a shame if this happened at Xmas when you have all the family round and you can't warm the house up for those who are frail say. Seriously though North light glazing is a cracking concept particularly if you are say a painter..or the like.

What's wrong with doing it properly? easier with 2 layers anyway as the first is usually a bit wobbly. Ok, pedantry over until Monday when it will become vital to your safety.

Send them an email. If you get a reply, tell them I am available.

I like timber, as at least if/when I get it wrong then it's going to keep me warm...