lakelandfolk

That's interesting, after all a direct UVC set up is pretty basic and he labour element saved would pay for a Myenergy Eddi

Again, amazingly helpful info. I will certainly ask the engineer if he will do labour only. The standard off the shelf cylinders shown on the cylinder2go site would be OK. We would need pipework to the left, immersions to the front and we have space above for the expansion vessel. I am correct in saying it is illegal to install a direct UVC without the appropriate G3 certificate?

Hi Nick, We have decided, following the various SA experiences and comments from other forum members, to get a quote for a suitable 250L UVC from a highly recommended, G3 certified engineer who lives in our small community. https://www.heatershop.co.uk/solar-iboost-solar-immersion-controller is this the kind of control unit that you hinted at in your earlier posting?

Many thanks Nick, this forum never fails to amaze me, so many kind folk ready to share and help. I am in my 83rd year but determined to do my bit for my grand children and theirs. We know the financial investment we have made over the past 5/6 years will not be recovered in my life time but we will continue as long as possible to reduce our carbon footprint. We have found a local heating engineer/plumber who is G3 qualified so will be seeking his advice next week re cost, (and potential disruption) of an UVC installation as you describe. We have a retrofitted Solax X1-AC inverter which converts AC back to DC for the battery charging. Not sure how sophisticated the Solax X1-AC is but I will ask the people next week who supplied and installed it.

Thanks Guys, I bow to your superior knowledge, yes you are correct, a basic electric only unit is £2380 supplied, £3290 fitted. The more I read the more confused. My Wife has suggested that we could remove a wardrobe in the ground floor bedroom to accommodate an UVC and the installation completed by a G3 qualified person. ie £550 + labour and additional materials. We will try to obtain a quotation next week. There are just two of us (retired) and the bulk of DHW is for showers, hand basins, sinks, and only the occasional bath. We notice that a UVC can be fitted with dual immersion heaters which might fit our usage pattern, but then we ask, is there an electronic control box on the market that would automatically maximise/switch between the 4 hour grid off peak, surplus solar generation and battery storage? We have 12.6 kwh battery storage and up to 6.3kwh solar and use Octopus Go to top the battery up. We also have an EV which is often charged during the off peak period. Are we expecting too much from our solar electricity/battery storage and off peak electricity?

Many thanks to everyone, looks like if we decide to go for a Sunamp then an approved installer is the way to proceed. As you say, needs a bit more thought if reliability is still an issue. Space for an UVC would be difficult to find and probably require us to continue using the gas. We would love to stop relying on gas, and were looking at options even before the current Ukraine situation. We have already invested heavily by completing a comprehensive retrofit energy efficient upgrade of our home (EWI -Triple Glazing - Solar & battery storage etc) but our budget is now limited and would not stretch to ASHP etc. I guess it was the appeal of "instant hot water on demand" without using gas the drew us to Sunamp.

Thanks Peter, yes I would indeed include a timer and also water filter as we have hard water here in Lancashire. If I follow the Sunamp installation instructions to the letter then see no reason why the product guarantee should not be applied.

Sorry to bring this up again because I know the DIY installation of Sunamps topic was mentioned some time ago but I can not find it. We are considering installing a Sunamp Thermino 210e or Uniq eHW which is the basic unit which we would power via grid off peak (Octopus Go). The Sunamp would be for DHW only which is currently provided from a gas combi boiler. We have solar and battery storage but would like to keep it simple. We have requested a quotation for supply only from North West Heating and they say they can't do supply only because installers have to be trained and authorised by Sunamp. I know we can purchase a unit direct from people like https://www.jtmplumbing.co.uk/ but if we go down the DIY route will the Sunamp guarantee still apply? I am a competent plumber and, having seen the installation instructions on line, confident of undertaking the work myself. North West Heating are probably adding circa £1000 for installation. Most of the Sunamp posts I have found on the forum are 2018 - 2019. Has anyone got experience of the latest Sunamps? Have they sorted out some of the issues?

We have Solar panels with retrofitted 12.6kwh batteries and Solax AC TO DC inverter. Where would a Sunamp electric supply be connected for one with electric heaters only or one with electric heaters + solar? We would hope to use off peak and surplus Solar when available.

Looks like it's not worth the expense and hassle. it is MCS installed and we have a FIT agreement dated December 2016. Many thanks

Hello, We already have a 6.3kw PV array on the house with battery storage. We are wondering if it would be viable to add a further 4 panels, about 1.4kw, onto the garage roof. The garage has a 2.5mm underground feed from the house and a small CU. I believe we could use the existing cable to feed the garage generation from the inverter back to the house but that it could not be recorded on our fits meter or utilised to charge the batteries. Can anyone confirm that is the case? Also if we decided to run a new cable from the new garage inverter to the house and via the fits meter, a distance of about 30metres, would there be a noticeable voltage drop ? and what size cable would be best?

Hi Jeremy, Many thanks for your prompt response to my PIR problem. You were spot on with your red herring theory. The PIR was in set up mode and I failed to realise that when activated it would only power the load for about 5 seconds. I was testing the line out voltage with my multi-meter in the PIR which was 240 v but by the time I had come down the ladder and moved to the location of the driver ( in the adjoining room ) the out voltage had been disconnected by the PIR timer hence the odd reading at the end of the cable. I adjusted the cut off timer to 5 minutes and hey presto, 240v at the driver end of the cable. These items, 2 metres of LED Ribbon, a driver and PIR were a car boot sale buy so always some uncertainty and confusion that all were working OK. I do like to recycle but sometimes it can cause problems, this little job finished up taking 3 hours instead of a typical 30 minutes, but all is OK now. The new PIR I purchased has been returned to Toolstation and a full refund received. Once again, thanks for your help. Ian

Hi, Just installing a PIR for low voltage LED's in under stairs cupboard but can't get it to work. I have fitted the same PIR in other rooms in the house with no problem but I can not get the required 240 volt supply at the LED driver end of the cable. When movement is detected, I have 240 volt coming out of the load cable inside the PIR but at the other end of the cable ( 4metres ) about 23 volts only. I have replaced the PIR with a new one and also the 4m of cable but the same situation exists. I know it sounds impossible, 240v at one end of a 4m length of 1.5mm cable almost nothing at the other end. Can anyone suggest a possible solution?? Many thanks

We are going to replace our existing UPVC windows with triple glazed wood. Do we have to comply with building regs as per new build, and replace one of the first floor windows with a larger opening to provide a fire escape?

Hi, We have plans in to upgrade the energy efficiency of our house and to build a single storey extension. Our local electricity company has written to planning pointing out that the extension will be on top of the supply to the house meter. They do not appear to be saying we can not build the extension. Does any one know the regulations re building over live cables. Do we have to re route it? If we were to build a meter kiosk then a sub main cable to the house would we have issues taking that cable through the house to the consumer which is on the far side? By the way, a conservatory, which will be removed to make way for the extension, was approved by planning in 1993 and is built over the same cable.

Oh dear, I seem to have started something unexpected. A local qualified electrician will connect to CU, inspect and sign off when he is happy. Thanks for all your comments/recommendations.

They don't need to, we can run them above the insulation. The kitchen is in a single storey extension.

We are planning a kitchen revamp and will need to run some extra cables. We are doing the first fix but would like to be sure we use the correct size of cable. Can anyone advise? Combi Micro Wave. catalogue says 16 amp Oven. catalogue says 16 amp Induction hob. catalogue says 32 amp Each run to CU will be circa 9 metres. Many thanks

We intend having 2.5 m wide patio doors in the proposed extension to be built later this year, we don't want bi folds because of the broad sight line they have. We have looked at a few web sights and some offer a sliding patio door in a pocket system. That appeals as there will be a 3 m section of wall to one side of the door opening which could accommodate the pocket unit. It would also appear that a single door panel of 2.5 m would be possible, so a 2.5 m wide window with no sight lines which would open fully appears to tick all the boxes. Has any one looked at this option? Does it sound feasible? Any suppliers to recommend? We have not yet decide whether to build the extension in TF or masonry so going with an external pocket door could influence our decision.

http://www.thermogroupuk.com/insulations-adhesives/econoboard/econoboard-coated-underfloor-heating-insulation-boards.html Nick, Is this the type of product you suggested, comes in various thicknesses from 6 mm to 50 mm. The 20 mm specified as 1.74 w/m2k

Thanks Nick, that could be a plan because I could then do the same with the living/dining room floors which is to be carpeted making all of the ground floor that little bit more comfortable. What type of board are you referring to, what make??

WE are about to down size and have purchased a renovation project and would like to install UFH in the kitchen. We have lived with full house, wet UFH for 20 years and worried that we will struggle to live without it when me move. It is a 1990 house with concrete floors but no insulation. We would prefer not to have to take up the existing floor and excavate to facilitate the insulation and pipe work so are looking at a low power electric system, say 100 w/m2. The total area is 20 m2 and a radiator will provide the space heating, the UFH is to provide that extra bit of comfort we become so used to. The issue comes with the tiling, my wife is desperate to have a white sparkling Quartz tile (mirror chips in tile surface) laid in the kitchen, however the supplier says Quartz is not suitable for UFH. I am surprised at that and would have thought the level of heat generated by a 100 w/m2 electric system would be unlikely to cause any issues with the resin in the quartz. Has anybody else considered Quartz on UFH? What temperature would cause damage?

The circuit cables will need to be extended to the proposed position. How is that done? I assume cable connectors of some sort will be required. The meter box is going to be moved anyway so new tails as well.

Hi, 1980's house, typical brick/block cavity construction, we would like to relocate the consumer unit if possible and practical. We would upgrade the unit anyway. Is it overly difficult and costly for a qualified electrician to do?

Just investigating viability of retrofitting UFH in a 1990's brick built house. The house has concrete ground floor and standard 2.4 ceilings so wondering if a low profile wet system would be effective or would the thin level of insulation just allow the heat to disappear through the concrete. I would prefer to remove the existing concrete, lay 2-300 mm of insulation with new screed but wonder if the cost would be prohibitive. We have lived with UFH for the past 20 years and the thought of moving to a house without it would probably be a deal breaker. Has anybody considered or done similar?