Dreadnaught

Welcome @EverHopefull. I have this question too, so will be reading the responses with interest. Thanks for posting.

£399,950.

Welcome! Here as some places to start for the Passive House standard… https://passivehouse.com/02_informations/01_whatisapassivehouse/01_whatisapassivehouse.htm https://passipedia.org/basics/what_is_a_passive_house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house

These I assume: http://enlitelighting.com/gb/

Could you achieve your aim with Apple Homekit triggers (and I assume with any of the other home-automation systems, such as Alexa and Google Home, but I do not know about those). You could use the combination of a light detector and smart socket for the lamp. The Homekit rule would be: if light is detected in the room and it is not daytime (daylight) then turn on the smart socket. I know you don't have Apple gear (other than SWMBOs iPad) so I know this would not be a solution for you but it might prompt some related ideas. Edited: not sure how the lamp would turn itself off, hmm.

Ah ok. (Lovely area!). I know some relevant people around Welshpool so if can't find anybody closer and are extending your search out then by all means send me a message and I would be happy to contact them to see if they can provide any help or leads.

Welcome to the forum, Philip. Whereabouts in the Marches are you, anywhere near Welshpool? I might know someone who might know someone, etc.

I think I see a lip around both sinks. Would the logic be that, in the event that the right sink over fills, it then overflows into the the left sink, which if that then also overflows it does so down its overflow drain? Did they perhaps only supply a single sink plug?

I still have some of my popcorn left… so do tell… (plus we have a business account with Santander)

Which also explains why you cannot use a "Wifi Calling" feature, which is offered by many mobile networks operators and would enable you to receive the needed SMS while within the signal not-spot that is your home. Wifi Calling requires support by the handset and I have only ever heard of it being available on smart phones. More about "Wifi Calling" here if anyone is interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_Access_Network

Just wondering: in @readiescards helpful photo, is there any reason why the two SunAmps are spaced apart? Is it just that they are centrally positioned on their respective slabs to spread the weight. It strikes me that abutting them would reduce heat losses marginally. And save space for those us where that is important.

Not hype, in my opinion. And that article neglects to mention an additional advantage: mesh networking capability. Mesh networks are well suited to Internet-of-things (IoT) applications. In my opinion, Bluetooth mesh standard, a Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) sister standard is ideally suited to lighting control.

Original poster here. Thanks for all your replies, especially @lizzie's above! Armed with your all your advice I successfully negotiated for the light tubes that I am planning to be permitted in the design .

Wow, they look spectacular! Am so pleased for you that things came to a good conclusion. The round one in particular!

Good idea. I thought of it too. Ever come across such an installation in practice ? I assume the film would reduce the amount of light coming in somewhat.

Has anyone got a solar tube or sun pipe, etc? At night when viewed from outside, how much light do they emit from a building? Is the dome a bright point of light or just has the faintest of glows? The reason I ask is that I have a restriction on light pollution but am considering a solar tube instead of a window or roof-light to bring light into a dark corner. Many thanks.

Welcome! Whereabouts in Cambridgeshire are you? As you may have seen, there are a few others from Cambridgeshire on here.

Welcome!

(For those others like me who did not know what EWI stands for I think it is External Wall Insulation. I had to look it up!)

Original poster here. Superb ideas. Thanks everyone! I am collating them into a list What does everyone think about space-heating and DHW systems? There is mains gas so a gas boiler seems an obvious choice UFH or radiators? It will be a concrete-raft foundation, so putting in UFH would not be a huge extra cost but is it worth it even so? SumAmp? Given its a small build, would the small size of a SunAmp compensate for its extra cost compared to a normal big hot-water cylinder? Would a buyer miss a normal cylinder or be put-off by SunAmp novelty?

Ideas please. If building with one eye on the market, what do home buyers seek in terms of layout and design? Where to spend money to the best effect? And where not to? What would a professional small-scale developer focus on? This is for a top-end but small (130m²) 2 or 3 bed house in the centre of a small city outside London. Here are my guesses… Buyers like… a trendy kitchen & bathroom curb appeal Buyers ignore energy efficiency, ASHPs, MVHR What about… Kitchen: separate vs open plan? shower only or bath too? style of internal decoration? Floor coverings? home automation? Anything else?

@JSHarris, and you were fortunate in being able to design a home with a good low form factor*. Form factor is a crucial factor if Passive House is the goal and can be over looked. (The form factor of the house I am planning, a bungalow because of site constraints, will make achieving Passive House more of a challenge. But I still consider it worthwhile. For me, the Passive-House approach is for comfort before efficiency.) * form factor is the ratio of floor area to external surface area.

Thanks. Quite like it. Might consider it for my build. Here is the episode: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs/on-demand/52739-011

That is a very impressive report! Is it possible to get such a thing in English?

@Nickfromwales, concerning a 20-year horizon, I would consider that to be substantially in the realm of politics, not economics.