ProDave

I am sure we discussed this before? It's a no brainer. Air blower type treatment plant and discharge to your stream. It really is a simple and easy system with very little to go wrong and very little maintenance.

Soft start would remove the big inrush at start up that dims your lights and the DNO's hate, but would not allow the unit to modulate down to a lower power level. It would be wise to clarify if possible which it has. Most manufacturers are quick to highlight variable speed inverter drive.

Remember most heat pumps don't heat DHW and space heating at the same time, so no need to over size it to allow for both. That does mean of course it can't do space heating continuously 24/7 so if it needs a constant 3kW of space heating that might be more like 4kW if it is running less than 24/7 My worst case heat demand at +20 inside and -10 outside is about 2.2kW Mine copes nicely with the heating on for no more than 16 hours per day.

Re ceiling heights. We have gone the other way. All downstairs rooms are a pretty standard 2440mm (just slightly over 2.4M so no need to trim any sheets of plasterboard) but upstairs, the two main bedrooms both have higher ceilings, the largest going right to the apex of the vaulted ceiling, with a mezanine platform over the small bedroom adjacent.

Running the pipe across YOUR fields is just the cost of dig a trench and bury a pipe. you would want something quite large over that distance. I doubt Scottish Water would want to do that bit. If the field ditch is yours I would cross that yourself as well rather than paying to cross a road. do you have a JCB or digger on the farm, or even a back hoe for a tractor?

No I just have the one tank, heated by the ASHP to 48 degrees. For much of the summer, surplus solar PV lifts the temperature a lot higher than that.

My LG heat pump had an "optional kit" for a "sanitary water tank" (not my description) It was included FOC with my heat pump. It consisted of the temperature probe on a long (but not long enough) length of flex, and a box containing a contactor and a MCB. That box is wired to control the immersion heater in the tank, so if you want to, you can program the ASHP to do a legionairs cycle toheat the tank water to 65 degrees once a week. I have that disabled. So I could have installed the tank with just the temperature probe, which is a plain old thermistor.

Yes via a Telford 300L Heat Pump cylinder. Two bathrooms, kitchen and utility room. 3 people in the house. We have run out of hot water on a couple of occasions. Because the water is only heated to 48 degrees by the ASHP it will use more "hot" water than it would if it were hotter to run a shower. and given our showers are capable of something silly like more than 15L per minute, you can empty the tank in half an hour. And when the ladies get washing and conditioning their hair, two such showers can use up that half an hour. to guard agains that I have a Steibel Eltron instand water heater in line with the HW tank output https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/8020-stiebel-eltron-dhc-e-810-instant-water-heater/?tab=comments#comment-136666

A quick scan through the SAP (section 8 ) tells you your worst case heat loss is just a shade over 2kW, about the same as my house. And mine is running fine from a 5kW ASHP running under floor heating downstairs and only in the bathrooms upstairs.

Certainly one to keep an eye on. but loads of nice fluffy words and absolutely no detail.

My guess (and it is a guess) would be the council. They may grant you a licence to drive over it or may sell it to you. Has anyone else nearby created a driveway over similar land?

He is making his life hard. Leaving the cut tiles until later which makes them harder to fit and they won't be nailed or clipped. So he's taking off natural slate and fitting interlocking concrete tiles instead. Does that need planning permission? Is the property listed?

The Anti legionela thing was discussed before. The conclusion was if you have treated mains water and a UVC it was not an issue. It might be a different matter with a private water supply.

I found the cheapest place to get one from was Travis Perkins. I think what swayed it was they could use their own transport to deliver it which they did FOC which made it cheaper than anywhere else.

If you have the option of discharge to a stream, definitely do that with a treatment plant. Way better and easier than any drainage field especially if it won't drain anyway. If you are worried about material, our Conder treatment plant is made out of hdpe, not fibreglass.

If you want to answer the RHI question, separate the quotes to general plumbing, and heating system (with or without RHI) on separate quoted. My gut feeling is there is too much to give a fixed quote. I know most people don't like it, but I feel certain you would end up with a better finished price on a day rate. I always maintain a fixed quote has to allow for the worst case of everything which may not happen.

Yes I had an Electrician from the Central belt try and tell me on another forum that I had to be registered with a competent persons scheme. I have never done work down that way so never put it to the test. A while back I worked as a subbie for a small builder and we did a few houses in Moray. I was fed the same BS about Moray council so the builder struck a deal with some other local electricians that they would test the installs and certify them. Until one day they "had some issues" and were not able to do that so I issued the EIC and Moray council just accepted it. It's all a load on nonsense to me, and I won't be sorry to be retiring from it all in a few more years.

Ah yes, make sure you are comparing apples with apples.

Mt findings is each Council must keep a list of electricians they have check. I never get asked now for any proof, but the first time I issued one in InvernessShire They phoned me to quiz me. So if you are new to them you might get asked.

Part P is only of relevance to a Scottish electrician close to the border doing some work in England No doubt when Scotland does introduce something similar it will also be different.

Yes in Scotland, there is no need for anyone to be a member of a "competent persons" scheme, there is nothing like Part P in England (though it will happen here soon I think) All that building control want is a valid EIC.

So you have been quoted £22K and will get back £10K in RHI payments so a net cost of £12K You can buy the ASHP and cylinder for £4914 plus VAT = £5896 Is the UFH and install really going to cost £6K if you just get an ordinary plumber to fit it? (hint mine did not) I am just saying before you sign up to an MCS / RHI scheme, check the alternatives. If you can cost the install and UFH separately with a non MCS plumber and it comes at at no more than £6K then there is no point in the RHI scheme.

What have the council asked for? I just included the size and type of each tree on the planning drawings and showed the ones that are to be removed. No other questions. It seems some councils like to bury the issue under a mountain of expensive paperwork that has no practical purpose other than antagonising the builder, causing delays, and making them poorer.

If the internal walls are not load bearing, why not make them of timber and plasterboard? easier, cheaper, easier to run services etc?

Our previous house with a brick chimney used the clay ones in your right hand picture and the gap between the liner and the masonry was filled as they went with vermiculite. You then fit a closure plate at the bottom to seal around a flue pipe from a WBS