Wil

Just to do a massive thread revival, I'm considering doing this at home but with a homebrew solution in the upstairs bedrooms where furniture tends to get in the way of the floor. It'd be built down from existing ceiling plasterboard with battens with insulation between, joist spreader plates and a plasterboard finish over. I have the height in existing rooms to drop the ceilings 50-100 needed. I also have 300mm loft wool over the existing plasterboard ceiling. Any reason why this is completely daft if I can vaguely sort airtightness at the same time? Room heat losses at -3.4degC external vary from 1000-1600W. Taking the figures from radiant floor output of 70-100W/m2 can I just expect the same from a ceiling system? So for a room with 1600W of heat loss, I need 16-23m2 of ceiling? 5x5 is a big old space... I guess I could run it a little hotter than UFH... I'm trying to avoid the equivalent radiators at 50degree output need 3892W output!

I bought one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00THEAYUQ?ref=em_1p_0_ti&ref_=pe_2443691_487020351 Decent enough for high level access, clips together itself. Good on flat solid ground. Would need some fixings etc if trying to make long term against a wall etc. Hoping it's going to help do some pruning later in the year, but would be a little concerned about stability on soft ground or at max height.

Sounds like my old leaky house on a warm day. It's just that here it feels like we're running slab cooling in the winter too...

We had something similar to your first post with a combi in the old house. Bogs always flushing, kitchen tap running etc. It was a storage combi with a small tank if that makes a difference. Bottom lever did the handheld, middle the temp and Top the main shower head. You could run both at once an as much or as little as the pressure could give you. If you're not wedded to the modern type, ours had much bigger lever handles which were easier to operate. Something like this: https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/trafalgar-traditional-triple-concealed-thermostatic-shower-valve

Have a look a the Shelly ecosystem and particularly plugs. Can wire in for the main lights and plug in/ in line for the lamps. Then a single app to control it all. Or put their devices behind the switch and switch all of it from the wall.... Saves 5A sockets you can't plug anything else into and re-wiring to a fixed point where the 5A socket is.

I use Athom Homey to run my automation. As above for a level of tinkering required... There's little fit-and-forget DIY automation. You need to pay £££ to get someone else to manage the pro systems if you're not willing to get too involved in the DIY world.

"This is Farage" I'd happily run a van into it a few times then...

Nu-Heat do reasonably good stuff but have some horrendous installation advice. It was probably 10 years ago since I used them (and fought them about de-coupling membranes under tiles). Hopefully they've moved on since then.

In relation to this query, I also have a lot of big old chimneys and have been wondering about using them as the delivery mechanism for the MVHR. As in: Put the MVHR up in the loft with relevant supply and extract ductwork through roof. Cap the chimneys at the top, then break into the chimneys at high level in the loft. Stuff insulation up to the cap and seal the bottom of the insulation (above my break in hole). Then attach MVHR supply/ extract (internal) ductwork to the holes in the chimneys and use them as oversize ducts to the rooms. Solves two birds with one stone in my case- sealing up massive draughts up the chimneys and using dead space for risers/ air supply?

I bought a Blackview phone with FLIR built in. It's awesome. Think it was this one, but might have been the 8800. I've barely used it since going and exploring how terrible my house is leaking, but it's a full rugged backup Android phone as well. Wouldn't want to carry it around the whole time because it's actually a brick but the FLIR seems to work well and was the cheapest way I could find to get proper FLIR images. https://store.blackview.hk/products/blackview-bv9800-pro-thermal-imaging-4g-rugged-phone?gclid=CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21m8AgDRKYkZJo494dMYj6DYq4PwqFIoDAUsOJv9PG7-Dbz_vH3qqfzxoCeDwQAvD_BwE

Could I be really rude and ask how much (by PM if preferable) a stair like this cost? I have a pipe dream to move the stairs to an atrium in my place and this look and feel would be ideal. Just rising one storey but would need a curved start like yours onto a straight. Just for your problem, can the LED strips be taken off and turned around to get the cables to run up the inside? You mention routing above which is obviously a much bigger job?

In the example you describe here, what stops the water getting between he tiles and onto your insulation if there's no breatheable membrane directly under the tiles. I ask this as I'm still trying to work out how I insulate my roof from the inside with a non-breatheable felt directly under the tiles. If you can effectively ignore/ cut the felt out (or in your case, not have any in the first place), what stops the driven rain coming the other way?

Sorry, I dropped off the thread earlier, but as you've now got to, any kind of inverter bigger than 3.68kWp then limited to 3.68kWp is a G99 application. You can only fit under G98 (and tell them later) if the inverter can deliver up to than 3.68kWp. Array size is irrelevant. You can put 100kWp of panels on the roof with a 3.68kWp inverter if you felt like splashing the cash and still be G98 compliant. Although your inverter may not last long... G100 compliance is required for the limiter as well if going that route.

This also requires prior approval from the DNO as it's a G100 connection and doesn't come under G98 for 3.68kWp systems. Assuming you mean a 5kWp inverter with 5kWp of panels that limits it's output to the grid to 3.68kW rather than as I describe below... I had to go down the route of connecting 5kWp of panels to a 3.68kWp inverter to avoid the DNO charges mentioned above. There'll be some clipping on high sun days, but the array in total should output for longer and put out more power than 3.68kWp of panels on the 3.68kWp inverter. Currently trying to invent new dump loads to keep my voltage rise in check...

Sadly I have a not-so-great experience and a request for G99 consultation has been met with 'only if you pay for the transformer upgrades required' and when I enquired what that might cost I've had nothing. Going to start with some G98 and then add more later. To be fair, the helpdesk responds fairly quick, but the actual engineers/ network planners seem to be snowed under and not responding.

I bought myself one of the clarke gas/gasless jobs for christmas to try and re-learn what I knew when I was 16. Sadly, so far to call my welds birdshit would be a kindness. I've played with settings, but just can't get it right ?

Thanks Dave, interesting on the 2P- 3P thing- this would increase the number of valves but I guess provide some level of resilience? and no let through as the valve changes position? So basically the GSHP does the heating direct, or if the TS is hot, it does the house and the GSHP switches off? I hadn't really considered that but might be a good shout. I'd have to be careful to size the TS correctly to get decent heat out. I suppose if it was a little smaller it could pass the heat from the fire on quicker. Would you put the oil into the TS or just run it direct like the GSHP? If the TS isn't fed by the GSHP or Oil, does it just become a heat source like them until it's temperature drops to a level where the TS or GSHP can do better? I have it in my head that simple relay control could do most of this but getting a simple and reliable control system may be more complex than I imagine!

Hi all, I’ve been living with the cold farmhouse over the winter since we moved in last year. We have an old oil burner which heats some rads in an open vented configuration. Also a small gravity fed DHW tank which appears to only heat from an immersion. It’s time to drag our house kicking and screaming into the present and prior to some extension works, I’d like to get the basics of the heating system in place. I’m lucky enough to have plenty of space in a plant room (old garage) next to the house and the time to start again. I’ve used Jeremy’s spreadsheet to come up with a 28kW heat loss for the house. I’ve done the obvious like stopping unused chimneys and filling the loft with 350mm insulation (50mm existing micafill, 300mm earth wool). But it’s still a leaky old place with 2ft thick solid stone walls. See attached diagram for my latest hare-brained scheme. Here’s where I need the collective smarts of those present to critique it and point out my glaring errors. I have access to a relatively cheap 22kW GSHP and can probably do a lot of the install work myself so considering that route. I’d keep the oil burner as a backup/ top up for a few seasons to ensure the HP and other systems were doing enough to keep us warm. I’m not going for the RHI as I know I can’t have a backup burner there. I plan to fit 3.68kW solar PV per phase onto my 3 phases to give an 11kWp solar system although almost all my load is on L3. L1 and 2 will almost always be surplus when the sun is shining (usually 50W each phase base load) which can dump into water/ heating/ PHEV/ future batteries. DHW is simple enough in that a new UVC with a large coil to take the output from the GSHP (or oil in super cold times). It would then have two backup/ dump immersion heaters to take solar output when available. There’s a passive coil through the TS to put a little heat into the water before it reaches the UVC. Heating is more complex and hence the interest in a Thermal Store to correlate some of my heat sources. As part of the extension works I have an opportunity to site a wood burner with back burner close to the plant room (while also useful in the house). 1. In times of high demand with only the GSHP/ Oil available (we’re not in and haven’t lit the fire or the sun hasn’t been shining and the TS isn’t hot) then the GSHP would bypass the TS and feed the rads and UFH direct. 2. As soon as there was heat from the fire or the TS was up to temp from excess solar, the GSHP would switch to a coil in the TS and the TS would feed the heating system (the 3P valves changeover on the TS/ GSHP loop). This would allow the GSHP to run against a buffer tank as well (although apparently it’s an inverter driven HP so should be able to just ramp down). Basically- what have I missed and why won’t this work? I could just drop the whole TS and wood burner idea and have the oil/ GSHP direct feed the rads and floors, but I think I’ll have excess solar in the shoulders and summer to be able to dump into the tank. Are the 3P valves a nightmare waiting to happen? What do I do about expansion vessels in this scenario? Thanks in advance for your help.

Just on the estate agents- How is that beneficial if they don't sell at asking? Obviously if you get more than asking, a fixed price helps, but on a percentage of sale, they take the pain of achieving any less than asking price along with you. On the OP, trust needs to be built up and it's hard choosing who you can build it with, but keep communicating as that's where it always starts to go wrong.

From the Salus website: first bullet point would appear to be a problem for you. A WORLD FIRST IN UNDERFLOOR HEATING TEMPERATURE CIRCUIT BALANCING & ENERGY SAVING Each Actuator has two temperature sensors which are clipped onto the flow & return pipes (one on each) of the circuit to be controlled. The Auto Balancing Actuator will measure the temperature sensors and adjust the valve position to maintain a constant 7°C temperature differential between the emitter flow and return pipes. Not compatible with Heatmiser thermostats Very Low Power, less than 0.5W Fast actuator opening and closing times typically 30 seconds....

And how long for on average? a 1500W computer UPS should hold 320W for half an hour or so? Is the sewage treatment the only critical item you'd like to keep on? If you went down the critical route you could split some other supplies like fridge/freezer or possibly just put a 5*kVA genset in to cover all house loads (obviously it would need to be sized for actual load). I think most people find it's rarely worth it for the genset, but depends on how often you have the issue.

Given the size of the property, what's the size of the heat pump? a 20kW heat pump will be using 5kW of electricity on full steam and if you run it with all the doors open (as per pics), it could easily be doing that. A HP is more efficient than chucking direct electric at the problem, but not if just left on. I'm tracking my consumption and our 5 bed farmhouse is currently averaging around 30kWh a day without any heating on! But we do charge an electric vehicle most nights which accounts for a decent chunk of that. Immersion for water and electric cooking account for most of the rest. The instantaneous and daily readings (particularly when it peaks and troughs) would be really helpful to understand where you're using the energy. Edit- sorry I meant to ask- does the business/ retreat form a separate meter from the house or is it all one property?

Yes, my apologies, got carried away when I saw the price and total thread hijack. Thanks for the answer though, I'll have to look into whether there's some sort of controller that could bring these in and out depending on demand.

Is there any reason for me not to buy two of these instead of a 22kW GSHP and run them in parallel in a high heat requirement situation?

Thanks PeterStarck, I think I read your postings on it. Yours was newbuild and designed with Icynene in mind though right? I'm concerned about the application to an old existing building. It certainly sounds like a great option, even if only used as posh cold roof insulation to ensure all the air leakage is stopped there. So many different things to think about, but for now, it's going and getting the keys tomorrow that'll keep me up tonight..