ProDave

There is a commissioning sheet supplied with the cylinder and can also be downloaded and printed. That needs to be filled in. It asks for qualifications etc of installer amongst other things. That is what BC want.

The difference between most people and a self builder. When I gave all the as built details, including the air test result to my EPC assessor (full SAP) my instructions were, if it does not achieve an EPC A, then do not register the EPC, instead discuss with me what improvements I need to make it achieve an A before the EPC is registered. Building inspector at completion remarked this is the first house he has seen with an EPC A

In a stud wall, yes. You don't say construction method. A lot harder in a block wall. There are some constraints to do with safe zones. e.g if you want to "move" a socket and the cables for that run down from above or up from the bottom, then moving it removes the accessory that creates the safe zone, so it might be easier to leave it where it is and add the required socket to one side as an addition. New socket above should be simple. Adding a new socket to the side usually involves drilling through a stud or 2 so you will likely have to partly unscrew and spring a board forward to drill through the stud(s).

Is this another "need to keep the compressor warm" type of issue? Similar to Mitsubishi where some models have a sump heater? In this case they keep the compressor warm by continuously running it at a low level? Not all compressor types need this so yet another hidden "feature" buyers need to be aware of if they want to minimise rogue energy use.

It seems manufacturers only fit them if you ask. Our Rationel doors turned up with key locks both sides but they supplied thumb turns on request and I swapped them.

Why dozens? That perhaps provokes a discussion of where in your build is the air tight layer? Warm or cold loft? I have a total of 8 cable penetrations through the air tight layer. Not understanding the bend radius issue?

Don't over think it. Drill the smallest hole that the cable will fit through, and seal around the hole and the cable with air tightness tape.

As this is a packaged consumer product, I would have assumed when they sat "100% SOC" they have already managed the battery management internally and that might only be actually 85% of true capacity but that is all they are ever going to charge it to. and the 100% they tell you means "that is as full as it gets"? some clarification would be handy.

When the ASHP "shuts down" it should give a fault code. Post here what it says, picture of the controller if possible to show what it says. High immersion heater use from new might be poor set up. Ideally you want your hot water tank set at no more than 50 degrees, that's about the limit of good performance from an ASHP. Many of them, if you set the DHW temperature higher, they default to using the ASHP up to about 50 degrees then the immerrsion heater to get it hotter. Any competent electrician or plumber or even a competent teenager could read the manual and check through the settings to see how it was set up by installer.

I have done a few now, plumbing and wiring for my own, wiring only for a few others in conjunction with a plumber. I really don't know what installers are frightened of? From a blumbers point of view it is usually just like a system boiler and HW tank. It can be a little more complicated for the electrician as every one is different, which just means you have to read the manual and do what it says. 2 days each trade should do it normally. I suspect the issue is your standard plumber and electrician won't know how to size one. Easy on a new build house where you have had a full SAP design done giving you the heating requirement. I do agree it is time the over priced MCS cartel is shown for what it is and their near monopoly broken. The worst part is the government BUS grant is not benefitting the customer, but lining the pockets of the over priced installers. If you have a plumber and electrician willing to install it then just do it.

I would be chuffed if I got that low. So I would say well done.

All you are doing is show just how lousy the detail is on MOST houses in the UK. You could spend a lifetime sealing each and every single hole and there will be as many more left that you can't see / reach. Most on here will agree it is easy building a house from scratch to get it well insulated and air tight, by correct detailing while you have access and use of membranes, tapes and sealants where appropriate. What you are showing is the outstanding problem of just how do we significantly improve the older UK housing stock (and in some cases not so old!!) that was built without such care and detail. I have a friend who has been doing that to an old stone cottage with surprisingly good results, but it has been a LOT of work. Room by room, over many years, one room at a rime he has stripped it back to a bare shell, all plasterboard off walls and ceilings and all floor boards up. Then and only then can he seal all the poor detailing, insulate it, and finish off with an air tight membrane before re boarding and re flooring. I doubt many want to go to those extremes?

Those cupboards into the eaves under the window ring alarm bells. Anything similar I have seen is poorly insulated if at all and leaks like a sieve. Get your blower door on that room and I bet you will find howling cold gales coming in there. That looks like an access trap into a crawl space to the right of the cupboards, again likely to be poorly insulated and draughty. But put your head in there with a torch and you will get a good idea of the quality or otherwise of insulation and detailing there. Take some pictures and post them. The other common detail I often come across is you take a socket or switch off the wall on a windy day and get a cold icy draught coming out of the hole, meaning detailing is poor and cold air is able to get where it should not, and I am talking about switches on internal walls here. What should be simple tings like sealing cable holes from a cold loft down into an internal stud wall.

So you have a bit of a leak through a poor window or door seal. Does that get "fixed" and the door or window now won't open?

I am not sure starting a new thread with the same question will get different answers? It is your neighbour that is taking the risks. If you are really worried alert your buildings insurer about the possible threat to your property and let them go and have a look?

For me, not until surveyors have got over their fear of it. I have just been organising the home report for our old house, and one of the very first questions the surveyor asked was "is there any spray foam insulation in the house" the implication being it would be a problem if there was.

Explain the issue you are having?

The issue is usually you need a cable type/ method that can be routed without RCD protection. You only want a switch fuse in the meter box not an rcbo. Singles would need mechanical protection for that. so 4C SWA and an earth is the best compromise.

Switch fuse in the meter box and steel wire armour from there to consumer unit.

A breathable membrane is normally used to stop actual water getting through but allow water vapour out. And you should do a proper condensation analysis.

We agonised over this, considering "stone wood" for the kitchen, but in the end we did not want that everywhere and did not want a transition to a different flooring, so we went engineered wood everywhere It was my tiler friend that advised me about the "bend" and only to use a short stagger if you do that.

Have you got a little confused there? My alterations in bold.

to be in a safe zone it must be within 150mm of the corner of the room. http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php/Safe_zones_for_electric_cables

That is my point. It matters not whether you put the insulation on the outside, warm roof, or put the insulation on the inside, cold roof. The thickness of the total roof buildup will be the same. So as long as you design it correct, both give you exactly the same finished roof height and internal head height. A fact some people seem unable to grasp. Roof trusses are the architects cop out. They stop working when you get to the hips so that part would need to be cut, and they have restrictions on the internal space. But are equally suitable for a warm roof, you just build them a little lower so that when the external insulation is on the finished roof height is correct. You don't lose head room inside because no need to put insulation inside like a cold roof. Steel could do the ridge beam and the 2 steel legs to support the hip end of the ridge beam.

Is it room in roof? the velux windows suggest it will be. I thoroughly recommend what we did, and it is not difficult. Make it a cut roof supported on a big ridge beam. (the ridge beam will probably need intermediate support from internal walls) Then all the rafters span from the ridge beam to the wall plate, putting no outward load on the walls and giving unhindered use of all the roof space with no need for collar ties etc. You simply design the height of the ridge beam and rafters to allow for fitting insulation over the top of the rafters so by the time it is then battened and counter battened and tiled, your finished roof height matches what the planning drawings say. We used 100mm wood fibre above the rafters, and then 200mm Frametherm in between the rafters making it a hybrid roof. the air tight layer is immediately inside the rafters before plasterboarding (with or without a service void) Very easy, very simple, and performs very well, and very easy to get the air tightness detail done well. I will edit in a minute to add some photos.........