Stu789

Thanks - this is all useful. Was thinking 000L but easy to go 7500L capturing from 200m2 of bungalow / attached garage roof. The larger units don't cost much more than smaller sizes and extra digging/muckaway isn't large £. Motivation isn't so much financial but rainwater management -> smaller attenuation pond, happy neighbours & severn trent.

Does anyone have experience of direct feed rainwater harvesting systems (no attic tank) with automatic plant watering systems & also using a pressure vessel to reduce pump cycling? The hydroforce pump manual has a note: "Pressure-sensitive pumps are unsuitable for use with low flow applications such as drip feed irrigation systems. To be used on such a system a pressure vessel must be installed and charged to 2.1 bar (30 psi)." Planning on using the small tube plant watering on timer for raised flower beds (not the constant drip feed style) so might not be an issue but it also occurred to me that a pressure vessel ~10-15 litres could significantly reduce pump cycling (would get a couple of toilet flushes before the pump kicks back in and then runs for longer).

We've experienced a high failure rate of small DG units with narrow edges to suit narrow window bars in our G2 listed house (hardwood casements, sash and doors). If going that route I'd suggest check on guarantees and ask around for customer experience over the medium term. Our CO is pretty reasonable - like for like work, email conversation only. Changes to any detail put in listed consent (no charge) with drawings and a sensible rationale - been no issues. Good luck!

Not yet - Planning app is Pending Consideration.

I'm thinking over a similar issue on a much smaller bungalow - is running 15mm pipework for bath/shower hot water & a 2nd 10mm hot water pipe for the sinks almost as good as HWC? 2 bathrooms and kitchen sink, longest run from DHW cylinder is ~10m to Bathroom sink / bath, mains water pressure is pretty decent at over 3 bar. At 4l/min flow out of the tap & 15mm pipe it could take 20secs to get hot water to the furthest tap (6-8sec if using 10mm OD pipe) Alternatively run 15mm pipe to shower and bath and a 10mm pipe to ensuite sink and then on to bathroom sink It does mean there are 2 hot water pipe runs to the bathrooms but they are not particularly long & a HWC approach would have a 2nd hot water pipe for the return anyway.

If siting batteries outside you may want to look at insulation within your available space - in general (not vendor specific) they really don't like charging when cold. Also there is supposed to be an efficiency penalty for low voltage batteries (48V) vs high voltage (300+) - I'm considering Fox ESS EP12s which are quite slim and have an inbuilt heater. Good luck and please do post updates/outcome - interested to read!

As home-owner battery storage capacity grows then a shift to time based export tariffs would seem to make sense for both supplier and domestic consumer - it would incentivise exporting domestic battery capacity back into the grid at peak consumption hours (EG 7-9am and 4-8pm exports get a premium rate) reducing demand spikes and better meet grid level needs vs the flat rates that have been available until now (IE consumer battery storage can be rewarded for participating in evening out grid demand). IIRC other geographies have stopped paying for export during daytime or sunny days.

I've had the opposite experience - NG suggested 3 phase from the off even when I'd listed the main loads which would have fitted within 80A 1P. Given it gives 3x the car charger throughput and 3x the PC export under G98 etc I'm very happy to go with their suggestion.

I've heard this 50% number a few times - anyone know does this apply to bungalows as well? Thx

Interesting discussion which aligns with the SWMBO conversation which boiled down to... - do conventional wiring with standard switches and sockets - use plug in smart switches in sockets where useful (we have used these in the current house for the past 2-3 years) - choose doorbells and CCTV that work with apps as well as Home Assistant - collect and display data from air quality sensors, MVHR, inverter, ASHP in Home Assistant Then there is no reliance on Home Assistant for current or future owners... without it you have conventional electrics and the standard control panels or apps for the MVHR, solar, CCTV etc

100% with you on there being no reliance on internet connectivity or cloud based services that vendors might retire/fail/make subscription based etc. Hence using Home Assistant and Zigbee/MQTT - no vendor cloud services involved and everything communicates and is automated purely locally.

If you are wanting to monitor liquid levels in a tank/inspection chamber then a ME201WZ Level Sensor might be of interest - can get wifi and zigbee versions, EG here I'm looking at this for monitoring rainwater tank level.

Has anyone found a good solution for securing a smart switch in a patress box and having a momentary push-button mechanism that can activate the central switch to toggle the switch / put the switch into pairing mode? It would be something like a dimmer switch but only needs the push-button, spring and plunger. Currently working through Home Assistant and Zigbee/MQTT with various sensors, switches & integration to convince SWMBO that an integrated HA based smart house can be made simple & fool-proof enough that she (and future occupiers) wouldn't be put off! Thanks

Following fairly encouraging pre-app advice on a bungalow backfill at our existing property we are putting a full planning application together hoping to self-build next year. As part of budgeting through the build I was wanting to get a handle on the various taxes we are going to deal with and associated timing. Here is my list and thoughts to date... CIL - £0 provided that exemption forms are submitted & acknowledged before work starts & at end (intending to live in the house for >3 years) VAT - one claim within 6 months of BC sign-off (+ zero rated supplies as you go) Council Tax - due once new build is habitable or signed off by BC? As we will own the existing property and the new bungalow for a while does one CT get charged at a higher rate? CGT - No CGT liability if existing property sold within 9 months of completing bungalow (Private Residence Relief), beyond that pro-rata CGT for the period beyond the 9 months based on an assumed straight line price growth from original purchase to eventual sale date Have I missed anything else? (of course some of this could change come Nov budget 🙃) Thanks

On fire safety GSE panel MCS certification includes Fire Classification BROOF(t4) part of BS EN 13501-5 - useful explanation here but TLDR is: BROOF(t4) No penetration of roof system within 60 minutes In preliminary test, after withdrawal of the test flame, specimens burn for less than 5 minutes In preliminary test, flame spread less than 0.38 m across region of burning and BROOF(t4) Unrestricted; can be used anywhere on the roof Back to filling the whole roof with PV panels... does anyone have experience of doing this with GSE half frame system on a sloped roof? GSE install instructions & configurator show 170mm flashing/finishing to each side + 160/150 bottom and top but then elsewhere show the detailing for straight to the gutter - a bit of a contrast to the architect glossy cover photo!