Marvin

Hi @Question I have never seen such a configuration. However it could be that the 3 port valve is not working or its the wrong type. Can you read the code on the 3 port valve? I have a 3 port valve that either supplies to one port or the other but not both however the norm is a mid position valve that when not energised supplies to both ports. At the cable end of the 3 port valve there is the ability to prop the valve open it goes all the way to the right as you face the cable end and is then lifted up to latch it open. Is it latched? and what @ProDave asked (see if you can see the code on the honeywell home valve) Good luck Marvin

Plus 1 Lots of videos available these days to show how systems work. Also parts can be seen at, for example, the Rubba seal website. Good luck Marvin

Hi @Barnboy My two penny worth is this: I have had this happen when: I left the masking tape on a long time The plaster had become dusty in the time between plastering and painting Try rubbing a small area of the paint with a damp cloth and see how much comes off. If it come off easily I would be concerned that the next coat that goes on will come off easily and try a small area to see if this is true before going any further. I'm sure others will have good advice... Good luck Marvin

It appears to be the inside pane and not the outside pane, so something in the room may have caused the crack.

This is also our problem. Thinking of installing second system and splitting MVHR system in two, one in the east end, and one in the west end: Sun in the am east end too hot: Sun in the pm west end too hot. During spring and autumn one end can be too hot whilst the other too cold..... Kitchen too hot 95% of the time. I wish I had spent more time working out these problems at design stage.

Hi @RogerAH Welcome. Sounds like the beginnings of the building bug to me... Marvin

Welcome @StephenA You'll get info from one end of the country to the other. 😂 Marvin

Loads of conflicting views in my opinion. I would look at offering an option for approval from Building Control. However if you are going to allow for disabled access then a ramp all the way will not be acceptable because the idea is that you have a flat area in front of the door so, if you are in a wheelchair, you can stop on a flat surface to unlock the door. However I assume it was an existing building so other rules may apply. Also the actual space available may mean other options may apply. would it be possible to create disabled access through another door? I would look at the options and speak to the Building control officer. I'm sure someone will correct me.... Good luck M

Hi @Bramco AS above from @ProDave Yes to have temperature control away from the tank requires a digital thermostat that is adjustable and a relay switch to up the wattage is how its done here. We have one but I set it to 74C all year as even in summer (is it summer??) we have dull cloudy days, some with mist, and so we like to have hot water that will last a few days without requiring buying energy. We have a very insulated tank in an insulated casing. M

Hi @mjc55 We swapped our bottled gas boiler for our ASHP. The Boiler made more noise than the ASHP does. Yes we can hear it in the depths of winter but you have to be listening out for it. It sits on our flat roof 4 meters from our bedroom. Yes we wondered and wondered about the noise before we installed it. Best I can suggest is to find someone with an ASHP and ask if you can listen t it when its on. As @SteamyTea comments above "better speed control of the pumps and fans" has been improved with the result being a quieter more efficient ASHP: AS I understand it before it was either full on or full off. now it slowly increases and decreases. (think of this like a car would react) Being near a window the result would depend on the positions. Ours blows away from our windows and is no problem. However, I would suggest you act with great caution about positioning the ASHP. A quick decision that you live with for a long time. As a rule of thumb, the nearer the ASHP to the building thermal envelope the more efficient it will run. The more free air about it the easier it will work. The shorter the distance between the ASHP and the plant room the more efficient. The thicker and more resistant to thermal change the pipe insulation the more efficient. Inside and outside our property we have used the thickest insulation we could on the primary pipes (pipes from ASHP to plant room). If you site the ASHP away from the building where are you thinking of installing the pipes? Difficult to make suggestions without knowing your layout. Obviously any position you choose and install at, within MCS rules and connected properly, will work, its only the efficiency that would concern me. When you add up all the little details that are not the most efficiently completed on a system bear in mind, the further away the temperature of the water leaving the ASHP compared to the temperature of the outside air, the less efficient it will run. With an ASHP, low and slow wins the day! Good luck Marvin This is a rough example of the efficiency curve:

the bubble on the spirit level suggests the wall is even more out of plumb than that!

Yup That's your lot.

Hi @Lincolnshire Ian I wonder if you have undulating layers of different subsoils. I dug down 1.2meters and passed the test. However when digging deeper to install the crates I broke through a clay layer into a sandy shingle layer and any water even during heavy downpours just disappears ( I know because I have a 3m vertical 300mm diameter pipe installed to monitor the design) All that digging and I have never seen the level rise above one foot above the bottom of the crates! I would dig down further, shoring the sides if required and see if it improves. Good luck Marvin

Yes.. well.. as er @Pocster would say... er.. size matters. It depends what height and volume of water your trying to move. I agree that big and lots is A/C. Other clients fitted an internal on/off switch.

When I used rainwater for a river/mini water fall I passed it through a sand to stone filter above ground and stored the water below ground using a 12 volt PV panel and mini battery pump system to pump water up to the filter and through the waterfall to the storage tank below ground. This meant it ran on sunny days... The sand to stone filter was self draining and when turned off all the water was below ground. Depending upon levels you could make a below ground storage tank fill by keeping the top of the tank at the same level as the supply pipe (bit like a rain water butt is filled). When running 1.5 meters horizontally and dropping twice about a total of 0.5m into a pond area at the bottom about 200 litres over sunny or windy days the water soon vanished.. Good luck Marvin

Think of the overflow risk. An AAV should be above the highest basin, shower tray or loo rim on the run in my opinion.

Plus one. Also the amount of water that evaporates is quite surprising. I would treat it like pond water with a filter and UV light otherwise the bird poo will make it go bad. Good luck Marvin

Hi @Adam Harrington That is what I have done. better than boxing it in the room. works fine. And this works well if, as @Conor says you make sure the AAV is above the top of the basin (if attached). Good luck Marvin

Hi @TheMitchells I think your right on that point, however, consideration has to be taken of the first lines of the planning regulations as well. ....provided ALL the limits and conditions below are met. This includes the MCS 020 requirements page 15 onward: https://mcscertified.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/MCS-020.pdf I could not say if the ASHP will meet those requirements, especially, as it has not been identified yet. Good luck Marvin

err. not sure what you mean...

Hi @TheMitchells This would depend on whether you have a tank in the grounds or if you have to use bottled gas. Having installed bottled gas boiler in our bungalow and replaced it with an ASHP, we prefer the ASHP. However we have PV on the roof which supplements the cost of running it, and a very well insulated bungalow. An ASHP is most efficient when the difference in temperature between the outside air and the temperature of the water leaving the ASHP is the smallest. The calculated size of the gas boiler radiators would be smaller than ASHP radiators because the water temperature is usually run lower for best economy. We have larger radiators (with obviously more surface for heat to come off of) that are cooler and this make for the best result. Good luck Marvin

Hi @TheMitchells No matter what you do, increase the loft insulation to 300mm where you can. Ditto. And yet they say they will do them after..... If you are going to increase airtightness I assume you are going to use or have trickle vents in the windows. I think this will assume that 1/3 of the volume of the air in the building per hour will be replaced by outside air and therefore in winter produce a calculable heat loss. Pipework from the outside ASHP would be better run inside the thermal envelope of the building unless wrapped in a layer of 300mm loft insulation. Can you mark the position of proposed outside unit on the plan? I see you need a hot water tank. Will you need a buffer tank as you have underfloor heating and radiators? Where are they proposing to put the underfloor heating manifolds? Good luck Marvin

Hi @ Bazza Any chance of photo a bit further away as well? It helps to get an understanding of the general layout. personally I would like to see at least two foot al the way round to help understand how its meant to be. Good luck Marvin

Hi @SteamyTea I think this may be of interest to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKiBlGDfRU8

That's going to the first time for a while. All the graphs I see over the last 7 years show them broadly following the same pattern. Check it out: Search for graphs of UK gas and electricity prices images. However supplementing with PV helps and if energy storage became even cheaper we would have more energy than we need for the whole year, then we could tell the grid to (AWAY)