Gone West

HVO should only be purchased for commercial use. It is currently around 10 to 15% more expensive than heating oil.

It's not available to buy as a domestic heating fuel, hence the government consultation.

The EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) aims to ban all palm oil in biofuels in stages by 2030.

I assumed so.

The previous government had arranged for a consultation on allowing the use of HVO as a heating fuel. As there had not been any progress on the matter I contacted my MP and the following is his reply. It would seem that HVO is not going to be considered as a heating fuel by the current government. Dear Peter, I have now had a response from the Minster for Energy Consumers, Dr Miatta Fahnbulleh MP and I have copied it here for your information: Thank you for our correspondence regarding the use of renewable liquid fuels in heating. I was pleased to read that your constituents are looking at ways to reduce their carbon emissions. Decarbonising the way we heat our buildings, including those off the gas grid, is essential for reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and combatting climate change. Our ambitious Warm Homes Plan will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps. For most off-grid properties, transitioning to clean heat will involve installing a heat pump as these are cost-effective, proven technologies. With grants of £7,500 available through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), and with a growing number of competitive heat pump offers being made available to consumers an increasing number of off-grid households are finding heat pumps to be an attractive and affordable heating solution. Evidence shows that heat pumps will work well in the majority of off-grid homes. Moreover, modern heat pumps, capable of running efficiently at similar temperatures to an existing boiler, can increasingly be used in homes previously considered unsuitable for electrification and without needing to upgrade their fabric or radiators, further simplifying the process and reducing the upfront cost of installing a heat pump. The Government has recently announced additional measures to support consumers with heat pumps installations. This included an extra £30 million for the BUS this financial year, and a near-doubling of budget to £295 million for the next financial year, so that more families can benefit from £7,500 off the cost of a heat pump. The Government is also reforming air source heat pump permitted development rights in England - including removing the “1-metre rule” - so that many more households can install a heat pump without needing to submit a planning application. However, the Government recognises that heat pumps may not be a feasible option for all properties. And we are committed to ensuring that there is the right solution for every household. We have therefore commissioned research to collect data on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes, including the use of renewable liquid fuels, and we expect to receive results from that research in 2025. We recognise that renewable liquid fuels, like hydrotreated vegetable oil and renewable liquefied petroleum gas, could play a limited role in decarbonising heat off the gas grid. As your constituents mentioned, the previous Government took powers in the Energy Act to bring in a Renewable Liquid Heating Fuel Obligation. However, Departmental analysis and other studies have demonstrated that sustainable biomass is a limited resource. We therefore expect to prioritise the use of renewable liquid fuels in sectors like aviation, and in the small number of homes that are not readily suitable for electrification, as these have fewest options to decarbonise through alternative low carbon technologies. Critically, we need to ensure that alternative solutions are cost effective for consumers. The cost of using renewable liquid fuels for heat is currently very high – especially compared to other heating solutions like kerosene or a heat pump. We are therefore keeping the evidence under review to ensure alternative heating solutions provide the best possible deal for consumers. Thank you again for writing and bringing this matter to my attention. Kind Regards, Ben Ben Maguire MP Member of Parliament, North Cornwall ES Livrel Weriniethor a-barth Kernow Gledh

At our last place we lived in an old bungalow and built a new Passivhaus in the garden so we were on site all the time and had services to site. Two things which made life a lot easier. At the end of the build we dismantled the old timber framed bungalow, after all the asbestos sheets which lined the whole inside of the bungalow, had been removed. We gave away all the timber on Freecycle and had the concrete crushed and we used it for the driveway.

Would it be possible to have a wireless camera looking at the post box which would notify you?

It was only used to water the garden.

I renovated a Victorian farm workers cottage back in the nineties which had the original rendered brick underground rainwater collection tank. The water was filtered through a double sand filter bed before entering the tank and then being pumped through a lead pipe to the scullery. The water in the tank, which hadn't seen the light of day for a very long time, was crystal clear. All I did was replace the lead piping with MDPE and replace the sand in the filter beds.

At our last place I also did my own testing using an Amazon test kit and then got lots of quotes to have it removed.

I used Bluclad board for my brick slip clad plinth.

Our frame was a 350mm timber I-beam portal frame which was fully clad with cedar with the exception of a brick slip plinth. The windows and doors were set halfway into the frame and were strapped onto OSB fillers fixed to the I-beam web.

+1

Yes it was.

Our windows were fitted with two rows of Compriband and foamed with Soudal Soudafoam Low Expansion foam. The windows were strapped to the reveals. I didn't use any type of airtightness tape or membrane and achieved an airtightness reading of 0.47ACH.

This thread has just reminded me that I bought a Secoh full service kit, for the old EL series pump, about six years ago. The part number is K-EL-60/80/100/120W/150W/200W. It moved house with me and it's been sitting around in the house for too long. It it's of any use to anyone I'll send it to them if they donate a tenner to Buildhub. Just let me know.

Our Secoh pump lasted eleven years before we replaced it, with another updated Secoh pump, which was more economical to run. I did use to turn the filter through 90 degrees half yearly and replace it annually. I also replaced the diaphragms every three years, just to be sure.

I think that looks like a good solution. I'm sure 50 litres of hot water is fine as an emergency supply, as 40 minutes recovery time is reasonable. Just read your last post. An aerating shower head would reduce the water use.

AFAIK the phosphate treatment will not have any effect on the anode eroding. The anodes are to stop the tank material from corroding where there is some possible damage to the interior lining of the tank.

We had Amtico LVT floor tiles laid in the bathroom and en-suite at our last place. I took a great deal of care preparing the floor so the fitter could just come in and lay them. When he looked at the floors he said he would have to do some filling and scraping. He spent quite some time doing this and at the end it was like a mirror. He said it was critical that it was perfect, as any imperfection on the floor surface would show on the tile. I'm afraid I can't help with floor primer but IIRC he used a knife, straight edge and roller, but I didn't see a soft hammer.

We are gradually replacing our windows and doors ourselves and are fitting triple glazed windows on the north facing wall. We are purchasing them from Modern UPVC Windows and the quality and price has been fine so far. They do a flush casement as one of their styles. https://www.modernupvcwindows.co.uk/upvc-energy-efficient-A-rated-windows.php

Welcome back. Sorry to hear about the problems. We've moved to the west country, so are a bit closer to your neck of the woods. I'd be happy to provide assistance but as I'm also in my 70s I don't think it would actually be much help. Hope it all gets sorted successfully.

Does the drawing show chamfered edges on the underside of the slab? Is that because there is a fillet on the edge of the concrete conduit or just where crud has built up.

Can't you buy a 30cm square concrete slab and cut it to size with an angle grinder.

God, that's grim. Mind you it's pleasantly warm compared to the temperatures in Calgary recently. I don't know how my daughter puts up with it, but she doesn't mind, that's youth for you.