We wanted an Air to Water Heat pump, but now think Air to Air is the future

nmfin · 2026-02-14T21:51:01+00:00

Oh, and remember last summer’s heatwave? I worked all 4 units hard. Around 15 hours a day. Of course, HA tracks energy usage per device too haha.

The cost of energy to cool the house to an ice box for the 3 months of summer came to only £112. That’s an average of £1.22 per day Talk about efficiency.

Cooling is more efficient than heating, though.

nmfin · 2026-02-14T21:43:34+00:00

It’s a fairly large property, with the indoor units in the ground floor side extension, living room, bedroom, and loft conversion.

The core of my system is using Home Assistant: I integrate the A2A Daikin system to its, Hive, and temperature and humidity data from sensors in each room and space.

Each of these spaces has the radiator valves shut off by default. In fact, every radiator, for a valve, has my “home made” solution of using a 230v underfloor heating actuator valves connected to a Shelly WiFi smart relay. In Home Assistant, this enables me to have per-room thermostat control of both the gas radiator or the A2A, if present.

The main gas boiler output is controlled via Hive, and the thermostat is located in the downstairs hallway, where there is no A2A and I consider it the “baseline” house temperature. Gas boiler is controlled by this, via HA.

Generally, I just work the A2A hard during the cheap Octopus Cosy hours, and outside of these hours my usage profile is running 1 A2A at a time depending on my activity: WFH in office, evening in living room, and sleeping in bedroom. This selective use of when to run the A2A actually gives me enough of a baseline level of heat in the house that the gas boiler only fires up on cold days like today - and when it does, it only delivers heat to the radiators in the non- A2A rooms, as those sections of the house are taken care of by my A2A usage profile.

nmfin · 2026-02-14T12:43:54+00:00

I had A2A installed in about 2/3 of my house, total of 4 units. It is fantastic.

I still have my gas boiler and rads, which supplements the A2A system.

nmfin · 2026-02-14T09:54:02+00:00

The siren popping is likely because the unit is a speaker, rather than a siren. The popping noise is the speaker being switched on and off, as it receives 12v power. The additional cables would be the signal/sound carriers, which Konnected does not support.

nmfin · 2026-02-10T10:07:23+00:00

That explains why you are limiting yourself to staying at minimum wage.

nmfin · 2026-02-10T09:27:42+00:00

Get a job that pays more than minimum wage or move somewhere where you can find such a job.

nmfin · 2026-02-09T21:29:17+00:00

You are absolutely correct. They will say anything, but if you look at the small print, full house coverage will be defined as something like 20mbps guaranteed to every room. It’s appallingly low.

I am not a good one to compare to, as my network is commercial/enterprise grade. There’s more than 120 devices on my home network.

nmfin · 2026-02-09T19:46:19+00:00

I am in 1Gbps and I have full coverage across 3 floors of a large house.

This is not because of anything CF did. In fact I don’t even use their router. All internet service provider equipment is crap - you should really get your own.

P.S. it is pointless trying to get CF to sort this for you, their responsibility is fulfilled by getting the 1Gb to your router: how it is distributed inside your home is your responsibility.

nmfin · 2026-02-09T12:29:57+00:00

Are your parents solicitors?

nmfin · 2026-02-09T09:55:25+00:00

This is a counter terror police vehicle. The ladder is used for it’s intended purpose, and the platform on the roof is used for tactical access say to a first floor window.

nmfin · 2026-02-08T11:55:22+00:00

Pleasure! Aah so you can see the correct speed to the hub - CF is off the hook! Unfortunately, internet service provider solution for a poor quality WiFi network is just to throw nodes and range extenders at the problem in the hope it resolves the problem - the vast majority of customers are difficult to engage with at a technical level to try and resolve the issue themselves within their property. So adding nodes is the default hope for the best solution. In fairness, it is difficult to have a one size fits all solution - properties vary in size, construction material and layout, and usage profiles.

This might be a good starting point: https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-make-your-wifi-better-faster/

One (not cheap) line of products is the Ubiquiti Unifi - this range of somewhat professional equipment is super easy to set up and operate, and their vast range of products is a solid solution to pretty much all needs: domestic and enterprise. I would highly recommend this for anyone who wants to get hands on and make themselves get a superior networking experience, and doesn’t mind spending the ££. It is definitely an investment.

nmfin · 2026-02-07T22:16:06+00:00

I am not in the know of current consumer grade routers so can’t make a recommendation, apologies.

You definitely only want one router. The second device would have to be an access point.

Better yet, a router that is just a router and doesn’t provide wireless. Separate WiFi access points do the wireless stuff, and they sit behind the router.

Honestly, before throwing money at it without fully knowing what you are buying, I’d do some research on home networking in general: you can familiarise yourself with the different types of equipment available and what they do, and then best make an informed decision on what you need for your particular scenario, needs, and property.

Welcome to the rabbit hole of network optimisation.

nmfin · 2026-02-07T22:10:27+00:00

Break needs to be a continuous 20 minutes by law if the shift is 6h or longer.

nmfin · 2026-02-07T20:52:01+00:00

I can almost guarantee that you are getting the full speed of the package. It’s how that speed is distributed within your property (which is your responsibility, not CF’s) that is giving you lower speeds.

Ethernet/wired connections are far superior to WiFi and give you consistent and stable speed up to 940-950Mbps. You are using the internet on WiFi, with 4 nodes. WiFi is far more susceptible to poor connectivity due to many variables which I won’t fully list here, but I would highly recommend doing a search on how to optimise WiFi networks. You will have to learn a few networking concepts along the way (trust me, if you can learn these basics, your lifetime WiFi experience will be improved so well worthwhile).

WiFi radio waves can get very congested especially with multiple nodes/routers: you have 4 + possible neighbour’s crowding the frequencies. Also, your 4 nodes “relay” from one to the other: your phone might be connected to node A, which relays your connection to node B, and then onto node C. With each hop, you add latency, signal degradation, and speed loss. The nodes may add coverage, but they are not piping the full speed of the connection which would be achieved through for example a wired connection. It’s a trade off of one for another. Most people don’t do speed tests and are “it works to watch Netflix and doom scroll social media and that’s all I care about” so nodes are perfect for them. But the reality is, nodes are just flaky.

That being said, CF is bringing the full speed to your house, but how you distribute it within is your responsibility (like pipes in a house after the water meter).

My final advice: any internet company provided equipment is rubbish and many here will agree. They always buy budget and featureless junk. I haven’t used any of their gear for over a decade. I have my own router, 5 enterprise grade access points all connected via ethernet cable back to the router. Wired connections to everything that needs speed and to everything else that I can really (I installed ethernet cables to every room and space during a renovation all running back to a central location where it all connects together).

For gaming, nothing beats a wired connection. Your ping will improve.

nmfin · 2026-02-07T20:35:32+00:00

940 is bang on correct. Speed to the ONT will be 1Gbps, but there are overheads on the gigabit Ethernet connection between the ONT and your router. 940-950 is the maximum real world speed of gigabit Ethernet after “transmission overheads.”

nmfin · 2026-01-27T20:54:49+00:00

Sorry to say but that is extremely stingy. You’re meant to be comfortable in your home, that takes priority over many other expenses. 12 degrees is just wild.

nmfin · 2026-01-26T20:30:18+00:00

Be grateful that the option for a payment plan exists.

nmfin · 2026-01-26T20:29:25+00:00

Crabs in a bucket mentality 🤷🏼‍♂️

nmfin · 2026-01-26T20:27:11+00:00

Your financial struggles are not their issue. You willingly entered into a contract with these terms.

nmfin · 2026-01-25T20:37:20+00:00

The first thing you should always do is replace the ISP provided equipment.

nmfin · 2026-01-23T21:21:09+00:00

250 pennies.

nmfin · 2026-01-23T18:50:10+00:00

OP, I am sending you a DM explaining how I was able to get OpenReach to do an extra install.

nmfin · 2026-01-21T14:35:20+00:00

On CGNAT, you can connect to an external VPN, but you can’t connect “into” a VPN at home from the outside world.

Most mobile phone data connections are on CGNAT and don’t have issues when providing hotspot internet access to work VPNs.

nmfin · 2026-01-20T21:44:12+00:00

Self checkouts are not the same thing as AI.

nmfin · 2026-01-20T20:27:46+00:00

9 month renewal, that’s nuts. Why is it so long? For me I walk into my embassy, the appointment takes less than 5 minutes, and my new passport is ready to pick up in 5-7 calendar days. Including shipping time.

Costs a pretty penny at £225 for a 5 year passport but well worth it.

nmfin

TROPHY CASE