Bramco

Ha! I copied it from a plan I found on the Interweb for a kit you could buy! I searched a few days ago to see if I still had the pdf but couldn't find it. Should be pretty easy to create a plan from the photo I posted though. We used bits like below to fasten the panel clips to, you can probably see from the photo if you zoom in. Think we bought the panel clips from somewhere like Midsummer Solar - but there's probably plenty of options on ebay. Give me a shout if you want any more info. One of the advantages of key clamp for this is that most of the suppliers have a free cutting service, so it all turns up ready to put together. If you've never used them before, then it's best not to tighten things up too tight to start with, then adjust to get it all lined up properly and then tighten the screws up. Have fun.

Our key clamp order was about a grand including VAT 3 years ago. VAT should be reclaimable if the solar is part of the build - we had to get planning permission as it's in the Green Belt, so we got it back (iirc!). Ours is 12 panels. We ordered some key clamp stuff last year for another job - it was interesting that they were all stamped UAE - so all of that stuff could well be going up soon, or not even available.

We're out in the sticks but close enough to a 5G mast - Mozillion 5G unlimited data sim £19.99 in a 5G modem. Mozillion are on EE. Worth making sure you can't do this before going the Starlink route.

In true Blue Peter fashion - here's one we did earlier... Ours was all done with standard key clamp bits and some solar panel clamps. Can't remember who we used for the poles and clamps but we did work out how many of each length of pole we needed, so they were delivered ready to start construction. The poles in the earth are 1m long, whacked in by our builder for a flat pack of beer... EDIT - should have added that we set the panels at 45 degrees to maximise winter output rather than the 35 degrees that PVGIS suggested. The actual annual total for 45 degrees was only just under the PVGIS 'optimum' but output was shifted away from the summer towards the winter.

Batteries, so only pay 7p for electric... IOG.

Those look great - ours were the standard aluminum ones, so we needed something with a hole in it on the key clamp poles. When it comes to actually installing the panels, we made a couple of plywood jigs to support the panel in place. So a couple of pieces wider than the pole with a notch in and long enough for the top edge of the panel to rest on it. That way, you can lift the panel on, let it rest on the plywood while you fasten the brackets.

We used key clamp. No concrete, just whacked some 1m poles into the ground, leaving enough to fasten on to. But if you've got a concrete base, just use the base/wall mount flanges. To fasten the panels on, we created a couple of horizontals to give the angle we wanted and key clamp fasteners with a flange with 2 holes. The panel fasteners were standard solar fasteners - you might need longer bolts but it was pretty easy to find parts and put it all together.

Ours were cut into strips and we used tile edging strip along the top edge - this gives a great finish and easier to get a horizontal line. I say we - our tiler did it of course. Being able to cur them into strips means less wastage. and like other replies having a tile skirting means no issues with mopping.

Agreed ITS technologies are fine. They supplied our solar and a sunsynk inverter and batteries. One of the cheapest suppliers around.

Came across this Eco-ess Auto Transfer Switch -> https://www.eco-ess.co.uk/eps-auto-transfer-switch-bridging-the-gap-between-grid-dependence-and-energy-self-sufficiency/ while looking for auto transfer switches. UK company, manufactured in Stoke on Trent. Apparently it will automatically switch the whole house load from the grid/normal connection of a hybrid inverter to the EPS connection of the inverter. It sits between the main fuse and the CU. In our case with a Sunsynk inverter, 6.5kWp of solar and 15kWh of battery, we'd switch from grid to the EPS connection on the inverter on a power cut, so running from battery or whatever solar there was at the time. Might be an option for anyone with equipment already installed.

Yes but..... We have UFH and 3 large sets of sliding patio doors on our living space. We worried that these could cause a cold down draft - however after much reading here and elsewhere we specced triple glazing and it works. There aren't any cold down drafts and yes, if you hold the back of your hand near one of them, you can feel it is cooler but only just. And our doors aren't the most expensive on the market - aluminum frames from Express Bifolds in Leeds. Great to deal with and excellent after sales service.

Make sure to do the electric UF in the 1st floor bath/shower rooms - in the grand scheme of things it's a minor cost when building but a real headache if you decide you need it later on. We also made sure there were sockets just in case on the 1st floor bedrooms - haven't needed them so far - and the way things are going with global warming, we won't in the future. Also, heated towel rails haven't been used since we moved in a few years ago.

We used aluminum composite panels to clad the base of the insulated slab, i.e. the outside face of the insulation - looks very good and doesn't wrinkle of course. There are some parts (where the patio extends out from the slab base) where the outside face is blockwork - just painting this hasn't been very successful, efflorescence and peeling, cracking paint, so the sand/cement idea might be an option for this.

That would make the tiling job harder and worst still make it the next job in the queue....

Interesting - we have 3 players, all Pi Zeros and haven't had a failure yet in well over 5 years.... There's been lots of discussion on many forums about which SD cards are more prone to failures.