Alan Ambrose

Hmm, am I right in thinking: as there are not many small plots sold, I guess there's not a lot of business and/or experience actually out there? Alan

Ah I see - the time of say that the sun shines right up your .... ... nearly south-facing windows . Nice - hopefully, that kind of argument will sway the planners. Thanks, Alan

>>> We faced the main glazed orientation of our house to about 155deg ( South being 180deg). This was partly for views but it also brings "house noon" forward by about an hour helping the house heat faster in the morning and reduce solar gain in the afternoon at the expense of overall daily global solar gain. <<< Ah sounds clever. Google isn't helping with 'house noon' - possible to describe? Alan

Hi, Does anyone have a solicitor or conveyancer they would recommend for a fairly simple plot purchase? Bonus points if they're based in East Anglia . I've searched the forums here but can't see any actual names. Someone must have had a good experience? TIA, Alan

Ah OK understand. >>> Design what you want. Explain your reasoning to the planners. Good point. I plan to do a pre-app with our preferred orientation making a big deal about the 'eco-benefits' of good sun orientation - hopefully and bearing in mind the recent heatwave those arguments should have some sway - I'll let you know. Alan

For anyone else reading this thread, I make that £36.3K total i.e. £291 + VAT per m². Alan

@Johnnyt Errr, with the various drone, solar planning and Google earth shots, I can't quite figure out which way is up. Google earth & solar planning - North is up? Drone shot - up is South East? Alan

>>> East - west split for PV will be plenty useful enough, and that’s what I’m doing. My ridge runs S - N. I expect a very long solar day. Yeah, we also have an existing little barn which is '15 degrees more SW facing' i.e. the ridge is about 345 degrees (NNW-SSE) and we like that orientation a lot. We get morning sun on the front and evening sun on the back together with no S-facing windows so we don't overheat. That's what we are trying to emulate on the new plot plus adding some solar panels. Alan

OK, v. good info and thanks everyone for the quick feedback. Alan

Ah interesting, thanks. Alan

>>> Can you not design the front at the front, just to please the planners, but have other sections of house orientated to do what you want. That's actually a bit tricky as the plot is long-ish and narrow-ish. The questions is: are there actually some 'rules' somewhere or is it just convention? Alan

Hi, I have a question I have not been able to find the answer to after a few hours of Googling... It seems generally accepted to design with the principal elevation of a new house parallel to the road. Depending on the compass direction of the road though that doesn't work necessarily very well for the best orientation to the sun for solar panels and shading etc. Ideally, for best sun direction I would like to orient the house about 45 degrees to the road. Are there some 'planning rules' somewhere which might prevent that? TIA, Alan

Hi, I don't claim to have done an exhaustive market analysis - but I just replaced an Uponor UFH set-up (the thermostats / controller / actuators) with a Heatmiser one that is app-controlled. Works fine. Alan