G51

Thanks - my first thoughts on heating/cooling is UFH downstairs and fan coils upstairs for that exact reason. I will keep reading and I am sure I will flip flop opinions many times yet - but I am starting now with a good couple of years before I break down so hopefully I can get to a good place before I begin. And yes - I have actually done two iterations of 'smart' homes, very much agree, a 'smart' home should be such that your Gran could walk in and use the house as intended without needing to learn anything, and not accidentally turning anything off stopping anything working. My lights currently are all wired directly back to latching relays, controlled both by non latching light switches and a microcontroller/relay setup for this reason.

Right at the beginning of a what will inevitably be a long journey. About to move abroad for work, but we come back we will be looking to be our first self build. Having already done some reasonably sized DIY renovations in our current house, I am beginning to do the relevant research to be in an informed position to start a self build. We will be looking to make it to the PassivHaus standards, and I am big into my tech so will be looking to integrate a lot of 'smart' home features. Currently have a lot of this, with ASHP, solar, batteries, automatically controlled zoned UFH etc so not brand new to all of it, but I have been lurking and reading up on other users success (and failures!) to hopefully try and learn and avoid some of the common pitfalls. G51.