ProDave

I don't know, but adding an EPC requirement to claim the FIT was the most daft thing you could ever imagine. It added a layer of expense and bureaucracy to the process, denied some people who would well benefit for it from having solar PV, and in the case of a new build, meant you could not sign up for the FIT until the house was virtually complete and had a lodged EPC submitted (this is what locked me out because of our slow build) If "they" were really serious about increasing renewable energy take up, they should be removing obstacles, not creating more.

Yes but if @binky charges a fair rate, he would be hit by the extra VAT. It really does seem like it is designed to prop up the cowboys. It hurt (and will forever be a sore wound) that I was denied being able to claim the FIT at any point in the new build and had to resort to a very cheap self installed system to just about be viable from self usage only. Unless you self install I can't see it being viable just on self usage when you add installation costs, even reasonable ones. It is just bonkers that at the very time when we need a greater uptake of renewable energy "they" are making it so it is not viable for most people.

Take my own system. I got all the kit for £1500. Allowing for the fact it was hard to find it that cheap, £2K is more realistic. It would definitely NOT have been anywhere near £2000 worth of labour to fit it if I had been costing the time it took. So on a PROPERLY charged install (not an over inflated MCS install) the material costs are going to be the dominant cost, unless there is a HUGE drop in panel and inverter prices. Which makes me think this is aimed at continuing the MCS gravy train, who will probably charge £2K for the panels and £4K for the install = 5% VAT, Vs the small guy who charges the install at a realistic cost gets hit charging 20% VAT

It just infuriates me. With no more FIT there should not be any need for MCS installers, and the way forward is cheap packaged PV systems for either DIY instalation, or instalation by ANY electrician. That will lower end user prices and perhaps make it viable? Adding VAT and / or new schemes that force the installation to be done by MCS contractors is just putting "vested interests" above any real desire do drive an uptake in renewable energy.

So far since I installed mine, I have exported 28KWh. I doubt I will be signing up for this scheme even if it ever happens.

What @Onoff picture is showing is a crimped and heat shrinked joint between an old red & black cabe and a new brown & blue cable. The heatshrink is covering one of the colours of each cable making it look a bit odd.

I think this is pretty much concluded now. The DAC arrived from China today, not bad just 10 days since I ordered it, and way quicker than I expected. It didn't work at first, but then I noticed it had an 8 pin header next to the 28 pin header. My Pi did not have any pins in that, and it was clear that the DAC had connections to that 8 way header. So I soldered an 8 way set of pins there on my Pi and it now works, and as speculated, it works with one of the HiFiBerry drivers. No answers on either of the 2 forums I posted to find out what file formats the Pi Music box supports or how to load extra codecs. All I know is it appears not to work with WMA or M4A files. So today I ripped one of the CD's again and this time saved it as MP3 and the Pi Music Box plays that okay. So it looks like as a background activity I have a lot of CD's to rip to MP3 files. I still did not get anywhere with VLC, I used Rythm Box in the end (on the ubunta pc) to rip the CD to MP3 When this is all done, it should give SWMBO what she wanted, the ability to play all her music through the hifi controlled either from her phone or any of the pc's in the house, with the bonus (more for me) of the internet radio stations.

I would say put the whole operation under the control of a conventional central heating programmer as I have done, that is something everyone understands and easily allows you to turn the heating off completely in the sumner.

I would look at putting the HW circulation system on timers, or room occupancy sensors, so it only circulates when the rooms with taps are in use.

Thanks. Reading that, it looks like my version of VLC is too old. I will try updating it later, the current version should do multiple files.

Someone suggested VLC, which I have, but it only seems to do one file at a time, which is tedious.

It did indeed seem to fit the bill of as true off site build. But I felt a bungalow did not fit in with the neighbours. No criticism of the method, just imho the wrong house for the plot. Their garden office junk storage room though looked like it was just clad in a load of pallets. Talking of pallets, I felt well at home seeing one of the houses using temporary "steps" made from a pile of pallets.

No, it's a little less than renewing the self build policy again, and probably provides better cover (e.g I am not sure contents are properly covered on the existing policy)

I think I have got to the bottom of why it won't play my music files. I don't think the Music Box supports the .WMA file format, which it turns our is a Microsoft proprietary format. So I am now trying to find if it is possible to add a .WMA codec to the Pi Music box, or convert my files to something else, or rip them all from CD again and store in a different format. None of these seems an easy option.

Not yet, will try them tomorrow.

Yes there is no part P here. All building control want is an EIC for the installation. I am not sure if they will accept it from "anyone" The first time I did a new build in a new county (Invernessshire) they phoned me to check my qualifications before blindly accepting it. In my usual patch, they just accept it because they know me. If he can find an electrician willing just to test it and issue an EIC then he will be okay, there is a "3 signature" version of the EIC where you can sign the design and installation sections, and the electrician (tester) signs the inspection and test sections.

Not getting very far with this. Only one call back from another try with quoterack, who then could not quote. Tried Adrian Flux again. Random number generator time, came back with a quote of £639. When I gasped and told them it was more than just renewing the self build insurance, they reduced it to £483. Part of me wants to say yes (as it's a little less than the self build policy renewal) the other part of me wants to say bugger off you are not getting the business because your first quote was taking the piss.

Most "upgrading" you are likely to need will be in relation to tv's and media. Nobody can predict what the next "thing" will be. I have tried to cover this by making a short section of floorboard at each end of the bedrooms as a trap door that can be lifted. This should give asccess to feed new cables down the service void to the tv's at one end and down to the AV cupboard at the other end. so I should be able to pull the next thing in cabes through when I need to. Several spare CAT6 cabes may enable you to use some king of converter, e.g 2 cat6 cables can convey an hdmi signal with an adaptor at each end.

As an electrician, even if VAT registered, I would struggle to justify buying a digger as a work "tool" so I could re claim the VAT. As it happens I bought one privatey with no VAT.

Yep, mine must be 30 years old if not more.

The stripmaster has a die set like this with a row of different sized holes https://www.heamar.co.uk/spare-parts-blades/40865-ideal-45-2685-1-custom-stripmaster-lite-blade-set-783250209897.html Many different dies are available depending on the range of sizes of cable you are working with.

In Scotland it's only 5 metres. But building control do seem to have some flexibility, i.e a near neighbour managed to site his treatment plant only about 3 metres from the burn, when BR's say it should be 10 metres. Worst case scenario no acceptable drainage = no house. The issuing of our building warrant was delayed several weeks because BC would not accept our drainage proposals. It was only solved when SEPA gave us a permit to discharge to the burn, which removed the need for a soakaway. Is there any watercourse near you? It's a lot easier in England to get a discharge permit than it is in Scotland.

I too have a pair of stripmasters but I tend to only use them for electronic bench work for stripping small multistrand cabes. For the normal house wiring stuff I just use sidecutters.

I can't see the point in remaining VAT registered if you don't need to be, unless you LIKE all the extra paperwork that goes with it.

I generally find my profit is about half my turnover. When you own your house outright, and have no mortgage, you will be surprised just how little you actually need to live on. Me and SWMBO both work part time and earn enough to keep us ticking over WELL below your perceived survival and are both basic rate tax payers.