Thorfun

yes, we're having an ASHP, but it will be situated quite a long way from the MVHR unit which will be in the basement plant room, so I was looking at an all-in-one solution as it would be simpler, albeit more expensive. but I'll check out those other options and see if the distance from ASHP to MVHR would be an issue. yep, agreed. which is why I will eventually do my own calculations and then source the correct unit! I like to get quotes to compare options but it doesn't mean I'll be forced to use one of them. the same as @Dan F suggested. thanks. I'll definitely add them to the list of things to research if the distance between the ASHP and MVHR isn't an issue.

this topic's revival is timely as it's something I'm looking in to at the moment. trying to plan out our MVHR system and we want some cooling. not air con but the ability to take the edge off hot days. we're planning external blinds to reduce solar gain and may not ever need the cooling but we'd rather we had it and not need it than need it and not have it (although that is an expensive way of thinking!) I've seen these Komfovent RHP units on BPC which seem to fit the bill, albeit they are pricey. https://www.bpcventilation.com/komfovent-rhp-600-u but then there's these coil coiling units by Quiet-Vent that seem to offer a similar thing but in a separate unit. https://www.bpcventilation.com/quiet-vent-comfort-cooler anyone had any experience on either of these? (please note, I've not done any calculations yet as to the sizing of the MVHR unit but 3 quotes I've had so far seem to think I need 2 x units so using the RHP units could end up really expensive, unless I use one of those for the upstairs bedrooms to take the edge off for sleeping and a normal MVHR for downstairs and the basement. but I will perform the calculations to see if I can use a single large unit at some point soon)

@Bitpipe do you think a 300mm service void would be enough to get the ducts up and turned at 90o out through the external wall? from the photos it looks about what you have in that cupboard.

perfect! sounds like the best solution all around as the vents will be pretty much hidden from normal view. I'll speak to the architect about moving increasing the larder size to accommodate a service void which I can use to run the radial ducting down through to the plant room as well as lots of other stuff!

this is the direction I'm now thinking of going. our larder is above the plant room so I can create a 300mm service void between the larder and exterior wall and run the vents up there and out the wall. the only potential issue is that the area external is not very wide (maybe 1200mm) so I wonder if the distance between the vents will be ok and also it's very sheltered so will it get the fresh air. here's a picture of it. what do you think? a suitable exit? would be around about where the RWPs are so they'd need to be moved.

thanks for the response. our basement is fully submerged so we don't have any side that isn't below ground. I was thinking about putting the MVHR in the loft space above the master bedroom dressing room and vent through the roof but it's a heavy bit of equipment to lug up a ladder in to the loft! but that might be the best solution. although I will see if it's possible to build a service void from the plant room to ground floor level. just another decision to add to a long list of decisions that need to be made.

I'm just starting my MVHR research and also obtaining quotes. I also have a basement planned with a plant room in the basement and one thing I can't get my head around is if the MVHR unit is in the basement where do the fresh air and exhaust vents enter/exit the building? do they go up to first floor height and then out through the wall? in which case aren't they a bit big to fit within the wall as they go up? or do the exit through the basement wall and then go up to the ground level and poke up like periscopes? which would look a bit odd and I'd need to cover with some kind of shrubbery. can anyone post pictures or drawings as to how they've got their basement sited MVHR unit incoming/outgoing vents located?

yay for me! but boo for you. I knew it had to be a ridiculous amount. I recall the UKPN guy came to my house and we discussed the costs for our road closure for the work (single lane road) and mentioned about the astronomical costs in Brighton. so, I'm really not surprised.

I guess I'm the only cynical old git on here then! everyone else's guess seems reasonable when it comes to dealing with councils and parking.

Parking in Brighton is a nightmare and extremely expensive. So I’m going to say they’d need 3 parking bays booked out for an entire day. And then add a nice council ‘fee’ on top. And then an admin fee. Then a notification fee. All-in......I reckon £1800.

Thanks @Rob99 I’m sure I’ll be in touch a little further down the line when I have time to dedicate to the planning of the home automation. I notice you’re in West Sussex too, which is convenient.

I had pretty reasonable quotes for external Warema blinds from https://cornerstaraluminium.com and https://www.brightablind.com. I wouldn't discount them entirely.

ok, makes sense. best of luck with it all! I hope you find what you need at a good price.

ahh...ok. they don't do full aluminium! ?‍♂️ I'm surprised that IdealCombi are expensive. they were one of the cheapest quotes we had.

the sliding doors will add a lot to the quote as they're more expensive than French doors. good luck. Norrsken are great quality windows and we're very happy with our choice. (just for clarity we haven't started building yet but we saw the windows at their showroom so have no real-world experience with them....yet)

our large gable entrance hall windows and doors from Norrsken (alu-clad triple) came in at around £11k (excluding VAT and fitting). drawings of it are attached. think it's about 32m2 in total.

thanks. I'll happily give an idea of costs once/if I get a quote back from the installer. I have a few months before I think I'd need to make a decision about this whole thing so it's on my list of things to research. every little bit of information I can get from threads like these is priceless.

thanks for the information. I was passed to a local installer by Loxone head office and that guy said that he would build the cabinet off site and come and do the installation and then leave me to it. but I'm pretty technical and confident I can do it myself so would prefer to buy the bits myself and put it all together. sounds like you've got a good arrangement with your installer though. nice to have the backup if required! I'm very interested that you've gone for DMX lighting. I also thought that it was expensive when compared to standard lighting controlled by Loxone but from your research it would seem that I have much more research to do on the matter! it's probably the lighting that is the area I probably need most help with, the rest of it seems pretty straight forward.

@joth out of interest, who supplies your Loxone equipment now it’s not possible to buy direct? nice cabinet btw!

welcome and good luck with your search for a plot!

ahh, yes. the 'pour buckets of bleach in to the drains' scenario. hadn't thought of that! thank you so much. I'm glad I read these threads and will go back to the civil engineers with the request that all ACOs go direct to the water course.

ok, so if they're not near the driveway or garage it would be ok to drain to the RWH tank? our one is at the back of the house by the door leading to the patio

apologies for resurrecting this thread but @Bitpipe I've seen it mentioned a few times while investigating rain water harvesting that ACOs must drain separately to the soak away. can you please explain the reasoning behind this? I ask because the Civil engineer designing our drainage has the ground floor ACO feeding in to the rain water harvesting tank but the basement ACO being pumped to the water course. before I go back and ask about this discrepancy I thought I'd ask what your reasoning was for the statement.

I had a quote from brightablind.com. pretty good price from what I can tell. I asked Corner Star for a quote as well but they've not got back to me. this was a good reminder to chase them up! ?

good points. I might contact the oft spoken about SE on this site. my GI report should be with me next week so I'll have the exact details of what's underground then.