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Didn't know that. My build is literally on the border of N Norfolk and Broadland (who does have CIL) but falls a few meters into Broadland.

I think lighting is THE most important aspect of the interior design of a house. So hard to get right. I read this to get me going and I learnt a fair bit https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FPX2Q66/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o04?ie=UTF8&psc=1 My issue is I have no idea what will work, especially around if I have enough lighting/too much without actually experimenting in each room.

Why does the fire brigade require the rainwater tank?

It looks like you don't have any sound attenuators - won't you get cross talk from room to room? I'm looking at this now, and due to space and length of my build a branch layout would be better, however my gut is telling me a radial would be more easy and less prone to noise. @Stones comment about noise is surprising though

Thanks all. The designs drawn up from previous quotes have used a branched layout due to the small routing area of I have (down the ceiling of the hallway). Does this effect overall velocities or calculations or is it just harder to balance?

I have vaulted ceilings thought my single story build and basically very little room between the roof joists and the plasterboard (50mm). I have another 70mm inbetween joists. However I have one room with is problematic (detailed here ) and the suggestion by one member is to use 225mm x 25mm flat ducting. Using the excellent calculators found here I can see this is equivalent to 85mm round diameter duct which for me kitchen would give about 2.5 velocity for BC boost regs for that room (46m3/h). This on the face it it seems good. However does the shape of the duct have effect on noise but also backpressure which would mean the MVHR has to work harder? I don't think I can avoid a couple of hard tight 90 degree turns either. I could run 2 of these flat ducts and have 2 extracts, and 2 further ones for supply in that room. Anyone know much about this? Thanks

I'm got to sort my ducting at very soon. Just wondering how you got on with this in the end as I think I will do the same? How do you calculate the airflow rates through this 225x25mm duct?

Thanks, Did you apply for planning permission as it seems this is a requirement? Ah it seems to fall under PM rights

Did you install that yourself out of interest or did it require an approved installer?

I really wanted to add cooling to our new build. I looked into the MVHR possibilities and my conclusion was the same as @Jeremy Harris - basically there just is not enough air flow to drop the temp no more than a degree or 2 at most. I looked to in proper A/C units but could not find a suppler locally that would not supply the type with the unit on the wall and pump outside. I wanted a solution that piped the cold air into a concealed unit in the wall but could not find a solution. I know they exists as it what you have in offices but I could not find anything. I'm concerned about overheating in our south facing bedroom. However I live in South of France for 20 years and have got somewhat used to long hot summers without AC. I did even have AC for 3 years in one house, but it was the type with the unit on the wall, and I just don't sleep very well with them, as they are noisy and having cold air blown onto you in the night does not make for a good nights sleep for me.

I'm not set at all on going down the Loxone root TBH as I cannot buy direct. I really need to spend some time (which I don't have) looking at all possible systems. Correct me if I'm wrong but Z-Wave is all wireless ? I'm looking for a hardwired solution really.

Thanks. Its a good idea. I'm just so limited for space really, I'd have to sacrifice room space which is not ideal.

My new NIBE is IFFFT compatible so some scope there.

My build is single story vaulted ceilings and we have only a very small void due to increased insulation and hard limits (window openings). We also have a structural stud wall that runs central down the building with only a void on the room side, so no drilling. To get 'over' the central hallway we'd have to run everything over the vaulted ceilings. We have some steel work that is in the way in runs and will be very tight bottlenecks for the wiring. To compound this we also have the MVHR ducts in the same very limit space. It due to the unusual design on the house imposed by planning restrictions and solution dreamed up by structural engineer. It really is more easy by some margin to run 90% of cables in the foor.

Thanks Jeremy. There was talk to using drainage pipe(s) (at least by the builder). Would you recommend individual ducts per wire or something else?

Hi, My builders and electrician have decided that given my house design/restrictions the most effective and easy way to perform 95% of the wiring is to put it in the insulation under the UFH and screed. They basically are talking about putting down 50mm over the slab, then the cables in a channel 50mm high and then lay another 50mm insulation above. Then the UFH pipes, then screed. I'm concerned about a couple of main points: Excess heating (due to insulation) and then risk of melting/short-circuit/fire Not ever being able to access it again What are you thoughts? Anyone done this? Thanks

With barns you still have to do soil tests etc (we did) and deal with any pollutants in and around ...

Hi Jack, thanks for you input. Do you have any tutorials/links/videos that help explain all the components and options for a home automation system? I'm not really talking about controllers, more the nuts a bolts, like DMX/IP modules (whatever they are), relays (how are the controlled), dimmer interfaces, etc?? Many thanks

It all depends what your budget is which you havent shared. Looking around my way something like this would fill your need perhaps https://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-91578029.html

Really there are much better countries to go live off grid than the U.K. and much much cheaper. I would just go abroad as it doesn’t matter what country you are living in if you are off grid as you won’t be talking to anyone local....

Move to the countryside away from the South, and buy/build a bungalow in a village, buy an acre of land of a local farmer and build a farm/commercial building once you ok'd with the local council (before buying) - or just buy an old barn off a farmer locally approached directly. Thats what I would do if I really wanted to own the barn and wanted a low risk approach. Location is key for you - away from people, towns, and ideally out in the countryside will ease your ability to build barn. Though financially I still think it cheaper to rent a barn/space. I know plenty of people locally who have rented theirs for over 20/30 years straight now for their workshops.

Thanks both. What I'm trying to achieve is things like the following: Master switch at front door to turn off; lights; non-essential sockets , blinds- configurable is a must as this may change over time/time of year Mood settings for lights in rooms Remote switching of sockets/lights/doors Ability to integrate with my ASHP/MVHR which supports IFTTT - though I currently don't have a used case.. Not bothered about sounds, as I find I just connect to the nearest bluetooth speaker and play via my phone in the real world. So Loxone seems a no go then if they are no selling to the public (as thats a requirement for me). Any other central controllers out there? Thanks

Hi, I've got to quickly in the coming 2 weeks design a first pass of my whole house electrical setup. I want to build in as much future proofing and want some home automation. My basic idea is to run all cables back to the central location radially so that I can swap out the central home automation unit, or simple LED drivers, or simply wire the switch to a light.. However I have no idea about home automation makes and systems out there. A search on here brings up loxone and philips dynalight as possible control systems. Even though I can program I don't want to spend ages setting up or debugging etc and not interested in home rolled solutions (raspberry PI etc). I do however want the option to add that sort of thing later if I ever motivated enough. So a quick look on youtube and the loxone is the sort of setup I'm after I think given a reasonably amount of flexibility (but not the cheapest). I'm wondering what other systems/makes are out there that won't lock you in to buying all their switches etc. I'm really after a system that can handle 'normal' leds, switches, sockets, etc. Thanks!!!

How does the Apollo stop over heating of the water or do standard immersion elements take care of that?

Thanks Dave. Whats a SSR?