Kevan Marshall

Hi Conor, Do you have Solar panels and out of the 2k have you worked out how much it costs you to charge your car? Kind regards, Kevan

Hi John, Was considering using radiators and was advised by warmflow to install rads in bathrooms and a larger radiators in living/kitchen/dining area without thermostat to act as a buffer and place some sort of manifold so water is diverting back to boiler and condensing so it is not running at low heat all the time as oil boilers do not like temperature output being turned right down, I may install underfloor heating at 300mm centres to future proof the bungalow and for aesthetics having no radiators, I shall be installing the cheapest solar panel and battery system to keep my electricity bills down but also I have heard in NI if you install one form of renewable you can install a gas or oil boiler, I shall try and get U-values as low as possible with building a SIPs structure, being as airtight as possible and minimising glazing that opens as my MVHR should help with that, I need to speak to concrete suppliers to ask about insulated concrete and speak to Mannok about PIR insulation to see what’s going to be the cheapest option, I have been in contact with ASHP installers but they cannot give me an estimate of running cost or installation cost but do try and give me the hard sell, my friend who built a conventional house for a customer about three years ago had ASHP and it has broke down already and is costing about 2k - 2.5k a year to heat a 3000 square foot house which was insulated with EPC A rating, to be honest the heating side of things is the most difficult to get sorted and also to get impartial advice, hopefully with advice on here from people such as yourself then I can make a decision of which route I am going down, this may sound very irresponsible but I am looking for the most straightforward solution instead of what my carbon footprint is, I would rather spend money on getting U values down rather than spend tens of thousands on expensive ASHP, also the issue in Northern Ireland is that there are absolutely no grants available for renewable heat sources… Kind regards, Kevan.

Hi, I am at the stage of planning a self build in Northern Ireland, the bungalow shall be a SIP’s build from Clays, foundations shall be strip foundations and brought up to floor level from sub base with cement screed/selflevelling grout with either PIR insulation or insulated concrete in between, I am hoping to get the house insulated to a very high standard and as near to passive for as cheap as possible, my issue is I stay in Northern Ireland and there are absolutely no grants available for renewables, I would rather spend money on triple glazing and more insulation rather than throw money at expensive heating systems that are overkill for a highlyinsulated house, I shall still need some form of heating mainly for hot water and for when it is cold in winter, I have read that even installing underfloor heating is overkill unless used in conjunction with ASHP as they are generating lower water temperatures, I can install biofuel LPG and conventional radiators but have to be careful not to overheat the property and may only need a few radiators in bathrooms and a couple of large radiators to act as a buffer to help the boiler, has anyone installed a gas or oil boiler in a highly insulated house and how do you find it, I shall also be installing Solar panels and battery system and MVHR, any advice would be greatly appreciated! Kind regards, Kevan Marshall.

Hi Jack, Thank you, I shall place the post in a different section!

Hi, I am at the stage of planning a self build in Northern Ireland, the bungalow shall be a SIP’s build from Clays, foundations shall be strip foundations and brought up to floor level from sub base with cement screed/self levelling grout with either PIR insulation or insulated concrete in between, I am hoping to get the house insulated to a very high standard and as near to passive for as cheap as possible, my issue is I stay in Northern Ireland and there are absolutely no grants available for renewables, I would rather spend money on triple glazing and more insulation rather than throw money at expensive heating systems that are overkill for a highly insulated house, I shall still need some form of heating mainly for hot water and for when it is cold in winter, I have read that even installing underfloor heating is overkill unless used in conjunction with ASHP as they are generating lower water temperatures, I can install biofuel LPG and conventional radiators but have to be careful not to overheat the property and may only need a few radiators in bathrooms and a couple of large radiators to act as a buffer to help the boiler, has anyone installed a gas or oil boiler in a highly insulated house and how do you find it, I shall also be installing Solar panels and battery system and MVHR, any advice would be greatly appreciated! Kind regards, Kevan Marshall.