Temp

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.

+1 just resubmit without a gate. Add gate later. Collect photos/evidence showing the height of previous gates as this might become an issue if your new ones are over 1m high.

Not my field but found this calculator.. https://www.gb-gas.co.uk/clc/pipesize/GAS PIPE SIZING 2016 WEB.htm

Dont draw a line to the bend. I would draw a line of the required length for a 40mph road (60m?) from your driveway to wherever it meets the road around the bend. Shade the area that would need to be kept clear of obstructions over 1m. In your case it won't be a triangle because of the bend in the road. I would add a note to the diagram that says something like... "The visibility splay requirements of ?? Meters for a 40mph can be met. All of the land within the required visibility splay is either public land/highway or owned by/under the control of the applicant". Ideally reference the council policy document on visibility splays.

Not quite. Electricity is traded on an open market. Essentially its all auctioned to the highest bidder. You want some electricity you've got to outbid everyone else. If you try to introduce a law that limits prices there would be an international outcry. Wind and solar farms are bought and sold internationally. We would effectively have to nationalise them all at vast cost and compensate owners around the world. If not they would never invest here again. Wind farm developers typically build a farm then sell it and use the money to build the next one.

I believe thats one of the proposals by the energy companies.

If you are considering drilling the joists then presumably its not been plasterboarded yet? Could you fit counter battens at 90 degrees to the joists to form a void below them to run the pipes in? The battens would need to be the same depth as the diameter of the insulated pipe. The ceiling would be the same amount lower.