ollie

Reaching out as my solido smart is driving me insane. 2 adults 2 kids - it keeps discharging an initial burst of dirty water for a minute or so before it gradually clears up to clear discharge. we've had Solido out to check it , they've changed the solenoid and the airlift - they can't figure out why it's doing it. any experts please help!

Hi all taking the plunge with solar. I've done some homework but could really do with some advice from somebody knowledgeable. Quick bit of background House is a well insulated new build, all electric. ASHP - for heating and domestic hot water Total annual electricity consumption circa 8500kw height of summer - approx monthly usage 530kw height of winter - approx monthly usage 850kw Currently on a unit rate with octopus of 22.30p/kWh (I fixed just before the madness) but we in for a shock when our tariff ends in september hence solar... I'm looking at going with a local company but Zannsui gave an original quote that estimated an annual solar output of 5,142.00 kw based on 15 x 400 w Spec from local company 6.48Kw (16 x 405w) 8.6KW Fox ess hybrid energy cube battery (2x4.3) £13,906 vs same panels but 17.2 kW (4x 4.3w battery) £16906.4 The crux of my question is how many batteries should I go for? Reading up on here the general sensible thing to do seems to be have a split tariff and charge your batteries at night on a cheap tariff - is the general consensus just get a much battery as you can afford or would i be overspeccing with the higher battery capacity one thing to note is i can set my ashp to prioritise operating in offpeak tariff hours (not sure if that relevant to this or not) any advice greatly appreciated! thanks, Oliver

Hi all, I have balanced mvhr unit in our closed panel timber house that is around 195 m squared and received an air permeability score of 1.14 Currently the MVHR system is delivering 60 l/s on its default setting Can i safely turn this down to its lower setting that delivers 40 l/s (worried about co2 and oxygen levels, i have 2 young kids which makes me paranoid!) whilst i know there is a heat exchanger i still don't want to be over ventilating the house with cooler than internal air if not required particularly in the colder months ps it has an auto function that kicks if it detects higher levels of moisture thanks in advance Oliver

hi Nick - thanks for your reply yep solar definitely on my radar but very much so now due to electricity price hike - its a capital investment essentially isn't it. Is there a 101 you can point me in the direction of as i know nothing about them - ie is there government grants a bit like the RHI I get from my ashp , who are reputable installers etc thanks O

hi Mike, thanks for your lengthly reply much appreciated yep definitely thought about CT clamp on mains supply to get a good overview of whats going on - our meter is 60m from the house in a metal kiosk - with a 35mm cable coming into the CU in the house - i was advised to get one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/geo-Minim-Energy-Monitor-Self-Installed/dp/B00JIMQP6Y/ref=sr_1_5?crid=11D86DIKH87HP&dchild=1&keywords=ct+clamp+energy+monitor&qid=1633685046&sprefix=ct+clamp+e%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-5 but i don't think the clamp will fit over a 35mm cable as its designed for 'standard' cables - do you know of anything that would work? - also thought about using the IHD provided by our smart meter but this doesn't work due to the distance from house to smart meter (they never even set it up!) i have just noticed having going down there that my smart meter does have the led flashing light so i could potentially get a energy monitor that works off the led blink but then i still have the issue its 60m from the house! any thoughts very welcome! thanks O

thanks Jack Im relatively new here so still finding my way around where to post

Hi Dave no everything was left plugged in so router was on , playstation on standby , fridge was running (but i accounted for that in my calculations) , tv on standby, alexa on - could things on standby really amount to 2.5 kwh a day?

hi all self build last year, always thought power usage was a tiny bit on the high side. i'm hoping someone brighter than me can track down where my missing kw's are going! went on holiday so house was for idle for 10 days - house used 8.1 kw/h a day 1 day usage of things that were on when we were away asph used 2kwh sewage treatment plant - roughly 0.8kwh mvhr - 1.5 kwh fridge - 1kwh (we share a bore hole with neighbour who would have been drawing water but i've been told that borehole pumps use barely any power) thats 5.5kwh wheres roughly 2.5 kwh going , any ideas? thanks in advance ps not sure its relevant but meter is at boundary and we have a 60m 35mm armoured cable into the houses CU

i asked the very same question apparently not

Hi guys quick background Self build house - dno installed power to plot boundary in a metal kiosk that houses our smart meter, (supply then runs to our cu in the house) Desperately trying to join Octopus go as we are on ASHP but can't as our smet2 meter wont communicate with DCC They seem to think its due to the meter being housed in a metal cabinet apparently there was a some small amount of data sent which they guess was when door was open - which im going to do a another test with them to see if this is the case we are in North Yorkshire so meter works with arqiva on radio waves anyone had this issue with their smart meter not communicating due to metal cabinet , if this is the cause how and who would i contact to get it rehoused , is this even possible? thanks in advance! Oliver

Hi guys quick background Self build house - dno installed power to plot boundary in a metal kiosk that houses our smart meter, (supply then runs to our cu in the house) Desperately trying to join Octopus go as we are on ASHP but can't as our smet2 meter wont communicate with DCC They seem to think its due to the meter being housed in a metal cabinet apparently there was a some small amount of data sent which they guess was when door was open - which im going to do a another test with them to see if this is the case we are in North Yorkshire so meter works with arqiva on radio waves anyone had this issue with their smart meter not communicating due to metal cabinet , if this is the cause how and who would i contact to get it rehoused , is this even possible? thanks in advance! Oliver

Hi PeterW , due to recent electricity price hikes i'm desperately looking into cheaper ways to use my ASHP - i'd love to hear more about your experiences of load shifting - annoyingly i can't get on octopus go tariff as our smart meter wont communicate due to poor signal in the area, so i'm now looking into standard eco 7 tariffs and want to ensure there is an actual saving to me made by switching my ashp to operate on off peak times.

Morning all , just embarked on filling out VAT431NB question 9 and 10 have thrown me We bought a plot put in all the services , laid a slab then had a kit house company erect an almost turn key build (we put in our own internal doors, fitted kitchen , bathrooms and timber clad the whole of the exterior. Our vat claim with be for the materials in brackets as the rest of it was supply and fit so all zero vated anyway. Presumably -i answer yes to question 9 - as it was a built from scratch -but do i answer yes to question 10 - Is your claim for the fit out and finish of a building shell? as i am fitting out a shell but i also did commision the actual build so im not sure any help much appreciated dont want to get this wrong! thanks Oliver

hi just had a kit house completed. Doing all the door linings and hanging doors myself. It's quite modern finish and love the 'achitrave-less' look I was speaking to a joiner who said that i'll always get cracking where I fill and paint at the junction between my door lining and wall. But there must be a filler mix or other trick that can withstand the vibrations of door latch vibrating lining? any ideas thanks in advance Oliver

Hi all i'm cladding my house in siberian larch , but want to save some cash by doing the window reveal boards in marine grade plywood. Does anyone know of a reputable source that does a good price, we are in skipton area thanks Oliver