Dillsue

A slightly less draconian view than forced load shedding might be- Cabling direct to the meter box is the least disruptive. Or Its one less trade in the house. Or It can be done while the householder is at work Or Octopus may want to offer an attractive TOU tariff that includes disabling your ASHP

I'm pretty sure they've forcibly fitted prepayment meters where people havent paid their bills, not because someone's drawn a load they dont like

Other than the panel location, they've offered to remedy all the issues so you'll likely get nowhere legally. They've offered compensation for lost generation which seems quite a reasonable thing to do. If I remember correctly they claim they put the panels where they are at your request/concern so that issue is likely to go nowhere legally. Check the small print with Which legal as Id be surprised if they would cover preexisting disputes. Speak to citizens advice for free and impartial advice on the likelyhood of legal action being an option

For anyone concerned about big brother shutting down their ASHP from the meter box, just reroute the supply to somewhere you control. In the OPs case, route the supply to the spare RCBO in the CU. I'd be fairly sure that any HP that supports remote shutdown/throttling can have that feature disabled if big brother wants to tinker, without consent I can't see anyone routinely controlling power supply to a domestic property without consent. Might be financial penalties/benefits but likely always by agreement

The unconnected cables are likely to be the only safety issue youve got and I cant see NICEIC being particularly interested in the other issues including 2 (presumibly) qualified sparks arguing over whether an RCD is needed. Suggest you send NICEIC the photos of the live unconnected cables

Send her a photo of the dangling cables, tell her they are connected to live solar panels and will likely have 100's of DC volts on them. AFAIK theres no absolute requirement for an RCD and whether you need one depends on the type of cable from the inverter and how its been installed. NIEIC will be able to advise if the regs required an RCD to be fitted

AFAIK grid losses happen primarily through transformers and a bit from cabling over distance. House 1s PV is generated at 230vac at a ready to use voltage so no transformer losses. The PV will also likely supply nearby neighbours so minimal cable losses. For anything gas generated theres always transformer losses and unless you live next to a power station therell be some cable losses. Exactly how that impacts on your house 1 and 2 comparison I dont know as theres a multitude of variables!

I'm not sure that's correct. If you look solely at winter then house 1 does look bad but net result is the same for both houses when you look over the year. During the summer house 1s PV exports a significant proportion and displaces gas generation used by others, maybe even house 2s AC or EV charging.

Did they say why they've involved NICEIC? Most of the issues youve got are solar/MCS issues but if the dangling cables were connected to panels and live then NICEIC would have an interest in that

+1 to what Joth is saying As the installer is offering to remedy all the defects, if you go down the legal route the only winner will be your solicitors. Hopefully if MCS get involved they can ensure that any remedial works are done to the best standards

In a previous post you quoted an email from the old installer where he inferred there was an RCD. Now he says they dont fit them. Bit confusing if not a complete u turn?? The wiring regs are BS7671. He's admitting theres a string not connected so you probably want to ask the new installer to find out how many panels are on the unconnected string and ask the old installer to pay you for a proportion of the lost generation! If the cables are just hanging without plugs then thats potentially a very hazardous issue as a potential for a shock or starting a fire. If he's keen to remedy that he's probably realised hes likely gonna get a reaming from MCS. If you can get some photos of the unconnected cables its probably worth passing those to MCS

From what youve told us youve got 2 experienced and presumed competant people that cant even agree if theres an RCD fitted to the solar circuit. An RCD is a readily identifiable common safety component so one of these two isnt competant. They can be built into an inverter but as solar installers they should both know that.

Youve got a number of contentious issues where both installers have differing views. Youve also got a few defects identified by the new installer that the original installer has accepted. There's no absolute guarantee that the new installer is competant/trustworthy but out of the pair of them he'd definitely be the one Id be inclined to trust over the other

Ask MCS if they want to inspect the suspected defects and/or supervise remedial works. If they do, then don't let anyone touch anything until MCS have taken the lead on what they want to do. If MCS arent interested then youve little option but to let the original supplier carry out remedial works of their choosing, and potentially loose any "evidence" of poor work. Alternatively you can pay someone else more trusted to determine any remedial works and then do the work. You're unlikely to be able to recover any extra cash you spend if youve denied the original installer the opportunity to fix things!! Do you know what the MCS complaints process says they will do??

A couple of years standing charge would cover the cost of a beefier SWA so a second supply might not be that economic??

You'll not know for sure if any grid upgrades are required, paid for or not, until you ask. Our DNO gave informal approval within a few days of contacting them with a G99 to formalise things. New transformer goes in on Thursday not far off a year after first contact!! I'm not paying so hard to complain. We're at the end of a few miles of 33kv overhead lines and it was our puny transformer that was the problem, not the cabled supply to it so being rural doesnt necessarily mean problems

Yes. I'm sure theres folk on here that have said their DNO has given permission for 5kw export without batting an eyelid??

G100 is in addition to G99 so you apply for G99 and if you or your DNO want to limit export you have a G100 application as a supplement to the G99. That's the way that our DNO does things which I beleive is the same across the UK. Certainly for us, G100 means you must use a professional installer who can set up the limitation with factory/engineer passwords to prevent the user altering the settings. It also means your DNO will want to witness the limitation at a cost of several hundred pounds. Not really DIYable with G100. If you want to add AC coupled batteries best speaking to your DNO to see if theyll accept 2 x 3.68kw. If not maybe replace your existing inverter with the hybrid unit so the inverter limits total export from batteties and PV to 3.68kw If your SWA is the right size/spec you can move the the inverter to wherever the batteries are and bring the DC from the PV through the SWA.

You can have as many immersions and heating coils as you can physically fit in the cylinder. You need to work out the sources of heat you want and how much hot water you need before you tell your installer which cylinder to go for. I beleive you can get 2 channel PV diverters that will power 1 immersion until that cuts out and then switch to second immersion until that cuts out. If you want to maximise PV self use for water heating then get a cylinder with an immersion near the top and a second immersion at the bottom. Have a fast recovery/high efficiency coil fitted somewhere in the middle that will be compatible with a heat pump but can be used with your gas boiler. Speak to a cylinder manufacturer and they will guide you on sizes/capacities/positions. If youve got the space get an extra inch or two of insulation to help keep the heat where you want it. There's a copper cylinder manufacturer in Newark that I found very helpful when we had a custom cylinder built

Ignore the pair of them and get MCS involved. I'd be fairly confident they will advise on any and all remedial work that needs to be done and likely ensure that Mr forceful gets things done to MCS instructions or pays for someone else to sort it out for you. The only place Mr Forceful should be living up to his name is with his staff IF they are taking the p. As a lay customer, you shouldn't even be aware thats his character.

I sympathise with the hassle youre having but don't waste your time with NICEIC as they're not the horse for this course. A complaint to MCS is the route you need to be taking as all the issues youve got will be dealt with by them. As youve now got 2 'professionals' arguing over whats right and whats wrong, you dont want to be piggy in the middle so a prompt complaint to MCS should get some expert help on your side

The architect is echoing whats in the Arostor manual!!!

A2A cant heat your DHW but you don't necessarily need a cylinder with A2A as you can have instantaneous water heaters. From the Architects comments you posted, I read it that the architect is saying the vents need to go outside, not the Arostor itself!!!

If you put the Arostor outside youll have big losses year round particularly in the winter as the cylinder isnt particularly well insulated. What's the Architects rationale for putting it outside when theres a ducting kit available for the heat pump?? Any cylinder with an immersion can work with an Eddi. If you are looking to ditch gas, how will you heat the house then?? Aside from A2AHP, whatever you heat with will likely be able to heat the hot water so are you sure you want the expense and complexity of a heat pump dedicated to just DHW??

How are heating the house?