Alan Ambrose

It’s a bit of a dry read, but the PHPP manual describes building physics blow-by-blow if you’re interested.

Called an SPD 'surge protection device' in the UK and fits in the consumer unit. Having said that, it's poor design if a bit of electrical equipment (e.g. an ASHP) is (a) sensitive to surges and (b) doesn't have its own in-built protection.

@prodave - any brands or products you recommend?

The other thing to check is the modulation i.e. how low output it can be run. If it can’t be ‘modulated’ down to your typical heat load then it’ll cycle on and off - which is inefficient.

Thanks, good advice 🤣

Well the OP doesn't say why but I was planning something similar. Someone on BH mentioned a preference for putting the kitchen on a separate CU, which makes a lot of sense given the number of circuits. Similarly, the garage / car charger. Add in a shed with a bunch of stuff in it and ... I nearly forgot ... the house. And there you have 4. Or maybe you want a separate 'high integrity' / backup CU powered by batteries to backup the critical lowish power stuff. I was planning similar with cat5 and switches to avoid running miles of cat5 all point-to-point from a single switch.

I’m not sure that transformer looks bad. They just put a bit of tape over the windings to add a bit of insulation. If it’s pressed onto the windings it shows through more of the colour in the varnished windings. Most PSU faults are something going pop through stress or electrolytic capacitors leaking or bulging and losing their minds.

Nothing wrong with a little OCD 😀

You can get either a paper services search done or just enquire about electricity only from the dno. Check out the offerings from Cornerstone & Groundsure. You can also probably get a site visit for free from the dno and they should be able to tell you in person.And they’ll bring a cat scanner for underground cables which will be a degree of verification. A couple of gotchas - firstly the dno’s own maps are sometimes not great - they might be using scanned old drawings from an old file cabinet that nobody’s checked for 30 years. Secondly the existence of a power line doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the dno has extra capacity for you. Lastly, you’ll want a ball park figure for connection, probably before you buy the plot, unless there is a cable very close.

OK I'll ask everyone again in April

Usually absolute height above sea level in metres. The '+' is a bit leading - it means above sea level not whatever your GFL is +37.82m - unless you have a 10 storey building, in which case GFL+38 might make sense. If you think about it, only the absolute value completely specifies your exact level.

>>> Basement U-values are very complicated calculations Not that complicated to get a reasonable approximation though. Just take the insulation u-value and assume everything else doesn’t contribute much. The heat loss calc is a bit more forgiving as instead of say sub-zero worst case temperatures for walls and roofs the temperature a metre or so down is fairly constant. Say 9 or 10C depending where you are in UK.

Horticultural definitions aside, then less than 75mm diameter and it can be cut down or moved as you like.

>>> Perhaps it's the six times differing thermal expansion coefficients of oak and concrete. There’s a fairly time tested solution to this - the frame is more or less free standing inside or lightly connected to the external envelope. Check out any self build magazine and you’ll see an oak frame inside a brick external wall with various kinds of insulation between.

Yeah agree. A very polite email to the case officer’s boss from the architect expressing ‘concern’, also to your councillor asking that they try to nudge it along. Essentially you need to get moved further up the LPA’s priority list.

Never seen an ‘outdoor’ lan switch. Would keep internal or install in a watertight box if you really must. Internal also allows you to plug in new cables and change out the switch when the power supply dies etc.

Or armoured rj45 or chase it in maybe.

For TPOs etc a tree is not a ‘tree’ until it’s a reasonable size. Can’t remember the exact dimensions, but the typical cherry tree is more like a large shrub. Cut it down or move it as you prefer.

Should be fine. I painted some of my cameras black like that as we have black weatherboard.

I think you’re right to be concerned about the thermal impact of moisture on the eps. I’ll post up my research later today. In short, it seems better to use xps, but there will be a thermal/aging impact on both.

Usually not a problem at all.

Suggest swapping it out for a switch say with a rating >2x the current needed. Or a wired connection if switched elsewhere. I would not leave it on and go out.

@Benpointer Apologies, I only just saw your question, for some reason I don’t get the notifications. Sounds like you’ve got more comfortable with the supplier. I think that showing that you have an understanding of their risk situation and asking the right questions may give a supplier the sense that you are the sort of customer who is alert to the situation and therefore someone they don’t want to stiff. An additional strategy is to reduce your risk by negotiating a shorter delivery time or payment phasing that better suits you.

500 m^2 is a pretty big house. If the budget won’t allow right now, then build in phases that can be financed?

@AppleQueen There are a lot of practical and experienced people here on ‘t ‘ub but it’s tricky for anyone to answer a hypothetical. I guess there are four main options - convince the planners to change their minds, maybe using a consultant / find a way to do what they’ve asked, maybe using an experienced builder or SE / go to appeal citing a nonsense condition that can’t be satisfied / file a new planning application for a different design. You might be able to do all four in parallel if you really want. Which of those is the best route can’t really be determined without more information.