ProDave

So are you now eventually saying, that the key to your energy saving claims are as I suggested earlier that you keep the ROOM temperature lower and achieve comfort for the occupants by the radiant heat they receive directly? If so, then why not just state that claim in plain English, and then people might believe a system that can achieve comfort for occupants while maintaining a lower room temperature could actually cost less to run. EDIT As Steamy Tea says, that would make a low running cost claim true, but it would still not make the heaters "more efficient"

Out of the box suggestion: You have half an acre of land that's too rough to mow. you want to "do something" with it to stop it becoming scrub for now. Eventually it will be leveled, seeded and made into a lawn. Is that a fair assesment? If so do what I did. Treat it all with Gallup 360 or other glyphosate weed killer with a back pack sprayer. It gives you cleaner weed free ground for when you are ready to level it, costs bugger all to do, and saves you all that effort with the strimmer.

I haven't used it for donkeys years, but it did what it was supposed to last time I tried it.

Yes that looks identical to what I have.

So just how are these Nexgene panels trying to work. If you are just trying to heat a room to a set temperature, then it does not matter two hoots what form of electric heater it is, it will take the same number of KWh of heat to heat the room to the set temperature so no form of electric heater will be cheaper than the next one. Or are you trying to keep the room and it's contents at a lower temperature, and just heat the people in the room by radiant heat, so they feel warm, even though the room isn't, as in the old cold church example previously mentioned? If that is what you are trying to achieve, then why don't you clearly state that, and then people would believe lower running cost claims?

I have a carbon arc torch for the stick welder for brazing. You can also use a propane torch if the job is not too big and you are not in too much of a hurry. I did a welding course during my apprenticeship to learn the different sorts of welding. Oxy acetylene was by FAR the easiest, but probably too expensive for DIY?

If you are renting from a housing association and have clear needs, then I would be arguing with your HA that your thresholds need altering, or they need to re house you in a more suitable house for your specific needs.

Heat loss is discussing for instance the insulation of a building. The question was about efficiency of a particular make of resistance heater Vs a different make.

14 degrees here today and sunny at 60 degrees North. Felt very pleasant. It will be a while everyone needs AC up here.

I really don't see planning as imposing "barriers" to sustainability. Generally planning is only interested in where it is, and what it looks like. Tthe only exception being in Scotland you need planning to retro fit an ASHP to an existing house that may put people off doing that.

In the choice of renewables I had to put Air Source Heat pump under "other" as it was not there to choose.

Just get on and do it. This is a simple garden outbuilding. Some things you can over think.

You only need to have "started" to lock in the planning. Condition 1 of my planning was that I must form the access from the road before I start building. To do that I had to discharge the pre comencement conditions. Once I had formed the access and notified the planners they confirmed by email and then in writing that they had noted the development had started. So that alone was enough to lock in the planning permission. It was irelevant as I started the actual construction just a few weeks later.

This thread makes me feel not so bad. I am using about 80KWh per week on "stuff" which is basically everything except space heating and hot water. That averages to a constant load of 470W but remember that also includes the washing machine, dishwasher, tumble dryer, tv;s etc. I have yet to analyse the true unavoidable background load, but might have a better idea in 2 weeks.

OSB over the joists, battens on top following the joists, UFH in between filled with biscuit mix

I thought you had all the advice you needed here? What has now put you off?

We now pin an EPC number on houses when selling them. Buyers on the whole take no notice of that whatsoever, apart from Landlords who cannot now let the very poorest so won't buy those. You would think buyers just might take note of the EPC and prefer to buy a better one that costs less to heat, and that might start to value the poorest of the housing stock at a lower price?

I left the SE 16 years ago, because I had long held the view it was over priced, over crowded, and a generally miserable place. It served me well for the first half of my life providing employment, but I wanted somewhere better. I now live somewhere much nicer, with a climate some may not like but we never get the stiffling heatwaves we got from time to time down south. We have much more space per person, housing does not need to be so densely packed. Traffic jams are almost non existant, the people are nicer and the scenery fantastic. The one thing the UK needs to learn, is we can't continue the desire for so many people to crowd into the one corner that is already over populated and struggles at times to meet the water needs etc. The state of much of the UK housing stock is another issue. I don't see an easy solution to that one, but in the SE it could be that unless housing stock is radically upgraded, we could be using as much energy to cool houses in summer as we are in heating them in winter. Re the US climate, I spent 4 weeks in Chicago one summer and the heat was stifling, you did not want to be out of an air conditioned building or car for very long. Then I went back for 2 weeks in December. The cold was penetrating, and you really didn't want to be outside for very long. At least they seemed to know how to cope with regular heavy snowfall. I guess there must be a short period in spring and autumn (fall) when you might get some "nice" weather, but quite why anyone would choose to live in a climate like that beats me.

Think touring caravan facilities. Porta Potti (other brands of chemical toilet are available) empty at house when required. Go to house for a No 2 Small hand basin with water from a small tank, refill when empty.

So what is that Interresting price? They seem to have hidden it well as I could not see it.

So what if you were self building with savings, no mortgage, and not bothering with a structural warranty?

The one I posted about a few posts back, took weeks and weeks of work, They first had to remove a lot of very soft top soil and remove it from site as there was no room to store it. Then they had to dig the 1M square pads and pour those. Then cast the actual pillars, then put a lot of the top soil back. I am sure the pile foundations for this small house on this very difficult site cost more than the very much more conventional foundations for my much larger house. What I have found if you dig close to the edge of our burn, you are into very soft saturated ground,

Or a good run of Kwikstage

A bit like a house near me built on a steep slope right next to the burn. Under each of these piles a a 1 metre square of concrete and the piles are formed by pouring concrete into 300mm diameter plastic drain pipe sections.

Terry's house is better insulated than mine, and he lives in a less harsh climate, so his heating requirement is lower.