canalsiderenovation

Ah it's working! Not a lot but it's something....

Nope - it definitely doesn't it's the 3600mtl-s and I've tried various knocking techniques with no success....

Ahhhh I read 'knocking' in the manual - I thought it was some form of technical term. I didn't realise it actually meant knocking it ?

3,840 total (12 x 320w) but the inverter will limit it to no more than 3.68kW. The DNO said we just do G98 after installation. I hope this is right as our solar got connected today!

It's gone dark so I presume the screen only works when it's generating. Another question, and this relates to the DNO form. How do we know anything over 3.68 will go to the immersion?

That makes sense as the company who did the solar design didn't include a DC isolater I just checked the invoice.

I can't see another one next to the inverter?

It's probably up the loft I presume?

@ProDave ok another idiot question our solar is now up and running. We have the inverter, Solic and the meter thingy and isolator (very technical). Is there a way of seeing how much we are getting from the solar. I'm betting it is that meter thing above the isolator which is taller than me!

Treatment plant is other end as is pumping station and is on higher ground. The soakaways run into the garden where we do have the water but with the amount of water we have had it's to be expected!

To be honest we don't particularly want to but given that (a) we still owe him money and (b) he isn't actually refusing to sort the job out I don't know if I've got a leg to stand on. What I really want to say is we will get someone else to sort the work and bill you/knock it off your bill. It's literally waiting for the next thing to go wrong I have that little faith in his work. It's not helped back the fact plumbers are few and far between here. Even our builder says he is incredibly frustrated by plumbers generally and struggles. Although this was one he told us he used, we are paying the plumber directly/contract is with him. We had little success even getting plumbers to turn up to quote. The builder is mediating at the moment!

He's probably stuck on a flooded road!

Very apt at the moment.

As you asked - the canal is fine. Roads carnage in Whitchurch. Pretty much whole of Whitchurch and bordering Wales and Cheshire had power cuts all through the night. We do however have a large pond! Ground has a dip in it which doesn't help. One for landscaping in the summer.

Thank you, I really am losing the plot today. Lack of sleep due to power outages all through the night and things coming on and off, snow, flooding and I wish the flooding was only limited to outside.... Another leaking sink by our plumber. We now have no bathroom sinks functional and a plumber who can't come as he is sick (not Covid) and a toilet that he decommissioned last week due to him fitting a faulty cistern he hasn't been back to fix. I'm tettering on the edge of telling him to not bother coming back at all, posting all the pics of his shoddy work on our local Facebook page with a plea for a reliable plumber to come forward and sort it out and send him the bill... That makes perfect sense and yes re summer that's exactly what I thought as the heat pump will have minimal use so that's when we are likely to have a lot of hot water and appliance use. Now to find the best Octopus Tarrif.

See that's what I don't understand - would the heat pump electricity requirement have priority? For example if this is using electricity then any solar would go to this first before say the washing machine? And then if it was generating a lot, if the heat pump wasn't using any, it would go to anything we would be using like the washing machine and finally the immersion. So in winter when solar is minimal it would likely go straight to the electricity the ASHP uses? This may be a really blonde question. It's been a long day....

Yep not exporting to the grid so that makes sense. Just wanted to check my thinking. I'm looking at electricity tarrifs too so wanted to make sure in addition we look at when to best make use of tarrifs that are cheaper at certain times.

This is a silly question but if we have the solar PV and we then have the ASHP and the Solic 200 which diverts excess to the immersion - does the solar immediately go to the heat pump first? Just thinking there would never be any excess particularly in winter. Or am I missing something?

I've just looked at the RHI and on my application/portal it says you will be asked questions annually and be requested to complete a declaration. It doesn't mention an annual service rather just asks.... Is your renewable heating technology in a good working order? To make use of the warranty however there is a clause in the agreement with Alto. The Equipment must be maintained by either an Installation Partner or by Alto Energy within 12 months after commissioning and thereafter at 12 monthly intervals. Alto Energy reserves the right to require evidence of this maintenance to Alto Energy’s reasonable satisfaction before approving any warranty servicing.

I've been talking to Octopus as I needed to establish if I had a smart meter (apparently I do - must have been the previous owners). Our fix is up at the end of Feb and we are paying paying a standing charge of 13.780 per day and 14.594p kWh with Utility Point. Octopus have some interesting tarrifs in addition to the standard 'Go' one online which is 14.63 p / kWh with a standing charge of 25.00 p / day and 5.00p kWh during the hours of 00:30-04:30. The Go Faster additional options we have been provided with are: Option 1. Take a 3-hour Go period at 4.5p/kWh and select a start time of 20.30, 21.30, 22.30, 23.30, 00.30, 01.30, 02.30 or 03.30 Option 2. Take a 4-hour Go period at 5.0p/kWh and select a start time of 20.30, 21.30, 22.30, 23.30, 00.30, 01.30 or 02.30 Option 3. Take a 5-hour Go period at 5.5p/kWh and select a start time of 20.30, 21.30, 22.30, 23.30, 00.30 or 01.30 The standard unit charge is competitive so even without any night rates so seems a no brainier but I'm not sure which of the above options are more appealing - thoughts? The 20:30 times seem quite appealing....

We have just had our RHI grant approved thank God and the payments start in March which will be a godsend - will go towards our mammoth electricity bills!

@Ultima357 thank you I thought it was me! I need to read fully what you have said and go through it tomorrow. The flat roof extension and pitched extension is decently insulated, block and beam and we had all the existing bungalow floors excavated and insulated, new roof and insulation, all new Internorm windows etc but the existing 1970s external walls will likely be letting us down but they did have cavity wall insulation. Hopefully we can get the EWI sorted as soon as the weather improves a bit. If I can get our bills to what you're are I'll be very happy!

I am a little disappointed I have to say but this may be initial teething problems. With no mains gas, ground source heat pump not an option and only having the choice of oil or air source really our options were limited. I'm hoping things will settle and I won't regret it but it's not simple (for me anyway). I'm feeling slightly better now I am monitoring it and can fiddle with the settings. What wasn't helpful was when it was commissioned the company telling us basically to just control the room thermostats/programme and not go into the advanced settings as we wouldn't need them though I sense this was done because we are women and clearly incapable of understanding it! My regret is I wasn't firm and insisted I went through things to fully understand things better. When I spoke to them on the phone and starting rattling off information from on here there was silence ? and they couldn't clearly explain answers to my questions - I've had more helpful responses on here and owe certain people a big thanks.

Unfortunately we don't have any choice. The electrician is back for two days to finish off before he goes into hospital for an operation and then won't be working for 12 weeks! @AliG the only thing on our tank that resembles your picture is this below wired into the heat pump and there is no temperature dial and I've literally had a torch all round the tank. Is it possible this is set by the heat pump? On the plus it does seem like since the excessive unit consumption on the immersion at some point between yesterday and 3:30pm today now seems to be likely to have been the legionella cycle as having just now taken another reading the immersion meter reading is the same as 3:30 so I'm hopeful that now I've deactivated it, it won't happen again. I'll keep monitoring that.

We will have the solar pv immersion solic200 and running on Thursday so I presume I'll need to look into appropriate settings for this then too.