Conor

EPS300 will be more than up to the job. Cheap and easy to work with.

Thanks. Do you have a link?

That would explain why I've yet to figure out the difference between a £500 monoblock unit from China and the latest super dooper Diakin offerings, apart from the extra zero.

I have seen some nearly new monbolck units on eBay for a few hundred quid. Almost worth it as an experiment as we know we will have low heat and hot water demands and alternatives for each. I think with the way ASHP is developing and flooding the market, can see the tech improving and prices dropping by the time we will be fitting one.

Anybody experience with them? Prices look great, just not sure about long term life (only 1 year warranty) and noise (52db). How does the tech spec compare to the likes of Daikin, mitsubishi, or Samsung? The COP for 45c dhw is about 3.4, reasonable? Otherwise, the 6KW version would be perfect for my heating (3 small ufh loops) and hot water (180l tank + solar PV immersion in summer). Any feedback appreciated. Could it be used for cooling? https://coolenergyshop.com/products/cool-energy-pro-range-6-24kw-stainless-monoblock-heat-pump-model-ce-h6

What you can do in cold periods is drain the pipe down to prevent freezing, then rely on your storage. I don't think any other type of pipe will help. At least duct the pipe inside a length of 63mm PE until you can get it properly underground. What kind of drop in elevation do you have from the burn to your tank?

That's brutal! 32mm pipe? I'd agree there's less chance of freezing under a heavy tree canopy, and the debris on the ground acts like an insulator, so wouldn't worry too much about those sections unless is seriously cold for several weeks. However, anywhere that is rocky is highly vulnerable to freezing, and you'll need to insulate and duct the pipe. MDPE pipes split badly and weaken through frost cycles.

That pipe will need to be a lot deeper or it'll freeze in winter. How long is the pipe? Looks like a lot of hand digging ??

ICF is now becoming a standard way to build a pools. Insulation and structure in one.

Some IPAs I've drunk recently taste like they'd dissolve anything...

Normal alcohol, or ethanol, isn't that great a solvent over water, infact they are very similar in terms of being a solvent. Isopropyl and isopropanol are totally different chemicals... And you really don't want to drink them! They are commonly found in nail varnish remover and are good at destroying various types of petroleum based products.White spirits is a petroleum based solvent and is good for oil based jobs, like grease and oil based paints. Acetone is another aggresive petroleum based solvent. Methylated spirits is just ethanol with a denaturing agent- methanol, and usually a dye.

In that case it'll be me climbing up the scaffold to do the work lol

Scaffolding/ working at height is the biggest H&S worry I have in our build. The safety culture amongst small builders here is terrible. I've been on the Facebook pages of several small companies that I'm intending to send tender packs to.... On every single one there are significant breaches of H&S regs and good practice that I will not tolerate on my build. Lack of proper scaffolding and edge protections during concrete pours being the worst. They are all at it. They are in for a shock when they see the H&S requirements and scoring in the tender...

Does kwickstage need a scaffolding tag like a normal scaffold job?

For a 300mm core, ICF will work out about £150m². Ordinary shuttered concrete will work out much cheaper as you can build the formwork yourself. We're building a partial basement and there will be an external retaining wall extending for about 4m out from one of the gables. It's my intention to build everything out of ICF for ease and speed - single pour etc.

Thanks everybody. I think a 4-5kw ASHP and 180l direct hot water cylinder is the way to go. Run it off PV during summer and E7 in winter. Slightly related, I've been browsing for PV and battery systems... I've noticed prices have dropped significantly since I last looked a few months ago. Is this because of the end of the feed in tariffs in England?

What's your project/ design? If we know a bit more or if you have drawings, somebody might be able to spot a way to keep sensible 2.4m ceiling heights and still be within your planning constraints.

Still waiting on planning permission so no further! I'm now leaning towards a 2-3kw system with battery storage. I can get 3kw on the roof. I think with our low accupancy (we both travel for work), balanced storage makes more sense than absolute production.

2.7kw is tiny is it not? That's a couple electric heaters. We've a total of 4 bathrooms, wardrobe room and a plant/laundry room that would have ufh. . Other half is also (despite objections) insisting on a wood burning stove! I'm sorely tempted to make the house "ASHP ready" (UFH loops) and just rely on E7 and solar for hot water and the stove and a couple storage heaters for heating for the first year. A gas boiler installation will be at least £2500 and an ASHP will be double. Heard so many stories from people with passive houses installing heating systems and never using them. We're on a tight budget and £5k saving is significant.

Go to decathlon, get those large beach towels that you wear to get changed in. Soak in water, throw into the freezer for an hour. Prepare for shocking, but satisfying cold.

Insane. As much as I like Wiltshire, I don't think I'll be moving there any time soon!

I'm working from home, got the bi-folds open. 23.5c which is same as outside temp. Would be pushing 28c if they were closed.

Two of the windows are high level letter box windows in open plan areas, other ones are in 1st floor bedrooms that have either Juliet balconies or skylights. I hadn't fully considered the water drainage and plastering upto the window... Sounds like more problem than it's worth. Might just go back to the idea of standard pvc frames with reveals packed out to his most of it.

People talk about future mass migrations of populations due to climate change.... assumed to be people from already hot countries that then become unlivable... but I can see the north of England, Scotland, and northern Ireland being invaded by sweaty southerners after today!

Thanks guys. I'll look in to it in more detail. In regards to removal of units in future, I could fit the external EPS slips first, install glazing units from the inside, and fix in position using internal timber slips (+ air tight tape)