Adrian Walker

Welcome to BH. I would also consider an architectural designer as well as an architect. I would suggest that you build to Passive House standards (certified or not) and enjoy low energy bills and comfort.

Welcome to BH. Which boiler/databus are you looking to monitor &/or control?

That needs a charger, wiring, etc. £269 is a lot less hassle IMHO.

For ~£300 it will give you comfort during power cuts and I’m sure you will find other uses for it during the year and yes the numbers work.

I totally agree, a PH will have lots of proof that it was built well and correctly. The problem is educating people, especially estate agents

Yes, they have been designed to the owner's needs

Most, if not all PHs are forever homes. I have never seen a PH for sale.

Ecology Building Society will give you a discount. The difference between near PH and actual PH is the attention to detail both in the design and building.

The whole idea of a Passive House is that the temperature is constant 24/7. How are radiators going to effectively heat up your insulated concrete slab?

If the farmer benefited from the telephone cable then they don't need permission. Due diligence wasn't done, just pay to get it moved.

Were the telephone cables there when you purchased the plot? if the answer is yes, then you must pay for them to be moved.

Fiverr or similar is a good place to look.

If you need any advice or help on your VAT reclaim then Andrew Jones at https://www.vat431.co.uk/ is more than happy to take a telephone call from you (for free).

IMHO it won’t be anything like 10 or 20 years, AI is developing at an impressive rate already.

You’re paying an architect to come up with that design? That’s like having a dog and barking yourself. No disrespect to your architect, but you better post the rest of the house to make sure you can live there happily.

A proper and solid airtight door. Are you a diyer?

So you're on the self build register. How long and have you spoken to them about availability? They do have a legal duty to provide plots.

There is also https://www.carbonintensity.org.uk/ to look at

The usual problem with 4 bed houses is that you end up with a large landing which make all the bedrooms smaller. Mainstream developers don't give a sh*t what customers want as there is enough demand for their current range of boxes. Their shareholders are there real customers - harsh but true. Many self builders have lovely 4 bedroom homes, but with only 130sqm you are going to struggle to fit everything in.

Totally agree, the blacks are very BLACK and it is like having a radiator on the wall!

I got a quote and the saving was only £188 a year over the next 25 years. You might be buying the electric at wholesale prices, but the maintenance/running cost seems to be very high IMHO. I only pay £20 to access the National Grid.

If you have soft(end) water that not the case. See the calculation and you will see its a no brainier to get free energy.

Top tip. When you have finished using the bath, don't empty it until the water until it has cooled to room temperature.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. I still find the information, knowledge, banter, chat and drivel inspiring since joining you all.

As the temp is around 0°C at the moment, heat the house up to say 20°C and see how long it take to cool down and create a graph. That will give you some idea of the heat losses. It might be worth getting at airtightness test done.