jimseng

@scottishjohn Yes. New builds are fully entitled to the BUS grant. I had very little problem getting my voucher, it has since expired though so I am going to have to applyagain. @LaChab That is similar to what my plumber told me today. I think he gets someone to design and supply a system and we install it, they sign it off and I get my BUS money.

@LaChab What is the umbrella scheme? Can you expand on that a bit?

I didn't fully understand this. Are you saying I can get the kit using the grant and don't need MCS sign off? I agree that MCS is a waste of time but don't the BUS grant people need it for the voucher?

I have had 3 quotes for my ASHP install on my new build. The cheapest was 10K for a 5k system but they have just come back with a re quote and it is now 12.7k, which is pretty much what the others came to. So I have got a bit fed up and decided to look at a DIY install. My plumber suggested he would do it last year and said I could get MCS sign off and claim the BUS grant and at the time I thought it was a lot of hassle for little gain. Since then I have established that the ASHP installation market is full of contradictions so I thought I should look at this again now I have more knowledge. I am building an efficient 3 bed house with MVHR, UFH on both floors with very high insulation. Total heat loss circa 3.3kw. The latest heat loss survey showed the heat output of the floors to be between 150 - 200% of requirement at a flow temp of 35 degrees. So I have always planned to run the system completely open loop. Total UFH volume on both floors is 105 litres so I have been advised I don't need a volumiser, which is a good thing as space is tight in the plant room. Now the thing is I have been quoted for a Samsung Gen 7 5kw unit and a Grant 4kw unit. I am planning on a 250l UVC. The thing is there are so many choices and brands so I thought I would ask you good people for some pointers as I don't know whether there is a huge difference between brands. Whether I should look at a kit etc. I am not actually going to do this myself, my plumber will but I am probably going to spec much of it myself. I am based in Somerset. Thoughts?

Hello. I had my BUS grant voucher issued in December last year so I think it is beyond the 6 months validity period so I think I might have to re-apply. I have yet to do any install of the ASHP and my property is off grid. No mains water, gas, sewage in this area. There is a BUS uplift to 9K coming in July. My heat pump installer says they don't think it applies to new self build properties but I want to check myself and I haven't been able to establish if it applies to me with my self build. Does anybody know or is it only where there is an oil boiler in existence that has to be removed to qualify for the uplift to 9K?

So just to jump back on this thread. I read on line that the fibre is passively split (passive optical split) in the box up the pole so contention can be an issue but since I am the youngest in this area, and I am eligible for free prescriptions, I don't think it is an issue given that the fastest speed available for this area is 1600Mbps. But as it turns out I rang BT and spoke to a different call centre person who conceded that it was odd that my address was the only one without a fibre connection so he spoke to someone and came back and filled in a form to have the situation reviewed. It just takes speaking to someone who is prepared to think slightly rather than read from a script. So I await their response. I have also joined the Openreach developer portal but I think that might be a rather complicated and cumbersome route, with risks for such a simple change in a database column. (i.e. the column with the header "FullFibreAvailable" simply needs to be changed from False to True). It's so frustrating that there is no way of communicating that the reason is simply that the house didn't exist when they set up the infrastructure and there is no link between the Royal Mail's database where my address is registered and the Openreach system. I am a persistent fellow though. There is practically no 4G here, nor gas or sewage. It is in the sticks so it is a miracle that my stepfather was able to get fibre as the ADSL line was 2Mbps on a good day.

Uh oh. I'm already down the rabbit hole. I'll try EE, in fact I'm like a dog with a bone so they will eventually have to capitulate.

OK. So this seems worth further pushing. If anybody has any tips on how to poke a hole in the BT/Openreach brick wall I am all ears. In the past I have found that the only way to get anywhere with BT is to write to the chairman with a complaint. Perhaps I will try that tactic first.

So there are 3 cables coming down the pole. 2 black flat ones and a round one with a yellow stripe. Does this picture make any more sense? This is a very rural area with only 5 houses along a 1 mile stretch. My step father's connection on the next pole along is up to 900mb so it would suggest there is bandwidth. I'm trying to establish if they simply counted the number of houses by each pole and allowed for that or whether they allowed for expansion. Do they run 1 fibre cable per house up to the pole or is all the data carried on 1 fibre channel up to the black box on the pole and distributed out from there? I'm trying to find out if it is worth pursuing because no service provider is going to do anything other than say what's on the screen in front of them.

hello. BT say there is no full fibre for my new build, except they installed fibre along the telegraph poles 3 years ago. Before I shout at them I want to ask if this connection point (pictured), which is next to my house can service more than 2 properties (which are already on full fibre). Is it a case of "computer says no" or is this connection point only capable of supplying two properties? I would be very surprised if that is the case but there are only two "round things" next to the vertical box. Does anybody know what goes on inside that thing? (I posted this in boffin corner but I think this might be a better place for this post)

Thanks for all the advice. In defiance of @dpmiller I bought the Bosch pair for £110 which I think is a pretty good price. I might get some bigger batteries but I quite like the light weight 2ah ones given that I am no spring chicken these days.

I wanted to ask about equipment height (450-1200 mm) and what it applies to. In my plant room I want to install a small Ethernet patch panel and network switch but wall space is limited. This sort of equipment isn't really supposed to be accessed on a daily basis and I can't find a clear guide as to whether it has to be within the 450 to 1200 zone and if someone can point me to a document that might show what does or doesn't have to stick to this rule. The electrician is installing the CUs at a certain height but what about my custom made box with 24v DC breakers? Do either the DC breakers or the network patch panel have to be at a certain height?

I feel like this thread has got away from me. Also. Now I want a bucket.

This looks like a good deal to me: https://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/bosch-gsb18v-21-plus-gdr18v-160-twin-pack-with-2x-2-0ah-li-ion-batteries-supplied-in-l-boxx-pid49483.html

I knew this decision wouldn't be easy. First: I don't know until I have to do it. I am building a house but up to now it has been the carpenter and stone mason doing most of the work, I haven't been so involved in the actual practical side of things. But now we are moving on to the inside, which is pretty much a shell and I am getting into running in cables and becoming more hands on. The first thing I had to do was drill a hole through from the first floor to the ground through 100mm of wood and then OSB. I realised a £50 DIY job from B&Q would struggle so I decided to look into getting something a bit better. I'm also going to fit my kitchen (off the shefl base units + frontage) and my house is a timber frame with stone cladding so not really looking to drill through masonry walls I appreciate the point about getting a drill and impact driver. The Makita DLX2145TJ 18v LXT Cordless Twin Kit that @jfb posted was more than I was intending to spend, but I am trying to narrow down what would be a long term investment and what would turn out to be a waste of money in the long term. There is this on ebay and local to me: With a couple of 4 amp hour batteries and a charger this might be in the region of £130 which is more my price range. it's a minefield! I appreciate everyone's thoughts and contributions.

Hello I'm building a house and it is a bit embarrassing having to borrow the carpenter's tools all the time. I'm was looking at the Dewalt DCD805 because it seems compact and has a hammer action for the occasions when I need it. I know this is a ridiculous "how long is a piece of string" question but I thought I would try. I'm not looking for something that can drill a hole through the stonework but I don't want to buy a cheap thing off Amazon and throw it away in a years time. I was thinking the DCD805 with two smaller batteries might be easier to hold than a single bigger battery. But that exclude Makita and all other makes. Anybody got a pointers or know of any super deals I can find?

Great. Thanks everyone. I'll carry on with my pretty panel.

Hello. I am trying to establish what the regs say about access to my LED drivers which I am installing in a cupboard set into the timber frame of my new build. The system is 24v DC (powered from solar batteries, there is no mains involved at any point). I am building a box set into the wall and the carpenter has suggested using some fixing where the front of the cupboard/box can be removed without using a tool. (Such as magnets). This is so we can make the panel as invisible as possible with no screw heads showing, it will be flush with the plasterboard and plaster finish and painted. I expressed concern about the whole access to live terminals without the use of a tool thing but I have only found ambiguity about whether this applies to 24v DC or not. Can someone point to what the actual regs say? One point to make is that in order to pry the front of the panel off one would have to insert something like a thin blade or screwdriver into the gap between the front panel and the wall to remove it. Perhaps that counts as the use of a tool? Regulations seem to be an art rather than actual rules.

Thanks for the responses. The electrician has already mentioned the matching brand to the CU issue but he is probably going to fit Hager stuff anyway as that seems to be his go to brand.

From the Geya web page: "Modular manual changeover switches are a unique solution that has a three-stable position switch I-0-ll " Hopefully I haven't mis-understood that, if so I am an even bigger idiot than I thought. However I have found a Hager unit which I think ticks UK electricians boxes. It is twice the price but not crazy: https://hager.com/uk/products/h/sf263-2-pole-changeoverswitch-63a-i-0-ii

This Geya unit seems to be a 3 position switch. They seem very little money. Anyone got anything to say about quality or UK standards? GYHO8 Transfer Switch 1P

Yes. (It already is, not going to be on grid for half a year)

Hello. My electrician was questioning the regs regarding changeover switches as he has not fitted one to an inverter before. I intend to have two changeover switches, one to connect my grid DB to the load output of the inverter in the case of a long term power cut and one to connect the load DB to the grid in case of an inverter failure. I know others on here have done exactly this so I thought I would ask for recommendations as to what make/model of switch people feel is suitable. My inverter is a 10k single phase and the supply breakers will most likely be rated at 63 amp. The electrician has always fitted large 3 position changeovers for large generator installations. His concern is whether there is a regulation that the changeover switch should have an off position, in other words a 3 position switch. I was considering something that would be along the lines of the image below, din mounted in a neat box. rated at 125a. However this unit is £17 + vat which he thought sounded cheap and nasty. It also seems to be a one or other position, not and on - off -on. Does anybody know if there is any reg or code of practice that prohibits this type of changeover for what I want to do? Any particular units I should be looking at?

I think the glass was in addition to a grill. Who knows what goes through their heads.

Thanks for the responses. I spoke to the BCO and he finally conceded I can have a vent in the bushes. (Surrounded by broken glass to deter rodents apparently). It was a struggle but he eventually referred to the regs and read this bit out loud: "Where there is no open ventilation on a drainage system or through connected drains, alternative arrangements to relieve positive pressures should be considered." Then said "oh, ok, I'll put a note in to say I have agreed it". That is another stressful issue ticked off the list.