Bramco

@JackofAll Hi, below a few photos - in the big kitchen, dining living space, we split this into 3 areas, each on/off and dimmable seperately. In the evening we'll only use the living space leds. You can see this on one of the photos, where I've set different levels on each of the sections. On one of the photos, you can see the end of the coving - the sparkies specced this and supplied it - it was incredibly lightweight. To put it up, they lasered a line in and tapped some pins in every 50cm or so and then simply 'no nailed' it to the wall. The end of the coving you can see has had the slot at the back disguised - essentially there's a step down from the edge and the led trough and diffusers sit in there. We used the ARC Led controllers -> https://arc-led.co.uk/controller/1689-arc-led-universal-12-24v-4-channel-receiver-with-push-dim-input.html They now do a wifi version but we're happy enough using a remote - you can can program 3 scenes on the remote -> https://arc-led.co.uk/controller/917-arc-led-single-colour-4-zone-remote-control-black.html. We also put in an RF wall controller but never use it - similar to this one -> https://arc-led.co.uk/controller/1278-arc-led-4-zone-single-colour-battery-operated-touch-wall-panel-black.html. Actual drivers and led strips were all specced and supplied by the sparkie. The leds are simple warm white - no fancy colours..... Here's some photos - let me know if you want any more info - I can probably get the spec for the covings if you need that. Also, in the bedrooms with vaulted ceilings, we did the same but also have 3 spots on the long side of the vaulting (they're uneven, i.e. come down further on one side). Again I can send photos of this if you are interested - we used BG wall touch dimmers for these. The 3rd image is a bit blurred, had to reduce it's size to be able to attach all 3. Simon

Changing the angle to vertical might not be worth it. Ours are set to about 45degs instead of the ~33degs to get maximum output. But the maximum output is in the summer when you've got more than enough, you need the panels more vertical in the winter to get the most out of the winter sun. Go on to PVGIS and try out several different angles - for us the overall production wasn't much different between 45 and 33 but the curve for 45degs was flatter, so less maximum output in the summer and more output in the winter. As for rotating the panels, that sounds like too much complexity...... Simon

You can't sell your house without a solicitor - or at least your buyer would be daft not to use a solicitor. So don't underestimate the ingenuity of solicitors in making both your life and theirs difficult. When we sold our house 18 months ago, the buyers solicitor wanted not only the invoice for the solar (from 15 years previously) but also the quote from the company that did the install.... Recently sold a BTL flat and for that one, the buyers solicitor wanted a copy of the s106 agreement with the council from 20 years ago. Both box ticking exercises which they no doubt added to their list of 'important' details not to be missed from some other solicitor who had thought it up. I'm sure they all basically add things to their box ticking lists if they've not come across the idea before without asking themselves if what they will be asking has any use to their client. If you've bought a number of properties you have the nous to tell your solicitor to stop being daft and get the contracts signed. If you're selling, your at the mercy of the seller idiots... Simon

Yes, this all based on working out how much we use and how much the Solar PV has generated and we've exported over the last year. We already have PV which was a self install but didn't do the batteries then, so the order for the batteries was with VAT - but see above, batteries will be zero rated from February next year, so we'll wait... Simon

On another forum someone pointed out that retrofit battery systems will be zero rated from Feb next year. So we'll hang fire until then... https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/vat-energy-saving-materials-relief-improving-energy-efficiency-and-reducing-carbon-emissions/outcome/summary-of-response Simon

There's no quarter given is there for typos at dawn.....

Hi, We're about to order a 15kW battery storage system but I'm wondering if prices will drop further in 2024. There seem to be some cheap deals around at the moment. Are suppliers overstocked and dumping stock? In which case prices might remain stable, or is this just part of a trend in pricing as more suppliers enter the market, in which case prices will continue to fall, like PV panels. Obviously where the general trend is downwards, the system we order will be cheaper but we'd be kicking ourselves if we could get the same system in a years time for half the price. Simon

If you are going off grid - why worry about the DNO connection - simply limit export if you have an oversupply, set it to 3.68kW which is allowable without any permission. You'll miss out out on export in the summer though which might be lucrative with all that solar. Simon

Agree with the other responses but on this point - yes - we supplied the windows for our build and the supplier asked for the planning permission details and charged us zero VAT as it was a new build. But you really need to get them to sort this out before invoicing. We had several suppliers do this, even though there was a main contractor - they simply zero rated everything. We even had the drive done a year after completion and because it was on the planning application, that was also zero rated. Simon

Isn't there a trick there to get the plumber to bill for investigating the leak rather than fixing it - don't they have to pay for that with no impact on the insurance. Mind you, you'd better not show them the photos, otherwise they'll be wondering about the plumbers bill for a few hundred for the 'investigation'. Simon

Why don't you use the cheap rate directly for DHW heating using a timer on the DHW immersion supply and let the ASHP run for the full 6 hours on the cheap rate. This is the way we do it. We're on Go, so the cheap rate is 9p. The night after sunny days, the DHW doesn't take much to get back to temperature. We find the 4 hours of Go a night is enough to heat the house for the rest of the day unless it's below zero outside. We actually have our ASHP set to heating only, so rely on the PV and 9p Go rate for all hot water. Another thing we've done recently is to put a timer on the immersions in the UFH tank. That way on really cold nights when the ASHP is defrosting several times in the 4 hour Go period, the UFH is boosted by the immersion in the UFH tank. Simon

@Dillsue Thanks for the reply. Would be annoying to have to change inverter but I guess I could find a G100 hybrid inverter which would allow us to attach batteries - although that probably opens another can of worms.... Out of interest what did the witnessing amount to? Simon

Ours is a Solis S6 which will take the 6.5kW, so I assume comparable to the Solaredge. And I thought there wouldn't be any peeing around, so notified National Grid.... Simon

Thanks Mike - think I need to do some more digging before I call them. I thought I'd done everything needed when I submitted the G98 form. Simon

Hi, Wonder if anyone can help - we applied for a G98 connection through National Grid. The installed PV is 6.5kW but we have set the inverter to G98, so limiting export 3.68kW. We supplied all of the documentation we understood we would need to submit but National Grid are asking us to complete an Export Limitation Scheme form - does anyone have an example of one of these that have been submitted? This is a self install, so no MCS or sparky to help us... Thanks in advance. Simon

There is a +ve to that - you won't stub your toe against the bedframe while navigating to the loo in the middle of the night 😄 Simon

We have BG Evolve -> https://www.bgelectrical.uk/uk/wiring-devices/evolve In our case all black but they seem to have some bronze-ish ones. Doesn't leave a glow when turned off although we will probably have different led strips. They do have one rather annoying feature though - after a power cut, they come back in the 'on' state when power is re-applied!!! So annoying if there's a power cut at night but even worse if you're on a long holiday..... But apart from that, we're very happy with them - we hate those rotary dimmers and also small fiddly switches. Simon

Does your UFH buffer tank have immersions in it? (If not, why not?) If so, connect these up to heat the buffer tank - if you are on a cheap night rate, get timer(s) to do the buffer tank heating at night and set your thermostats to call for heat during those hours. Before out ASHP was installed we ran the whole house this way. And there's plenty of people using in line water heaters to do the same thing. Simon

The EDDI knows when each of the elements has taken enough energy without the need for thermostats. Basically it monitors the energy that the element is taking and when it's taking no energy it stops. There is an internal CT that is measuring what is being consumed by the elements in the tank. No need for additional sensors. So under normal circumstances, the EDDI just manages everything - no need for any additional sensors. However, we have installed a relay board with a sensor which is at about half way up the tank. The reason we did this is that, there are occasions when there's a lot of family around and the PV and overnight scheduled boost don't give us enough hot water. So the relay board is set to kick in when the temperature in the middle of the tank gets below 50 and stops when it is 60 (this is done with an external device). It's an expensive boost but saves the grief from the family if there's not enough hot water. Simon

We have both immersions connected to the EDDI. 300l tank. When we have solar, it is diverted to the tank and the EDDI controls whether it is heating the top element, or the bottom element, depending on how hot the top of the tank is. It's better to let the EDDI manage which element it uses because if you only connect it to the bottom element, you can end up with a tank full of luke warm water rather than a tank with hot water at the top. We're on Octopus Go, so get 4 hours at night at 9p/kWh. So we also have the EDDI scheduled to heat the tank on this cheap rate every night. So basically if there's not been enough solar PV during the day to heat the tank, then it gets topped up at night on the cheap rate. Personally, I wouldn't use the EDDI to control your towel rail - why don't you put that on a cheap timer, so if you are on Octopus Go or similar, you can use cheap rates to get some warmth? Simon

If you want a less patterned look, CTD have/had some plain grey ones. We have them inside and out - looks great. The only thing we'd do differently would be to use tile supports to keep them horizontal outside - our builder insisted on putting the regulation slope on the outside tiles which went straight onto a concrete base. It will bug me for the rest of my life .... Should have changed the build spec obviously but didn't 😬 Simon

We have some vaulted ceilings. At the top of the wall we've installed an led trough. They're about 10cm tall and at the top come out enough to take an led trough. This throws light upwards and is great for creating a wash of light up the sloping ceilings. In the large kitchen/dining/living room, each area has a separate dimming controller, so you can have scenes with different light levels. In other rooms we've used downlighters that you can hardly see. They have a whitish translucent disc across the actual light - think you can get these in Screwfix. There are more expensive ones that can be inset in the plasterboard giving a flush very minimalist finish. Simon

What app is that? - the national grid one doesn't look like that.

Agree - but except for really cold weather we only have to run the ASHP for up to 4 hours on the Octopus Go tariff which is a less than a third the price of the normal rate. Simon

We had a soakaway in our plans and it was going to be expensive - £20k or so for getting rid of the soil and for the crates etc. We have a non flowing dyke on the edge of the property. We had to go to the flood authority folks at the county council and to the local drainage board to get their agreement to discharge straight into the dyke - took a while but we got there in the end. I don't remember Building Control having any say in things - having said that, the soakaway was only shown on the civil engineering drawings, culvert, drainage etc. Simon