NSS

Depends how you're calculating the return. Remember, it's not just the export tariff that you benefit from, but how much of the energy generated you actually use. If you have an ASHP (rather than a gas boiler) you can use the solar generation to power the heat pump and minimise the amount you import from the grid (and the COP of the heat pump will effectively give you circa 3kW output for every 1kW you put into it).

Of course, but I was talking about the 7 panels in the west facing string alone. Those panels are arranged four over three and the lower row of panels fall into shade earlier than the upper row.

Not just useful if you have shading issues, but also if you have panels facing in different directions. We have East, South and West facing panels, and also have minor shading on different panels at different times of the day/year. We have SolarEdge inverter and optimisers and the SolarEdge app clearly demonstrates the benefit in so much that it shows each panel's generation within each 'string'. For example, the west facing string contains 7 panels and the difference between the best and worst performing panel is circa 7% (almost certainly due to shading). Without optimisers the whole string would be limited to the output of the lowest performing panel.

Looks very sharp Moira ? ?

It's all very well having these dark sky areas for you stargazers, but you should be grateful for all the light pollution from towns and cities - how else would those stars be illuminated for you to see them? ?

Blimey, and there was I worrying about three in as many months ?

We've had hits on South, West and East facing windows. The latest, today, resulted in a dead Blackbird. Not even a large pane of glass.

We've done quite a bit to attract wildlife to our garden and enjoy watching a good variety of birds in the hedgerows and at the feeders. However, we've had a number fly direct into our windows, and not just those with SageGlass. Sadly, a few have hit with such force that they've not survived the impact. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether 3G windows attract more bird strikes than single/double glazed, and if so what could be done to mitigate this?

Mrs NSS and I caught up with this episode at the weekend. When it had finished she said, "we are so lucky". "In what way?" I asked. "That we didn't have to borrow for our build" she replied. "That's because we didn't have the ego of the guy in this episode" I said.

Literally can't hear ours running, even on boost. That said, ours runs in Lindab spiral ducting with silencers adjacent to each vent and exhaust fitting. We also 'isolated' the ducting and silencers by mounting on soft rubber blocks to mitigate any vibration/sound transferring to the timber frame/structure. It's so quiet I occasionally hold a tissue against the vents to make sure it's still blowing/sucking!

Ours run vertically into the roof space and then at a variety of angles. We even have a short section that runs horizontally.

Doesn't help in the OP's case, but this is another reason why we went for a warm roof as it avoided the need for the MVHR ducting to be insulated (except where the inlet and exhaust enter/leave the building).

Our stink pipes run up into the roof space and then exhausts via a tile vent. Seems to be standard practice these days.

Either or. We have one fitted vertically but the rest horizontally. Our silencers are a minimum of 60cm long so I'm not sure how anyone could expect them to be fitted vertically between two floors.

Totally agree. I reckon most of us will recognise that we've been guilty of being 'optimistic' when projecting build costs. It's almost inevitable as we all want the best we can get, and convince ourselves that it's possible for less than is realistic. If anyone were to ask me what's the best advice I have for anyone considering a self-build, I'd say work out as accurately as you can what you expect it to cost - and then add at least 30%. If you can still afford it then go for it. If not, then scale back your plans or wait until you can afford it.

Circled by Diesel wagons no doubt ?

We have Internorm (3G aluclad in 7016). Imho the product quality is excellent, which is why we chose them, but you'll get mixed reviews on the UK installers. We're very happy with ours and although some people have had a bad experience with Ecohaus Internorm we've found them very responsive and accommodating (ours was not a straightforward install due to the inclusion of SageGlass).

We used Scandal Hus and had them build to our bespoke design rather than one of their 'standard' kits. They'll do pretty much anything from manufacture and erect the frame to a full turnkey solution. Not the cheapest but we were very pleased with their service.

Will do

Many thanks @Ed Davies, now I get it and, as you suggest, the fixed IP address does indeed sit in the 192.168 set. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what they come up with. Cheers ?

Took a bit longer than expected but Efergy Pro is now available - see https://efergy.com/efergypro/ Will be calling them to confirm a few points and all being well ordering it shortly.

Many thanks @Ed Davies, I'd like to say I understood all of that but I'd be lying. Not sure where this fits into the puzzle but SG assigned a fixed IP address to the controller to enable the app to access it (albeit only when we're at home).

Odd thing is, if I (remotely) change a setting, for example put a zone into tint, the app view updates as if it has accepted the change, but doesn't action it. Tonight, when logged on to the Wi-Fi at our local pub, i did this. On returning home the zone was not tinted and upon opening the app it then updated the status to the actual (ie untinted) state. Whereas, if I open the app when I have no internet signal, the app doesn't allow me to log in, never mind change the status.

Indeed, nice problem to have I guess, but it just seem odd that it will connect via Wi-Fi but not via the internet. In practical terms, are we losing anything? Potentially yes. For example, we have no blinds or curtains at the SG windows but tinting them does provide a degree of obscurity when viewing from outside that is a security benefit. On a cloudy day, we could still tint the glass (from afar) if we wanted to, or on a cold but sunny winter's day we could clear the glass to allow some extra solar gain, even if we were away for the whole day (or longer).

We've recently downloaded the SageGlass App, which allows us to override any or all of the 4 zones of our installation, but only when we're at home. Now I confess that I'm not the most tech savvy of people (understatement), but I find it difficult to comprehend why it doesn't allow us to control the SageGlass from anywhere that we have internet access. The control panel is connected directly to our wireless hub (hard-wired Ethernet cable), much the same as our CCTV, alarm system, SolarEdge, etc, and whilst I can view the status of the glass remotely, I cannot change it. SG tell me this is correct, but have not offered an explanation as to why, so I wondered whether any of you boffins can suggest a reason (or indeed a work-around)? NB. SG say they are looking to add remote access via the app when the next generation controller is launched but no indication as yet as to whether it will be possible to upgrade current controllers.