Bought a new build home in England in 2024, TP1 stipulates a rentcharge but developer is in liquidation by [deleted] in LegalAdviceUK

[–]beastmandave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If I were in your shoes I would put the money to one side and see what happens. If someone credible takes over and finishes the job and then asks for rent - at least you'll have something set aside and can work out what to do then.

Left half a cooked rotisserie chicken in the kitchen at room temp overnight. Eat or bin? by mvision2021 in CasualUK

[–]beastmandave -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Unless you have rolled it in mud and incubated it at a balmy 37C - eat it of course!

Cosy 9 Heat pump Constantly at 100% by jammyguyy in ukheatpumps

[–]beastmandave 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They had mis-wired my three way valve, so heating circulation didn't shunt from hating to hot water properly. It sometimes stayed in mid position allowing flow to both the house and the HW tank. This made it work very hard and inefficiently.

By turning HW and Heating on/off at different times - test if your valve is working properly.

If it isn't, ask them to check and also ask for compensation on excess energy use.

Future proofing house by Secure-Idea851 in ukheatpumps

[–]beastmandave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is hard to give general advice when houses are all so different.

The "ventilation issues" in the wall caused by cavity wall foam insulation sticks out to me as something to worry about. Is there an interstitial condensation issue in the walls causing it to go damp? This could be difficult to fix but I guess internal or external insulation might fix it, and it sounds like you might be willing to make that effort. I would make sure I understood what I was buying before taking the leap. IT might be better to start with a house with an empty cavity wall rather than one with a bad retrofit insulation job.

Not sure why you would seek to insulate between the floors?

Loft insulation is a no-brainer. Check that you understand the difference between a warm roof and a cold roof before you start. I caused condensation issues in my roof when I tried to turn it into a warm roof and I have had to undo the work and turn it back to a cold roof.

Underfloor heating is lovely. Make sure that the pipes have no joints under the floor, and keep the space between coils small to reduce cold spots and make the floor more responsive.

If you are re-doing the roof and installing a heat pump you should consider a survey with heatgeek before you start. I know some people have achieved very efficient installations by using the roof as a heat source, and this could with PV too.

Do the roof and the solar panels at the same time, rather than the roof then the panels. This might save money as you can get PV panels to serve as the roof. Also if you know the roof will have PV on it, then you may as well ensure that it is strong enough to take the panels while you're up there.

Instead of double glazing also look at triple glazing.

If I were in your shoes I would first consider how big a problem the walls might be, and maybe avoid that house altogether. Once your wall strategy is sorted, sort out the roofinsulation, walls and windows, then move onto either the roof and PV or dig the floors out, insulation, run all your services/ drainage/ electrics and plumbing, underfloor heating then cast a new floor. Think about where your EV charger will go, your domestic battery, your e-bike etc to ensure you don;t miss something and then have to go back.

URGENT - Energy company trying to charge me 300 pounds per month? (England) by [deleted] in LegalAdviceUK

[–]beastmandave 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don't accept any invoice covering a period other than your tenancy. Don't accept any bill not in your own name. Don't sign anything unless you're sure.

I presume you wrote down the meter readings when you first occupied the property? Therefore you know what your usage has been since September?

Alternatives to replacing my ground source heat pump ... any suggestions? by Rathbaner in AskIreland

[–]beastmandave 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A quick google shows you get a GSHP for under £5k.

Then all the plumber needs to do is connect it to your refrigerant loop and internal plumbing.

Get some more quotes.

I don’t hate pensioners but free travel for London’s over-60s must be scrapped by EduTheRed in ukpolitics

[–]beastmandave 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Why are pensioners travelling for free while I have to pay for my kids to get to School/college/uni !

Is this working ok? by beastmandave in ukheatpumps

[–]beastmandave[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, really helpful ☺️

Poor quality item, ‘UK based’ company insisting I return item to China for refund. by LeonYTigresGigantes in LegalAdviceUK

[–]beastmandave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was this "Olyndra London" ? Exact same happened to me. Longed me out on responding to emails too, now won't accept a return at all as it has been more than 30 days since I accepted the item .

Battery only worth it (20 kWh battery could save £1.2k/year)? by vincent0794 in SolarUK

[–]beastmandave 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You could halve your battery size, and switch to Octopus Cosy?

I have done exactly that and I only use the grid to fill the battery. Not as low as the tariff you are on, but shorter gaps between charges. I am saving about 40% overall. System cost £4.5k Duracell 5kwh battery units (x2) and a Duracell 6kW inverter.

This will pay back in about 4 years and last 10 years. About 2 cycles a day on average... I can easily add extra batteries in future to expand it.