joth

It'll depend on the insurance company, ours absolutely requires all windows have locks, but they specifically say they'll honour claims if we forget to use them.

To the original question (can I DIY Loxone), the answer now appears to be a clear "No". sigh. At some point since I last looked at their webshop, they've locked it down so now only their Installer Partner network can order direct, and the rest of us have to purchase everything through a partner. At least they still have component prices listed on the website, but that surely can't last very long: next thing will be a hidden pricelist, installers refusing to supply kit unless they're also installing it, and being able to charge whatever markup they fill the local market or your specific project can bear. And then once installed, you're completely locked in with no way to DIY upgrades or maintenance etc. I'd already been paring back the functionality I was looking to use Loxone for, to just the most critical building services like lighting and heating, and was getting familiar with Home Asssitant for less mission critical stuff. But now they've pushed me away completely. Given the current situation, when work resumes I anticipate we'll just want to get the electrics done ASAP so I'll probably scale right back my ambition: make a future proofed wiring plan and come back to it another year with some kind of retrofit.

Some recent thoughts on the very subject here:

Appeal to keep builder's merchents open: https://www.insightdiy.co.uk/news/leaders-of-builders-merchants-offer-to-meet-with-government-over-potential-uk-support/8226.htm Which implicitly somewhat suggests they're closer to be closed down than I realized. This would be real hit for us; our renovation is currently back to the shell and open to the elements on 2 sides, we'd have to do some emergency boarding & shuttering if we should have to mothball the project due to lack of materials. (The building crew are keen to keep going as long as they possibly can)

Sorry I can't directly answer that but I definitely have read on here that there's different categories of permitted development, and even if your PP has a clause to remove PD for extending/improving the dwelling this doesn't remove the other classes of PD. I can neither find that thread nor remember the name of the author, but IIRC it was one of those helpful professional architect types that often help out on this board 🙂 Just to clarify: I have no idea if ASHP falls into which class of PD. That's the crux of the question AIUI

I don't quitefollow this, ASHP are still permitted development even in a conservation area, just a couple more restrictions (must not be on or in front of a wall facing a highway)

They will do, but it must be a graded alarm with an annual maintenance contract (recurring fee) from a registered installer that provides an "URN" reference number (one time fee) for the system. Any trigger must be confirmed (two different sensors activate) and is routed via an alarm receiving center (recurring fee) to triage. They have a three strikes policy for false alarms and such like. If you don't want to pay recurring fees, the best you can do is self monitoring with some sort of system that notifies you on your phone

It would be impractical and perhaps impossible to get a Tesla-battery qualified electrician to rewire my home if I'm not actually planning to install a Tesla battery at this point. I was hoping they'd say something more like "it depends whether you want to plan for a partial or a whole-house backup? Take a look at the UK version of this guide, and here's some additional information to help you figure what sort of backup you might eventually need".

Yeahbut my electrician's first question is "what is the Tesla MIs and their technical recommendations"....

@Dan Feist when I spoke with Sunamp they were adamant their own testing would be needed due to control systems (in)compatibility catching them out repeatedly with so many other ASHPs. I think I mentioned at the time they could just as well test with an existing Vaillant aroTherm ASHP as surely the control logic would be pretty similar. Agree with the other points. I personally don't care tooo much about the cost implicartions of a legionalla cycle. Between PV eliminating it in summer and an occasional blast in winter (or not, per other views on here) we're talking about pennies really. The hassle of getting formal G3 maintenance once a year is more of a motivation to go Sunamp, plus space saving, but offset by the lack of long-term reliability evidence. I'll probably continue to prevaricate and make a panic decision in a few months based on which suppliers actually want to talk to me at that point.

In daytime you need more primary lighting (direct, overhead e.g. downlighters) but in evening secondary/indirect lighting comes more into its own, so +1 to @PeterW's approach of using different temperatures in different lights. Another option we're looking into is dimmable LED bulbs that change temperature as they dim. There was a recent thread on this suggesting IKEA bulbs. Worth a look, very price effective and no extra control complexity needed. Last resort is bulbs that use Bluetooth app to adjust temperature or dedicated Dali fittings that have fully adjustable temperature. They're all are too fiddly or expensive (or both) for me to consider, but a colleague recently redid their whole house with temperature adjustable DALI fittings (controlled from Gira server and KNX) and love it.

Similar. For me internorm, GBS and Gaulhoffer were all similar sort of prices, but weru sufficiently more we didn't even write them down in the comparison spreadsheet. (Unlike OP we were specifically after timber+alu so YMMV)

Do something with the corner castings? No idea what, but my starting point is to design a grid/platform that bolts to all four corners and install on that, then see how to simplify that idea.

While you have them on the phone, ask if they have any published guidance for how to future proof/prepare a new build or rewire for later installation of their system. 🙏

Right yes it was early in the morning and I not enough coffee yet. I realize now I'd already found the 4.8 figure last month and commented on that upthread, and indeed already done the PHPP experiment too. The new UK spec matches the one previously published on the vaillant.nl website so same findings hold: we'd save 1.5kWh/(m2.a) on PER so about 227kWh/a or £35/a having this ASHP vs the Panasonic. (And discount the Daikin as both uncredible, and no cooling), and a bit more ontop from having lower heat losses of the Sunamp. Add on top there's going to be a delay until Sunamp have tested this new heatpump to certify its use, plus installer availability is so limited, I am leaning towards whatever presents itself as the most trustworthy/reliable option but still open minded it could be this setup.