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MR16 is 12V, I believe historically AC, though I think DC is common too. A 24V dimmer designed for LED strips should I think be able to drive two basic 12V MR16 LEDs in series assuming you are driving simple LEDs. I wouldn't expect it to work with LEDs that have any smart features. Even 'dimmable' ones might be difficult. To be clear, when I say work I mean work with the dimming function of the loxone driver. All will likely work if the set point is 100%. A 24V dimmer designed for LED strips will likely be able to supply enough current to drive multiple sets of 2 in parallel but if you wired a single MR16 up to it (or multiple in parallel) the 24V will almost certainly pop them given they are designed for 12V (even if you set the dimmer to 50% - it doesn't work like that).

Looking at Nicks reply makes me wonder if I've answered a different question. The 24v dimmers are generally for LED strips not fittings. If you want to use them to dim bulb type fittings, one idea is to run two MR16 bulbs in series from one dimmer channel. That should just work with standard dumb MR16 bulbs. Of course if one bulb failed it would take out both fittings but that might be a good trade off. MR16 is designed to cope with 50W halogen so should have no problem with anything you can throw at it LED wise. Do keep the cables to the controller pretty short though. Running long leads with PWM dimming signals is a recipe for issues (thats ignoring the voltage drop due to cable length).

BTW Soraa do some high quality externally controlled lighting so it's one place to start looking. But it's expensive and still doesnt really fit the bill. They also look like they have been bought out/merged since I last looked so not sure their products are the same/same quality as when I last looked. https://www.ecosenselighting.com/products/soraa/

I've never heard of 24v GU10 lamps. I'm not sure I'd want to try and make my own especially as the best lights are ones with sophistcated lenses not just a bunch of leds on a board. If you did want to do that I would go for MR16 as a connector. What you'd like to do does seem fairly optimal as a way of doing things. I'd like to do something similar. But I've not really found anyone selling much suitable. Especially as I want CCT controllable lights (at least in some places) so that I can alter the colour temp by time of day/activity. You either get 'smart' lights with their own wireless interface or dumb lights in MR16 (12v) or GU10 (mains voltage) or completely custom fittings. I think loxone do their own multi-colour light to connect to their controllers but its really pricey and didn't seem that good. Oh for an industry standard option in this space. Most people just want something they can retrofit to existing system.

I'm certainly not suggesting anyone replace a working system which is not due for replacement except maybe for those who have spare cash and who could realise large savings by switching (a relatively small group) However, if you have a system that is end of life and in need of replacement then for many people a heat pump will be cost neutral vs a replacement boiler (once you consider the BUS scheme). My replacement boiler cost £3.5k a few years ago - I had looked at heatpumps but it was too difficult to organise in my flat). Even with the MCS daylight robbery £11k (3.5k + 7.5k BUS grant) is enough for radiator, DHW tank and heatpump install in many many properties and the running costs should be similar for any well installed system. To be clear, the vast majority of properties won't need electrical upgrades and most can reuse pipework. For heatpumps as above I don't think there is a payback period. For many it should be a straight choice heatpump vs boiler for similar upfront cost. Running costs should be similar for a normal system. Ideal world you can make on going savings on cost but lets assume most installs are not ideal or have people willing to tweak them. As for solar, again, if you are having roofing work done then the cost of putting panels up is low and in some cases (integrated GSE panels on a slate roof) might be very similar cost to not having solar. Then for the next 20 years you pay a lower electricity bill. The payoff for this is very positive. Putting solar on a good roof as an add on is a higher cost and payback longer. It works out well for many people but you do need the upfront capital and if you have limited resources there might be better ways to spend your money.

If your door is not square you should be able to tell by measuring the diagonals. If it was square the measurement from bottom left to top right should be the same as from top left to bottom right. If its not square the length will be different.

I'm very pesimistic at least in the near term about the ability of politicians in the west to solve anything (not advocating for dictatorship - that would be worse). That said, just because our leaders are failing doesn't mean as individuals we shouldn't be taking all the steps we reasonable can to minimise our personal impact where we can. Things like heatpumps and solar for many people will be cost neutral or actively save money so that is the obvious choice. Where the maths doesn't add up there are other things to do instead where it does add up. In good news I read the other day that China's emissions have now plateaued. They are rolling out solar at an incredible rate and it's making a real difference. If they maintain that rate for a few years they will likely shame all of us with the speed of their transition to a low carbon economy (with the downside that they will then be at a huge competitive advantage going forward).

I did try and address the case you planned to do it all yourself too. It's taking on a lot of work and mental effort. The more complex/less standard you make it the more mentally taxing it will be. More chance of errors, more chance of getting stuck or delaying things. If you have the luxury of time and are willing for the build to take as long as it takes like @Pocster then maybe this isn't a huge deal but if you have a time frame for finishing the build, the need to work to bring in money, etc, keeping things as simple as possible should be your focus. If still keen, then on the particular plan you have, think about how it would impact the horizontal connections as well as the vertical ones. Seems to me you might be creating a difficulty with waterproofing on the horizontal axis along with it possibly looking quite odd/not joining up well on that axis.

Is the door actually square though? I believe what the others are saying is that the door frame has likely sagged due to the inserts and is now more of a parallelogram than a rectangle. I'm just regurgitating what I've seen discussed here and elsewhere before so take the others experience with more weight but I believe this is fairly common in windows and doors (other threads on here and videos on youtube if you search) and a relatively easy fix by removal and refitting the glass.

Why? If you were searching for a way to lower costs or saving construction time/effort then that's one thing. But I don't see how doing something custom here does anything other than add cost/stress. If you are paying someone to fit this they will want extra to accomodate you and this may void any warranty. If you are doing it yourself you are added extra mental load and work to figure this out when you are going to have a huge number of other things to deal with. Given this is the overlap between the solar install and roof install doing something custom risks needing to ask both the solar installer and the roof installer to deviate from their standard practice. This will add cost to both, add extra time to negotiate, etc, etc. If you do decide to do this, will you actually notice any difference whatsoever once it's done? Looking from two stories down on the ground?

Back when I first found this forum I caught up with Jeremy's blog using the wayback machine. I assume it still works if you try that.

I may be wrong with this. I went to check and read plenty about keeping a border around the panels but coming up blank finding a regs requirement. Might be something to do with MCS or specific mounting systems.

That looks good. On a real roof you couldn't do this exactly as you need a walkable area for regs AFAIK (the systems that do edge to edge use special panels designed to take the load). If I ever get to build I've been wondering if its possible to do something similar but with added metal trim around the walkable area/spaces to make it look like an integrated roof without the added cost. GSE is an alternative but I like the idea of being able to replace the panels with next gen ones without having to redo the whole roof which GSE would require if you can't find panels of the exact same size.

I'd be cautious about intervening here. Right now it's between your installer and Ofgem. If you start getting involved it muddies the waters if this ever ended up in a more formal dispute. Talk as much as you want with the installer but if you start sending stuff to Ofgem or start a separate registration process could be taken as you interferring and harming the process (even if the intention is the opposite). As long as you didn't miss a request for info from the installer and the lack of progress is purely down to the installer then I think you should tell them it's not your problem and leave them to sort it. You won't pay for their negligence. Could hint at complaing to MCS (look up the rules and refer to the specific relevant bits). Communication should be written not phone calls.

I've been watching the Restoration Couple on Youtube and their self build. When they had some welding done on-site the welder did something similar as a matter of course. The test itself shouldn't be expensive, having someone come in separately to do it would be.

If you can find a blank for that rather than a fitting (either male or female - assuming that right angle is the same diameter/thread at each end) you could always get one of these and tap the plastic (you'd need the tap too of course): https://www.airsupplies.co.uk/npt-male-stud Still, the question keeps being asked, what are you doing? If you are just using a big tank as a water source to feed a pumped irrigation system then don't bother with any of this just get a submersible pump and put it in the tank with the little hose attached. Or, see if you can't find a different outlet/drillable boss on the tank to use rather than this huge fitting.

Stupid ugly quick option: Buy/find a short length of hose that fits the barb and a barb to male BSP adapter, ala: You could probably find a reducer that goes straight from barb to your tiny hose though if you look. What are you actually trying to do? Going from such a big outlet to the piddly hose suggests maybe need to go back to the drawing board.

In practice yes, but roof integrated panels do cost more due to lower volumes. Especially, unusual styles such as those bonded to standing seam metalwork. Personally I wouldn't want to go anywhere near that style of solar as AFAIK they don't use glass bonded panels rather some plastic/flexible style which are far less battle tested (and generally have a bad reliability reputation where they have been used). Fixing any issues when the panel is bonded to your roof structure is basically impossible. @flanagaj I'm sure I read something from you before suggesting you were on a very low budget, like £1500-2000/m, am I remembering correctly? If so, I can't see how you are going to get this build over the line if you are letting yourself get drawn to some of the most expensive options.

Alternatively the switch might just leak a bit of current even though its off. Measure the resistance of the switch in both on and off states with nothing else connected.

Have you got this switch connected via a relatively long wire? (Significantly more than the shelly was designed for - which I think is very short wires) Wire is probably picking up small current from somewhere thats not enough to change the shellys state but enough to hold the switch high once triggered (at least for a time - if you wait long enough it might reset). If a resistor works then you can play with the wiring and see if you can fix it.

If it's an active-high circuit. ie, when voltage is present home assistant reads 'on' then wouldn't a pull-down resistor be needed? ie, there is some stray signal pulling the signal up which you want to override. Would have thought a 10k resistor would be a better starting point than 1M

A dry shake floor is something I'm very curious about for if I ever get the chance to build. During your research did you look at https://concria.com/ ? They seem to be selling their solution as quicker/easier to lay and a more reliable outcome. Recently Sika bought a big share so there must be something there. Curious on any thoughts/detail you can share. In any case please come back with the outcome when you get that far.

Oh now I'm confused. Am I thinking of someone else? I thought you had a heat gain problem in the bedrooms even during heating season so wanted the ability to cool the bedroom while the downstairs wanted heat. After I read that I looked back at some old threads and thought I read about how to do that you had to install a second zone with a big buffer tank to give the zone enough volume to avoid cycling. Have I misunderstood something?

Have you completed the details fully to come up with the number or just the basics? I don't know the app but I note that the heatpump efficiency is marked at 100% in your screenshot. In reality a good install should be 400-500%. You need the detail to be correct to get good output. I've seen many on hear saying they initally got bad numbers but once all the little details were added it came out better. SAP is still a flawed system however.

What dimensions are you working to? Is this an integrated unit or just a bespoke slot for a standalone unit? If the latter, maybe a slightly smaller unit would work with some extra trim?