Onoff

I still think Government is set against widespread fuel efficient homes/cars as it risks losing revenue on a massive scale. Whoever invents small scale point of use hydrogen generation or similar from good old H2O is on borrowed time. Conspiracy theorists say it's already happened. Check out the Paul Pantone and Stanley Meyer stories.

Like I said earlier just done £900 on oil (no gas). That's without leccy. About £2K a year here. With my boy at uni i.e more space and his room spare I often half consider putting a scaffold over the whole place then redoing the roof then re-jigging the dormer to temporarily include a kitchen and living room. Then gut downstairs in one hit. Blitz the exterior and go 3G / EWI. It's only having to do a day job and the lack of £££ stopping me!

I'd love to go passive but I'd want a traditional, "solid", feature exterior like maybe @sussexlogs with all the flint detailing. You MUST have a partner who is willing to buy into it. Best I can hope for without a major windfall is a slow, torturous raft of improvements on what I have.

Would considering Part M be sensible and put it no lower than 450mm? (As in socket heights). As well as accessibility considerations, too low and you could be taking in "fox wee" smells or dust from vermin droppings.

The old adage of keeping to the floor in the event of a fire. Makes sense. How about switchable main intakes on different sides of the house according to the prevailing wind?

Is the Guardian a lefty paper? I really can't get on with it.

Isn't being able to hear the black helicopters unlikely due to their sound suppression characteristics?

Just imagine the scenario where an "enclave" of relatively high disposable income inhabitants, maybe some envisioned retirees, all had passive type builds. All with pv, ASHP, GSHP etc. Collectively the Government are going to be getting sweet FA back in terms of tax on fuel. Self builders with an eco slant were once considered fringe hippies. Now they're a threat. Likely those rural areas will attract the type who wants to self build and go passive / MVHR. So you make wood burning attractive. Let's face it the Tories if serious about the environment wouldn't have killed the FiT rates. You could eventually enforce the burning of "approved" fuel by limiting supply etc. Equally you could tax it like any other fuel. Big Brother is not interested, at it's core, in individuals freeing themselves from reliance on fossil fuels. They will rig the system to address diminishing taxes, such as with the FIT rates and making technology prohibitively expensive. I think some relatively arid states in the US have banned the storing of rainwater. At it's simplest water is a potentially taxable commodity. They will accept a few doing it but not the many! F***! I can hear the black helicopters....

Read the Guardian article!

Don't be so quick with you're apology to the nimby, AGA set! (Said tongue in cheek). Not that I read the rag, I'm a Times man, (or Viz ) but I found this: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/06/eco-guide-to-heating-your-home I vaguely remember reading prepped type plans for building fallout shelters and I'm sure they advocated making air filters stuffed with wire wool....

The FiL burns ANYTHING inc MDF and chipboard in his wood burner. Periodically has to decoke the boiler flue. Nasty!

Wrong place to post I'm considering a WASTE MOTOR OIL burner for the garage..... Good place to burn tinned fish and frying pan oils too...

So the moral is always have a ground floor shower!

That's got be a risk albeit a small one if somebody "had it in for you" and decided to feed something nasty in via the MVHR intake.

At work we would leave an aerosol can lid in the fridge. Half filled with instant coffee granules it seemed to take up most smells.

I posed the question of MVHR sucking in "smoke" a while back. I wonder if you could bring in outdide air via say a water bath to filter the particulates? More the worry is drowning in an airtight building if a pipe bursts and you sleep on a futon! Presumably it'd only ever get as high as the lowest wc?

Isn't he aiming to increase revenue from Council Tax by allowing Londoners to build willy nilly in their gardens etc? Should be a lot easier to get PP in London now as councils will have to hit quotas. The cynic in me says the housing need is in part being met by the "beds in sheds" landlords and his plans will legitimise this to some extent with retrospective approvals.

Try also Viber. You can call landlines too. We use it in preference to Skype or Whatsapp to talk to the boy at uni. Quality is streets ahead. Viber to Viber over WiFi is free. https://www.viber.com/faq/

Just done £900 on oil! If we're lucky that might see us through until Spring. Friday night and I'm sitting in the lounge with a bobble hat on wrapped in a blanket. YES the boiler is working and CH is on for all the good it does. You know it's Christmas when you can sit and watch the ceiling decorations gently swaying in the multiple draughts. If it wasn't for this place I would have thought that's just what you do in the winter. Ah! There's the comforting sound of the boiler short cycling, aka pi$$ing money through the gaps in the "-----" (fill in walls / ceiling / floor) as appropriate!

@oranjeboom, can I ask where you sourced your EWI materials? PM me if naming names is an issue with the mods. Cheers.

So from a quick look and connect up it's a 3 speed motor with a "0.18m3/s nominal flow rate". It certainly blows some air out! Maybe not for the bog then, don't want the s*** hitting the fan.

Just in case anyone thought I was on a wind up ref rubbing conduit with a "rag" to bend it. It was my college lecturer recommended nylon knickers specifically! SWMBO: "Why and WHOSE are these in your glovebox?" Me: "I was wondering where they went, they live in my leccy bag love!"

Going horizontal between sockets saves cable.

I've a 'removed due to a combi being fitted" copper cylinder c/w immersion you'd be welcome to but you're not exactly around the corner!

So what can I use it for?