Stones

I spoke to them briefly this past week trying to confirm configuration possibilities for a 4 cell - side by side or stacked. I await the response but will likewise be chasing next week. Didn't get as far as asking about cells being in series vs in parallel.

That's what I can't understand. Surely it would have been easier and quicker for the electrician to fix a timber plank on top of the roof truss onto which he could lay and clip his cables. This is what the electrician and plumber did in our last house. No drilled trusses whatsoever. Also makes putting in insulation a damn sight easier.

Something to do with / required for the code for sustainable homes perhaps?

Data sheet for the unit here http://www.ecoheatjersey.com/MTD_AS_Data_Sheet__2_.pdf The brochure talks about a modulating fan, but not an inverter driven compressor (although it does refer to a soft start). Information on Delonghi heat pump products seems to be a bit thin on the ground.

They are still offering them at buy one get a second half price. £1700 for a single unit, £2550 for two. I'm just waiting for a firm price on a 4 cell unit, which will be somewhere in between.

Got it, thanks. Obviously someone else clearing out non ERP marked heat pumps. I've emailed to try and establish what comes with the heat pump in terms of a controller, spares availability etc.

Link says the listing has been removed.

+1 My initial DHW plan was to have a 300L UVC in the utility, the idea being heat loss from the cylinder would contribute to clothes airer drying. The problem with that plan was a 20m pipe run between utility and bathroom, which would mean (unless I fitted an HRC) long delays on drawing DHW for hand washing (less critical for shower or bath use), and big pipe losses. After a great deal of thinking I abandoned that plan and intend instead to fit a 4 cell SunampPV in a bathroom cupboard to service the two bathrooms which are back to back. Doing this means I'll virtually eliminate pipe losses and significantly reduce 'cylinder' losses (useful in winter, a nuisance in summer), plus have the benefit of near instant hot water at the taps. For the kitchen and utility I plan a small undersink 10 or 15 litre water heater. All DHW will be off peak electric, which to all intents and purposes is equal to the cost of heating DHW with a heat pump and topping it up with immersion. The reduced losses will pay for the higher captial cost of the Sunamp over the course of 8 - 10 years.

Excellent, thank you.

When I filled out my SSE form, there were tick boxes asking if heat pumps were inverter driven / soft start and what the starting current was, so perhaps they are coming round to dealing with the problem. Part of our buying our site was the vendor paying to have some overhead lines removed and the site serviced. As part of that process, I made sure that the new transformer (50KVA) being installed to serve my house and the site next door, was big enough to give each of us the maximum possible single phase supply (23KVA).

That's where I saw it! (catching up on an episode last night). There are a few pics online, but no obvious kit for sale that I could find so I'm guessing I'd have to use / adapt a sliding door kit.

We had 7.6 kWp split over SE and SW roof on our last house. There were slight extensions to the period of generation in the morning and afternoon, but we still had high levels of generation (6kW peak, 50 -60 kWh per day!) during the day, You can flatten the curve a bit, but will still have a peak generation point. Unless sized correctly, you will have no choice but to export, and if a non MCS install, probably wouldn't be getting paid for it (unless you have negotiated to export).

I've concluded that to make it worthwhile, it has to have a payback of 15 years or less, otherwise, I would rather just buy in my energy and keep the capital invested elsewhere (I have the luxury of being surrounded by renewable generation so don't feel any pressure on this front). On the question of how much of a reduction you get with PV fitted, friends of ours report a consistent 20 -25% annual reduction in their import, which corresponded to our own reduction. My parents, saw a near 50% reduction but only because they had a very electricity hungry hot-tub. The house we are currently renting has a 5kW wind turbine. Given the near constant wind up here you would expect near zero electricity bills. We are seeing a 50 - 60% reduction in our import.

But in the non MCS install world, is a 4kW system the optimum size? Maximising generation is no longer the object (unless you have a means to dump excess generation which for a 4kW system at the peak of summer means both DHW and a battery system which adds to the cost) I had hoped to install solar PV, but the local company wnated £6500 for an in roof system - a ridiculous sum. I had a quote for £1K less from a firm in Bolton who was willing to travel all the way up here, but even then the economics of it are at best borderline. I've been thinking about this and have concluded that a 1.5 or 2kW non MCS / DIY ground mounted system with excess dump to DHW is probably going to be the optimum solution for us.

Depending on which of the two 1/2" models I'm looking at, either £2 more or £35 more for the 3/4". All the showers I'm looking at Grohe showers. Is there any disadvantage to having the 3/4" ?

Our planned bathroom has a letterbox style window over the basin so we can take in the view, but my good lady has insisted that we have the capability to position a mirror by the basin as well. Her thoughts had been a small adjustable vanity / shaving mirror on a swinging arm, however I'm quite taken by the idea of a large mirror on a sliding track which can be pulled over the basin as required, then moved back so you can look out the window. Searching online, there are plenty of examples of it being done this way. The key seems to be sourcing the right type of sliding door hardware. Just wondering if anyone had done something like this?

£3100 for a 2kWp self install systems seems very expensive. You can get a 3.68kWp MCS in roof system fitted today, £4500. I can PM you company details if you like.

Likewise, although I've been looking at Skybad. Question is, order now or wait until after the referendum result?

I'm going with a 4 cell Sunamp PV, charged with off peak electric.

I've been having a look at various makes and they all seem to differ. The minimum distance isn't really the issue however, as i do have the space to correctly position all of the different makes I have looked at.

I'm just looking at ordering my showers just now. Is there any benefit to getting a shower with a 3/4" cartridge other than the far higher potential flow rate (the showers I'm looking at are 14 l/min for the 1/2" or 42 l/min for 3/4" at 3 bar) I'm happy with an 11 l/min shower so 42 l/min seems like overkill. However, am I better fitting a 3/4" and if need be a pressure reducing valve?

Originally published on the closed forum March 2016. In submitting our planning application, I had purposefully had the external walls and roof depth drawn as 450mm thick, reasoning that this would let me investigate construction costs for a variety of different construction methods. First port of call was MBC, but our geographical location meant that was a non-starter for them. Next, I got in touch with Danwood, who were happy to travel and build on Orkney, but were not prepared to build what they described as a complicated roof engineering design, and were unwilling to use metal as a roof covering. Having previously built timber frame houses (kit and stick built on site), it was only natural for me to price this type of construction, so I obtained a kit price from Scotframe for their Valutherm system. Their basic and super insulated kit prices were in line (per m2) with the prices on their website. There was however a significant uplift (about 20%) to form a vaulted space high enough to accommodate the mezzanine /full height over the living area. I put the plans and a detailed written specification out to tender, approaching four separate contractors. Two would price for a timber frame build, based on the Scotframe kit, and two for an ICF build. We were fortunate in this regard as ICF has been used on Orkney for a number of years, has established itself in both the social and private sector, and is respected and understood by local surveyors and estate agents. It took around 9 weeks to get all of the prices back. One TF contractor was very honest in saying that he wouldn’t be able to start work until at least the middle of 2016 due to other commitments (and I have since heard he is not taking on any new work until 2017). He had priced at a significant premium and was therefore ruled out. The others were all able to work to my planned start date, and had come back with prices, which although more than I had originally budgeted, could at least be worked on. I spoke to a number of locals obtaining references, identifying my preferred contractor (ICF) from that process. I thereafter visited two of his ICF builds, one in the early stages of construction and one near completion. I was very impressed by what I saw, both technically in terms of what ICF could offer, and in relation to the construction and final finish. It was clear from viewing his work, that he paid a lot of attention to detail and took a genuine pride in his workmanship and that of the small group of tradesmen he employed. The icing on the cake was that we got on and were comfortable with each other. I decided to progress our project with this ICF contractor and commissioned a building warrant submission, so the contractor would have enough technical detail to give me a final price. On previous builds I had always prepared and submitted the warrant myself, but I was persuaded to use a local surveyor, as he had a good knowledge of the system and all the relevant information to hand. The cost of going down this route was reasonable so I came to the conclusion that although I could get all the information myself, the extra time it would take me to pull everything together would probably outweigh the savings of doing myself, as we’re currently in rented accommodation. As part of this process, we revised our plans slightly, rejigging the layout of the bedroom section and bathrooms (and in the process reducing the footprint slightly), amended some window sizes and positions, re-positioned the staircase and mezzanine. In a minor wobble moment of 'have we got the design right' we also looked at re-positioning the rear section of the house to reduce the area of dead space between the two sections of the build (effectively moving the stagger), but couldn’t develop a revised layout that didn’t involve compromising other things that were of greater importance to us. We had planned a mix of concrete tiles and profile metal sheeting for the roof, but concerns regarding profile sheeting, and the additional costs of a standing seam roof made us think again. Purely by chance we passed a house under construction which like ours, had a mix of render and timber cladding but was under an all tile roof. The finishing touch, which tied the roof to the differing wall finishes and gave the house the look we were after, was the use of a local verge treatment – lead covered skews. Having a passionate hatred for the look of dry verge systems, this was the perfect solution and should ground the house as a modern interpretation of the local vernacular; After consulting with our planning officer, the changes were accepted as a Non Material Variation. We were fortunate as changing to an all tile roof was acceptable within the conditions specified in my original planning permission. The house now looks like this; Main plan without spec and name - A1.pdf Mezzanine & Sections without spec and name - A1.pdf I’ll go into costings and technical detail later in the blog as we're still finalising some elements / finishes. Our building warrant was submitted at the end of January. We had hoped to have it back by now (end of March) but additional calculations were requested in respect of the roof and a couple of other minor queries have delayed us slightly... Next entry - Delays

'Think it and it'll happen' I remember that well from my driver training, sustained rev gear changing. All too soon, hurtling around the countryside, changing gear without using the clutch. Easy and effortless when you have mastered it, but crunchingly horrific if you haven't!

Welcome aboard!

That's very helpful thank you. I suppose when you think about all those alleyways in cities, with multiple A2A heat pumps, they still operate effectively. There will be a clear through flow for air so I'm probably worrying over nothing.