Nickfromwales

Are they producing a lower temp PCM unit currently? They state these are compatible with a HP, but tbh that just means the owner needs to get the flow temp up past 58oC ( phase change is at 58 hence the name "PCM58" ) but you need to go higher to get a discernible recharge rate. When heating these from a wet external source ( whatever guise that took ) I usually set it to be at or close to 75-80oC so the unit would recharge ( change state ) as quickly as possible. HP's must have to run for a LOT longer to get the same transition, so at lower CoP for a lot longer I assume?

Yup. The deflection is the biggest concern for me. Is it caused by the end of a joist dropping? If so, the whole run would be affected not just the corner. Tiled floors do not like movement, especially if it is to get worse over time due to the degradation of a wooden joist etc. Ah. I would have said more insulation under, prob another 50-75mm of rockwool maybe, but that's not happening now. Is the pug mix up dead level with the top of the joists? Marking out is simple. Chalk line will sort that out in minutes. Mark the left and right hand side of each end of the joists onto the walls, and then use the chalk line to ping 2 lines on each substrate for accurate fixing ( anywhere between the two lines is safe then ). Use a tape measure and take photos for any intersections / tricky areas, drawing each onto the substrate before even picking up the screw gun . Don't do this when tired / fatigued, as most of my major F_ups have been late on a Friday afternoon after a long week. Lay P5 chipboard deck, not plywood, and go for 22mm thickness if tiling, with that bonded with PU glue at the joist top and a minimum of 5 screws per joist. Then fit a layer of 4 or 6mm plywood atop the P5, glued ( PVA combed on with a mosaic tile trowel ) and screwed, with screws ( 4.0 x 25mm ) going in at 100-120mm OC. With the ply, you 100% won't need the decoupling membrane, as long as the deflection is as you say and no more.

Time is a bloody precious commodity atm! The Grundfos Comfort HRC pump seems to be the KISS companion for a fit & forget solution tbh, with models / options for steady flow ( modulated pump activity to suit the required temp ) or constant flow. Both can be timed / otherwise activated, but pulsing the HRC pump on - off - on - off - on is just utterly pointless imho. When you open a tap, say the kitchen sink, do you want warm then hot water, or hot water? Waiting for water to go from warm / tepid to hot would piss me off even more than not having an HRC at all. Why fit all the pipework and components, plus wiring and controls, and then turn the bloody thing off?!?!

Ah, lol, can't blame a man for trying I do forget who I 've said what to, as there is a huge amount of traffic on BH these days. Solar pergola?

You could just keep the several thousands of pounds in your pocket and fit a cold mains accumulator. RHW....... In the summer you're still using potable drinking water, in the winter it's already raining every few days. IMHO, a waste of time and money with NO breakeven point, as the pumps fail and cost a lot to replace. You cannot even fit a bypass to supply potable water to those select outlets as the water is classed as category 5 ergo you cannot make a physical link between the two systems. Use the money to buy more PV

Yes, so do we. FFFS ( first F is for Foam ).

Just a small squirt of exp foam in the gap under the pipe as it passes through the stud would be fine. If you clip then you reconnect the pipe to the OSB which will be like an amplifier. Better off using all round patent band as a sling and screwing it top dead center into the metal frame if a mechanical fix is what’s preferred. Personally, I’d just foam and call it a day.

Plenty of different ways to store energy, and lifting weight or pumping ( anything ) seem valid tbh, just cost and practicality vs longevity for key driving factors afaic.

With studs at 600mm OC, deffo 11mm. Screws will turn out of 9mm if you fix anything with a cordless drill. I’m racking walls out on my current clients MBC TF and I’m using a mix of 11, 15 and 18mm depending on what’s known to be going where. On walls which need the 18, but I don’t want to lose space, I’m in-filling between the studs instead of going on top of them. 15 and down is generally just fixed on top fir ease / speed.

I take it you mean avoiding using peak rate grid electricity for these events, AKA “load-shifting”? I’m a big fan of the idea of utilising the ‘huge’ ( 1000 - 2000L ) TS btw I fitted a 2600L TS for one client, to take the brunt of what his log gasification boiler had to offer in a very short period of time. So also ‘load-shifting’ at its best. What is the size of the ‘decent’ array you have? Solar PV drops to between 25% and 0% in winter, so a 10kWp array in the winter becomes a 0-2.5kWp array ( with the 2.5 being what you’d get on a bright winters day, which we don’t get very many of in good ol’ Blighty )

Yup. A common misconception amongst clients so I explain this before installing. You can walk from one AP and get to the next and the device is clinging onto the weak original signal. Then it wakes up and says “oh, there’s a strong signal, let’s consider using that”. Then takes it’s sweet time to migrate.

Yup, 12-15 even 18 months is about correct. The info is out there alright.... I've even posted links to it on here showing the sleep function. They do both AC and DC versions, just to confuse you even more lol. The DC is my favourite, as it allows you to load it up to the hilt without incurring the wrath of the DNO, eg allowing you to go to max allowance on PV kWp. For completeness, I am personally going with Iconica Hybrid inverters with AGM batteries, as any "brand name" battery is overpriced / unrealistic economically in terms of RoI vs useful lifespan ( IMHO ).

Waste water can go in a 32mm pipe tbh, if it's a single appliance, but with the number of bends and the distance Bruce is right, go for 40mm to be sure. It is a very simple job, and just needs the existing kitchen out of the way and new pipes run along at skirting level for cold feed and waste. Remember, if you buy the right condenser drier you will find on the rear a couple of silicone hoses. These can be disconnected to allow the condensate to drop into the washing machine upstand trap eg you will never have to empty the water collection tray

. Way too much water, so there's nowt left of the paint. That's why it's failing and the surface is powdery. Rub the wall down gently with an old towel and start again.

Buy a 10L tub, roller a trial wall yourself, see for yourself

Just spoken to a DNO to arrange 3ph for a client. No need for specific info at that stage, other than expected loads / combined max microgeneration output etc, and were awaiting a decision currently.

Better than my shed 😭. I wish I’d insulated. Tbh, I’ve only feather-edged one 1/4 so I may pull that off and just stuff the 4x2 frame with rock wool. Either that or pour vermiculite into the voids and just remove the top couple of planks. Anyone know if vermiculite has any reasons to not use it? Do vermin like the stuff etc?

Where is this supply going in to? Hogwarts? 🤣

In a nutshell

I wouldn’t bother insulating hot feeds tbh unless they’re on an HRC.

Technically yes, but only your BCO can give you a final answer for your dwelling. We can only procrastinate I'm afraid. I would install one on the edge of the living room ceiling tbh. 3c + E yes. Regular twin and earth from CU to 1st detector. I'd be looking for 3m distance away from cooker / oven / kettle etc so as to not get nuisance alarms.

Funnily enough I offered to dance for them, purely as a distraction tactic whilst my mate stealthily inserted Boron rods under her chuffing sofa in an attempt to get the old dear up to the required 28oC

That will tell you immediately what has done what

Indeed. I dearly miss my home cinema, gone since getting a neighbour in our semi. 😭

If the frame had dropped 10mm you'd have cracks the size of the San Andreas fault showing inside and out. That looks like poor installation of the door frame, eg lacking support in the bottom corner of the frame where all the loads sit. Have you had a spirit level on the door, door frame and threshold, both horizontally and vertically, to see which thing has actually gone awry?