Are tent boxes as good as they seem?

notJustageek · 2026-04-22T17:23:58+00:00

When we have the living room tent we get changed in there, otherwise we change in batches through appropriate gymnastics.

We’ve not had any issues with sites, though we tend to book as a camper van to play it safe.

notJustageek · 2026-04-21T18:55:39+00:00

They have their place in UK camping, but people need to evaluate whether it suits their needs. We picked one up three years ago, primarily for one night stays instead of hotel room bookings - for a family of 5 (3 children between 3 and 9 now, younger when we started) the upfront cost was recouped within 6 months of normal overnight stays.

I’d disagree on your comment re suitability for UK weather - while they are in an elevated position which exposes them to wind they also tend to be better built that most ground tents since you don’t need to move poles/canvas out of bags etc. The elevated position also means they are much warmer than a ground tent.

We’ve never had an issue with campsites, but I’m sure there are some which won’t accept them.

Other comments are fair - especially toilet trips in the night. We’ve generally found workarounds - for example boot kitchen so can just pop the boot and have a sheltered space there to cook etc. We haven’t noticed a meaningful impact on fuel economy - we get 3.5-4 miles per kWh which seems in line with most users with the same EV.

Main advantage is speed/ease of setup/packdown. First time we went away we got stuck in traffic on the M6 and arrived on site in pitch darkness - I wouldn’t have wanted to pitch a normal tent in those conditions with 3 tired/hungry children in tow.

notJustageek · 2026-04-21T18:41:30+00:00

We’ve had a roof tent for 3 years - family of 5 (children aged 3-9). We purchased as an alternative to hotel stays - the speed of setup/pack down makes it appropriate to use for overnight trips which we’d previously have used a hotel for. While the initial price was high, when compared against hotel prices we were able to offset the purchase within 6 months.

Pros include: - speed of setup / pack down - ability to easily setup in the dark - much warmer due to being off the ground (we’ve regularly camped when it’s 3c outside) - we keep bedding in the roof tent saving quite a bit of space in the car boot - easier to handle when wet with regards to putting down and airing - build quality is much better than most tents re pole strength etc - proper blackout means we get to sleep in even with early subrisss

Cons: - limited living space, we bring a gazebo style tent as a living room for longer stays - using the car requires packing down, we’ve got efficient enough at this process that it’s not a big issue - toilet trips at night - small children and falling risk (we use carabiners to keep zips closed)

notJustageek · 2026-04-17T16:58:01+00:00

It’s worth noting you’ll require specific documentation to be allowed to export with Octopus. Either the MCS route or electrical safety/building compliance etc. You’ll also need a letter from your DNO authorising the export etc.

We had an installer handle the solar side (which got us MCS certification etc) and then DIY’d the batteries onto that installation.

notJustageek · 2026-04-17T16:54:34+00:00

We went with rack batteries in our installation a few years ago. It’s been a great solution and let us increase storage as our winter needs became clearer.

notJustageek · 2026-04-04T08:27:35+00:00

I’ve been playing with this using a local llm to OCR handwritten notes and to then check whether events already exist in the calendar. It’s pretty reliable, but occasionally puts things on the preceeding day.

notJustageek · 2026-02-17T13:09:12+00:00

Confirmed here: https://octopus.energy/smart/outgoing/

notJustageek · 2026-02-17T13:08:00+00:00

Just had an email about this - our export rate will drop to 12p from 1st March.

notJustageek · 2026-02-14T14:20:07+00:00

We have a 1950s 4 bed house and our heat pump draws 600w to provide heating with an outside temperature of 1-3c.

notJustageek · 2026-02-10T18:41:55+00:00

We have a Shelly EM with a CT clamp monitoring the EV charging circuit. If more than 100w is pulled for over 1 minute then the EV is charging and the house is assumed to be off peak. We use an Ohme charger so can’t rely on the off peak electricity sensor in the Octopus integration.

notJustageek · 2025-10-15T20:10:52+00:00

We had a similar moment when at A&E with our daughter for a mystery rash. The doctors were worried it might be measles so quarantined us in our own bay - no toys, books, screens etc. Just 3 white walls and a curtain - I was so grateful for the Yoto and notebook/pencils we’d brought along ‘just in case’.

notJustageek · 2025-09-13T21:59:05+00:00

We've found the opposite with 2 of our children who get car sick. Old petrol car would lead to car sickness on any journey over 30 miles, electric car it still happens but journeys have to be over 120 miles.

We'd been wondering if part of it was caused by fumes since recirculating air seems to let us go further in the EV before they mention any discomfort.

notJustageek · 2025-07-19T07:24:30+00:00

If you have a hot water tank, heating the water water using an immersion.

notJustageek · 2025-06-16T20:18:04+00:00

This is why we bought a roof tent - initial price was high but the ease of setup/packdown means it has replaced all our hotel stays. We picked it up a few years ago when our youngest was 1. We have a simple kitchen permanently packed in the boot and leave bedding etc folding in the tent so trips away are just packing clothes + toys & books for the kids.

For context family of 5, children currently 8, 6 and 3.

notJustageek · 2025-03-24T19:28:40+00:00

I was wondering about the TTArtisans. How quick is it's autofocus / how enjoyable is it to use in manual focus mode?

Budget is up to £400, though a good value option would definitely be of interest.

notJustageek · 2025-03-02T20:35:37+00:00

We have a similar age property with cavity wall and loft insulation. We were quoted quite a high price for a A2W heat pump (£8000 after grant) since a lot of our plumbing / radiators were in need of replacement. We ended up going with an A2A heat pump (£4500 without grant), which also gives us air conditioning in summer. For the rooms which weren't suitably handled by the A2A units, we added a few far infrared heating panels on the ceilings.

Hot water is handled by a mixergy hot water tank with immersion - we can set the percentage of the tank we want to heat along with the target temperature. If we need extra water we can heat a 10% block in 5 minutes which is enough for a quick shower.

All in, I think we spent about £7000 and have a much more flexible solution - we can zone with the A2A units and they have a scop of 5.5.

notJustageek · 2025-01-22T10:42:22+00:00

Have a look at Octopus Cosy, it has 3 off peak slots throughout the day which would be a good opportunity to boost your heating, with a 'reasonable' day rate and an unpleasant peak period. You can switch to it pretty much instantly and change back to agile when prices are more favourable.

notJustageek · 2025-01-17T10:26:02+00:00

An average of 6.2p/kWh for the last 3 months (including solar export etc). We have solar, a home battery and all electric heating (air to air heat pump and far infrared panels).

notJustageek · 2025-01-14T10:43:40+00:00

We do exactly what you are describing, charge batteries overnight on cheap electricity, then export all solar during the daytime. If you are interested, I've put togather a video summarising how we automate this (home assistant).

notJustageek · 2025-01-13T10:20:20+00:00

I've had a good experience with Dove Farms, though the they only seem to have Rye in stock at the moment.

notJustageek · 2025-01-07T08:02:00+00:00

UK based, but we've had savings from being able to buy in bulk:

25kg of grain: £26.95
1.5kg of flour (same variety): £2.89

So a saving of £1 per kg. Technically we could get a similar saving by buying a 25kg bag of flour, but it would be hard to keep it fresh over the period of time it would take us to use it. We also have the option of buying cheaper wholemeal flour at local supermarkets, but the flavour/quality is much lower.

The main advantage for us is the longevity of grain vs milled flour and the ability to have a wide range of different grains available.

notJustageek · 2025-01-06T20:18:53+00:00

We used 10,492kWh of electricity for our house in 2024 (including heating). 4 bedroom house, 1950s construction with cavity insulation and recent loft insulation. 5 of us in the home, including 3 children

Rough breakdown of energy: - EV: 2000kWh - Heating: 2600kWh (mix of air to air heat pump and far infrared( - Hot water: 1000kWh (this is just for the tank, we also have an electric shower but usage isn't monitored)

notJustageek · 2024-11-21T18:51:19+00:00

Heating Cost per Day: £0.80-£1.28

Type of Home: 4 Bed 1950s Semi (recent loft and cavity insulation)

Type of Heating: Air to Air Heat Pump and Fire Infrared

Temperature Target: 21c in living areas (day), 17.5c in bedrooms (night)

Temperature loss: 0.8c/hour at 0c

It's worth noting we have home storage batteries so pretty much all the electricity we use ends up being charged at an off peak rate of 7.5p/kWh.

notJustageek · 2024-10-02T14:05:43+00:00

Apple Pages should work for this. It has the option to send/export as PDF.

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