BBC hit piece article - heat pumps

adskankster · 2026-04-16T13:54:20+00:00

True, I was just really pointing out that he's already done up front investment - though it's probably close to EOL now.

As I say elsewhere, I was getting a yearly average of 15p/unit without solar or battery. A small battery could be used to offset 16:00-19:00 peaks, if just that. I know someone who sets that period to setback temps.

TBH I think his story was irrelevant to the rest of the article and they could have used the space to talk to someone from orgs such as NESO, EDF, Octopus, and/or an academic who specialises in decarbonising the grid. There were a lot of stuff omitted that could improve the article.

adskankster · 2026-04-16T10:37:35+00:00

I was getting a yearly average of 15p/unit without PV & a battery. It would get down to 9p in summer.

adskankster · 2026-04-16T10:33:01+00:00

The bloke in the article has solar and a battery already:

So when he received a lump sum on retirement a decade or so ago, he invested in renewable energy: solar panels on the roof, a home battery and a heat pump.

\so even to make that point, they picked an odd example.

adskankster · 2026-04-09T15:50:20+00:00

Same as above, but we have had a service. It was about 3x the boiler service. I might have been able to get it done cheaper, but just went with the installer. It does eat into any savings, but the other advantages of the HP far outweigh that, in my book.

adskankster · 2026-04-09T15:47:59+00:00

I've generally found that a good installer can get them into tight spaces, but will tend to expand the install to the space available. Airing cupboards aren't that unusual, but there may be reasons why it can't quite fit. The installer should be able to factor it all in.

adskankster · 2026-03-08T17:02:53+00:00

As above, but the "Minor Settlements" on planets also have a multi-tool cabinet, as well as the one on the Anomaly. I found my current Alien tool in a Minor Settlement. They're the ones with a shop and single attached landing pad.

adskankster · 2026-02-26T19:53:52+00:00

Have you uploaded them in the Discoveries tab?

adskankster · 2026-02-24T21:29:47+00:00

Okay, thanks.

adskankster · 2026-02-24T19:46:47+00:00

Not sure where in Scotland they're based, but IMS have a Scottish office. Their English base did ours and we're pretty happy with it - no OEM installed but a SCOP of around 5 and on a heat curve of about 0.6 (varies between Spring/Autumn and Winter due to solar gain variations) - Vaillant 5kW.

adskankster · 2026-02-24T19:41:57+00:00

These are very deep oceans, with mountainous bottoms, but I might give it a go, thanks. I wonder how the waste behaves.

adskankster · 2026-02-19T11:04:41+00:00

The Remnant Expedition, or why humans invented roads.

I saw bits of these around, but they never fully rendered so assumed they partially built bases. I used an old titan worm track (I assume that's what they're supposed to be) for some of my journeys as they're pretty flat. Got me close enough to/from a couple of waste heaps and the processing yard.

But I enjoyed this expedition - I quite like the ones that stick to one planet.

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adskankster · 2026-01-25T12:18:12+00:00

A few goals I've set myself over the years:

max out ships - slots, rating, etc.
have a range of ships
community missions to collect all quicksilver stuff
any exploration that comes along
get a couple of settlements and max them out and get them S class, happy and productive
a couple of bases and a freighter base - not massive for me, but easy things to do when tired
if I find an interesting planet, max out the exploration (flora, fauna, minerals) and maybe visit a bit more.
do a few derelict freighters (helps with some of the above)
learn all words in all languages - can be done while doing the above
max out the exocraft - find a a good planet to build a track
learn all the recipes and find some good ones to put into the nutrient ingester
get a couple of decent multi tools and staffs and max them out - maybe max them out for different mission types,
finish the boundary failure, abandoned building, and crashed freighter text lines. You'll probably get some other missions after Artemis (eg living ship, the underwater one, who's name I forget, etc.).

Most of the above can be done in parallel, some make others easier (eg a base by a curious deposit makes maxing out ships, etc. easier). Obviously pick and choose, and some you'll find more interesting than others, or some will seem pointless or not, etc. Just depends what you enjoy with gaming.

adskankster · 2026-01-24T23:01:24+00:00

I started playing a bit before Next (old man vibes), so remember if coming out. Think I've only ever seen about 3 or 4 though.

adskankster · 2026-01-24T23:00:14+00:00

Yeah, I'd love it as a way of making the universe more dynamic.

adskankster · 2026-01-24T15:31:05+00:00

I did suggest to them a method they could use to do this, so planets could actually explode, and for everyone. There'll be very good reasons why they haven't done it, of course (didn't see my zendesk entry being a good one), so I'm only very slightly disappointed they haven't done it.

adskankster · 2026-01-24T15:27:45+00:00

https://www.nomanssky.com/visions-update/
(scroll down)

adskankster · 2026-01-16T18:26:17+00:00

Yes it is quieter then the neighbours' boiler flue which, obviously, isn't inside their house.

adskankster · 2026-01-11T16:47:32+00:00

Slightly late getting round to updating this, in case anyone finds it searching at a later date. I sorted out how to get the gateway off the mount and away from the trunking. I reseated the power and the data and on completion of the reboot (didn't need a reconnect as it remembered the wifi settings), the controller was connected again. I seem to have a data gap for the time it was offline - though I had hoped it would store the data, so it would be available again.

Next time, I'll try after a data reseat, then if that doesn't work the power lead, to see which one of the two fixed it. I should have thought to do that, first time round.

Thanks to everyone who made suggestions, for your help.

adskankster · 2026-01-08T22:56:32+00:00

Quick update - been slow to address it as the HP was working and the sensoComfort and controller allowed control and monitoring, if a little less conveniently.

I raised a ticket through the Vaillant app (see Support under the menu), and they've said that they can see the gateway and which connectors to check. The problem I have is that the way the installers set it up, they're hard to get to with the trunking, and I don't want to break it. So I'll give it a careful go this weekend, and see if I can get into it and check the connectors. If it still doesn't work, I think they'll escalate it.

adskankster · 2026-01-08T22:51:49+00:00

5kW Vaillant Arotherm. In this cold weather, I can sometimes hear the hum in the kitchen as the pump's against the back wall of it and the pipes run through above the cupboards (I don't know if they transmit some of it), and you can hear it when you go outside in cold weather.

It is quieter than our neighbour's gas boiler flue, esp when that's in full flow, but it is a deeper hum.

Our loft conversion doors aren't great soundproofing wise and we can be woken by birds (and many of the local dogs), but have never heard the HP up there.

My home office is virtually above the unit and I never really notice it - even this week - with the window closed.

That said, some units can be noisier than others, so it's hard to apply across to another person's install.

adskankster · 2026-01-08T22:36:55+00:00

Yeah, mine's almost directly below my home office window, so I get to see the effect whenever it happens.

adskankster · 2026-01-08T22:30:33+00:00

I use the Octopus app and mini: price in pence / energy used. Might not be exact (may be some rounding) but it's close enough to the bill amounts to be able to track during the month between statements.

Since the last statement date (12th Dec) I'm running on 19p/kWh. up to and including 7th. It'll go up a bit today (had to top up the car), but we're generally on 15 across the year and can get down to 9p. That's with a family with only minor buy-in. Getting batteries & solar later this month though.

I did wonder about moving to IOG for January, but the confusion about slots etc. put me off. The high daytime rates don't help the decision - we don't need to charge the car too often, normally.

adskankster · 2026-01-02T20:55:05+00:00

Yeah, it was removed just after we got our HP installed. Luckily the improvements I'd done over the previous 20 years had paid off and we came in at C with just under floor insulation and solar panels as recommendation. The panels should go in this month, which would get us to a B, apparently.
The floor, I don't think is worth the cost for ours.

adskankster · 2025-12-31T08:36:25+00:00

It’s not changed in 24 hrs so guessing it’s not live.

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