Jimbouk

Apologies for a thread revival, but it is hopefully relevant. We are five years into build, still not quite finished…. However the Cedar cladding that was lovingly treated with two coats of Osmo when fitted, is looking very sad for itself. What to do next, sand it all down and start agian with some coloured Osmo to give the new look. Sand it down and leave it to go uniformly grey ignore… Have numerous other tasks to do, but it is looking shabby and I don’t want the cedar itself to deteriorate. The front elevation got a refresh a couple of years ago, it faces due South in Devon, so lots of sunshine and over looks an estuary so lots of exposure to the elements. I know this is a clear case of ‘well that’s what happens when you use cedar…’ Welcome thoughts and advice

I posted a couple of years back about reducing the electricity consumption of my condor bio digester, the general gist was it is pennies running it and not worth the risk and cost of damage to blower, if it gets blocked up with sludge during off periods. Made sense. Time passes, build still not finished… almost there, mvhc unit, en-suite, external balustrades still needed. I’m paying almost 50p kWh peak and almost 20p KWh off peak, average 38.5p kWh for the next two years. So the blower is now costing the best part of £1 a day, £365 a year The house is empty 80% of the time, so I’m think can I install a small scale solar system to just supplement the mains? Will provide most of the power whilst sunny and house and empty, and contribute a little when house being used. Yes with hindsight I should probably have installed a full scale pv system, with batteries and feed in tariff. I didn’t and don’t have the cash to do so now. Is it is simple as buying a couple of 12volt panels Victron BlueSolar MonoCrystalline Panel 115W-12V https://www.es-store.co.uk/product_details.php?product=PVC-PAN-VE-115MONO&description=Victron-BlueSolar-MonoCrystalline-Panel-115W-12V&cat_desc=Solar-Panels&cat_id=98&show_menu=3 Victron Phoenix 12v, 800va 230v Sine wave Inverter https://www.es-store.co.uk/product_details.php?product=PH%2012/0800-VE.D-SCHUKO&description=Victron-Phoenix-12v,-800va-230v-Sine-wave-Inverter---Schuko-Plug&manufacturer=Victron&mf=4 Then connecting them to the consumer unit, don’t worry as the level of the question suggests, I will not be doing it myself! This would appear to pay for its self in the next couple of years…. Looks too good… I just need to know if it is as simple as that before disappearing down yet another worm hole Seem to be able to find lots of info on solar systems for off grid camper vans and 5kw on grid, but not much for micro generation on grid. Any thoughts or guidance welcomed, or is it just a case of leave it alone and finish building your house…..

@LinearPancakesI’m embarrassed to admit they I still have not got around to buying one! So still deliberating…. I have been impressed in the current hot weather by how cool that house has been, one of the benefits appears that mvhr might negate the issue of mosquitos entering via open windows at night. Oh and that I need it to get building regs sign off

I have lift and slide as the only access point to our house, work perfectly. Only downside is opening a tall hole when wet and cold outside,

Interested as to why they cannot be used with Heatmiser thermostats?

Sorry for.being ambiguous. Both

As do I

@SteamyTea your map does not lie have Hyundai Nexo, really clever tech. Just wish it had a charger hybrid style battery, even one with a 50 mile battery range, would make it a sensible proposition. When we ordered it there was talk of more stations, COVID has only slowed that. Heyho joy of being an early adopter;)

Following with interest. We really need the infrastructure in place, but it is a classic chicken and egg situation at the moment.. Have a hydrogen fueled car and using it in the South West is a challenge to say the least. Refuelling at a hydrogen supplied home would be great, but the pressure at which the gas is pumped into the cars tank is immense and requires significant pressuriisation, see the refuelling gauge below.

B & D it is then. Hardest option to connect up, but I should be used to that by now! Might as well do it properly ;) Thanks for the advice.

Getting towards the end of my build... the time has come to buy the MVHR unit and install. Think I’m going for the vent-axia sentinel sx from BPC, although they look to be suffering post lockdown stock availability at the moment... Anyone actually got one in operation? My dilemma is where to place the inlet and outlet. The unit is going into the external plant room on the side of the property, on the inside adjacent to A and B. The prevailing wind is from the South West (where the gazebo is), the obvious and easiest is to put the extract at point A and the inlet at point B. But I have read that if they are not on the same elevation an imbalance can occur, or is that more the case of being on opposite sides of the house, rather than a plant room? Otherwise I could put extract at B and inlet at C ( or even D if a 2 meter distance between is too close and 4m would be better). The plant room is 4.6m long and 1m deep. Advice much appreciated!

I’ve now done the best part of a thousand miles in the Hydrogen powered Nexo and am impressed. Refueling is not that different to a pay at the pump petrol experience, albeit rather harder to find a station. Real world range is about 320 miles, performance is adequate for a suv size vehicle, lots of tech inside, comfortable. Biggest draw back is other drivers not concentrating on driving when they realise they have just seen a hydrogen car, it has a fairly blatant hydrogen themed wrap on it What I can’t figure out though is why they only fitted a 1.6kwh battery into it. This uses the energy from regenerative braking and provides additional power when required, if they had fitted a battery with a 50 mile range capacity to it, that could be charged to supplement range and /or when hydrogen supply was not available, then they would have had a real game changer.

I’ve got the Fakro z-wave roof windows and would advise you approach with caution. They have been a nightmare to get working with z-wave (there is no Wi-fi option), only got one to work from a Vera platform controller and that meant not being able to use the supplied remote controller with it anymore. The instructions are dire, they should be great but user experience is terrible. If someone can help me make them work properly then I would be a convert, as there is a strangely satisfying feeling being a 100 miles away from the house and getting an alert on my phone that as the room has reached 23 degrees the window has opened. Fly screens are a good idea though, I have a fear that a bird or bat will get in and the window will then shut, trapping it in the house.

Slightly off topic, but I have finally managed to get my Fakro z-wave roof windows to link to my Vera management system. Strangely satisfying being able to open my windows via my phone 100 miles away from the house, even better it is intergrated with the Heatmiser thermostats, so automically opens the roof windows when the room gets too hot.

Nick1c ,thanks. I recognise it may not be the most efficient way. However the house is built, has no PV or ASHP, it does have 2m roof overhang to the South West elevation, which works well in the Summer providing shade to the large amount of glass on that elevation. i have some supposedly remote control fakro roof windows, when I open the patio doors and roof windows it dumps the hot air quickly. However the fabric of the building still takes a considerable while to cool. Having a real challenge getting the Fakro units to talk to any form of z-wave controller (smartthings or Vera),had hoped to be able to remotely open them before arrival (they have an automatic closure feature if they sense rain). Thus is partly causing my concern that I don’t end up with a mvhr that does not properly work remotely!

Interesting, the manufacturers seem to make much of the different scenes, maybe it is just marketing hype... I was planning on leaving the system just idling whilst the property was empty, (which it will be most of the time as it is a holiday home) then turning up to a normal level when occupied. I’ve been surprised by the level of solar gain in the last few days, so was thinking we might want to purge the warm air before arriving. Equally I could be barking up the wrong tree!

Reaching the final straight, need to purchase the main MVHR unit. Was originally going to get an Adroit DV110 but the prices have rocketed, the Kinetic Advance SX looks a strong contender, however the limited reviews of the App on the Apple App Store do not seem very favourable... A key feature for me is being able monitor and interact with the MVHR when away from the property, (new build is over 100 miles away from main house) I've seen the Adroit in the flesh and used the 'cloud' function and whilst clunky it does what I need. Anyone actually got a Kinetic Advance SX, how are you getting on with it and the app?

Just realised I’ve been admiring your build as I drive out of Stroud most mornings. Looking crisp!

Great part of the world, we live between Stroud and Cirencester, although our new build is in Devon. Suggest you do your homework re planning consents....

@Russell griffiths indeed, I think I learnt to windsurf 30odd years ago very close to your plot!

Cash saving is not the driver! Main home eats 25kw a day of electricity on stuff. No electric cars and gas heating. When i I started out building this one as a holiday home, I was keen to keep as simple as possible, not putting in all the gadgets that I have at home. i’m monumentally failing and scope creep has taken control with a vengeance, to the extent fibre gets installed next month. Would prefer to not have another house munching power, particularly when I’m not there. Think of it as a slight twinge of environmental consciousness. prefer the Cirencester prices for breakfast. My normal breakfast haunt is Jolly Nice at Frampton Mansell. Unfortunately today’s hipster version cost £45 for two and the walls were covered in OSB, bloody Marys were involved though

@JSHarris simultaneous typing.. great advice. Think I might try 15 minutes off then 30 on.

@ProDave quite understand! Only prompted by the other thread running this morning... @Ed Davies sadly there is no option to turn down. Either on or off, keeping the aerobic bacteria alive is key objective. Especially as during the winter months it will be doing nothing for weeks then have 8 visitors for a weekend.... then nothing for a few more weeks. wondering whether it is better to do 15 minute on / off cycles or 1 hour or 2 hours. Guess it is a balance of wear on pump when it starts versus settlement.

Thread revival. Condor all installed and now been running for last six months. All good. Can confirm it seems to use circa 2kw a day. Noted that @ProDave was looking to install a timer to reduce consumption. Have you had a chance to do that? Or has anyone else? If so how, as simple as a three pin plug in timer from ikea? Our unit will only be used for a couple of weekends over the winter, so seems wastefully having it running the whole time, equally I don’t want to save £50 electricity only to cause it all to sludge up and fail! Thoughts and advice welcomed.

Tyke2 I relate to your adverse experience of ‘eco’ commercial buildings. I have enjoyed operating a number of Bream ‘very good’ designed by award chasing architects, then specified by value engineeers. Not a pleasant experience for the wallet! I vowed that that my build would be ultra simple, however I have ended up with ufh, mvhr and passive inspired design. The difference is that this time I am (vaguely) in control of the specifying and can directly equate to the benefits I hope to experience over future decades. I’m not procuring my solutions from the cheapest suppliers of obsolete or unproven products, nor am I buying cheap solutions with backend loaded maintenance contracts / Warranties. I would echo the keep the control side simple, I’m astonished at how little heat (and in turn control required) says the man with 8 zones....