Gone West

There is a large variation in types of uPVC window profiles. In my PH I had triple glazed Rehau Geneo frames which were insulated. The standardised figures were Ug value = 0.5 W/m²K Uf value = 0.77/0.78 W/m²K Uw value = 0.67 W/m²K

I've had two cards in the post and a phone call in the last two weeks asking me to have a smart meter.

A while ago I was thinking about an LPG generator, for heating and lighting only, for when we have power cuts. Honda make small dual fuel generators that would be suitable. I was going to have a seperate circuit just for the heating. https://www.geargb.co.uk/search/LPG-Dual-Fuel-Generator

Another one. https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/home-grants/article/insulation-grants-aGAZv8p9hGkY

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/home-grants/article/insulation-grants-aGAZv8p9hGkY Might be worth a look.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/find-energy-grants-for-you-home-help-to-heat Might be worth a look.

Brick and Thermalite with 75mm batt in 150mm cavity is coming up as U=0.28.

I used it on our fence and it was dark brown. I'm not sure if they do a lighter shade.

Agreed. I semi-retired at 45, fully retired at 54 and since then I designed and built my own PH. I wouldn't say doing your own self build isn't hard work though, and a lot is tied up in building it. The satisfaction came when I completed it.

It has for domestic use, but is allowed for commercial use. I found their creosote substitute to be good, in the short term (six years) at least. It has the same reassuring smell. https://www.creosotesales.co.uk/

I did it twice, once for SAP and then the real settings for PH, which is what we kept. The BCO wasn't interested in the SAP results, so for me it was a waste of time.

Yes it worked well. It sends the reading via bluetooth to an app on the phone and then I printed them out. It's just time consuming going round every vent and then repeating the process until it's all balanced.

I've often thought about that. The Romans had it sussed and then the Victorians came along and set us back two thousand years 😉.

I would hope not. Mine only cleared when the sun came up or the wind started to blow. If it clears when the house is heated, the glazing isn't keeping the heat in enough.

What type of ground floor do you have. Is it a concrete slab or suspended timber. What was the thickness of insulation fitted under the UFH. Does the carpet have a low tog rating. It could be that, as @SteamyTea says you may be losing the heat to the ground.

There aren't many true prefabs left anymore. Could be very interesting to research it's history. I worked with a chap, many years ago, who wrote a book of his childhood, growing up in a prefab in Kent. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prefab-Kid-Postwar-Childhood-Kent/dp/1857701755

Welcome to the forum. I'll start by asking you a random question, how old is the prefab.

@Angelheart I used an asbestos self test and found the whole inside of my old bungalow was lined with Chrysotile panels and the roof tiles were also Chrysotile. I had the panels removed professionally and removed and bagged the roof tiles myself which were then removed by the company. They did a clean air test inside but not outside. I would always do my own test as I do not tend to trust companies like that. That is further backed up by the fact they are asking for an outside clean air test. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asbestos-Sample-Testing-Instructions-Postage/dp/B0862B9JZB/

I looked at the Hotun dry tundish when plumbing my last build. https://hotun.co.uk/

@Nickfromwales That's great, many thanks for your help.

So the boiler, radiators and thermal store are all on the same direct circuit and the DHW is heated via a 28mm coil. The solar coil can presumably go in the bottom of the tank along with low and mid position immersions.

So I presume that method means having an external heat exchanger is not a good idea. I have been talking to Newark about their Aquinox MF thermal store which would have meant having a system oil boiler and coil in the TS. I'm now unsure what is the best way to have an oil boiler, TS, radiators and DHW plumbed and have the boiler condensing. 🤔 https://newarkcylinders.co.uk/aquinox-mf.html

Or Fakro even 😄. We put a Fakro roof window in our last house as we didn't want Velux. Worked as it should, no problems.

How do you specify a high recovery coil? What would the coil size? be for a 250l thermal store with a feed temperature of 65C, heating the tank from 20C to 60C.

We did our bungalow back in 2008 and were able to get a 50% grant so it was certainly worth it. I don't know if you could find an appropriate grant as they don't have to know it will be demolished sometime.