joth

Possibly something like this? If you get room diffuser plenums with a side entry port, the pipe comes out horizontally so can run between joists under the loft board and come up in a more convenient location

🙂

I think there is a consensus: that it's not easy to get it right. What I've done in one room is share the AC outlet plnum with the MVHR pipe, so in essence they're separate systems right up the an inch from the grill face, but from the room side all you see is one shared linear slot grill. That's as integrated as I was comfortable with. (and only did this because the most convenient retrofit location for the AC linear grill was where the MVHR outlet already was in that room. Other rooms I kept them separate)

Quite, my comment was somewhat tongue in cheek

I think we'll soon be at the point so many heat pumps are installed without the required PP it will become broadly unenforceable to require it of anyone.

So, bit late now but fwiw I think this statement is one of it'll never pay for itself as it can't recover enough energy. But if you've already bought it, it's a sunk cost and justifying paying for itself is moot. It only needs to pay for the energy it uses to operate, and arguably if it's managing co2 and humidity to safe/comfortable levels it's already earning it's keep and any heat recovery is bonus. Great to see it revived, it's unfortunate you got put off the project last decade! One thought: if the gear or ducts have been lying around they maybe rather dusty inside, worth trying to clean any you can before installing.

Funny could have sworn PD only required compliance to the noise management aspects of MCS020, but it now says PD requires compliance with the full standard (or equivalent) including use of MCS certified equipment and installer. So, good luck finding someone to issue an MCS cert on an a2a install. Even though I don't think the standard itself specifically excludes them, the MCS cartel essentially blackball anything that supports cooling out the box, and their training doesn't cover it. Hence why it's disabled by default in UK a2w units. Get PP, no need for MCS, no limits on cooling. It's amazing you don't see more planning applications going in for AC isn't it?

Indeed, I mean the need for PP is possibly another reason why a2a is unpopular here.

Text book H&S right there

Possibly also the need for planning permission to install it? (itself rooted in that same distrust)

The title of this thread really does not reflect the content of the linked article. This is about property developers claiming UK has the biggest shortfall in the quantity of housing (relative to demand), not quality. In almost all cases, developers lobby for lower standards, to continue to build low quality housing, claiming it makes the product more affordable and thus is helping solve the quantity issue. In practice, many large developers sit on plenty of land ready for development but limit release of it in order to artificially maintain the high price of housing, while holding down the quality of housing built, all in order to maximise profits. e.g. https://www.mpamag.com/uk/news/general/stripehomes-biggest-housebuilders-increase-land-banking-by-4/389891

Permitted development rights excludes and heat pump used for cooling, so you need planning permission even if this was your first and only heat pump. You'll need to leave it on 24/7. I don't know what the duty cycle is on a cheap a2a split unit, but I'm guessing you'll need to factor in replacing/repairing it more frequently than usual. Note the DIY install ones are hard to get anyone to work on (at least in my experience, I've spoken to 2 FGas engineers so far, and both gave me the silent treatment after they found it's R290) In winter, it'd be preferrable to have the "outdoor" unit vent into the house, so the removed heat is heating up the rest of the house. Or just turn it off and blow cold air directly in from outside per BJ

Doesn't just depend on the voltages, but on whether some signals are for SELV or not. SELV and mains (or anything >50V) must not be combined in a single cable. Hence why Dali data lines are not considered SELV and must be treated as if they carry mains, despite being 24V, just as one example.

Understairs would be a lovely place for https://www.spiralcellars.co.uk/ Skipping that is one of our recurring regrets, but then we sober up and remember a wine fridge and a few more kWh cost nothing compared to excavating another story.

I've done 3 Loxone installs now, never used a single blind or light fitting made my Loxone and not had any compatibility issue adding 3rd party ones. Biggest issue is actually the lighting suppliers insisting I use their inferior mains-dimmed drivers when I can source better option at lower price. Anyway yeah 24v lighting has a general lack of options out there but I don't see this means a need to lock into loxones own products. Dali fittings work excellently fwiw

Ah yes I recall that now https://www.creative-solutions-direct.co.uk/blog/article/vinyl-wrap-for-total-renewable-solutions-air-source-heat-pump

Tbf that really depends more on the expected heating load (heat loss) of the property. Just cus it has a huge emitter kW capacity does not necessarily mean it actually needs to use that much (Obviously if you want to regularly reheat the property from cold, or blast heat in in a short window of time e.g. E7 cheap rate, it's a different matter, but a single cobbled together Willis heater doesn't sound like this is the goal anyways)

Then it all needs to be run in safe zones. Or do you mean to put low voltage done? The benefit of PoE is only one outlet and connector needed. Not sure what you'd terminate T&E at the wall with for low voltage connection without it looking a mess. The major cost of PoE is not the cable but the a switch with sufficient PoE budget. This is defo where a patch panel comes into its own (easily able to balance exactly which ports have PoE over time)

Undersizing can help cost efficiency, but very marginal on energy efficiency. It depends which efficiency metric you care about. A major downside or undersizing is it limits options to add more panels in future. A notable benefit is it maybe necessary to squeak in under G98/99 limits. I think these tradeoffs are much more relevant considerations in practice

You could try changing it back but you will have to wait until it is really cold to see the result It turns out the ecodan has an undocumented "feature" that it can PWM control the speed of the primary pump, so if this turns out to be an issue one option would be to use pwm speed control on that pump and in theory it will only run at full tilt (full noise) when it really needs it.

Most ASHP will have a number for max or startup current (in amps). That will be the number you need to look most carefully at, as a small gennie may struggle to respond to the sudden load. It'd be interesting if a small couple kWh battery could work well to reinforce a generator to cover odd peaks. Obviously if you have solar PV the battery comes into its own for this use case

If the controls are working then it should be possible, indeed preferable, to leave it "on" every hour of the year, and the system itself manage the buffer rather than the occupants having to understand it. The only control is the target temperature setpoint I'd fear a cut price ASHP install might be even more complicated to use and if the occupants treat it like a combi boiler it'll not give the desired savings.

Any particular reason why? Running it for longer at a lower temperature, no more than 30°C, should work out as lower running costs

I doubt anyone can beat this https://www.theguardian.com/global/2023/sep/27/london-apartment-block-that-deviates-from-plans-must-be-torn-down-says-council London apartment block that deviates from plans must be torn down, says council ‘Blight on the landscape’ in Greenwich lacks promised gardens, children’s play areas and accessibility for wheelchair users

Managed switch is useful if you want to setup VLANs and different SSIDs for different purposes (e.g. I have one with external internet access only, one with internal LAN access only, one with both) If you want to keep it simple, unmanaged switch is fine. As you have a reasonable sized 19" rack, I'd probably opt for the patch panel. You terminate the solid copper installation cable into that (with fairly simple punch down process) and then use flexible patch cables to hook each run into the Poe switch, or wherever else it needs to go