Temp

We have our mvhr system up fairly high. We regularly dry washing on a rack in the main bathroom which doesn't need/have a seperate extractor fan. I doubt it would be high enough to move heat around the building though. I did find this document with some info on testing a pair of boreholes. Gives figures for the temperature uplift and power extracted but I've no idea if they are typical.. ground_loops_testing_report.PDF

Many councils have a "space around dwellings "policy. Typically they require a minimum distance between walls with facing windows into habitable rooms eg between the backs of two houses. Its to prevent you looking into each others bedroom window's or something like that. Think its normally 21/22m where they both have windows or 12/13m where one has windows and the other has a blank wall.

Opinions differ but some say you can put insulation above and between on a warm roof provided you get a condensation risk analysis done. As I recall the rule of thumb is no more than 1/3rd of the insulation between the rafters, the rest above. So if the spec is 170mm you might be able to change that to say 60mm between the rafters and 120mm above. The alternative is to switch to a ventilated cold roof and put all the insulation between the rafters. On a porch it might be better to run the rafters side to side so you can have vents under the eaves both sides. If you run them front to back you really should have vents at the front and back where the flashing will be. That is possible but complicates the flashing. I guess you can't reduce ceiling height?

It's crazy how hmrc complain when you let them keep your money interest free for a few years.

Sorry for the poor quality sketch but my understanding is that mvhr heat exchangers work something like this.. To make much difference the incoming air would have to be preheated so that the 18C incoming air is hotter. But if it goes over 20C the heat exchanger will work in reverse heating the outgoing air. Am I missing something?

I always sell my house for the market value, I've never been tempted to sell one for the price I paid for it 🙂

I tried both the "easy" mode and the "AP" mode on both plugs but couldn't add them untilI I paused NordVPN. Once I did they both added themselves OK. One other thing I don't understand Is the network connection check feature. It requires both the smart plug and the computer/tablet running the app to be connected to the same WiFi Access Point. Not sure why the Smart plug can't just send the data to the app like it does energy consumption data. Perhaps for security reasons?

Not all energy companies are covered by the cap.. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/green-energy-suppliers-exempt-from-price-cap-9238004

Tip: I couldn't get the Gosund app set up the plugs until I turned off my VPN. Once set up they seem to work with the VPN back on.

I meant trusting a Chinese cloud. I've literally just taken delivery of two of their plugs. The gosund app looks like it might be a badged version of Smart Life but it's 23:46 and I've driven 6 hours and drunk two bottles of Doombar 🙂

Think I might live dangerously for awhile. Then if I fancy another project I've seen suggestions to flash them with Tasmota but I've not looked at what's involved.

Reopening this thread.. There are now numerous cheap smart plugs on Amazon from around £6 each. I'm looking for a set to do energy monitoring but the few I've looked at seem to come with proprietary apps that seem incapable of adding up the power used/being used from multiple appliances. They only display seperate graphs for each according to reviews. In one case someone complained the usage data was only logged when the phone running the app was available to collect it. Eg not when they went to work! When they returned home the usage data wasn't updated and appeard to be lost. Is there a make that works with Alexa, and has an Android App that you would recommend? I'm not really looking for another "project" so ideally fairly simple to set up. I don't have an existing home automation system just Alexa. Edit: I suppose it would be cool if there was also a clamp on smart meter in the same range so I can see the difference between what the smart plugs are reporting and what the whole house consumption is at the meter.

Heard today someone near us uses 11,000 units a year of electricity. With wholesale prices in December at £1 a unit that's an £11,000 electricity bill... and they don't even use it for heating.

Liz Truss has today ruled out more more direct help with bills. Considering 5% cut in VAT instead saying that would effectively put £1300 back in our pockets. But would it be passed on by supermarkets etc? Also helps me more than the v. poor. Also thought to be considering raising tax thresholds. But the poor don't pay tax so it also needs an increase in benefits and state pensions.

I think BAL Green Star and BAL Blue Star say they work on paint, but the problem isn't sticking to the paint, it's the paint not sticking well to the wall. Try sticking a block of wood to the paint then knock it off. If the paint comes off the wall rather easily you will probably need to remove it or at least really scratch it up good and remove any dust etc.

And water has the best specific heat capacity so most likely easier to insulate as the temperature woukd be lower. Only thing better might be some exotic wax filled store that uses the latent heat as well as the specific heat.

Electric fence 🙂

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/213548/new-gates-can-this-be-right

I suspect if they have been gone years they will say you need planing permission as over 1m high. If they have only been gone months you could argue they were being replaced.

See if they will send a sample?

Google can find very expensive white sand but most seems to be much further north, like Scotland. There is grey/silver on ebay from Cornwall.. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fine-Building-SAND-in-a-Bulk-Dumpy-Bag-NATIONWIDE-delivery-from-Cornwall/264718480404?mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338624526&toolid=20006&customid=a73f1d7d0c7be307511759f94c6d873c&pageci=50c334c0-58c6-4b6e-b669-048735570dc9&redirect=mobile But I would try and find the quarry and buy direct rathe than through ebay.

Go Glass in Cherry Hinton near Cambridge.. https://goglass.co.uk/ Etched glass doors.. https://goglass.co.uk/product-category/glass-doors/

It probably calculates the required flow rate from the power of the appliances and energy density of the gas.

Nteresting that Investment trusts like Bluefield Solar (who own some UK solar farms) don't seem to have gone up enormously. They are currently worth about the same as they were just before Covid struck.. https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/b/bluefield-solar-income-fund-limited-ord-npv

I agree with others. Just looks like it needs repointing. If you look into the gaps (eg the one with the finger in) you will probably find mortar at the back indicating its not a gap that has opened up. If it was subsidence you would probably be able to push a pen all the way through to the cavity. As others have said, the bricks look too uniform for a gap that big to have opened up by movement. By all means get an SE to have a look but I would arrange to be there at the same time so he can put your mind at rest. You might find what he says means you don't need him to write a report and that woukd save a bit of money.