NSS

Timber frame.

No, not dark here either, but sun down. I should have mentioned, we've had no doors or windows open, no active cooling on, and the MVHR has been running on the lowest fan speed on summer bypass. In fairness, it's been less sunny this afternoon than when I took the earlier readings with scattered cloud cover.

As requested, at 8.40pm External face temp of glass - 19.5C Internal face temp of glass - 23.3C External face of frame (Internorm Aluclad RAL 7016) - 20.5C Internal face of frame (timber) - 23.7C External wall temp alongside glazing (timber cladding) - 19.7C Internal wall temp alongside glazing - 24.0C Current room stat temp - 24.0C

One thing I've kept meaning to do is to check the external and internal faces of the SageGlass units on a sunny day when in full tint. Well today's the day. Temperatures as of 1.15pm (Sun direct in line of glazing) External face temp of glass - 49.4C Internal face temp of glass - 24.6C External face of frame (Internorm Aluclad RAL 7016) - 50.1C Internal face of frame (timber) - 26.0C External wall temp alongside glazing (timber cladding) - 40.6C Internal wall temp alongside glazing - 24.1C Current room stat temp - 23.9C Seems the heat transfer through the fully tinted glass is no worse (possibly a fraction better) than through the window frame.

Looks awesome ?

It's worth remembering that solar gain via glazing is only part of the issue though. Our SageGlass blocks 97% of solar gain but, in sustained periods of high temperatures such as the last few days, heat permeates through the roof and walls irrespective of how well insulated your build is. Okay, it may permeate more quickly through some insulation types than others, but the real issue is getting it out again once it does get in. Let's face it, if @JSHarris is using active cooling so much then I'd suggest you are wise to at least be making provision for active cooling. I'm very glad we did, I just wish I'd tried out the UFH element of it before this week ?‍♂️

Yes, unfortunate name (think 'roof art' rather than 'roo fart') but their stuff is, so far as I can see, practically identical to Lindab and considerably less expensive.

Buy an identical piece from Roofart for half the price of the Lindab original and save yourself the grief of trying to remove the dent ?

? where's the "whoosh, that went straight over my head" emoji when you need it. Some people on this site are just far too clever (and I suspect I still wouldn't understand any of that if I googled the likes of API key, JSON, Python code or SQlite, never mind 'cron job'). ?

True, but when it's this hot (and sunny) our PV heats our DHW without any extra input from the heat pump anyway.

Humidity upstairs today was about 61% (we normally sit at between about 46 and 52) so again higher than is usual, but if we can deliver cool water to the floor at 15C (the pump is capable of going as low as 5C) then I don't see we'd have a dew problem either. As you say, hopefully they can sort it but at least we can cool the bedroom with the air rad in the meantime.

Have convinced them I don't need the sensors, but it seems it would require the wiring from the controller to be terminated to different connections inside the heat pump (which is not something I'm going to attempt myself). Will give our friendly installer/maintainer a call later in the week ?

Hi Janet, it is part of the Panasonic Aquarea range and, as such, connects to a Panasonic Aquarea heat pump such as ours that has (in theory at least!) the ability to provide cooling as well as heat. If you don't have the correct ASHP, I doubt you could attach the air rad.

It transpires that Panasonic don't 'encourage' the use of cooling to ufh systems without the installation of dew point sensors, so the system won't actually do so without some additional technical setup. Not entirely sure I understand all that might entail, but seems it will at least mean some changes to how the controller is connected to the heat pump. Of course, getting this done will a) not happen in the next 24 hours, and b) cost an unspecified sum of cash to be handed over. Given, that SageGlass has again done it's stuff today, keeping the indoor temperature bearable, my inclination is to keep said sum of cash in our bank account rather than someone else's for a while longer!

Update: I tried increasing the room stat temps and sure enough it then 'calls for heat' and opens the manifold valves but seems just to circulate the water that's in the pipes (no cooling). Awaiting a call from Panasonic tech support.

Actually, scratch the above, the circuits haven't actually opened on the manifold. Some late night reading of the operating instructions is called for ☹️

I'll let you know in due course, but one interesting observation already. I initially activated the air-rad only. It's circuit contains a relatively low volume of water so cooled quickly. Since turning on 6 of the 11 ufh circuits (approx 650m of pipe) the temperature of water leaving the ASHP has crept up (currently at 18C) but this presumably is because it is now circulating a far greater volume through a slab that was comparatively warm.

We have 70mm of fibre-reinforced concrete over a Hanson Jetfloor. We only have one bedroom upstairs but we have a Panasonic air-rad in that room so have spot cooling when we need it (activated tonight for the first time this year but was very effective last summer when needed).

For the first time since we moved in, I've turned on the active cooling to our floor tonight. With the projected high temperatures for the next couple of days, and the current high humidity level, I thought I'd see how effective it is. Floor temp prior to activating was circa 23.7C. Water temp leaving the ASHP is currently 9C.

I've never liked tea, but my mother, 'til her dying day, would still offer me a cuppa every time I visited. "No thanks Mum, but I'd love a coffee please" was always my reply. She never did seem to catch on to the fact, bless her ?

It's pretty much all I drink, apart from the odd Havana Club (or six ?). Coffee is the first thing I have in the morning and last thing I have at night, and I still sleep like a log ?

I drink around 12 cups of coffee per day (sometimes more) and Mrs NSS drinks one. At your 'usual' £2.40 per cup it would take less than a month to cover the cost of my £750 B2C machine ?

Don't think it would work anyway as there has to be a hard wired connection to each glass unit.

Similar to others, we use a pack (2 blocks) every 4 to 5 weeks. We buy 10 packs at a time for £55 4o monthly cost is circa £5. Only two of us in the property but I reckon we save as much as the salt costs in reduced use of soaps, shampoo, washing/dishwasher powder, cleaning products, etc.

I know you must all think I'm on some commission deal (I'm not), but SageGlass really is (imho) the most elegant and least intrusive option if your budget will stretch to it.