joth

> Are decent air tight loft access points readily available off the peg or is it a case of knocking own up with copies amount of draught excluder as per normal? They are, Green Building store has one. Note that generally it's advised for the MVHR unit to sit "inside" the airtightness layer, otherwise there's a lot more penetrations in the airtight layer for all the room ducting (can be minimized by having a single pair of ducts come down into manifolds on the warm side). Also depending where the insulation layer is, the MVHR is likely more efficient if it's in warm area (total length of warm ducts in a cold loft generally higher than the length of cold ducts line warm loft)

Ducting. Conduit. Easy to access service voids that you can pull new cables through as and when you need to.

Vivreau have a drinks tap with all that, but you'll need a separate kitchen sink mixer tap. And likely a large budget; they don't publish prices, and I dread to think what the running costs are (we have them at work, and the cupboard its plant is in is permanently at a stupidly high temperature, of course making the built in fridge next to it work harder too)

I hadn't thought about it much before, but now see to get the difference, but interdependency, between blacking out the room (blocking out light from external sources -- even at night time, you don't want the streetlights etc shining in) and blackening a room (black paint/panels to walls and ceilings). I gather every bit helps, but it's only by doing both you get the benefits of HDR and a projector with the darkest blacks & shadows, but at the same time if you do do that you can then get away with less lumens. For the rest of us, it's all about brighter bulbs and forget the deepest blacks and HDR. This review draws the correlation between the colour of the projector itself (white vs black) and whether it's suited to "lifestyle" vs an obsessively blacked out and blackened installation ?

I'd not seen the distinction of cable ducting vs conduit called out before (I had probably used them interchangeable) so thanks for this. I want to build in ability to re-cable certain things -- mostly A/V and, bizarrely, but thanks to current state of smart home tech, the light switches -- so knowing whether I'm looking for conduit vs duct to be chased into walls or burried in voids is most helpful.

This stuff is polyethylene and the datasheet recommends it for use embedded in concrete pours https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/FXKVR63.html (Interestingly it doesn't claim suitability for stud walls, ceilings or screed. I guess those are too vulnerable and ducting should provide more protection)

This page has some useful guidance. At one point I thought it was an actual British Standard, but it's just a company name but seems fair enough. https://britishstandardcupboards.co.uk/design/process/design/

@Moira Niedzwiecka thank you! Not a bad price for such a big worktop With this info I found this blog, from another worktop installer, saying great things about Cullifords; the sole UK distributor and leading fabricator of Sapienstone. Looks like they have a showroom -- a trip to Kingston on Thames maybe on the cards.

Hi @craig These do look great. Do you have cross section drawings (similar to JSHarris posted above) for how the blind recess is detailed into the wall/window opening of the Roma/Gaulhofer venetian blinds? The two things I'd like to research are: how set-back do the windows need to be in their reveals for these to be effectively hidden in the lintel, and how much impact will they have on that part of the wall's thermal insulation. Our 4 WSW facing windows are in a new-build wall so should have the flexibility in placement to facility these, but we have one SSE facing window that is in existing wall (due to be externally insulated) so bit more constrained on making it work. As I mentioned on the phone the other day, we're also in a conservation area, and our architect was sufficiently concerned that this was the one thing we omitted form our planning app. Now that that looks like it will be accepted, and we're much further down the line on selecting windows (???) I really want to see about at the very least designing in the facility to add these later. Cheers

@Moira Niedzwiecka Also interested in this, if the company has a showroom in Kettering? We aren't so far from there and would like to see it in person. Can't seem to find many stockists by searching. (several that seemed to have stopped dealing it though, which is a bit of a concern) Thanks

Really useful, thanks. @JSHarris you also have active cooling in the downstairs slab, so more chance for the MVHR to "keep up". We are more seriously considering ASHP now (just weeks after I declared it out totally of the question) so the cost of doing that might be offset by the cooling improvements it adds meaning we can save on overly complex automatically opening windows (with 8kW of PV, daytime active cooling can be considered much less of an decadence now too). @jack this is a fantastic point. It's of little consolation to know the rest of the house is cooling down superbly overnight, if the bedrooms are not part of that stack design and stay relatively stuffy and hot. We're getting quotes on Gaulhofer windows, looks like they have an external insect screen option, I'll investigate adding that to the bedroom. Perfect timing! @Ferdinand definitely ... automating the petWalk is not a problem, technically. The concern (that the executive calmly pointed out to me) is it allowing foreign feline visitors into the house. I'm not sure the motor moves the door fast enough to slam it shut if a motion sensor detects an uninvited guest approaching (and if it was fast enough closing, there's a risk of it becoming a bit of a kitty catapult)

as in: how do you stack vent? I get the general idea, but wondering how people in highly insulated / passive houses use stack venting in practice? Remember to open a window overnight? Electrically opening window somewhere low down? Don't bother -- the air circulates well enough? some other forced air input? something else? Our scenario is unexceptionally shaped 2 story house plus some vaulted loft area (over the main hallway) planning an EnerPHit retrofit. We're having to make window selections now before tendering etc. as PHPP modeling is blocked on it - at least plausible placeholders. We have 2 skylights planned in the vaulted loft over the hallway. These will have to be electronically opening. So that lets the air out, but where is the corresponding inflow of air going to come from? I'm keen to automate this (inside temp over 25 degrees, outside is cooler than inside, no rain -> vent). Presumably I could put the MVHR onto boost mode (maybe cutting that off at 10pm - 6am). Our ideal is to have a small downstairs window that can also electronically open. Sourcing such a thing is tricky, I'm getting a quote from Schüco for AWS90.si with electrical opening, but already anticipating I won't like what comes back... Also, the idea of leaving downstairs windows open overnight concerns me. I did consider doing something with the attached garage (maybe put the petWalk through to it, and program to leave open for venting!) but realized that even though the garage is on the northwest side of the house, the garage will likely be too warm, and too restricted airflow to be useful. I found this, but poor U and terrible airtightness makes it a non-starter. Do others in similar situation find stack venting works well enough even without downstairs window open? Or... some other way of forcing in a larger volume of air. I'm fully expecting consensus to be we just suck it up and commit to doing it manually ? but still interested what others do in practice?

Great write up! As discussed here too, for our house today vs with the planned EnerPHit, the difference is over £3000 reduction if done after renovation. (double that for GSHP). This trick feels "dodgy" but a few installers have indicated it's part of the intended model to encourage ppl to improve insulation and feel good about it as they're 'beating the system'. Some gotchas: - you need to first do the minimal improvements (if any) required by the current EPC, even if that is "throw away work" (e.g. installing loft insulation prior to converting loft...) - doing afore mentioned temporary improvements will require a new EPC to be done, and the RHI likely reduced based on that improvement - the payments will stop while house is unoccupied while renovating (and I assume those payments "lost") - if unoccupied for >6 months the ASHP will need to be metered and payments reduced (as based on actual improved usage rather than old-EPC guesstimates) - if the heating system gets "changed" in the renovation, ofgem need notified and potentially affects the payments (not clear what constitutes a "change" here. Moving pipes? changing rads to UFH? etc..) To get around the "unoccupancy" and "changes" snags, my <redacted to protect the innocent> had the great idea of getting the poor-performing (but no work required) EPC issued just before the renovation, but don't install the ASHP yet. Instead, do the full renovation, install ASHP, apply for RHI but use the EPC from before the works. An EPC is valid for 2 years, and nothing in the RHI seems to require it reflects the "current state" of the home, just done at some point in the last 2 years. If we do go down the ASHP route (purely for Co2 reduction, not economic, reasons) and happen to be using a MSC installer anyway (e.g. they also do our PV) then we might as well do this. Just requires us to get that extra loft insulation put in now, and respin the EPC. Edited to remove the penultimate paragraph. Not sure if it's been recently updated, but the RHI guide does specifically state the EPC needs to be a true representation of the state of the house when the ASHP is commissioned: "Your EPC must include a heat demand figure and must be less than 24 months old at the date of application. Your EPC needs to accurately reflect information about your house, so if you have undertaken construction work on your property you may need to get a new EPC to ensure it reflects your circumstances." In our case, the renovation includes changing the floor area so a fairly clear case that it would need a new EPC issued. Just comes back to the fact this whole incentive is broken: someone spending money to fundamentally decrease the energy used in their (non-renewable heated) property should get just as much (or more!) subsidy as someone switching energy source in a crap building.

The page break got in the way - to clarify, this is about Roof Maker? And was it incredibly expensive compared like for like to other manufacturer(s) (which?) or just the whole "high quality triple glazed windows are intrinsically damn expensive" shock same as I'm finding on a regular basis right now ?

The problem is, a home is not a discretionary purchase. Everyone needs one. There's a very limited supply. So people accept it's entirely a seller's market and just make do with the least worst option they can find. So long as the location is good, everything else can be fixed later... It actually reminds me a lot of the healthcare industry in the USA. Everyone knows they're being robbed blind, but still play the game as going without health insurance is just not an option.

Just found https://roof-maker.co.uk/rooflights/flat-rooflights/fixed-flat-rooflights/ they have one on clearance too. (See also I'm seeking anyone with Roof Maker experience over here!)

Anyone heard of / got experience of "Roof Maker" rooflights & skylights? Luxlite for pitched roofs Roof lights overview - inc fancy stuff like sliding lanterns and a round one Quoted U values are good, typical best cases in the 0.6 area. Remote control opening and blackout blinds as an option. Targeting the Passive House market. 20 year warranty. Made in Leicester, UK What am I missing?

(Strangely didn't see any these replies until now - sorry!) Thanks! I hadn't heard about the difference for communal areas (I thought that was more about shared-use passegeways in apartment blocks, but maybe totally confused!) Thanks - hadn't seen Lamilux before, I'll have a look. And, congrats on the build. Looks amazing!

This would be my approach too (given I already have a few Chromecast audios) To avoid fiddling with a phone (or shouting at Siri), I would use my server that is on 24/7 anyway to watch for the chromecast to powering. on and automatically send the cast command to it using https://github.com/barnybug/go-cast (or with home assistant if feeling fancy). In fact, this thread has inspired me to give that a go. (~10 years ago I used my squeezebox as an alarm clock on R4 for much the same purpose. I still have the squeezebox, but their server software is a pile of steaming Perl and I have no inclination to going back to running it)

Welcome! Looks like you're just down the road from my In Laws. pun intended? (sorry couldn't resist as I just listed to this yesterday)

The FCA call it "Authorised push payment fraud" (in case you ever see this term and wonder what it's on about).

For canvasing local support, perhaps make a case that a new build can go up in a fraction of the time of a restoration project. All said and done most neighbours care far more about disruption and eyesore of the works themselves than the finished article, so I saw this convince 6 neighbours of a local application to make statements of support. "Please just grant permission so we can be rid of a permanent building site". (this was for *retrospective* permission to demolish a locally listed £2M house in a conservation area. Ballsy approach to say the least. There core argument was the old building was poorly built/unsafe and the new would be much better standard) Local support on its own won't sway planning/conservation officer but does wonders to negate any negative complaints against the plans.

Does anyone have experience or opinion of installing ashp on a poorly insulated home (but that meets the requirements re loft and cavity), and then improving the insulation afterwards? I read up on RHI and looks like any subsequent change to the heating system is notifiable event and would involve reassessment of payments, but they don't seem to mention anything about improvements to the home. In our case it'd be about £4000 difference (or 9000 difference for gshp) if we did it before or after the EnerPHit work. (Less a few hundred on a totally pointless temporary upgrade in loft insulation and new EPC issued)

If you happen to be installing SolarEdge optimizers anyway, do so at the same time as the panels as they have a "Safety & Monitoring Interface" thing that keeps the module output at 1V until hooked up to an inverter, which is nice feature if the panels are going to be sat for a while.

A cheaper option might be something like Hager – 3250616411265 for the Loxone and SELV kit along side a conventional CU box. (That hager box is not IET regs compliant so can't house the RCD etc). I'm sort of planning this approach. In fact, I've already ordered that cabinet just to house my "test rig" that I'm experimenting with prior to starting any works. Regarding audio gear -- I'm steering completely away from the Loxone solution. It's very expensive for what amounts to a bog-standard PC running a slightly tweaked version of the old Squeezebox media server (which was Opensource software so pretty ripe them charging so much for their closed-source encasement of if) (and it's really long in the tooth -- my 13 yr old SlimDevices squeezebox was retired several years ago now). The real decider was when I looked on the back of their media server and it's just a bunch of analogue 3.5mm stereo jacks on consumer grade sound cards (inc. the motherboard's built in one). They expect you to run analogue cable from it to all the amps and speaker cable from there to every room. That's literally how I did it in my student digs prior to buying that aforementioned squeezebox device, decades ago. But if I was using any of that, I wouldn't want it anywhere near the mains distro area. AFAICT the only nice selling point (if you like that sort of thing) of their media solution is it is easy to have spoken announcements through it when other events happen in the house. (Alarm set, phone ringing, "time for tea", etc etc). I question if that feature is worth that much lock-in: in fact the marque of a good home-automation system should be how well it integrates with best-in-breed of other maker's gear for a given function. [Disclaimer: I was given a Loxone miniserver by a colleague who was going to use it, but then decided to go all-in with Gira KNX system. I'm searching for excuses to do the same, despite the major budget hit!]