Bramco

So long as the underlying policies haven't changed, then the case law still stands - and sometime the case law influences the changes that have been made. I found the book a great help - although only the few pages that related to our green belt issue... Don't think we'll be building again, so shouldn't need to shell out for the 2nd edition but I'll bet it will be a great help to some folks in the future. Simon

We referred to this in our appeal - but again if you read the wording it becomes a subjective reduction on planning balance.... They pretend the process is rigorous and clear but the whole shebang is full of weasel words which makes it subjective. It seems that governments want to create laws that appease as many sides as possible and rely on the us the electorate to take cases to court to actually define what certain terms mean. But good luck with everything - really hope you perseverance and research pay off. It did for us. Simon PS there is a book written by a planning (Q)KC that we bought that lists all the case law. You've probably already found this.

Yes - dump it in a battery and then let it discharge when you're getting paid for it. A hot water tank is a kind of battery the only difference is you can't reconvert it to mains electricity. We're not on the flexible tariffs with Octopus but we do get a 7p rate for 6 hours at night and 15p at any time for export. So we let the batteries discharge to 20% before the cheap rate comes in and then charge them up again at the 7p rate. So 10-12kWh export, then recharge at a net cost to us of -7p. So 70pish per night off the bill. You do need to make sure you disable any diverter when you do the discharge of the battery or a lot of it can end up in the hot water tank - although that simply shifts the time when the tank is heated up a bit. Simon

Ours uses an LMS server - there are several implementations of this (look on one of the Pi suppliers websites) - we stream radio (mostly radio 6) and a lot of our music has been ripped to the server. LMS supports players which can be based on Pi Zeros and you can synchronise players (there's no lag) or play different things on different players. Ours also sees our Google minis as players as well as the TV soundbar. And there's no wires, it's all wifi. A very cost effective multi-room hi-fi system (OK, it takes a bit of reading up and investigation to set things up but for some of us that's a bonus!). Simon

Depends what you're using for your Pi Music box but wouldn't it have been easier to put in a Pi Music player and simply synchronise the living room and the bedroom? Simon

On Octopus Go Intelligent, cheap rate import is 7p and export is 15p - so that's a lot more than compensating for the inefficiencies of battery storage. So dumping what's the left in the battery before reloading it at the end of the cheap rate makes sense. But disable any diverter during the dump.

Thanks - we're very pleased with it. Before retiring I was a consultant - believe me architect speak isn't that bad..... Yours looks great too - a marriage of modern with traditional. Simon

@bob the builder 2 As a PS to the my reply about insurance, what's yours look like? Is the metal roof corrugated or standing seam? Pictures? You can see ours on our architects website -> https://lhc.net/projects/ashcroft-creating-a-low-energy-family-home/ Simon

@bob the builder 2 We were with Direct Line for both contents and building insurance, so when we moved into the new build which is timber frame with metal roof and metal cladding with some render, we tried them but they wouldn't touch the buildings part. They put us in contact with Gallaghers, who gave us a great quote for buildings insurance but a stupidly high one for contents.... So we're now with Direct Line for contents and Gallaghers for building insurance. It worked out to be only a bit more expensive than having them both with Direct Line. So try Gallaghers. Simon

Issues like this are actually sorted out through people taking things to the next step, i.e. judicial review (think that's the term) Judges, through case law, actually set the interpretation of what was meant by the people who drafted the legislation. We used a case in our appeal on what the Green Belt legislation actually means - and won. So, it begs the question a) are you willing to go to the next stage and b) is there anyone interested in taking up the case? Simon

You don't need MCS with Octopus for Solar PV and they got the MPAN for us. You may do if it's a PV + battery install. Simon

@flanagaj Just PM'ed you. I should have added that they work closely with a planning consultant who does work in the south. Simon

Take a look at one of the user guides on the Husqvarna website. They explain in detail how to set up the mowing areas where there are separate parts, as well as where there are corridors. I'm sure othe suppliers have similar guides. Simon

Try the ITS website - obvs only the ones they sell but a reasonable start... https://www.itstechnologies.shop/pages/solar-panel-comparison Simon

We have a large area and a Husqvarna Nero - absolutely brilliant! can't wait to finish the side area so it can get to work on the front. We came back from 4 days away today - the back looks like a lawn, the front where Matilda hasn't been working is 4 to 5cm long! So an hour or so mowing tomorrow!! Must get the side seeded so she can work on the front! There are lots of new mowers on the market but Husqvarna have been the Rolls Royce of Robot mowers for years - last year they saved us a) a big outlay on a ride on, b) many hours of mowing with a ride on and c) a headache with what to do with the clippings. Brother in law next door saw ours and bought 2, one for the back and one for the front. And he's got a couple of ride-ons. His pov was that I was happily having a cold beer while he was chugging up and down on his ride on. So basically - get one!!

Who would be interested if there isn't a user manual to take a look at and it's only available through official installers...... Simon

We didn't even put the duct in... and we're only a 100m from the end of the Virgin network and 50m from an BT pole. Virgin have said they won't extend and I can't see Openreach getting fibre in any time soon. A 4G/5G SIM in a 4G router seems to be OK for us, I guess we could switch to Starlink if prices come down but it will probably be a 5G router first, when they come down in price. Simon

Don't worry, it will still leak whether it's upside down or not... Simon

420x26 is 10.9kW - so his mental maths when he's talking to you is not as good as his calculator which he used on the quote. Simon

V useful. Here's another one -> https://batteryhacker.com/can-lifepo4-batteries-catch-fire/. Both say, for LiFePO4, which most packaged systems are, charge properly and have a BMS - which all packaged systems have afaik. And they don't catch fire themselves, so if there is a fire they won't add to it. Simon

Apologies, I've just checked back and NG (our DNO) didn't ask for the electrical cert - but Octopus did! Senility setting in...... Apologies again, I'll try to edit the original post. Simon

I put my name in the installer section and marked it self install - we did have an elec cert that had solar PV on - don't think we'd have been OK without that. There was no charge with NG. Make sure your inverter is G100 compliant - you can check this on the ENA database. I seem to remember NG wanting this for any application. I'm pretty sure the 15p export is only available on the Intelligent version of Octopus GO. So standard Octopus Go is 7.5p cheap rate for 4 hours and I think 8p for export. If you move onto Octopus Go Intelligent, then you are on 7.5p cheap rate for 6 hours and 15p export. As you say, there is a £250 admin charge for getting onto the 'intelligent' version of GO. You also have to have a supported EV charge point installed and you have to connect an EV to do a test charge - the tariff is meant for EV owners. You can do this in stages with Octopus. Once we'd done our G99 application with NG, we then switched to Go with Octopus and then later on switched to Intelligent Go. The extra 2 hours on cheap rate and the 15p make a big difference. Simon

One good thing about technology is that things get better over time, so devices on standby use less and less. Is there a Moore's law that says that every 2 years new devices on standby will use 50% less? Some of them certainly get smaller, e.g. the Sonoff or Shelley wifi or zigbee switches. In the new house, we've got a lot more of that kind of device but we're still using about the same as in the old house which had a lot fewer... But fundamentally yes, if you want to use less, don't use things that are on all the time. Simon

Yes you can, it's not rocket science - there are plenty of web sites around with packages of PV with inverter, some with roof fastenings. Try ITS technologies - we've found them to pretty competitive - but there's also Trade Sparky and many more. On the electrician front, I'd make sure that your electrician is happy with you doing the work and them signing it off. A lot of electricians won't sign off someone else's work and then you'll be forced down the MCS surcharge route (the solar installation companies). There's a break point in terms of whether you need to inform the DNO about the installation. Below about 3.6kW you don't need to but above that you need to go through their process - all of the DNOs have information on their websites about what forms you need to fill in etc. You don't need an MCS certificate to complete this step. Also you need to check whether there are any planning restrictions, like for example you being in a conservation area. There's loads of info on-line about how to do this and a lot on this forum on how people have gone about things. I'm sure you should be able to manage to do it yourself. Simon

Yes - we did. Get an electrical cert which includes the PV. Ours was in the garage, so on the garage elec cert, then go through the application process with the DNO. Ours was with NG. You obvs have to fill in the forms and your inverter needs to be G100 compliant. You can find the certificates on the inverter database. On the forms you can put down that it is a self install, there's no requirement for MCS. Then just apply for Octopus Go - I think they still have the admin charge but essentially they contact the DNO to make sure you are registered with them and then it should go through with no problem. I think I put a link to a Victron forum about this on another post a month or so ago- from that, I think that suppliers are not allowed to insist that the PV is an MCS install. If you need the link, I'll try to find it again and repost it. Simon