Ferdinand

Agree - looks like agood product, especially with the perma-trade-discounts at Wickes. Personally, I would not go for the curved bar corners other than in a bathroom. I like Croydex as a brand.

I have not met separate chiller units for ufh.

It's that time again. 🙂

Don't tell his missus that !

We had a few conversations about it several years ago on BH. In answer to your q - I don't know. But it may be that they would send you a 500mm square sample for yo u to try, perhaps, or come and fit one? So you can see if the internal temp of the glass is cooler after application. Somewhere there is a (c) Jeremy Harris thread about it, which I cannot find. He had a piccie of some test patches he did on his porch window. Here is a quote from another thread: We had about 12m² of external heat reflecting film applied two or three years ago, at a cost of about £100/m². It was a mix of Solargard and 3M Prestige. It works very well at reducing solar gain, and made a significant difference to our need for summer cooling. When I was looking at my south facing bay windows, replacing the dg units in the main part of the window (which covers approx 80%) with solar control ones was surprisingly reasonable (but that does not help you): Interesting looking at my potential need to sort out my south facing traditional bay windows, since mum has moved her bedroom downstairs and the rooms were running up to 35C when I measured it late August. The other one is my office. Expecting a sudden demand next summer. The glass is 2G from about 12 years ago, and to replace 10 off of 450x900 units (ie the main windows not the opening toplights) with new ones with an anti-solar-gain outside pane would cost about £600 fitted, which might be a cost-effective solution given the extra lifetime over a solar film. Surprised at the relatively lowish price. And here is an example of the type of "all in one box" aircon I was talking about above: https://www.sunbeltsales.co.uk/olimpia-splendid-unico-air-8sf-18kw-all-in-one-air-conditioning-unit-copy Various products are around, but you need to look carefully.

@Adsibob A note that relying on the decrement delay works only as long as it takes the heat pulse to soak through, then you need a cooling down period of some sort to let the heat back out again via whatever method. Another tool you have could be light absorbent films if there are windows which are particularly a problem - with those you do not loose the visibility / light. Perhaps look at that big skylight or S facing or E facing windows? For air cooling units, there are products that work with both parts inside and have 2 pipes going outside. I am not sure what they are called. Someone else will remember, but i have been away from renovations for a year or two. All it needs is one hole in the wall to take all the connections in one place. I have an overheating problem on my S side, and I am eventually planning a veranda.

General tip for getting grab handles from disabled suppliers who have raised their design game. I've been buying grab handles to make stairs and bathroom for comfortable for an elderly tenant. I looked into this in a lot of detail when I did a downstairs bathroom for my mum several years ago, when I found the best route to things that worked but did not look institutional was careful selection from Screwfix. A key decision is stainless steel or plastic or stainless steel with a grip sleeve in potentially wet areas. Mira also do nice ones, which cost an arm and a leg (£50-150). I now see that the specialist suppliers for disabled / elderly have raised their design game and are worth a look. And also that Screwfix etc have a smaller range of relatively inexpensive ones in stock. Here are a couple that I am just ordering - both around £20-30. https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/bathroom-aids/grab-rails/stainless-steel-grab-rails/spa-stainless-steel-grab-rail-curved?sku=P01341 https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/bathroom-aids/grab-rails/stainless-steel-grab-rails/spa-stainless-steel-grab-rail-straight?sku=P01316 https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/bathroom-aids/grab-rails/bathroom-grab-rails/circular-stainless-steel-grab-rail-with-soap-dish?sku=M66388 The other key point with anything like this is to have 60-75mm of screw in the solid wall eg the brick. You never know when a 120kg large bloke is going to need to grab it whilst falling. Ferdinand

Appliances Direct have a quantity (10) of refurbished Liebherr large (390l, 1.8m high) fridges reduced from ~£1075 to ~£750. These are in A2 condition, which means possible scratches and scuffs - so think carefully. But fantastic brand, and well worth a look. Estimated energy usage is 75kWh per annum, so could also save you a chunk of electricity bill. They are stainless steel finish, so you also gain an excuse to buy baby oil. https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/a2%2fkef4330/liebherr-a2kef4330--freestanding-fridge Ferdinand

For fridges the estimated power consumption is part of the published technical information. And as they run 24x7 it should be a reliable estimate. I don't think you will find an A-rated fridge (wine cooles only afaics). The scales have been redefined to (I think) get rid of A++++ and similar? An old A is a new D. But scooting over to Appliances Direct, and looking at a D rated 390l fridge and E rated 230l vertical freezer, I get energy usages of 78 kWh and 154kWh per annum. That fridge is an improvement over my 6-7 year oldie, and the freezer is a small improvement. (Both Appliacecs Direct and Currys have energy rating in their range of filters.) These are the not altogether cheap models (£1100- and £1000- 🙂 ) - Liebherr. https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/kef4330/liebherr-kef4330-freestanding-fridge https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/gn3735/liebherr-gn3735-comfort-freestanding-freezer On your 32kWh per week = 1650 kWh per annum, your extra usage is 1400 kWh per annum, which at 30p per unit is £465 potenital saving per annum. That will cover in short order your extra costs for a top end fridge and freezer over slumming it with a Bosch or Samsung, even if optimistic) ! But I note that Appliances Direct have a number of refurbed big Liebherr fridges at £750 here (30% off): https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/a2%2fkef4330/liebherr-a2kef4330--freestanding-fridge So I'd recommend a look at that, or the full price version. I got a Liebharr ex-showroom model Fridge-Freezer combo, and I would now happily pay the full price if it ever needs replacing. Worth their weight in bubbles. I'd say it might be time for a new fridge and freezer. Ferdinand

Find a past rental advert if he rents them out, and ask the lettings agent.

Hah. Octopus proposed yesterday that I increase my payment to £147 per month on the numbers posted above, but TBF I have only been withy them since last autumn and they previously overestimated my Elec usage by 100%. And that is still in the system. F ---------------------- We regularly review your Octopus account to help you manage your payments, keep your account balance at a good level and spread the costs of your energy use across the year. As you probably know, energy prices have risen rapidly over the last 12 months. We're spending around £150 million to keep prices as low as possible for customers, but unfortunately your current monthly payment amount probably won't cover your future energy costs. First of all, let me say: If you're having difficulty paying, please let us know. Our team are here to help. We've found most people prefer a steady monthly payment for their energy costs, with an adjustment here or there to account for increases or decreases in the amount or price of energy they're using. We recommend a monthly payment of £147.23, to smooth your future energy costs.

In this case 3 energy bills, each with readings by me. 🙂 My main active decisions have been 1 - to try and be careful and 2 - to take regular readings to stop estimates going wild. I have something which is supposed to read my PV online which came with the system in 2016, but I don't really use it.

I'd say gowider than that in case you decide on a Super King Size later. (Why are beds sized like cigarettes?) Make them doubles with USBs. And consider whether you want master light switches by the bed, too.

I've just been running through my energy use Feb-Mar and Apr-May. Tariffs jumped by about 3x on 1st April. These are the numbers. This is Octopus ex-Avro-Energy tariff. This is not what I expected, and is in 2 chunks of 2 months. ___________________________ 24 Jan -> 30 March 2022 Elec £ 114.06 489 kWh Gas £ 181.44 4170.4 kWh Total £ 295.50 ____________________________ 31 Mar - 30 May 2022 Elec £ 46.27 77 kWh Gas £ 64.10 668.3 kWh Total £ 110.37 ____________________________ The notes are: 1 - GFCH was turned off about one week into April. So it looks like approx. 15% of gas is water heating / cooking. I have not done much optimising except for being careful. I still need to del-lichen my solar panels. 2 - I have no idea by electricity usage fell like that. I would have expected it to fall by 50-60% or a little more. Perhaps unusual solar patterns. 3 - We did have a notably cold spring and warm April-May iirc. 4 - This is for a 200 sqm house with one occupant working from home, with a big 10 kWp solar array but not optimised with a divert device. 5 - I'm keeping my payment at £91 per month for now, which looks about right. That payment was £74 before Avro Energy went bust. 6 - There might be a surprise next winter, so I may need to look at heating costs. Heating is GFCH. 7 - Plan A I may consider a weather compensating controller as one option. 8 - Plan B I may look at how I can better exploit my solar PV. Ferdinand

Is this not more likely due to below standard install of CWI eg air bricks not being protected by tubes? Which allows the CWI to block up the ventilation system. Just CWI in the cavity alone would not do that surely, since there are still all the other leak routes in a traditional leaky house. IMO if CWI is done with a proper install it should be fine. But of course ventilation must always be considered. My council even had to revisit dozens of houses in an EWI project because no one had thought about ventilation properly.

Commenting mainly on the fabric. My 2c: In a large house like that with two of you I would perhaps look at External Wall Insulation, or properly done dry lining, both making sure to also manage the ventilation. And also consider things such as under-floor insulation (if necessary raise the floor if you are doing a full reno). Plus all the other usuals such as modern double glazing etc. My usual cost-effective solution has been underfloor insulation and a draught sealed floor, well rated 2G, a loft fan and permanently on trickle ventilation, dry-lining all external walls (ideally 75mm celotex or more if you have large rooms), and lots of insulation in the roof. I hvae properties done like this that are fine nearly 10 years later. I'd suggest a reasonable goal is a reduction of 40-50% in energy usage, which would normally mean an EPC figure of a High C or ideally a low B. That is a 75-85 number. There's a thread on here called Little Brown Bungalow about one I did, which has some debate in it, and care (and advice here) is useful with things like floor builldups and the order of wall elements. Was it empty for a period to get you the reduced VAT rate on reno costs (I think still available)? And go through your local Energy Saving people to see if grants or free anything are available. I think you could have got your loft insulation free under ECO. Start with the SImple Energy Advice no: If you’re looking for home energy efficiency advice, try the Simple Energy Advice website, or call them on freephone 0800 444 202. Ferdinand PS I hope you bought your heating oil at not-the-wrong-time. It's been a touch variable !

10 MWh is quite a lot. My solar (sub-best orientation but 10 kWp delivers a reliable 5.5 MWh of lecky per year. No divert device. If it was all south facing that would be about 7.5MWh I estimate. My usage including heating net solar is about 10MWh to 16 MWh per year, with perhaps 85% of that being gas for water / space heating and cooking. I guess there are people here running largish houses on under 10MWh of power per year. But the question is: Cui Bono? and where will Octopus make money from this? They are a business not a harity.

They are about to become a much needed product for LLs needing 2 more points on their EPC to avoid committing a criminal offence by renting out a substandard property. And hopefully soon for owner-occupiers if NoGoBoJo gets off his fat butt and starts imposing some regulation of Energy Efficiency on OO house, with reasonable incentives for noncompliance (say an extra Council Tax band).

Hmmm. As I see it this may be practically unknowable. Gre-mattering: Problem 1: Hot water runs out unpredictably because I do not know how much heat is left in the Sunamp. Problem 2: This is likely to be unfixable without a fair amount of technology. As part of the heat in a Sunamp is stored as phase change, and part if stored as rising temperature. So it is difficult to measure - measuring the % of phase change material which is liquid / solid perhaps being the most awkward aspect. Plan A: Partial solution: install a shower heat recovery device, which should mean that the heat required from the Sunamp is a little less due to the recovered heat, which should mean that the heat you have lasts longer than it would otherwise. So your shower should go cold less frequently. (This does not help with a bath, as you do not continue running it whilst water is running out.) Plan B: Take a shorter *&^% shower. Sidenote for @ToughButterCup. 10 minutes later I’ve got rid of a fair bit (say at least 160 litres - you can’t change the flow rate on the part of my shower that I use [iBox]) SWMBO has a bath - say 50 litres. Both at an unknown temperature but above 20. Are you sure about that 50l bath? In a normal bath (estd at .8-1 sqm in area in the hole say) that is approx 50-60 mm of depth. 2 inches and a bit. Really? Ferdinand

Can anyone recommend a good source for Eurolock barrels? I need anti snap and anti bump, and 3 keys. Thanks F

Great stuff. I think the question I would ask if whether at the end of that your house can be easily operated by a random person you sell it to in the future? We have various people around (or no longer around) who have doo-dah-diddled wonderful things that work great, but only potential with themselves as embedded maintenance engineer. One of our members looked at the great thing he had created, and then wrote a manual for his partner for when he popped his clogs. I wrestle with this as a small LL making houses as efficient as possible but still suitable for tenants, and needing to be "tenant-proof". Do you have strategies for *that*? My strategy is to keep it very simple, work to long time lines, make sure I have enough money to employ engineer or handymen, and to have done most things myself at least once so I hope I have a clue.

How do they make it 10% when my Heat Recovery Fan claims to recover 70-80%? Welcome, Tarik. If it was Manchester, presumably the stories are mainly about rain and football. 😎 I have educated myself and I am told that the new pronunciation for the name of Turkey is (phonetically in English) "Turkier" or "Turkia". I tried to make it Turk-e-i (as in E-I-E-O from a couple of English songs), but was corrected quite firmly. I enjoy visiting Turkey too - I sometimes fly to Istanbul and stay at a high end hotel for transit elsewhere. But last time I went to the City itself and took a folding bike with me on the aeroplane. The bike worked very well, apart from the tramlines. I came off the bike and an enterprising gent rescued me, then tried to sell me a carpet - an interesting experience. Very enjoyable overall. Ferdinand

I am thinking about using a pressure washer to let me work at a reasonable height. One of the applications is to clean my solar panels, which are now quite "lichened" after a few years - partly because some are modestly tree-compromised. This will require me to work from a flat roof over the garage, where the roof plane begins. The top of the array of panels is about 5.5m vertically high above the garage roof. I have a reasonably high end Nilfisk Excellent E160.1 model, which has a 10m hose so may well be suitable even sitting on the ground to avoid taking weight up even a short ladder to the flat roof, and can be fed either from a hose, or a barrel (ie wheelie bin) of water. An alternative is to look at a portable item. I am a Makita setup, and they have a good portable item which costs £400 (!) without batteries. The alternative portable would be something cheap and cheerful. I'm after experience as to what other people have done. Thanks for any comment. Ferdinand

There are a lot of strange solar proposals around in response to the increased electric prices, quite often puffed by bits of media as Gee-Wizz products. The ones I have seen are usually less than half efficient than basic panels. Isn't this one similar?

A demolish / newbuild can quite often be a better idea than an extensive / expensive renovation. Have you considered both, and are you beyond the point of no return?