Ferdinand

It cuts the electricity usage by half, and gets me about £500 per year FITs, but more is possible. Hot water probably makes sense. And probably a reversible ashp for the summer.

Domestic wind turbines are generally not be to taken seriously, unless you have strong and steady winds nearby in an area controlled by you. You could do a "for but not with" in your kitchen provision ie fit the pipes for addition of a heat supply later. (See aircraft carriers and aircraft.) Fitting an electrical ufh system is questionable wrt solar panels as the heat will come in the summer when you don't need it. IMO direct electrical ufh is a bit of a red herring unless it is eg a bathroom for 1hr in the morning because the boss likes warm feet. But remember that ufh needs lots of insulation - really you want a floor u value of 0.13 or so. That is 150mm of Celotex or Kingspan. And to fit ducts where you may want to run electrical wires. For saving electricity bills perhaps a divert device to make sure you get all the solar energy, and something that can supply hot water or for another often available load. I have to think about this as I have a large solar array and no appropriate load. Cheers Ferdinand

Welcome to the site. Shouldn't you be renovating the kitchen in your current house? ? Very kind of you, though. (Runs and hides)

Quick question: If I get a review for an RHI grant, or for some other government programme, will an EPC report be done? I seem to recall that it was part of the review for the Green Housing Grant scheme, or if I have a subsidised new boiler etc. Does anyone have recent experience? Thanks

1 - Congratulations on getting an old house to a 78C. That is about half as much heating required as an E or an F, and is a good figure. 2 - How airtight is it? That could make quite a difference to your heat load as the commonplace is that 25% of heat is lost through air leakage. That may be a good route to reduce gas heating usage. Consider an air tightness test, and a hunt for draughts (see Smoke Pencils)? 3 - We have a heat model ss available on the forum. I strongly recommend that you consider doing your own to further build understanding. 4 - Don't neglect to think about controlled ventilation. Do you have trickle vents? If so, consider alternative strategies. 5 - How is your house humidity-wise? 6 - Can you use those single inlet single box heatpumps that just do one area to cover any gaps? 7 - As you say, don't neglect marginal gains - which is the agenda about LED lightbulbs, lo carbon appliances, low current standbys, washing lines and so on. Suspect you are on quite a lot of that. One option which some have found effective has been a Quooker type hot water setup vs a too-often used kettle. Personally I would consider it, but my insulated kettle is still going strong. 8 - Do you have space for more solar? 9 - Are you paying attention to water usage? 10 - Do you have a number for actual Annual Energy use per sqm of floor area? That is quite a useful comparator. Ferdinand

Lifespan would be +30 years if it wasn't stoodents ?. Don't ask me how I know. (Tip: Rent to 2nd years not 1st years.) As it happens I just hav to go and look at a tenant's chimney, who says that bits of brick are landing on her leanto roof and garden table. Been in place since 185x .

Time to think.

Neighbour in the know? (Discussing this with senior local politics type friends online low level corruption is fairly common, which may be things more like developers giving free labour and materials to Councillor's or Officer's homes to eg do a block paved drive. You don't have things like Poulson or the current Liverpool situation very often.)

This is what got me - my reading (I still have to check) is that those £74 payments are my monthly payments to them, so don't see why they are CRs. My original conversation when I found the overstated estimated amount I had allegedly used was somewhat tortured, so I did wonder if something had gone thr wrong way. Will have a check on the online bank accounts.

Is the general issue that they followed grants rather than Fabric First?

Have a (re-?)read of this thread, where we all talked about it. (Oh I see you did.).

'Ang on a minute, Corporal Jones ?. If you really want to pursue this then you can, but I think your advice is *very* questionable in being so decisive. Particularly from a spark, unless he has specific and deep relevant expertise. TBH it sounds as if he lived in a poor quality TF house, and has been scarred for life - did he have a family member who played the trombone? Either method can deliver a good quality, acoustically sound property. However you need to optimise for your goals. If you want quiet or silent TF, then you will look at things like cellulose insulation, triple glazing, and your floor joists being closer together, internal walls filled with soundproofing and so in. Something like an MBC Passive Kit will do it. Do a quick top-slice of advice, and your goals. I you may want to withdraw your Planning Application if you are seriously reconsidering, as you may end up with a redesign. It would useful if someone in planning or submitting planning apps ( @Temp?) could explain whether you lose your fees if you withdraw the planning app. On this thread you will have people explaining how both approaches have worked, which will hopefully give you a more rounded consideration. Ferdinand

I'd phone up the planner and find out how it is going and what his intentions are.

Energy News. North Sea link interconnector is now operational, which is 700 MW of power now, rising to 1.4 GW of hydro electricity from Norway by next March. Will have some impact, but not enough significantly to reduce use of gas in power stations on its own, I think. Water-based elec storage for the national grid by keeping Norway's lakes fuller. ? https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/01/north-sea-link-world-s-longest-undersea-power-cable-linking-norway-and-uk-is-now-operation When wind generation in the UK will be high but energy demand low, extra renewable power will be exported from the UK to Norway and conserve water in Norway's reservoirs, according to the statement. However, when demand is high in the UK but wind generation is low, hydropower from Norway will be imported. Cordi O'Hara, President of National Grid Ventures, said that it is "an exciting day for National Grid and an important step as we look to diversify and decarbonise the UK's electricity supply". "North Sea Link is a truly remarkable feat of engineering. We had to go through mountains, fjords and across the North Sea to make this happen. But as we look forward to COP26, Noth Sea Link is also a great example of two countries working together to maximise renewable energy resources for mutual benefit," he added.

I don't know if they still exist. But the point is that 700ft in Scotland is probably more like Siberia than Cirencester for wear on a wind turbine, and experience is everything. I'd suggest being in touch, and taking a trip to talk to them. I think one of his points is that he can repair it himself. It's only 6 hours in Scottish Miles ?.

Octopus.

They are on Raasay, and have had a (Proven, I think) 2.5kw wind turbine up for more than 15 years. https://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/about/

Can I use the good offices of the forum to check my electricity bill. Back in the summer I queried BG estimates, which were nearly a year ahead for electric (big solar array vs their dodgy algorithm), and have just had the final bill. I left them on Sept 13 iirc (when the supply switched to one who went bust 3 days later). I am not totally convinced this is right, but I have not done quit such a big challenge to a supplier before (except when one of them had finger trouble and did my switch to next door's supply instead) The first q is "does this look right"? Struggling slightly to get a grip on BG's concept of "credit", particularly why (at the very bottom) £265.50 "credit" plus £12.64 "credit", actually has 2 x £74 "credit" payments taken off not added to make the total. Perhaps I am being dim. I will post meter readings etc if they are useful. .

Yes. Economics look marginal, as MCS will only give 5.5p export price per unit, unless you get onto the Tesla Battery Tariff (11/11).

Thanks for that. Me: £1287, which is £107 per month, on SVP. And still £300+ below what the bill was in 2013. I wonder if more people will be thinking about pivoting from Gas to Heat Pumps?

Probably correct; it depends on the feedthrough to any consequent reduction in need for output from Gas Power stations. So any reductions will likely be in lower usage of gas for electricity production, rather than reduced prices of wholesale gas.

I've been trying to check the actual unit price, however most media outlets seem dedicated to the belief that most of the public are as thick as most of their journalists, and only quote the notional total bill difference for a notional household. I have no idea what my "cap" price is yet, so can't comment.

Where do we expect this to settle, now? I've now heard from Octopus. Looks like their normal tariff will be about £140 per month fixed or variable, compared to £92 fixed before Avro went bust. It seems the tariff is something called Flexible Octopus, which I cannot find the exact numbers for on the website. By the look of it my current best fixed deal from a big player is around £135. What are others seeing? I will probably be thinking about sticking with a variable then fixing again when it is a decent deal - what do we think is a reasonable thresh hold to watch? I expect the events to trigger it will be big electricity sources coming on stream (Triton Knoll, North Sea link) or back on stream (French link) in the UK, or being repaired (the one that burnt down). (Aside: I see from Gridwatch that the North Sea Link 1.4GW Norway interconnector is now being tested, by the look of it.)

I had a single stand treated professionally as a planning conditions. It cost £300. They came and injected the weedkiller, then came a couple of times more to check when passing, and a final visit and report a year later. To remove it by taking the soil out, it is something like 5m worth in every direction including down. I wouldn't try and self-do it, but perhaps offer to split costs. If it takes hold, you are in the pooh. If it is clearly only on your side, then pay all of it. F