andy

Can't comment on the vid distribution due to only having a single TV (I know, radical) but maybe my Loxone experience can help here... Firstly, I'd not go for the Loxone occupancy sensor but go for the Faradite instead unless you want the acoustic angle? Personally I think they are much nicer - they are small, no relay clicks, just put them everywhere On to cabling - I went tree for the Loxone switches, spots and LED strip stuff (spots run from tree based on load, a single tree to each room and branching as you mention would be more than enough and my recommendation) and then ran a separate CAT6 for the Faradite with a couple of cables serving 2 sensors with diff cores (watch digital and analogue input counts on the Loxone end as that escalates!). I also have all 240v radial obviously routing back to Loxone over 1.5/2.5mm T&E. I was originally going to run T&E to each light switch but didn't bother and I think that was the right decision, switches will move away from needing T&E over time IMO and it's a waste of money/resources. You can happily run the Touch switches using normal CAT6 (as I am for a couple). I separately ran CAT6a for all my PoE gear e.g. Unifi cameras and AP. Not strictly required but has worked a charm with some very long runs. Now, what would I have done diff...? Run more spare cables (CAT6 and T&E) between key areas (for me this would be comms room, utility room, loft and garage) and put in spare twin wall ducts (100mm ones, it's easier to slot insulation down them into slab and for me again this is loft to comms, comms to utility and utility to garage). I ran specifically colour-coded cables which helped too - green for tree and green CAT6 for Faradite, blue for CAT6a PoE, orange for data, etc...

Just for another experience here, I have a 3P smart meter from Octopus, works without issue every 30 mins reporting readings.

Net metering is standard and means you don't need to worry about which phase is importing or exporting. I have 3P to house, 3P PV and Tesla Powerwall on phase 1. Phase 1 has load that I want battery back up for power outage reasons not that we've had any power cuts yet! I'd go full 3P from the outset.

Having fitted about 4,000 (and counting...) stainless steel Spax screws I'd disagree @PeterW! No way I'd go with nailing but it may depend on your desired finish/ability to easily remove. I'm using these: https://www.spax.com/uk/products/stainless-steel/facade/facade-screw-45-x-60-mm-100-pieces-fixing-thread-raised-countersunk-head-t-star-plus-t20-4cut-stainless-steel-a2-25470004506022/pid-2448/

@Adsibob , it's a red piece of plastic you need to remove. 15:13 on this video (these vids were awesome for me when I installed mine!!):

If I recall, there was a plastic stuck over the gold rain sensor, did that get peeled off?

I’m an Octopus customer in exactly this situation. I have 3 phase PV, 3 phase smart meter, 1 x Tesla Powerwall and net metering is real, trust me 😬

I've got 3 phase and have gone for 1 x Powerwall with important loads on phase 1 (protected phase), so you don't need 3 unless you really want to... It's worth mentioning in case it hasn't been said but Powerwall install is zero-VAT rated as part of new build, so if you think you might need 3 then "cheaper" to get them all at once

I mustn't grumble at the £400 I was charged for a brand new 3 phase connection into my green box then really...

Glad it got you sorted, bloody annoying that was for me too!

Bad idea. Burning hydrocarbons causes pollution, really don't go there (from an air quality perspective).

Thanks for the normalisation of racism…

I installed them last year - and those 3G panes are pretty damn heavy on the SK06 I tell you! Sizes range are 780x980 (MK04), 790z1180 (MK06) and 1140x1180 (SK06). Here's an example of an SK06: Window - GGL SK06 - £646 exc VAT Blind - DML SK06 - £120 exc VAT No brainer if you ask me

I doubt most will be able to compare as they will have gone one way or the other. Myself I have 9 x 3g electric ones and 100% think it was the right route - mainly a consideration due to inaccessibility but now I have them, worth the small premium plus you can get the electric blackout blinds for only about £100/window. Combine this with Apple HomeKit automation and you have a happy Andy Blinds open/close based on sunsrise (with offset as you wish), etc... Plus electric windows close if it rains and you forgot they were open... that in itself makes it worth the premium!

For reference, at present I have 3 x Unifi G4 Bullet cameras connected via CAT6a back to my Unifi PoE switch and the power draws at present are (cos Unifi makes all this so easy to view): 3.05w 3.26w 3.15w I also have 3 x AP via PoE and they take a bit more power: IW-HD 4.7w IW-HD 4.55w AC-PRO 4.39w Total draw at present on thw switch is 29.27w but this will climb as I put 1 or 2 cameras out eventually and also 2 or 3 more AP. Don't go with CAT5e, do CAT6 at minimum (CAT6a is a bit more of a pain to terminate too).

Absolutely not (unless there's some really cheap stuff out there!). With Unifi, depending on model, you're looking at a switch capacity of 104Gb and non-blockiung throughput of 52Gb. Basically any port can shove 1Gb to any other port without issue, in parallel.

On the cable quandary, do what I did - terminate supply in a green box in the garden and have an isolator there with an SWA cable that goes from that into the house that you/your sparky can run. That work? Top tip for cable pulling, get a cable sock!

So I have a UDM Pro and Unifi PoE switches - cannot recommend the setup strongly enough. I don't need PoE on UDM Pro and it's the NVR for my PoE cams. As an ecosystem, there's nothing else close to it plus with Homebridge, you can bring the cams into Apple HomeKit too If you are running cables between the two switches, you can just go with CAT6 and set up an aggregation group, so you get resiliency on the inter-switch link. Plus, with everything (access points, cameras) all being PoE then all you need to do is put a UPS centrally to keep everything up and running should you lose power.

@epsilonGreedy what PoE switches are you using? From what you've said, I don't see you need more than 1Gb, so probably the best would be to run 2 x (ideally) CAT6a runs to the garage and set those up as 2 X 1Gb switch uplinks with a Unifi PoE switch on the garage side, for example, with as many ports as you need. If you really anticipate more traffic (or want to futureproof then you can look at doing 2 x fibre runs with 10Gb SFP+ uplinks but the price goes up quite a bit in that scenario.

Warmcell filled all walls both internal and external, personally I'm really happy with this build up - excellent thermal and acousitc insulation properties. If I ever do it again, I'd be looking to use the same design but I'd leave a lot more room for service voids - things get tight really quickly...

If you can drill a hole through, what about Wedi Fundo Primo, veritical drain? https://www.wedi.de/en/products/building-systems/floor-level-showers/fundo-primo/#group1-15

As I understand it, this used to be the advice but this has now shifted and there's no problem with having a steeper fall in the pipe.

Finally found someone - hurrah! https://www.astonlark.com/

Going back a bit on this one but I'm trying to sort out "normal" insurance and GSI not interested in a house without the final completion certificate. Struggling to find a normal insurer to cover this scenario...

Hi Simon I had a similar desgin, I sleeved the majority of the pipes (and all flows) where they bunched to minimise heat transfer in areas I didn't want to overheat. I used this suff (red for flow, blue for return): https://pswtradesuppliers.co.uk/ufh-foil-pipe-edge-insulation/136-16-18mm6mm-pipe-insulation-lagging-blue.html This has worked fine with no excess heat in areas I didn't want it. And I have a split floor on my slab with a manifold on each floor. Hope that helps!