ProDave

Some progress, bur not as expected. My "final attempt" resulted in it just going dead, with a blank screen and nothing happening. So, in order to do something, I re installed Windows XP, formatting the hard disk in the process. It now has a working Windows XP service pack 3, install that I can use. Is there any way from that, to initiate a download and install of a version of linux, starting that install from Windows (or dos)? Or even any way I can tell it to just start installing from the ubuntu memory stick I have, but again, starting that from windows?

As far as I know the DNO never come to check what you have installed, so apply for and get permission for the full eventual system, then install "phase 1" and they will never know that it is taking you a long time to get around to phase 2.

Clearing the bois just revealed that there is no boot from USB option, just HDD or DVD. So It's now last chance saloon. One more attempt to install ubuntu 14 from the DVD, I will leave it however long it takes, even if that is overnight.........

What you need is a buffer tank. Someone will come along shortly I am sure to advice what and how to fit.

I would hang on just a moment. See how I get on just now. I found a few blank DVD's the other day so thought I would try it myself. Steep learning curve that. IGNORE what every guide says, you do NOT need to download etcher (it did not recognise my DVD drive as "removable media" so would not work anyway) then I found Ubuntu 14 has the ability to write a boot image to a DVD BUILT IN. Nobody told me that in ANY of the guides I read about creating a bootable DVD. I will have one more go at erasing the bios password later and see if I can instead boot from USB.

I did try that with the exception of power it up with the main battery removed step. So I will try that later. At the moment I am still waiting. Lots of stuff on ask ubuntu about slow DVD access, mostly about the the need to disable DMA to the DVD drive, but that assumes you have a working system otherwise and can actually do that.

I was given an old Compaq Evo N620c laptop that is in physically good condition, it even appears to have a battery that actually stores electricity. An ideal candidate I thought for a version of Linux. It came with Windows XP installed and aparently working but I can't access it as I don't know the password to get beyond the login screen. Another "issue" is the bios is also password protected so I can't get in to change the boot order to boot from USB. It will however boot from CD /DVD so that seems my only option. First step tried installing Zorin 15. First hurdle, it halts at boot telling me my CPU does not support PAE. The work around is to force the PAE flag on boot which askubuntu says will work in most cases. Second hurdle, select install zorin and it shortly just stops and dumps you to a text window with a command prompt, i,.e the linux equivalent of a "dos prompt" and goes no further. Second attempt, I tried Ubuntu 14.04 since it is the version I have on this laptop and saved a 2 hour download to get any other version. That too throws up the PAE error and the same work around allowed it to boot to a GUI and start the install. It got as far as selecting some basic information, I press "continue" and it just sits there on the "preparing to install" screen. the DVD is working away but it seemed not to proceed. I gave up after leaving it for 4 hours with no progress. Third attempt. Ask Ubuntu tells me that Ubuntu 12.04 was the latest version not to have this PAE issue, so just over an hour download later I try that. Bugger me it throws the same PAE error with the same work around. This time I select the same basic info and select "continue" Instead of waiting forever, after a few minutes it tells me the install failed and is opening a ubuntu desktop so I can find out why. 45 minutes later I am still waiting for that desktop to finish opening. Is the issue here that doing anything from the DVD is going to be ridiculously slow? Or should I just give it up as a basket case?

I am shocked if a proper electrician left it with the earth dosconnected. What he needs to do is unplug or otherwise disconnect the compressor from the controls, and insulation test the actual compressor on it's own. It saddens me that many electricians can't do something as simple as that. Try registering on https://talk.electricianforum.co.uk/ and ask if there are any electricians there willing to have a look, I think there are a few on there from NI.

What exactly do you mean by that. The earth, and hence the case of the heat pump should be connected to your supply earth via the supply cable, so it, and the case should not rise above earth potential. IF you are saying you can measure anything between 130V and 230V on the case of the heat pump (measured with respect to what?) then your earth is not connected. This is basic stuff that any electrician should be able to fault find. Don't evem mention to the spark that it is a heat pump, tell him you have an earthing fault to investigate. There may well be an earth leakage issue within the heat pump as well, but the No 1 thing is to ensure the earthing is correct before going any further. And leave the heat pump turned off at the consumer unit until the earthing has been checked out.

No brainer for me, the £10K route with 12KW export capacity, and apply for the export now to save the later fee. The £7K saved Vs the other route should par for the PV

New Fridge / freezer. New dishwasher. Same washing machine, same tumble dryer. I suspected the pumped drainage system as being a big user but never put any metering on it to find out. At the new house I know the air pump in the treatment plant is using about 2KWh per day, about the same as the mvhr.

Our new house definitely uses less electricity than the old one. (use less now for total including heating than we did at the last house excluding heating and hot water which were oil) Lighting must be part of it (all LED now) but I cannot believe that is all (we have the same tv's we had at the last house)

You will need to get permission from the DNO for that. They will assume it is capable of exporting all 7KW and demand the network can support that. They tried to get shirty with me claiming we had a 4Kw install when they had miss read the data on the inverter that said it was limited to 3.68Kw output. There may or may not be a charge to allow you more than 3.68Kw At 7KW it will be hard to self use all of that on a sunny day, so you will be expecting more export. So it might be worth you going MCS and signing up for the export payments. Re the other points. Yes the FIT helped start consumers installing renewables. It would be interesting to see some figures now, but I would expect with no FIT since early last year, the rate of domestic solar PV installs has fallen off a cliff. Prices are not yet low enough to be viable on just self use or the small export payment now happening, at least not if you are paying an installer to fit them, and even more so if that is an MCS installer. I really struggled to buy the kit to do a self install cheap enough to make it viable with a predicted 6 year capital payback cost. At typical retail prices plus install I suspect you are looking at >10 year payback costs.

BC and NHBC inspectors both told me to leave a 3mm expansion gap all the way round between the floor and the wall. IF you need to seal from the floor to the wall for air tightness, your air tight tape can bridge that 3mm gap without stopping it being an expansion gap and I doubt the tape would transmit much sound. But I can't work out why or where you would be relying on the floor as your air tight layer? All ours was sealed with air tight membrane before the service void, walls and floor went on. I did seal the downstairs floor to the wall in the utility room with tanking tape bridging the expansion gap, but that was to stop any water in the event of a washing machine leak getting under the floor into the insulation. There was already the air tight membrane under the floor.

I would question if you need heating in that area. In our last house I fitted UFH in the hall and on the landing. But I found because both the hall and landing were surrounded (apart from the front door) by other heated rooms, that the heating in the hall and landing never ever came on. It was in hindsight a waste of effort heating those zones. In the present house I did not bother with heating in the hall or landing.

There was mention that one initially offered 0.001p per unit, but were "criticized" and they increased that to 3.5p It's just a political token. If we had been able to sign up at 5.5p export I would have been paid just over £6 in the last year for the little we exported.

Well spotted. I have ammended my posts above to exercise caution. Without the controller it may not be operable. It is indeed quite different to the Kingspan version that I have.

As required by law, the big energy companies have introduced their export tariffs. https://www.recc.org.uk/news/smart-export-guarantee-tariffs-introduced

+3 I was just about to ask how old the house is and what insulation is there under the floor. Without any I would strongly advise against trying to install UFH

It's more than I paid for mine, but is the cheapest one on the bay at the moment and well below what it's list price would have been. EDIT: See @PeterW post before before considering buying one of these

Here is another Mitsubishi Lossnay clone on ebay just now https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAMSUNG-RHF100EE-Heat-Recovery-Ventilation-Unit-Mitsubishi-lossnay/174105591682?hash=item2889807f82:g:yjMAAOSwW5BdcSX0 EDIT: See @PeterW post before before considering buying one of these

If we are doing sink porn, here is mine. Basic 1 1/2 bowl under mount sink from Howdens. That's the Howdens (Redring) boiling water tap. It's 23cm from the top of the worktop the the bottom of the main sink bowl.

I have added a picture in my post above.

I have a standard cheap Wickes close coupled pan and cistern downstairs. From the wall, the front of the pan is 66cm. That would leave you 54cm between the front of the pan and the facing wall. Plenty of room to sit down and use it. You might have problems if building control are demanding this is an "accessible " facility. From a standard close coupled pan, the pan connector and soil pipe can exit sideways without adding any extra depth. As I have it, the pan connector goes straight down.

Cut away the dot and dab and recess a little into the blockwork and you might get to a compromise. Otherwise what you are looking for is something as slim as a back to wall pan, but with a side outlet. I have not seen such a thing. High level cistern may solve how to get a cistern in without pushing the pan too far forwards. What is the width of the room? How about a corner pan?