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So I've decided to sand this conservatory down, getting rid of the paint and we'll also replace the beading around the windows. On that note, what is the best primer that I can use on this wood. It's been confirmed to me that it's a soft, untreated wood, and I want to treat it so that I won't have to deal with this for a couple of years. When it's primed and treated, we're going to use a good quality exterior paint. Suggestions please.

Very interesting. Looks like I'm going to just try and get the best fixed rate I can then.

I assume you've not gone with the smart metre either... What are the arguments about smart metres (or am I opening an enormous can of worms by asking)?

Would the 0:30-4:30 timeframe not help the ASHP and get the house warmer overnight?

Anyone heard good things about Octopus. They have an interesting tariff for charing electric cars (would work great for our ASHP): Off-peak unit rate (00:30-04:30):5.00 p / kWhPeak unit rate (04:30-00:30):14.63 p / kWhStanding Charge:25.00 p / day

In the next couple of months I want to embark on a new project and wanted to get some advice as I prepare. In our garage, we have an area of wall missing - please see photos. We were able to get some really nice reclaimed bricks, and I wanted to brick up that wall. As I've never laid bricks before, the objective is not to get a professional finish, as the rest of the garage isn't in that style anyway, but I want to get some advice on how to proceed. For example, do I lay a concrete base (foundation) to build on? The wall slants away, so is it OK if I follow the slant? Any other advice or pitfalls would be massively appreciated at this point. Thanks in advance.

Interesting article.

I've signed up for a two year contract ?

I’ve just this relating to Social Energy: They also have or had a director who was also associated at some time with the following infamous energy suppliers:GB Energy Supply Ltd - in LiquidationFuture Energy Utilities Ltd - DissolvedOur Power Energy Supply Ltd - in Administration Brilliant Energy Supply Ltd - in AdministartionOneselect Ltd - in AdministrationSnowdrop Energy Supply Ltd - in Liquidation

Their website is annoying as hell and I share your sentiment on their potential longevity. I wonder how social angle will impact of FiT?

Yes, we have PV so that’ll help. Will crunch numbers this weekend.

Are they an electricity provider?

I’m considering Economy 7. We work from home, so use a lot of daytime power. Will some maths. will pm you if Octopus is viable.

Anyone heard of or used Social Energy?

Thanks Jeremy. So if I leave OVO I will continue to receive FiT payments into the future. Correct? Interesting about Economy 7. Both E-ON (previous provider) and OVO told me to contact our DNO. How have Bulb in. I considered them a while back and went with OVO. Do Bulb have an Economy 7 meter?

Is anyone experiencing issues with RHI? I registered on 18 June and I’m still “pending approval”. I’ve followed up via email, and getting no responses. Is this normal?

Our existing energy provider is OVO. We pay 14.5p per kW and feed-in-tariff is registered with them. Our DNO IS Scottish Power and they won’t fit an Economy 7 meter. Our contract with OVO is coming to an end, and they want to increase our fee to 15.7p. I was going to shop around, and if I find a new cheaper provider does anyone know what happens to our FiT payments? Do I need to register again with the new provider?

Potentially ignorant question on my part, but why would/does humidity have an impact on interior house temperature? Are we talking about ambient humidity in rooms?

Amazing. DIY solar. Now that's aspirational for someone like me!

Thanks Dave - the smell has gone since the ASHP has gone in, but I assume it'll be back if the oil boiler has to kick in for a prolonged period of time, which I hope will not be the case. The oil boiler occasionally kicks in for 2-3 minutes after a cool evening and when the heat pump has not been called to heat anything overnight and we take a shower, so it 'spikes' our DHW. There is no smell in these cases.

The guys we purchased the house from said it was a couple of years old... and the way you've described it is fitting of our eau de diesel.

Maybe I made that sound worse than it is - there's an exhaust outside our utility room where the boiler is located, and when you're outside, and the boiler kicked in, you were hit with all these fumes which was not pleasant. Inside the utility room, there was a dieselly whiff, which we assumed was normal as the diesel was running through the boiler - we experienced similar smells with the gas boiler in our old house. They don't smell toxic, just not fresh. Nt sure if that's normal.

What is PIV? When’s the big day? We retained our boiler a back up, but it’s been awesome not having those fumes around the house any more. Do you have PV panels? good luck with your installation.

I’ve also done this. We have an iboost that takes us to 60C using ‘spare’ solar energy. My question is whether Legionaries disease is an actual possibility and threat if the tank isn’t taken to 60C on a weekly basis.

Were you referring to the control panel for the ASHP?