CotswoldDoItUpper

@SteamyTea and @Nickfromwales can you guys recommend any PV suppliers? Seems a minefield.

would you recommend a particular store? I will def need advice because I can guarantee that I’ll forget something crucial!

Good point, looks like it’ll be garage roof then!

It’ll be either ground mounted, or on the (flat) roof of our garage. is this kit a reasonable list of things I’d need? And can anyone comment on how much I’d save using it? https://www.pluginsolar.co.uk/?product=plug-in-solar-3-5kw-3500w-diy-solar-power-kit-with-renusol-console-tubs-for-ground-or-flat-roof

Ok so we will probably be in our house for 2-3 years, and want to offset our high electricity usage with some PV. There will be no need to export as we would happily use all generated on the size of kit allowable by the DNO. question is, so that it’s worthwhile to us, can we take them with us to our next house? If not, we may as well just stick with our current bills and invest when we move. I expect we’d have a ground mount system as the box hates to look of them and we’d hide them in a sunny spot somewhere in the garden.

Just install a different buffer of the same size and fit the pump required in a different location but still connected to the flow or return or whatever as required. Then you have the right setup but with no noise issue.

But if you’re struggling then why not do it yourself and then if in a year or two you really don’t like the finish you could find a plasterer to skim then when there isn’t a crazy shortage of trades.

I second DIY kitchens, good value for money. They were my first choice and SWMBO’s second choice.

I was quoted £4500 for 25sqm with 600x900 to include matting, adhesive and grout. complete rip off, didn’t go with them. But no availability of other decent tilers round us till May/June ish. Some trades charge what they want at the mo. Chippy (1-man-bad) tried to quote us £350/day too. Bloody cheek!

I have this square 100L buffer tank. It is compact (space efficient) and silent. Even has a 3kw immersion heater in it for when our boiler breaks (last Friday evening) to give us a bit of warmth in the UFH. Yes there are greater heat losses from it, but it’s a trade off for the space. Just stuck it in the cupboard and use it as an airing cupboard or similar but with a smaller tank then a DHW tank. https://www.advanceappliances.co.uk/product/141-buffer-stores/

I thought it was cheep too! 34p + vat from Avantigas. Then my old supplier (Flogas) tried to match it and went from their initial quote of 66p + vat down to to 35p + vat per L. I thought seeing as they were close then there must be some underlying out there to hedge against! only other thing is there is a £66+vat standing charge for tank hire.

Similarly I’ve just secured a 2yr fixed deal on my LPG for 35.7p per L inc vat. Equivalent to about 5p per kWh. Assuming my boiler is running at about 80% efficient that means the effective cost is in the region of 6.3p/kWh. Our electricity is about 22p/kWh so would need a COP over 3.5 to make any savings, let alone begin to repay the investment!* I believe mains gas is cheeper too? *it’s been a long time since maths homework time - please forgive/correct as appropriate! p.s. our boiler heats the water to around 55deg for rads/100L buffer tank. our UFH (of around 75sqm, 200mm centres over 100mm PIR between joists) runs at a flow temp of 40deg courtesy of the mixing valve. Lovely and toasty!

We have a 100l buffer with 230sqm house and 90sqm UFH and rads for the rest. Also a gas boiler, tho no idea of the size!! Seems to work ok and we have kept a reasonable amount of storage above it too! https://www.advanceappliances.co.uk/product/141-buffer-stores/

No point screwing at any more regular intervals then your joist spacing along the length. So 8 or 6 depending if you have 300 or 400 centres.

We didn’t glue (watertight refurb). Just 18 screws per 2400ish x 600 board (imperial joist spacing). Then laid UFH and heavy limestone. That was 3 months ago and no squeaks so far. Have we made a mistake? Not taking it up but he good to know!

I had the same question! Ours arrived left handed and I panicked before having a quick look around. It transpires that most can be adapted easily enough to go both ways. Our set up is now right handed too! good luck!

Thanks @Roundtuit and @JohnMo. thus is for a room that needs around 4900BTU. The plumber has specified 2 of them knowing we’ll be running out heating at 50deg and knowing we want to upgrade to a heat pump in the future. radiator outlet says 2700BTU per rad but with no delta, home supply suggests 2200BTU at a delta of 50. should I get the plumber to change them for something bigger?

I don’t know the manufacturer, the plumber dropped them off 2 days ago. this is all I have…

I don’t know the manufacturer, the plumber dropped them off 2 days ago.

Is it possible to work out the output of a radiator at a certain delta? I’m not sure our plumber has sized our new rads correctly despite insisting that they’re ok. They’re column rads, and we’re looking for a delta of 50 not 65 which is what I think he is using. Thanks!

We had something similar with a similar boiler and it was something like the pressure switch. Simple £25 part from a decent plumbers merchant and a diy (with YouTube!) fix in about 15mins. We had an error code of f.75 I think. Hope it’s a simple fix for you!

We had 3 rooms plastered mid-December, no heating in them at all and had windows open a crack since to help dry out but plaster still wet in places (mainly where the bonding was thick underneath). Thinking a dehumidifier might be the only solution - chemical process surely must have finished by now!! I think allowing the generally respected time to allow a process to complete (7-10 days max for plaster) then giving it a helping hand so you can crack on decorating or similar should be ok. Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong!

This is exactly the sort of set up I had in mind, just couldn’t put it into words… thanks @ProDave! seems very sensible and should be able to be made safe via fuses and would solve a lot of issues people have with PV!

Ok so if I wanted to do this I would need I guess 5 of those lithium batteries (£6750+installation). Saving about £1250/year for about a 5 1/2-6yr payback, faster as £/kWh increase. Could I get a decent size solar array any not connect it to the main grid, just to the batteries/EVs and not have to inform DNO as it wouldn’t be connected to the grid? Or would I have to inform them of batteries anyway as they would be connected to the grid to power the house?

About 80kWh ish. 140kWh ish on house lighting/appliances/cooling etc. heating/DHW done by lpg combi.