Bramco

So parallel pipes one 22mm and one set 35mm? There's a big difference in the volume of water... and would be interesting to see what effect both (or more) bores have on the effectiveness of the ashp, especially when defrosting - there could be a large volume of warmth heading out of the house to the ashp when it's already done it's thing and defrosted...

But that leaves a LOT of hot/warm water in a pipe before it gets to the house. On a previous house, we installed microbore from the solar thermal to the tank to make sure that we didn't have a pipe full of hot/warm water but nothing in the tank on dullish days where things turned on and off. So maybe a smaller bore pipe for the 25m run and a secondary pump to help it on it's way. Wonder if anyone has done any real world tests on this?

Tell them you're being smart and have made space for 2 Smart for 2's.....

@mads Found it!!! https://www.heluz.com/en/product/load-bearing-slatted-and-roller-shutter-lintel-heluz-380-x-238-x-1250 These look brilliant - but in the end we went with standard steels as part of the timber frame package, then had to fettle the openings as the timber cladding went on...

@mads This isnt the one I was thinking of but might be an alternative - https://anwis.pl/en/solidbox-external-venetian-blind-flush-mounting-system. I'll see if I saved the one that is integrated in a file somewhere. Another thought as well. You'll probably want sliders rather than bi-folds so that you can open them with the blinds down. And another plus for external blinds is you can dispense with curtains - we haven't any curtains in the house! 🙂 Our triple glazed sliding doors came from Express bifold doors in Leeds. Excellent after sales service, think they've been back 4 or 5 times for minor fixes in the last 2.5 years.

@mads We have venetian blinds - there is an advantage to these - between the autumn solstice and the spring solstice, they let the sunshine through and you get the solar gain but from the spring to autumn, the height of the sun means the blinds stop the solar gain. Ours is a timber frame build with wood cladding - photos at https://lhc.net/projects/ashcroft-creating-a-low-energy-family-home/. As you can see, we also have overhangs on the ground floor. Ours were from Hallmark blinds but I think they are manufactured in Poland or somewhere like that. There's another thread on here about them. As for the build, I don't see why you can't make room for these in any type of build. It's best to fit a cassette during the build, so that it is easy to then install the blinds. I'd also go for a wireless controller, rather than wired. Ours are all wired but they give me quite a headache when it comes to cleaning them on the first floor balcony. I need my other half to be around to open them once I'm done, otherwise I can't get back in off the balcony!! Also, when we were still in the design phase, I came across a system for the lintels across the top of the window that incorporated the cassette, so a good all in one solution. Can't remember the name of the supplier but I'm sure your favourite search engine can find them. If not give me a shout and I'll try to find the spec again.

We had one that was about security lighting - needed a plan etc. We had the condition removed by simply stating that we didn't intend to install any security lighting. Simples....

But check out the Cool Energy site - they have a zero cost, self install setup. They cover the MCS side of things. Cool Energy zero cost offer -> https://coolenergyshop.com/pages/free-heat-pump-kit Here's a thread on Cool Energy

That's what our hedge condition said - and do it for 5 years. So we're about half way there...... We have planted 9 trees from the local tree list, so maybe we could ask for the hedge to be removed on the basis of the tree planting.... We also had one about having to agree on a security lighting plan again to mitigate issues with wildlife - that was an easy one, we simply got it removed by telling them we didn't intend to install any security lighting.... worked a treat - although as @Tosh said it did cost....

Damn - better get those bat and bird boxes up..... Here's a good overview - https://www.planningdirect.co.uk/planningappeals/affordable-planning-applications/planning-conditions

Not sure mate but we're leaving it to our kids..... I know solicitors have made up all sorts of checks to up their fees on conveyancing but do they check on planning permission conditions? Does anyone here know? In any case, you can take out insurance against any sort of issue - so that would be an option.

We applied to have some removed before we finished the build - box ticking exercise. We still haven't put up the bird and bat boxes or put the fence between us and the neighbour and we've been in here for nearly 3 years..... I don't think they'll ask for proof that you've complied, so they'll just stand as conditions. And as for asking permission/telling them you're removed the fence - I think they'd be shocked if you contacted them. All LPAs are massively overworked and checking on permissions is the last thing on their minds. As for the architect, glad we kept ours on - but then he's our son, so it might have been hard to sack him off!!

I'm not sure it's broken - it might tend to be inconsistent and might put some people off doing their due diligence and going to appeal. But imagine if the NPPF had to dot all the i's and cross all the t's on every possible situation on the ground - we'd never have a framework - and I know some would say that would be great but have you ever driven through small towns in Belgium? We rely on having a framework that sets out principles - like the Green Belt principles. We have a borough planning system that allows for local specifications - and then we use the appeal system and the courts to actually work out what the boundaries are in specific cases. It's pragmatic but it does kinda work, although some of us have to help set the boundaries by taking things to appeal and in extreme cases to the High Court. Having said that it's bl**dy stressful having to batter your way through the system.........................

We spoke to Julian Wood when we were working out whether to apply. We didn't follow his advice though, he suggested going for a swimming pool and then change of use after a few years. We actually followed the ruling. I think he was just after more business.... I mentioned to @Sully in a PM that there is a book of case law on the NPPF - a bit out of date but still useful. Quite expensive (not in the grand scheme of things of course) but for anyone more interested in how the NPPF is being interpreted in the courts, maybe worth a look. Its 'Interpreting the NPPF' written by one of the top planning law QCs.

And an appeal inspector can decide that a plot is within the village in terms of the NPPF even though it might not be within the settlement boundary. Their job is to interpret the plans according to what they find on the ground. And given the push to build, build, build, they may be even more inclined to grant permission these days. And the decision was based on the Plan from 2012 - a lot will have changed in that time

The NPPF says that one exception to the Green Belt panning criteria is 'infill in a village'. We were knocked back on our planning application - green Belt infill - but pushed through and went to appeal and won. The appeal outcome basically said the council were flat out wrong in denying us permission in the 1st place. It's all very stressful but there are a lot of folks that have won through in the end - although it takes time. On pre-apps, it depends on your council - ours were pathetic and didn't engage, simply wrote an exam answer about all the things that might be against permission and avoided the elephant in the room 'infill in villages'. We used a planning consultant to rewrite our appeal document in planning-ese. I can put you in touch with him. PM me. Also, if you want to see our planning documents including the appeal etc, PM me and I'll send you the link.

We had a random MCS inspection on our ASHP install - he picked up the fact that the pipes through the wall weren't sleeved - these weren't the flexis. With the constraints we had, we didn't want the bozos doing the install hacking at our lovely corrugated metal cladding, so we'd not let them put in any sleeving. They could just get through, under the bottom edge of the cladding. We had to provide the wall makeup as well as confirmation that we were happy with having no sleeving, so that the MCS guy was happy. So they, or at least he, thought sleeving should have been installed.

Should read. It found Ofgem allowed regional network companies to bolster their profits by not passing these savings onto clients household bills.... There fixed that.

Is it to do with the fact that the temperature of the house air being extracted is 10C - that's pretty cold - my SWMBO would be complaining at that. I wonder if the unit complains because there's no heat in the outgoing air to put back into the incoming air? I'm assuming that the supply air has been a lot lower than 5C for some time as it's showing as 1C from the display.

@peekay only just seen this post, we have the wider IKEA version and are very happy with it. Often only run the fan on setting 1 which works for most things, like doing rice, pasta etc. - on 10 it's like a jet engine but I think they all are. EDIT - and our VAT claim went straight through. It was declared as a separate item to the rest of the kitchen. The only thing on our claim that was pushed back on was the window invoice but the window supplier was very good in re-issuing the invoice and refunding the VAT

We didn't have any additional sensors or switches installed. For us, running on the low speed setting with automatic humidity sensing turned on, on the unit works very well. Standing next to the unit, you can hear it change up a gear when it senses a high level of humidity. If you are concerned you might need additional sensors and boost switches, you could always hide the wiring, so you could add them later. Are you planning on opening widows in your bathrooms? We have a couple with skylights, these clear very quickly. One en-suite has no opening windows, we should probably have had one in there. That one takes about 30 minutes for the steam to clear but we do have a massive Hansgrohe rain shower head in there.

Not sure but on the setting we use it's about 170m3/h - which is fine for us - we have a lot of vaulted ceilings, so while it's 250m2, it's a lot more than normal in terms of volume.

Can't say anything about the Vent-Axia but we have a Zehnder ComfoAir 350 and are very pleased with it. We run it on it's lowest setting with automatic humidity sensing turned on which clears bathrooms quickly. Ours is a similar build but 250m2. Ours was installed by the builders contractor, so no experience with BPC or ADM. I seem to remember a discussion about an issue with one MVHR unit, where the condensate was dripping from the base of the unit and was collecting on a side of the unit away from the drain. Might be worth searching for. Can't remember if it was a Vent Axia EDIT - here it is ->

Agreed but as you say the emonPi2 is a much more accurate device which gives you 6 channels - and, if you care about these things, you'll be buying from a UK manufacturer that really believes in open source software and hardware as well as not forcing you to use a cloud. They also have a very active forum and run the ASHP monitoring site which can be useful to know if yours is running well against other ASHPs in the area.

As @S2D2 said, your best bet would be one of the open energy monitor units - https://openenergymonitor.org/. The emonpi2 is a great bit of kit. Is local, so not cloud based. Easy to install and very accurate. We've been using their kit for years. It can really help to understand how all your systems are working, ASHP, PV, batteries etc. Can also help you track down the elusive base loads that all add up to make bills higher.