Tetrarch

Thank you for the replies. I chose the 15kw Biowin to replace a 1950's oil boiler in an area that is nor connected to the mains gas grid. We live in a rural setting and so I am sanguine about our contribution to pollution from our boiler, and indeed our wood burner. My intention is to go for a 300L Megaflo and run the boiler every other day. First things first will be fitting a water softener..... Regards Tet

I had a Winhager BioWin pellet boiler installed in December 21. At the time, pending a planning appeal we had it connected only to the upstairs rads and the UFH that has been installed so far. I am using an immersion heater for hot water and a basic 8.5kw electric shower. The heating is plumbed ready for HW delivery but it is not yet connected. The planning appeal is dragging on interminably so I'm now looking at potemtially another Autumn/Winter under these conditions. Knowing that the run cycle for the pellet boiler is fairly long I was thinking that a larger HW store with the HW run every other day would be more efficient than a small store/daily run when the heating is off during the summee. The question is how do I optimally size a megaflo (or similar - open to recommendations) to accommodate this kind of arrangement? Our household is just two persons so just a couple of showers and hot water for washing and washing up. Regards Tet

We have a pellet boiler for heat but I like the EV-as-a-battery idea. Regards Tet

Thanks guys - I am convinced. With energy proces going only one way and EV's an inevitibility, now is probably the right time to consider solar. Next consideration is yes/no on storage and to wait for planning permission so I can know how big my South-facing roof will actually be... Regards Tet

I'm definitely having a new slate roof installed over the next year or so. I'm also considering getting a solar array, but am not sure about the economics Is there any way to pre-fit a roof for a solar array at the time or is this one thing that sits between trades? What would the likely sunk cost of this kind of approach? Any advice, suggestions welcome Regards Tet

House is a 1914-built detached that is (PP pending) going to be extended and refurbed, including a complete external re-rendering and intternal re-plastering. The plan is to have UFH downstairs and rads upstairs fed mainly from an ASHP. Also, considering an MVHR to provide superior ventilation in a more sealed house The insulation is going to be substantially upgraded. From here https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/thickness-solid-wall-insulation-u-values-can-achieve/ it states a requirement to add 67mm of PIR to a solid wall to achieve a u-value of 0.3 My current thoughts are to add 25mm internal insulation using insulated plasterboard and 50mm outside on the old solid walls under a new render.This will avoid creating too much depth on the reveals but will improve the u-values to the right levels Any reason why this solution won't work? Regards Tet

Absoltely none. May I pop back to my original question. The Jablite (no particular reason for choosing this brand, are others better/cheaper?) comes in standard thicknesses up to 200mm. Listening to the previous comments; to accomodate any unevenness I was thinking of getting a 50mm layer to get a proper level and then laying the 200mm on top - does that seem a sensible plan? Do I need to tape the 50mm layer or just lay the 200mm at an offset and then tape that Finally, the Jablite 70 would seem to suffice - is there any tangible benefit from upping the spec to the Jablite 100? Regards Tet

Concrete subfloor is staying, electrical cables and microbore radiator pipework is most definitely going Regards Tet

Hi guys, Thank you for the responses. Floor is hundred year old concrete. It is a bit weird as it is light in colour the stones are larger than I would have thought is normal now, but it appears extremely solid. I attach a couple of pictures. I am a DIY'er and the 70mm value is from my (likely) builder. His recommendation was to remove and use hardcore under a slimmer layer of PIR, but I went the whole hog and removed everything. Just to re-terate the measurements I have a tiled fireplace with a 100mm upstand. It is 300mm to the bottom of the vertical tiles so I was working on 250mm insulation + 70mm UFH screed + 20mm Flooring to bring the final floor level about half way up the tiles Edit: UFH is for long and low as this is not for a working family, but newly retired Regards Tet PS - look closely and you'll see that the double socket by the floor is actually connected by a bakelite junction box and a cooker switch plate - bodes well!

Hi, I have now removed floorboards and joists in the lounge and have a hole to fill (actually 2 when the dining room is completed). I am looking at a 20mm Eng Wood Floor on top of a 70mm UFH slab and thus have ~30 sq m of 250mm depth to insulate. What is the most economical and effective way to fill this 250mm? After a little research I believe I have three alternatives. A bespoke 250mm Jabfloor EPS (or similar) Layers of off-the-shelf Jabfloor EPS to reach the 250mm A Jabfloor layer topped with a Celotex (or similar) overlay I'm looking for any advice/experience or alternative recommendations Regards Tet PS: Below is a floor schematic where the green is floorboards, the yellow (uninsulated) concrete (to be dug up and replaced) and the orange is the proposed new extension

The 1917 house refurb has a decision point and I am receiving conflicting advice. The new extension (25% of footprint) will of course be insulated. The 1990 (old) extension (35% of footprint) is completely lacking any floor insulation and so I am happy to have it dug up and relaid simultaneously with the new extension. So far, so simple. My builder has advised that I could/should remove the suspended floor (40% of footprint) and infill with hardcore, concrete and insulation to create a floor like the rest. The other option, is to insulate between the floorboards and either use spreader plates to drop the UFH pipes below the joists or (height-dependent) put floor trays with a screed (liquid FL if that saves some height) on top. Is there a huge difference in efficiency between my builder's recommendation and the latter idea? One advantage is that I can do all the insulation myself as a job before he even starts on site Regards Tet

Mrs Tet will not countenance anything else but carpet and rads upstairs Regards Tet

How do I find a "system designer" ? Regards Tet

Thanks for the reply George. I didn't know about the reduced RHI payments. I will certainly have to take that into account. I was thinking a Megaflo for the HWC and these are super insulated. If the HWC is not an issue, then another major issue is the size of radiators needed upstairs. From the research I've done thus far it seems that I would need rads almost double the size of normal and that would compromise some of the plans that I had in mind. Regards Tet

I'm in the early stages of the refurb of a 1917 property in Kent. The rough downstairs floorplan is below - The floor is a real hotchpotch of suspended floor (45% - Green), Previous extension concrete floor ( 35% - Yellow) and New proposed extension (Orange 20%). The current EPC is a horrible 23 and we're looking at using a combination of internal and external insulation to improve this. This may be an opportunity to seal the house (replacing floorboards?) Trying to bring all the potentially different technologies and solutions together is a challenge and every choice seems to lead to a particular specialist supplier that may have a particular axe to grind/product to sell. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum that I am very glad that I have found. Regards Tet