Leaderboard

That was one of the key debates around the introduction of EPCs, and their definition. Do you go for "fabric" so you can compare it, or "usage" where you may get a better idea or be firmly misled? It's really the same debate as OFGEM and media quoting "typical" bills when actually the cap is on unit-rates and 3 defined 'typical' cases (low, medium, high) exist if you look 2 cm beyond the end of your nose. You can't win. Especially in the UK where the media is driven by maximising moaning and Outrage Buses. F

I can't see a reason for not applying that to people who choose inefficient houses, and opt to keep them less efficient. while my house may be less efficient than others, I use very little energy … possibly half of what many others on here use, so why should I be penalised for using less energy than an efficient house does.

The flow pressure for the loops will not be anywhere near that. I've 600-odd metres over 12 loops and the pump is running at a head of 1.4m and using 12W in the process. I've no actuators installed so this is pretty much constant. Now the ASHP's circulating pumps Main and boost) are probably taking about 60W at the minute, but the main internal one is on PWM control and consumption falls to under 30W when the heat requirement tails off.

Just for reference.

The height is irrelevant. An outbuilding is an outbuilding. But you will find people putting up stores, sheds in their front gardens without Planning. Technically, they’re in breach but Planning would need to take a view as to whether they would take action against it. It only needs a neighbour to report the potential unauthorised works.

Because outbuildings forward of the principal elevation are not PD, irrespective if there was a shed/outbuilding there before.

Yes I did. It is a problem when things have similar names at the same time. Bit like the Faces and the Small Faces. Way too many similarities.

Fairly common when it comes to Gigabit adaptors and doesn't necessarily mean the wiring is 'right'. The spec requires a certain amount of auto-negotiation to cater for the different permutations of device connectivity and whilst the bare minimum is to cover the use of straighthrough vs crossover cables most implementations take this liberal approach to the extreme such that all pins can be internally re-routed to enable successful connectivity to take place. It can't deal with missing connections through, or at least not without a degradation of performance by falling back to a low spec level (which don't require all four pairs to function, such as with 10/100BASE-T).

Yes, the manufacturer is Sprsun

I'd suggest a slightly more premium tester if you have a lot of this to sort out (or in the future) - we use a lot of the cheap ones at work, that just count through the LEDs on each unit But they do show all 8 connections.

I know - that’s the point. There is no point in getting BC to get their knickers in a twist because they won’t be able to get the supplier or installer to do anything - it will always be up to the applicant to sort this out - however he dose this.

The key to a quiet system is big ducts and big fans running at low rpm. Prevent noise being made, rather than trying to treat noise. Attenuators / silencers help a lot as well, we've one on each main duct leaving the mvhr. The only noise we have is in the two bedrooms closest to the unit, despite a large attenuator and large semi rigid ducts. I'm going to dial back the airflow as I think it's too much. It's only noticeable on boost.

Thats the scheme that everyone started on with a deemed export of 50% of what you generated. Once SEG became an option then you could have metered export if you wanted to give up the 50% deemed option

Er... Sorry to butt in on this one but in our FIT scheme at least we get an export payment for 50% of what we generate, regardless of how much we actually export. That is because the company paying our FIT (Energy Warehouse) has no way of knowing how much we actually export - there is no meter for that. So an assumption is made that we export 50%. We don't have a battery - I've looked but I still think the pay-back is too long, we don't plan to be in this house for many years. But if we did install a battery, we'd still get an export payment for 50% of what we generate even if never exported anything. Edit: Apols @FerdinandI see you have made the point about 50% assumed export where you don't have an export meter.

We will always have to pay for our energy so given the other benefits that come with reduced demand I see it as the main objective. So long as it's increased efficiency we're talking about and not reduction through abstinence.

where has it been stated that a 12h warmup is needed?

1/ yes 2/ I built it purely to accommodate the various pipes. 3/ MVHR came with adapters to fix the 125mm pipes to the ply, the 75mm was simply a tight and silicone .

It is when it comes to energy security. As we transition from combustion technologies to directly generating electricity we will, overall, need less energy. That is a long way off. It is combustion technologies that have got us in this mess. 'When in a hole, stop digging' comes to mind. We have left it way to late to start the transition, and it is not as if we have not known about supply security, or climate change matters. Now we have been forced into a corner, like out PM, we have to decide if we carry on with the original plan, or speed up the transition to renewable energy infrastructure. I bet if the Chancellor went to the international money markets with a 10 year plan to transition at 15 TWh/year (approx 5% of our yearly primary energy usage), he could raise cheap money. It would be bold, but it is feasible and would become our primary industry for the next decade. But it won't happen as nurses want a pay rise, as do teachers and the police, barristers, Co OP workers, librarians........ In fact, everyone wants a larger than fair slice of our governments revenue.

Just in case it's of use to anyone that has had an iVT unit in for a while, there is a software update that makes weather compensation a bit more user friendly (and some other functionality like run timers and legionella mode) for the 2020 machines.

That's not standby - that's warming up. Why it takes 12 hours is bonkers and doesn't sound realistic. What does the operation manual say?

Doesn't address the OP issue that after a (regular, planned) power cut you somehow need to lock out the ASHP from operating for 12 hours or risk excessive wear on the compression.

Put it on weather compensation so it runs all the time, set the flow temp as low as you can, should give a good CoP and no standby. At setback 2 degrees.

Well I made mine and it works great, ply box lined with acoustic foam. I had heard that noise can be generated by the room terminals so I made my “throttling” within the distribution box and unless on boost completely quiet and only just able to hear it on boost.

You have answered it yourself. I suggest the relevant points from the Physics GCSE. Real trouble is, too many people would meddle with it that it becomes pointless, which is what has happened to all the schemes introduced by the government/LA.

I don't see why this needs to be subsidised - except for say the bottom 20%, which has always had significant support. But an average property owner has an extra 50k or so on the value of their property in the last 3 years, driven by tax breaks. For those, just set a high standard and enforce it. I'd say that it is quite reasonable for there to be obligations to balance your chosen benefits. We have accepted that causing more emissions should carry extra costs as a principle. See carbon taxes and so on. I can't see a reason for not applying that to people who choose inefficient houses, and opt to keep them less efficient.

Shouldn’t it be personal choice? My old railway property has solid stone walls and cellars and while I have improved it I do not want to spoil the inside or outside with bubble wrap. I choose to use a little more gas and electricity and keep the buildings character. When I find a plot to build a new place then yes it will be very efficient.

It does, and any environmental savings are just lost in other areas. It may be too early to tell how much energy the UK saves by the higher prices, but going to make interesting reading this time next year. At least most of us now understand the concept of 'excess deaths', even if many deny the conclusions.

Googled that, first hit us a sub aqua place in Glasgow. Can get a thick wet suit and clean air there.

It also depends on your objective. If you want to help people with affordability then income may be a useful factor (but makes the scheme much more complex) for targeting limited resources. If the primary aim is energy saving / environment then I'd think "pump-priming" people who can afford to do work but haven't prioritised it is just as important. Especially as (very loosely, excepting pensioners etc) those with higher incomes tend to live in bigger houses & use more energy. In the current context low income folk are already cutting energy consumption by being cold. The real incremental energy savings are to be had from those who see a big number on the bill, moan about it, but have no issue actually paying it.

It will be more or less destructive: try with a tip of a blade in the gap and pry against the body of the vent. If not successful use small woodscrew acting like bottle opener You mention percents, so you are talking relative humidity - relative to the temperature of air containing water vapour. That suggests you temperature upstairs is a bit lower than downstairs. Absolute humidity (expressed in g/m3) is likely similar, though bathrooms and kitchens will have it higher after use, and so bedrooms in the morning after all you breathe out. Near windows heat is lost more easily than at the wall, the temperature locally is even lower so RH is increased for the same amount of water in the air.

I don't have an allotment 🙂 ,so perhaps you have me cross-referenced? I think on the long thread, my contribution was about the Aquatron, which is an spiral separating alternative to a septic tank you put on the end of a normal waste system.

That sounds like a good idea. I do wonder how many claims are successful and what hoops have to be jumped though to make a claim.

Not the best picture. I just screwed into the main window frame, not the opener, that would not have stopped the leaks. Gap is around 25mm. I don't have trickle vents, there are enough holes in the house as it is.

I think some is better than none but unventilated cold roof construction is known to be a risk for condensation and rot. It might help to fit a vapour barrier below the insulation but you need to make a good job of sealing it to be effective. No big holes in it for downlighters. Sorry if you know this stuff.. https://ww3.rics.org/uk/en/journals/built-environment-journal/unventilated-cold-roofs.html

Allow anyone to knock and rebuild a house without planning provided it would fit into the same "box". No planning limits on solar panels. No planning limits on external insulation/triple glazing/external blinds. No Aircon without solar PV. V5 style deed of transfer and government house "MOT" to allow peeps to sell their old icebox house simply. Encapsulate entire uninsulated streets in a giant polytunnel.

Nope - by the time it got to that part we were on top of things. All and any minor tears, tiny holes all taped up and the proper MBC guys did the final taping up around windows doors etc. Plus we've got a fantastic guy from the main contractor on site who is a perfectionist. Simon

The air quality and humidity will become hugely problematic if you do as you suggest. Try opening the trickle vents to 5 or 10% of their capacity and revisit. Is this a brick and block cavity wall dwelling? Cold or warm roof?

well if it is just a trial you can get a euro plug to fit in a uk socket, once you've safely used something to open the earth pin gate! But that is obviously not a sensible idea.... 🤫 My black and decker mouse sander (and some other cheaper electronics) came with a euro plug and the euro to uk adapter as standard in the box. you dont have anything like that lying around that you've forgotten about and never unplugged since you bought it do you?

Hi, We're just starting our project in Somerset. I've been trying to get quotes for the glazing, and despite emailing several local companies nobody seems to get back to us... we've accepted that trying to get aluminium as we'd originally planned is actually out of our budget and swapped to upvc... but still I'm struggling to get quotes. Have managed to get a quote off one local company who manufacturer and fit, and the total quote came in at £62,000 for 24 windows,4 sliding doors and a triple sliding door. Which suggests they didn't want the work, as that sounds utterly ridiculous. I'd be really grateful for advice on finding a more sensible way of sourcing glazing. We do want the frames a light grey which does add a bit to the price I accept. My builder can fit glazing and has suggested we source it from Poland where he has bought some glazing for his own house, but this feels fairly high risk as if it turns up the wrong size etc. we'd be waiting a long time to try and rectify that. What is the usual way of approaching glazing in the UK? How do I get some sensible quotes - either supply and fit or supply only? Or is my quote, actually, a sensible one?! Best wishes, Dave

https://glidevaleprotect.com/products/roofing-ventilation/

The architect has drawn/described a bastard of an arch. It looks like a flat arch, its also part segmented but described as "gauged" which is probably the only thing it is not, as joints in gauged brickwork ~3mm-6mm Anorak-time, as a poster previously said the voussoirs (read soldiers) were traditional made from "rubbers", softer brick which would be rubbed down to achieve the required dimension of each individual voussoirs in the arch. Thin wooden templates call face moulds would be fashioned from a full scale drawing to provide a pattern of the required shape to rub the voiussior down to,

Thanks @NickK Yes done really bar last 3 snags which are: oak threshold from hall to lounge (stone to oak)/ threshold between back door and utility. Couple of the astragal bars have sprung on the windows as cut too long from factory Flashing on sun tunnel has pulled from roof in one corner. Im around 30k over budget all in but had 20k slush fund so 10k over really. Hoped to have money left over for landscaping but that’s out of the question unfortunately.

There are usually 2 blending / pump sets for each floor, so you can select the flow temp per floor ( heat crises etc ). Different emitters in the same house ( slab downstairs and aluminium plates upstairs for eg ) perform very differently so you need that function to set and commission correctly. What you have is the most basic and tbh crude system available today, which, looking by the age of the installation, is exactly what I would expect to see from an UFH install of ‘yesteryear’. The boiler will cycle up and down and never give the exact same flow temp, and that will become even more coarse / erratic as the zones start to switch of flow and the heat load becomes very low. The hysteresis of the boiler stat is not at all ideal to be used as a master control for managing the injection ( flow into the floor ) temp and I would certainly be upgrading all this if it was in a house I adopted. If this is your long term residence then I would make some improvements / updates to make the system more refined. For eg, the black manual valve that you’re using for governing the flow temp at source is wholly unreliable as it uses the differential of flow and return. Plus the yo-yo boiler flow temp to dictate its sum output, and that will be less than reliable compared to a thermostatic blending valve like the Reliance one posted earlier ( red control knob ). Two UFH manifolds sharing the output of one primary circulation pump will also suffer from imbalance of demand, as it is dynamic, and will mean certain higher resistance loops ( longer runs ) will become neglected in favour of shorter loops ( path of least resistance ) so not having pumps and blending valves on each manifold incurs a host of problems. I’ve been doing these types of installs for over 25 years now, so have a bit of an idea of what to do to improve things, if that’s what you’d like to do? Failing that, you can buy pipes stats on eBay for the price of a coffee, and stare at them as often as you like

Taking photographs is really a last resort by Building Control - not liked by officers and open to abuse. However lockdown necessitated the use of photographic evidence and the inspection notes would reflect this. Im surprised that the BCO hasn’t asked for a video call - this is often a very useful exercise and a real-time inspection can give the BCO an opportunity to review and comment on the works before you proceed to the next stage. If your BCO is asking for photographs I would suggest that they really don’t have the resources (at the moment) to carry out inspections to all properties. I would suggest that you photograph everything - twice. I would also suggest the following: Commencement. A video is quite useful showing the commencement of any excavation in relation to the wider site. Again photographs of the site before, during and after any excavation works. Foundations. Photograph all trenches showing the site in context so that there is no ambiguity on the location of the foundation trenches. Photograph the width and depth of a few typical trenches - internal wall trenches may be wider than the external wall trenches. photograph the base of a few trenches to show the composition and material of the sub-base. Sub-Floor. Photograph the sub-base being placed in stages showing the materials used and the depth of hardcore placed. A gain make sure some photographs show the works in context with the wider site. Show the sub-structure being built, in context and with measurements. Photograph all DPMs or radon barriers being placed along with overlaps and sealed joints. Drainage. Photograph the layout showing the location and inside of all ICs or MHs - dimension the cover and show the location of all SVPs. Take a video of the drainage being tested to show that the falls are satisfactory. Superstructure. Again - photograph everything with dimensions. Photograph the inside of all cavities and show the location of wall ties, insulation and all DPCs. Photograph the sizes, strength grade and centres of all floor joists, rafters, purlins, trusses - the list is too extensive to mention but if it doesn’t move photograph it. Completion. Start at the site entrance to show that the disabled access complies. Photograph the width of the PA door complete with a dimension. Photograph the location of all SAAs, HAAs and CO alarms. Take a video to show that they are working and interlinked. Video all extract fans working and show that any PIV and MVHR systems are installed and working satisfactorily. Photograph all EEWs showing the width and height. Photograph the roof space to show that it is insulated. I have probably missed a shed load of stuff. However I would strongly suggest that you get confirmation each stage of what your BCO wants you to photograph. Then I would send all photographs and videos and would ask for written confirmation that what you have submitted is satisfactory and that you can move to the next stage of your build. Hope this helps in some way.

Swede harvest time.

Is this house your PPR (principle private residence)? If so then you are exempt from CGT. Otherwise put simply it is your sale price less your purchase price, costs and annual allowance (currently £12300 per individual per annum). So your £250000 sale less £200000 (purchase and build costs) less your annual allowance (assuming not used elsewhere) is £37700. You can also deduct purchase and sale costs such as solicitors and agents fees so you may get this down to around £35000 of taxable gain. If the property is in joint names then two annual £12300 (current tax year) allowances can be added together. Capital Gains Tax then depends on which income tax you are in but basically you pay either 20% or 28% on the taxable gain.

Quick update Just had response from parish council - Approve !

We also replaced a bungalow with two story cottage and planners kept saying it was “imposing” as both our neighbours (100 meters away) were bungalows, ha, I measured next door (room In roof) and it was 1200mm higher than they had planning for but it was years ago and I was not fussed, also I designed ours as a hip roof to reduce “mass” (and wind noise on the gable), they soon shut up and the appeal officer also pointed it out to them ?

And he would leave his daughter behind when he goes home.

On the Shepherd's Hut, just make sure there isn't a David Cameron installed in it by mistake. Life would be very dull.