markharro

One of our preferred suppliers of passive house triple glazed windows doesnt offer installation in Scotland. Can anyone recommend a local contractor for fitting only? thanks

Thanks Alastair, I must have been forgetting the MCS requirement to be paid for export. Ok so I need to factor in getting £0 for any export as I am not paying a premium for a MCS instal. I would rather wait to see if policy changes and becomes more enlightened over time. So back to the 1/3 phase thing. There are extra costs with 3 phase which I can't determine right now. If I ignore exporting then I think I am right that I can have a 20kw array for instance on single phase without any DNO permissions as long as I have an export limitation on the inverter? If this is correct then am I also right in thinking that if I was generating at full capacity on a sunny day AND I had sufficient load connected to self use the entire generation then I could theoretically use all the generation? It is only if I cant which I guess would happen frequently that the system would throttle to avoid export? If I am right so far then is the only real benefit of 3 phase for me the faster charging speed for an EV? And given that we don't drive every day maybe it would still top up enough over a few days to do a lot of its charging from the PV? I hear what you say about Octopus tariffs but I would rather not rely on these as they could easily change over time....I am much more focused on how I can minimise my draw from the grid whether this is during the day or overnight.

This topic is of interest to me. We have single phase atm but we plan to demolish and rebuild so presumably the cost to re-connect with 3 phase wouldn't be much more than single? We have roof space for a 11kw plus array. I dont want the hassle/cost of getting permission to instal over 3.68 and had planned therefore to get an export limiting inverter and stick with single phase. But I then wondered if I could easily unlock the whole 11.04 by upgrading to 3 phase. The incentive would be to allow fast daytime charging for our electric car and not "waste" our export potential although do we get paid for this without a MCS instal? Anyway, having read this thread I suspect that there are other issues/costs I am blind to eg it seems if you use a 3 phase inverter you need permission? As @AliG said (hello btw) you can use 3 x single phase inverters and avoid this issue but I guess the cost of 3 of these inverters will be a lot more than one single phase inverter? Are there any other cost issues or complications with a 3 phase domestic instal that I am ignorant about? I dont have a lot of technical knowledge in this area so it would be great to get a simple overview. thanks

?What about FC with slight gaps on purpose and a feature made of screws and leave the wall that way. Any visual examples of this sort of thing?

Hi we are in Edinburgh and after a 2.5 yr battle finally got planning last month to demolish our existing house and build a new passive house. Now its a frantic rush to get a BW and sort out all the other 101 things to allow us to get the slab down before the Autumn frosts. A number of factors have conspired to persuade me that I will project manage and dispense with a main contractor. I think I'd read somewhere that it was a good idea to incorporate a company if doing this and wondered if anyone could comment on this? Presumably to protect in case of a contractual fall-out with a contractor but any other reason for this? eg VAT reclaim? thanks

When is this (Westminster) gov going to do anything as progressive as that! You are right though and I am learning the hard way. We have just got planning for our passivhaus build and I had hoped to aim for PH+ which requires a solar PV array much bigger than the 3.68 max without permission. Our new roof will have space for in excess of 40 panels so my thinking had been for something like a 14-16kw array. But then I started to do some reading and now understand this DNO permissions stuff where we have to pay (Scottish Power) around £600 for them to tell us if we can connect this or not. There should be no fee for this and on top of that the DNO should be forced to accommodate. Now it looks like I will be forced to cut back to 3.68 or else something a bit higher with the export throttle thing - whatever it is simply a waste of potential. On a connected topic, can anyone recommend a good general electrician in the Edinburgh area who could wire a system if I fitted it to the roof first? thanks

I have a similar enquiry - I am thinking of a compost toilet - you can get a kit here to make one yourself for a few £100 - https://trobolo.com/gb/composting-toilet-inserts/ I would put it in a shed we already have. The thing is a quick look at hire sites for proper chemical portable toilets and you see talk of compliance with HSE regs. Would a compost toilet and alcohol gel to clean hands be a problem in that regard? thanks

Thanks - I had thought though that they were suggesting that this was a new class of product?

Anyone seen this and can comment on whether it might be a viable/cheaper source for ventilation and hot water in a passive house build? https://ventive.co.uk/products/home/

I too am thinking about a self instal in due course. I have caught a whiff of chat of rising PV panel prices coming later this year......is there an argument to buy now even though I wouldn't instal for at least a year? We will have lots of roof space so any tips of sourcing cheap/second hand lower wattage panels? thanks.

Thanks for this - Nordvest and Norrsken are new to me. I've have actually just found another source - Katzbeck from https://www.phstore.co.uk/katzbeck-windows-and-doors Anyone know about them or used them? thanks

Some good food for thought here. Prob ditch the spa tub idea. On the shower jet idea, presumably there are the same issues - wiring and a pump? Would there not be a major issues with accessing a pump however if/when it broke?

This will be on the first floor of our new house. Its not a huge space but enough for a bath and decent sized shower and WC and basin. We are hoping to get planning permission imminently and I am just applying my mind to the building warrant process and in particular what we need to think about asking the architect to include in terms of - plumbing/electrics/flooring etc. What thoughts we have had so far have centred on the following - we will prob end up fitting a "normal" bath but if we wanted the option for something with jets then presumably we would need to cater for relevant wiring for this? What about extra plumbing requirements? Similar for shower - presumably one with horizontal jets would require a pump and wiring to power? WC - my other half is keen on one with the built in washer - so presumably more plumbing and electricity? What about storage without making the space feel too cluttered? I think a wet room is possible on a first floor but does this need to be factored in at building warrant stage? How feasible is it to plan to instal standard cheap/2nd hand items of sanitary ware initially but have the option to upgrade these in time once the budget allows to the type of item I have listed? Can you plumb and wire for the stuff on the wish list and future proof in this way or will that raise issues? thanks

Apart from Green Building Store, Internorm and Rationel can anyone recommend any other suppliers of triple glazed PH rated windows? Ideally you have installed yourself and can speak from experience in terms of dealing with the company/cost etc? Thanks I should say that I am particularly interested in any Lift and Slide doors that have low profile frames but are still passive rated. For standard windows this is less of an issue. Also any tips on PH rated entrance doors would be useful thanks.

Update - it was an airlock.....attempts to blow this through with the cold feed in the bathroom failed miserably. I then remember that we only have mains pressure in the kitchen so tried there and not only managed to avoid soaking myself but cleared the block after a couple of tries.....thats a relief.

Thanks - tried this with the bath mixer but not getting any noise at all and no progress. Would putting the immersion on and heating the water help in any way?

Hello again...right i drained both tanks and siliconed the leak and then have refilled the attic tank. The cold taps in the bathroom now flow but nothing but minor dribbles from the hot tap. So next question - does this mean the hot tank is not yet filled? If so, how do I ensure it fills? Or is it maybe because I haven't turned the immersion on yet? I expect it is yet another basic numpty thing I am missing but it is kind of annoying as I really need a shower!

Ah ok got you on that. I opened the valve and there is water moving but I suspect that I need also turn off the valve from the main tank in the attic or all that will happen is that it will keep refilling the hot tank!?

Thanks Dave and excuse my ignorance again but if you are right and this is a drain valve do I just need to open that and then the hot water tank will empty without opening any sink taps etc?

Sorry thought I was finished but one more thing - The LSX stuff says to drain the tank before applying. So next question - how to cut off the cold feed to the tank. I Have attached a photo circling what I think is the valve I need to shut off but confirmation would be welcome? thanks

Thanks for that - I see there still is...Screwfix have it and highly reviewed, this looks like the solution. Thanks again for all help

Great sound advice and enforcing my own tuition that the time spent in trying to learn enough to avoid killing myself is probably far too high when compared to the cost of using a pro to do this stuff. I am now focused on two solutions - trying to stop the leak which seems to be from a water inlet? (photos to follow) and continue using the current system or alternatively getting an electrician to hook up with the needed new MCB etc. On the first option, I have tried tightening with a spanner but the nut is corroded in and more force will probably do more damage than good. If there any type of sealant or glue I could use around the thread that would withstand the water pressure? On option two...I will upload photos of the consumer unit..It looks to me that there is room for the required new MCB at the left hand end but would be pleased for an opinion on that. Thanks again.

Thanks everyone for their comments - in the end resetting the TV software let me then download the latest software update for it. That basically fixed the issue with the connection speed and iplayer now broadcasts in full 4k glory so all is well that ends well

Thanks - yes I have tried changing ports on the switch. The TV does get an internet connection so I have figured the cable from switch to TV is ok. I have actually managed to download a speed test app on the TV and it shows 2Mb/s as the download speed v 60 on the PC. Both connect into the same switch. No wonder why I cant stream 4K! Its quite a mystery. I am on Plusnet and use their router which must be at least 4 years old or so. I am actually expecting a new router from Plusnet any day - their updated model - so I maybe need to be patient and see if that makes a difference. In the meantime I decided to reset the TV to factory settings. It had not been allowing me to update the software previoulsy getting to about 5% max and then stalling but now having reset and run update again it looks like it might finally update - its around 40% now and moving so if this does update it will be interesting to see if it makes a difference Thanks for comments so far.

Our broadband has a download speed of around 60 having just upgraded it. From the router in the bedroom I have an ethernet feed to the lounge into a switch there and then various feeds into the TV, and a camera etc. Another feed from the router goes to an external wired camera. Another to a VOIP box. The final two go out into the garden and provision a shed and our garden office. There is at least 20 metres of CAT 6 cable I think from the router to the office. WHen it comes into the office it goes into another switch and from that we have wired feeds to a PC, a camera, a TV, a streaming hifi unit. The PC in this office room shows a download speed of around 60Mb/s. The 4k TV wired to the same switch is the issue. It simply refuses to stream iplayer at 4k. It is a new LG OLED that is a year old. I just dont understand why there is a problem when I get the speed I do at the PC which feeds from the same switch. Is there any obvious issue anyone can identify or anything I can try to diagnose the issue? thanks