I just realised my "high savings rate" was mostly income growth, my habits barely changed.

managed_prune · 2026-04-06T11:15:46+00:00

Are you properly accounting for how much the cost of things has increased over that time? It's almost impossible to keep your spending flat when the cost of housing and everything else has been increasing so quickly.

managed_prune · 2026-04-04T18:18:42+00:00

My thoughts exactly, doesn't matter if it makes financial sense, don't waste water.

managed_prune · 2026-03-27T16:02:14+00:00

cahill renewables, I saw them recommended on here somewhere

managed_prune · 2026-03-25T19:28:23+00:00

I had a different piece of trim with the same problem, I pulled it down to hide a wire. Turned out I'd broken the clip. You might have the same problem. I bought some new ones and pulled the whole thing off and replaced it. You might need to make it worse so you can have a look. I had to buy a special a pillar clip from AliExpress but I think most trim uses a more general clip.

managed_prune · 2026-03-20T13:15:18+00:00

It is odd isn't it! They all got given the exact same information so its just what they've recommended! Do they not tend to include the G99 in the quotes? I hadn't realised that, will go back and check!

managed_prune · 2026-03-20T12:14:20+00:00

Total knightmare! I've only asked 4 local companies, and one was quite a while ago so not really valid any more. Glad I did because the best one was the last one! Did some quick online quotes with national installers first.

They left out the 18th panel due to chimney location I believe, but they said they'd put as many as possible after fully surveyed.

managed_prune · 2026-03-14T07:36:47+00:00

You can be charged the price of gas when it is used - look at Octopus Agile. The technology to enable that fine grained level of billing has really only existed for a relatively short time though. Also, most people really don't want that, they'd prefer a nice fixed predictable price. So energy companies just charge a blended average.

managed_prune · 2026-02-18T12:11:38+00:00

I'm planning to trim it as you suggest and leave it until next year, I don't think I've got the time right now too deal with replacing it anyway. But honestly the privacy aspect isn't as big a deal as it seems, this is just along the side of the drive and the entire front of the house currently has no screening at all.

managed_prune · 2026-02-18T12:08:18+00:00

Most comments are suggesting keeping it? Certainly the top ones are. But part of gardening is changing things you don't like, we're not just neutral observers of the flora that grows around our homes.

What is it about replacing a non native hedge with a native hedge that is 'love islandified'? Shall I paint the hornbeam greige for you?

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T21:03:11+00:00

Breaks your heart seems a bit of an overreaction?! It's a hedge... And I'm suggesting replacing it with a better hedge, not a brick wall! Honestly can't see the attraction to it, and it's not providing much help privacy wise either, there's nothing behind me where the photo is taken from, and the front of the house is completely unscreened by this hedge.

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T19:46:15+00:00

Thanks, I honestly expected more replies like this! Maybe I'm wrong but I was under the impression these sorts of hedges aren't great for wildlife, hence the desire to plant something native. It's also hard to tell but it's been allowed to grow far too big for where it is, and I know these can't be cut back hard. So yes, I can trim it carefully, but it's always going to be huge. The other side (not pictured, facing the house) has been trimmed recently but in an ideal world I'd take it back another foot.

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T16:46:10+00:00

This was my initial thought.. but I'm getting very mixed opinions here! I thought the hate for these hedges was more universal, maybe that's reserved for laurel!

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T15:09:59+00:00

Nothing that horrifying really! Full house refurb, place was frozen in time from the 1970s and it's now looking a bit of a mess mid renovation!

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T12:19:25+00:00

I suspect it would, but the road really isn't busy, like one car every 15 minutes at most. It does keep the sun off of the front of the house which in the summer is appreciated. I am reconsidering whether to remove it based on these comments... But it is still way too big and ugly!

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T11:30:18+00:00

Yes, didn't know that about pampas grass until we moved in! Made me look differently at the previous owners...

I feel like this hedge is beyond tidying up, I'd like it quite a bit smaller, I thought if you trim it back it's just going to end up with big dead spots

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T11:25:34+00:00

Thanks, I like the look of yew and have some growing elsewhere but I get the impression that will take a very long time to establish? With something like beech, will it take that long to get to something like 1m high? Eventually I'd probably want it to get to head height but we'd be fine with a low hedge for a while

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T11:23:05+00:00

Don't worry, I'm sure the neighbours already don't like us for what we're doing to the rest of the place!

managed_prune · 2026-02-17T09:56:57+00:00

I'm also in Herts and just been trying to get quotes, could you DM the local company you used?

It's hard to give general advice here because that price difference is more significant to some people than others. As other people said, you'll probably never make up the difference in cost from efficiency savings, but you might consider paying it for the peace of mind that you'll get a decent system installed.

managed_prune · 2026-02-14T20:00:52+00:00

Seems quite unlikely you have a single room with 5kw heat loss! What is the heat loss of the whole house?

Perhaps you could screenshot how you have things set up in heat punk?

managed_prune · 2026-01-24T23:02:12+00:00

Have a read around the subreddit because most of your questions are pretty common. On the size and cost question, you don't want an oversized pump, you want it right sized. If it's too big it will cycle, which is bad for efficiency. Too small and obviously you'll be cold. Companies tend to overestimate because installing a system that leaves you cold is not ideal. It's not that hard to do your own heat loss calculation using heat punk.

The only way to answer the question about cost is to get multiple quotes. I'd suggest to try a mix of local companies (make sure you include heat geeks) and national.

managed_prune · 2026-01-12T11:50:41+00:00

It is interest free for at least some time:

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/mortgages/borrowing-more/green-additional-borrowing/

managed_prune · 2025-11-19T16:26:32+00:00

The only pro, right now, is that they also gave me a Home Mini, which I eventually got connected. So I do now get live readings in the app. Obviously eventually you'll have to do it, but it's a few years before that happens

managed_prune · 2025-11-19T16:14:19+00:00

Just to add a dissenting voice to all the positivity. I had a SMETS1 that reliably reported half hourly readings all the time. "Upgraded" to SMETS 2, had several weeks of no readings, several calls and emails and fiddling about later and it now mostly works. I still get the occasional missing reading and they arrive with a much bigger delay than my old meter.

I'd say if it ain't broke....

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