Mr Blobby

We were out of contract, and NIE came and took the meter away, so just a made up fee.

Our DNO (NIE) disconnected the old leccy supply, removed the meter and the old house was demolished in June. I paid NIE for the disconnection work in the summer and their job was closed, all happy enough. Then this week I get a bill from the old supplier (SSE) for 66 quid disconnection fee. When SSE did not do the disconnection. The robbing shits. Is this second disconnection fee typical? Its a scam. Is there any way to avoid paying it?

You seem to think that the wholesale energy market consists solely of a pool in which generators bid in half-hourly (trading period) prices per MWh and all generators are paid at the marginal rate. While this may be a view of the energy market that is easy for Daily Mail readers to grasp the reality is far more complex. You may think that you are the first person to identify the shortcomings in such a market but these issues have been well understood anmd addressed by clever people many many years ago. Let me help you. Alongside the pool is a capacity market and a balancing market. In addition to this sits a set of ancillary (now called system) services, where market participants receive payments for being available, and for being flexible. Whether they are idle or not. Participants (I won't call them generators) get paid whether they are dispatched or not because they provide capacity to secure the network. The capacity market and system services payments for things like ramping margin and reserve provide payments to participants for being available. This is nothing new. When I first worked on industry privatisation back in the 90s availability payments were made to power stations to cover their costs when idle. Daily peaks that requiere small flexible generators to be dispatched for just a few hours of the month in the winter are nothing new. This has always been the case, even long before wind. Just think about it. Peaking plant that comes on rarely are, in my experience on the same site as a much larger power station, relying on the same network connection and administrative functions. Diesel gas turbines can have diesel sat in the tanks without any issue. Its not a big deal to have these units sat idle until required. The Capacity Market and system services pays for this based on their flexibility. What about those other participants that are not even generators. Batteries? DSUs? How do you think batteries are funded when they don't actually bid into the energy market? It certainly would surprise me if the "resulting cost of the output were say twice the normal level" (whatever normal is). While marginal plant is typically higher cost, they are funded by payments that are completely seperate to the pool. The market price is not unduly inflated by their idle time. There are other things that affect the market too, like transmission constraints that would mean the cheapest plant may not be dispatched. And so much more that I do not have time to explain here. The energy market is not perfect. It is fiendishly complex. I actually think a move back towards nationalisation instead of wholesale pool prices would be great but that isnt going to happen any time soon. One thing is certain though. The high cost of electricity at the moment is caused by the high price of gas. It has nothing to do with wind turbines. The increase in wind penetration reduces the reliance on that gas generation. And that is a very good thing.

As the blind box is attached to the window frame, then would it be ok to install the required DPM cavity tray to exit above the blind box? Is that what is typically done?

Thanks, that's what I thought would be a better solution. In my cloakroom image above, there's no neat way to connect the sink waste to the WC stack right?

So our ground floor plans have three seperate details (kitchen, utility and cloakroom) like this: ... where the 50mm waste pipe is intended to go through the wall. (I know this from other section details) This seems a but untidy, particularly as the above pipe would exit the wall at the patio area. Would it be better, in the above cloakroom, to connect the 50mm waste into a new 110mm waste that enters the KORE slab under the sink to run underground to the outside? There is plenty of space to build another void behind the sink to hide the waste. (This would be in addition to the stack on the other side) What's the best option here?

... and of course EVs are nearly always charged overnight on cheap rate tariffs, when there is too much generation and not enough demand. EVs overloading the grid is not a real thing, its just invented by those who don't llike progress.

So dry trap above ground into sub stack ok. Dry gulley trap in floor (is there sucha thing) not ok ?

Ok, so I get it about the AAV on top of the sub stack. But then if there is a boss strap connecting a waste pipe for overflows in the plant room, then the trap in that overflows pipe may dry out and the stink comes back in? No? What am I missing?

at the risk of sounding stupid here, how does the sub stack prevent the stink coming into the plant room? It is after all connected to the same waste system and any traps in the plant room will still dry out.

That's what I was worried about. So what's the solution if the traps dry out?

Why indeed? My paid professionals told me I should install a gulley trap in the plant room, which I took at face value, what with them being the professionals 🙄 There's actually already a stack in the plant room to service the en-suite above, so a boss strap to that for the tundish and overflows then? That makes far more sense for far less effort. As for the garage, is there any BCO requirement for a drain in the floor? I'd like a cold water tap in the attached garage but there is space for a small sink with trap in waste under the sink that seems far more sensible.

So on the plans I have a gulley trap in the plant room and another in the garage. What exactly are these and do I need the one in the garage for building regs? We will have a KORE foundation so assuming the gulley trap is a dry trap under a drain in the floor, then is the trap installed (or a former) before the pour; What have others done here?

Cavalok closers look grand, but are they available for 250mm check reveals?

I can see a conversation about this with my builder then. Thanks.

That's very interesting, and good to hear. My previous, very limited experience of NI bricklaying, saw return blocks at the reveals that seems pretty standard practice here. I definetely don't want that on this project. Our architect has supplied construction detail for a section of the window to show the cill with cavity closer at the bottom of the window but no detail for the reveals (other than the plans that appear to not have check reveals). I'd be very happy with a 20 mm check reveal if that is standard practice here that the brickies are happy to oblige with. Calcium silicate board in the reveals? With DPM behind in the reveals? Better than cavity closers?

Do you mean that check reveals are mandatory in Northern Ireland ? From what I've read on the NHBC 2011 guidelines it says that check reveals should be used in Northern Ireland and Scotland but I can't seem to find anything more recent about it.

I like the idea of check reveals but are they worth the effort in a block cavity build where the external render will overlap the window frame in any case. Are check reveals required under Northern Ireland building regs as they are in Scotland? If using check reveals then I would still fix windows with straps to the inner leaf I think, with check reveal cavity closers (if available for 250mm cavity) instead of DPM. Are the windows more securely fastened in a check reveal, being pressed up against the outer leaf? Is there less room for error on the window sizing/installation? Is there a better seal against the outer leaf? How much extra effort to build check reveals and do the benefits justify the effort ?

NIE specifications are like this: ... the problem is that the required 600x600x270 semi-recessed box doesn't actually exsist. Or at least I can't find one. I have reasied this problem with NIE who insist that a GB box at 770x550x210 just won't do. https://www.meterboxes.co.uk/products/mitras-3-phase-recessed-electricity-meter-box NIE won't provide a link to a suitable product but instead told me to ring around the local builders merchants. Am not having much joy. Anyone have a link to a big permali box? ... and no NIE don't allow a stand alone cabinet or suface mounted box.

I was thinking door opening into plant room, that would leave about 2 metres (by 1.1) for UVC, buffer tank and plumbng manifolds. That's enough room surely? My thoughts exactly. The 'boot room' will soon become a dumping ground with shelving, so maybe even have some wheeled storage against the door to the plant room. I also figured the mains water stop valve would be in the plant room so internal access just seems like a better idea?

Yes if consumer unit was there it would need to have internal door (I think this is building regs?). Main consumer unit will be in comms room elsewhere in house (but having internal door to plant room gives option for secondary CU for kitchen?)

Our plant room will be at the rear of our house. Mains water supply will go into here. It will be 2970 x 1092 and house just the UVC, buffer tank and plumbing manifolds. Monobloc ASHP directly outside so any internal ASHP gubbins in the plant room too. Ideally UVC to be 400 litres so diameter will be about 710 mm. Architect thinks plant room access should be by external door, thus: Being obsessive about cost and airtightness, I think the plant room could be accessed internally through a door to the adjacent storage (boot) room. What should we do? Internal or external door to the plant room?

Unlike @Dan F I haven't implemented any of this yet, but this configuration comes out of the panasonic box and is what we plan to do. Basically yes, but because the MVHR air flow rates are so low and the capacity of the air to transfer the heat from the heat exchanger quite low, then in realoty the temperature difference will likely be smaller, more like 35/25 heat, 15/20 cooling. I think anything more will result in a very hot or very cold heat exchanger in the comfopost that the air supply in the ducts cannot transfer quickly enough. At 35 heat and 15 cooling the COP should remain > 3. For the cooling our solar PV will be powering it all anyway so there is no energy cost. What I am hoping to acheive from the mixed circuits is the ability to tinker with different temps to see what suits us best. In reality I expect the comfopost to make a small difference upstairs where the UFH will do the heavy lifting in the more important downstairs. Good question. I don't know. I do know the Zhender units are not cheap and other MVHR units with heat exchangers are available.

Because when the wind isn't blowing and its dark outside and all of good energy's customers put the kettle on to make a nice cuppa in the adverts of coronation street, do they get a cold cup of tea?

Yes its the marginal price, hence E7 overnight is far cheaper and greener because demand falls off a cliff. Remember also that not all gas generators are equally efficient and may bid in a MWh electricity price higher far than their MWh fuel cost price. And of course there are diesel generators and other peaking plant that may be even more costly than gas generators.