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Hi folks, I'm looking for something similar to OP so that I can monitor live power consumption for my Vaillant ASHP - can you share any specific devices you are using? I want something that I can integrate with Home Assistant. I've already got the MyVaillant app, and my system integrated with Home Assistant. I have the energy consumption data pulling through no problem, but I believe this to be fairly inaccurate since it updates in 1kWh chunks that seem to lag actual usage at a random interval. I'd therefore like to have visibility on live power consumption, which can help to understand the overall dynamics of power distribution in my home.

The flooring is SPC, which apparently has much lower thermal expansion than wood / laminate etc. I think I'm willing to risk giving it a try on some of the larger gaps, worst case I can always rake it out if it cracks.

Thanks for the recommendation, does it take paint ok?

I'd like to fill and seal these gaps between our skirting boards and hard floor. They vary between 0 and 5mm. I'd like to paint whatever filler material is used to match the skirting. Ideally whatever is used would form an air seal to stop any draughts too. I'd thought of masking the floor align the line of skirting, and filling with decorators caulk finished at a 90° angle to the floor. Then painting as normal. Any other ideas? Not sure if there is any more robust putty etc that would do the trick?

Hey, I'm selling a solar thermal kit on here / eBay. Give me a shout if you'd be interested! https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/37090-solar-thermal-panel-kit-worcester-bosch-fk240-including-pump-station-controller-etc/ https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285674793513

Hey, I'm selling a solar thermal kit on here / eBay. Give me a shout if you'd be interested! https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/37090-solar-thermal-panel-kit-worcester-bosch-fk240-including-pump-station-controller-etc/ https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285674793513

Hi @JohnMo thanks for sharing your journey so far. We've had a 9.5 kWh GivEnergy battery installed alongside ~6kWp of panels around a month ago. I'm interested in setting up similar automation with GivTCP, but am completely new to Home Assistant. Was there any specific guide you followed to get things going? The internet connection to the inverter is down for now so I haven't been able to dive into the data on GivEnergy cloud yet, but looking forward to getting everything set up!

Off topic, but interested to know where these doors came from? Searching for something similar at the moment!

Great to see Octopus driving innovation and progress in this area. In my humble opinion, the design is gopping. Looks like a jukebox for Barney the dinosaur. I certainly wouldn't have one anywhere near my property. Others have mentioned it's likely an adaptation of a RED unit which I thought looked great in person, so maybe they can fine tune the aesthetics to something less Fisher-Price. The key question will be: how is the tech differentiated / improved over products already in the market? My bet is that hardware will be pretty similar to existing units, but the innovation will come on controls / software side. Perhaps a tarrif with specific (lower) rate for ASHP consumption that requires no user intervention / running at set times etc. Or a home energy management system that optimises PV / battery / ASHP generation and consumption, again with minimal user input. Install, set and forget for the end user.

Thanks folks for the replies! Can you recommend any commercially available products that are equivalent? Keen to double check application guidance to understand if there would be any adverse effects to the bricks / mortar. I think I'll go with suggestion below as a first pass, then resort to chemicals if I'm not getting anywhere. Yes, it is exposed to sun. I had also been suggested by others, so will leave it a few weeks (or longer?) for UV reaction, and then try brushing.

Any tips for removing cured PU expanding foam from brick / mortar walls? Internet search suggests mechanically removing as much as possible (stanley kinfe / brush), and then using acetone on a rag. Any tips most appreciated

Planning ahead to ensure the right air circulation between rooms with our MVHR system. Our designer (Paul Heat Recovery) include this note in their install guide, along with specifying 10 mm gaps under doors between rooms where air transfer is required. Has anyone installed wall ducts as an alternative to this? Did you pay attention to "periscope" arrangement / noise attenuation? Can you share any examples or merchant where this kit is available? I am interested to implement this where noise may be more of a concern such as er... the bathrooms.

Anyone know where I can buy airtightness paint in Scotland (ideally Edinburgh)? e.g. Blowerproof or Passive Purple. Ideally looking for somewhere I can collect, rather than ordering online.

Hey @TerryE, stumbled across your build via search, looks like you managed to strike a great balance between thermal efficiency and traditional aesthetics. Do you have any sketch or photos to explain how you handled the external door thresholds?

I'm currently crunching the numbers to see where my projected space heating load across the year sits against the Vaillant output / CoP charts shared by @sharpener. Will post back with findings... (not that I am over analysing this 🙃)

Thanks, have found this item which looks suitable: TEMPEST HEAT PUMP SOLAR The only specification for the coils that I can find is the statement: "Purpose-designed renewable coils with a 3.3m² surface area". Any rule of thumb or specific points I should check to confirm it's suitable? I'm thinking of coil position in the tank etc. Do you have any reference I can share with our heating engineer for the 300 litres sizing? We're looking to move from the existing vented cylinder to an unvented cylinder so we cna have showers at mains water pressure. Also we want to relocate the cylinder anyway, so makes sense to get the optimum equipment setup in place.

Thanks for sharing, strange that this information is not available in all regions. Do you know what "rps" means in the below tables?

We are about to install an air source heat pump and associated pipework throughout our four bedroom / two bathroom home, replacing an existing gas boiler. We already have solar thermal panels (two Worcester FK240 solar collectors routed to a vented twin coil cylinder) which will be replaced with an unvented twin coil cylinder as part of the ASHP works. I'm interested to know how best to size the new cylinder? I understand that typically a cylinder for solar thermal is sized up compared to a "normal" DHW cylinder, to maximise amount of energy stored from solar collectors. Equally this creates a larger volume of water the ASHP would be left to heat during winter. Our heating engineer has suggested a 200 litre cylinder, however when I this guidance (Table 2), something in the region of 275 to 300 litres is recommended. Appreciate any thoughts and advice on this topic. Equally, any recommendations for cylinders optimised for ASHP and solar thermal would be most helpful.

Our heating engineer has prepared an MCS heat loss calculation to size an ASHP. There are some factors in there which I feel are conservative (such as ventilation losses which don't consider air tightness improvements), and when comparing to my own best case calculations I've found we could potentially drop to a heat pump with a lower output (e.g. 7 kW to 5 kW), saving a bit of money on equipment costs. I have tendency to over analyse things, so I'm wondering if there's a general rule of thumb around the tolerance in heat pump sizing, or if there are any specific drawbacks or watch outs when it comes to potentially oversizing a system due to conservative assumptions in the heat loss calculations... any guidance most appreciated! edit: if it helps, we're looking at a Vaillant Arotherm Plus unit

Seeking some advice, specifically on weather seal detail for replacement windows. Our current units are fitted into a check reveal, with a fairly flimsy extension piece at the head to close the gap between the steel lintel and the window frame. I’m trying to work out the best way to detail the weather seal at the head of our replacement units, since the current approach doesn’t seem to be effective (sealant has perished and I can see through to outside from inside at the head). I’m struggling with the best approach since setting the window frame into the check reveal means there is no solid sealing surface at the head / lintel. For now I’m omitting other details to focus on the weather seal only. Head Current: Extension piece to close the gap between the steel lintel and the window frame, gunned sealant on external corner joint. Proposal A: Bond a ~25 mm timber strip to lintel to form check at head, 20 mm wide Compriband sealing tape in same plane as jamb / reveal. Proposal B: ~25 mm timber extension piece manufactured as part of window, 20 mm wide Compriband sealing tape in perpendicular plane as jamb / reveal (corners / transition from head to reveal may be tricky) Reveal Current: Window frame recessed into check, gunned sealant on external corner joint. Proposal: Window frame recessed into check (25 mm overlap between frame and outer leaf), 20 mm wide Compriband sealing tape between inner face of external leaf and outer face of window frame. Any advice here is greatly appreciated! Sketches Photo of existing detail

As part of some remodelling work we are removing some existing steel beams, which seem to be in good condition. Which options do we have for recycling? Seems a waste to throw these in the skip... Based in Edinburgh if it matters

@Iceverge are you aware of any sources of information to read up on this? In theory it sounds like a good solution, but I can't find any practical examples that could help checking suitability and plan the execution.

@DundeeDancer did you manage to find any other suppliers willing to work with you? @SimonC did you get anywhere with your search for information? I am in a similar situation (~25mm foam boards in ~100mm cavity of my 1990s built house) and looking for options to improve wall insulation, and airtightness as a bonus.

Hey @HughF, @LiamJones, did you come across any guidance on how to remove the existing insulation, or whether it would be possible to simply pump in more EPS to try and fill the gaps? I have a similar situation in that we seem to have ~25 mm thick EPS foam boards in the cavity between outer brick and inner block, but it doesn't look particularly well secured, or evenly distributed. I'm fairly confident it's not working as intended, so looking to find a way to improve things (or guidance to shift focus to internal insulation only).