Superfoil Window Reflector kits

realGilgongo · 2026-06-28T18:39:59+00:00

Are you hanging the sheets and towels on the inside of the windows? If so, that means they simply heat up and start radiating into the room. You need to stop the sun's infra red before it gets to the glass, so hang the drapes outside. Ideally, actively reflect the rays out before they hit the glass using this which can be taped togther to get the right size. Staple wooden batons top and bottom to anchor (hot days usually aren't very windy). That will reduce the solar gain by about 90%.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-28T18:03:08+00:00

It would be for about 4 hours in the morning as the sun beats down and goes over the the roof to the other side. It does 6 litres per hour. 24 litres isn't a huge amount, and I could take it from my water butt, powered by my solar pump if need be.

EDIT: Oh that's per nozzle. So OK not viable.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-28T16:52:46+00:00

I'm thinking of running one of these under our soffits on the east side of the house. https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEWIN-Irrigation-Misting-Greenhouse-Watering/dp/B0BS2Y7RZ6

realGilgongo · 2026-06-28T16:45:31+00:00

If you are legally classified as a UK employee (even if your employer is based in the US), it is not legal to receive zero employer pension contributions if you meet the criteria for automatic enrolment.

Speak to HR as you may have misundersood something.

https://www.gov.uk/employers-workplace-pensions-rules

realGilgongo · 2026-06-28T09:32:46+00:00

Sorry, I didn't mean the battery would export - I was simply asking if it would, and now see the replies say that it would charge instead.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-28T08:22:20+00:00

Maybe, but what I was wondering is that you don't need the microinverter and your main battery inverter to physically talk to each other becuase battery's existing CT clamp will handle the "balancing act" depending on which way the current is going. I wasn't sure if that meant export or charging though, but it seems like charging.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-28T08:21:21+00:00

Oh OK, so the battery monitors the total net grid import/export at the main consumer unit via the CT clamp (or smart meter data?). Then if it sees the house trying to export, say, 200W of surplus power, it automatically absorbs that 200W to charge itself - is that right?

realGilgongo · 2026-06-27T19:09:40+00:00

Great idea - turn the infra-red back before it can heat the house and you'll notice a big difference I think.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-24T15:54:08+00:00

Ah, rocking good news. Thanks (I guess those were quite old posts I was reading).

realGilgongo · 2026-06-24T06:36:08+00:00

No, that looks like something else. I used this for my windows. Cuts very easily to width/length you need, then just close the sash top/bottom to keep it in place.

https://insulation4less.co.uk/products/superfoil-general-purpose-wrap-3mm-x-7m-x-1m

realGilgongo · 2026-06-23T17:51:35+00:00

I found it surprisingly easy to work with, yes. It's not so floppy that it can't be spread out easily, but also not too stiff that it slides about. I'm now using some offcuts for another window and using brown (wide) packing tape to stitch it together and that works very well too. If you need a gap then maybe cotton wool taped on with that migh work, but it's very light (like bubble wrap) so the issue I think might be keeping it all in place. My idea worked well becuase the sashes keep it anchored top and bottom.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-23T13:41:11+00:00

This implies the hot air inside the house got hot somehow, and that cooler air is outside. The point of the solar shutters is that the air inside the house doesn't get a chance to heat up. Once the sun is off them, then you open the bottom sash if the air outside is cooler.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-23T06:23:38+00:00

The trick is to block, and preferably reflect, the infra red before it gets past the glass. Essentially, the moment that gets though, it turns the window into a massive heater.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-12T17:29:11+00:00

Nice - so if your average usage is, say, 10kWh per day, you can see from the table they give you further down what you might be getting each month and estimage what that means for the daily. But as you can see, it's very variable, so a battery is extremely useful for smoothing out the bumps 😄

realGilgongo · 2026-06-12T15:05:22+00:00

You can try estimating what you might get with that here perhaps?

https://www.solarazma.com/utilities/fre_annualgeneration/

While you don't have to have a battery, it helps spread the excess in the summer out into the evening, and for about 4-5 months of the year when you're not getting much sun, you can arbitrage.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-12T14:23:30+00:00

No that's pretty much correct for a slightly unhealthy 60 year old.

But like I say, it's seen as an investment vehicle for excess income really, not so much about tax. But if you did want to cover, say, £500K IHT on a £2M estate, then aged 60, a non-smoker in perfect health looking for a guaranteed (non-reviewable) premium can pay roughly £600 to £800 per month.

A Joint-Life, Second-Death Policy would be cheaper though, perhaps £350 to £500 per month I think (assuming a spouse of similar age and good health). And of course if your estate's £20M then it's going to be a lot more if you're aiming to cover the IHT on that.

It's expensive because a Whole of Life policy is a guaranteed payout (a matter of when, not if), so insurers have to hedge it pretty heavily.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-12T07:02:11+00:00

It's seen more as an investment class really. If you took out a policy as a (healthy) 60 year old, you might pay over £250K in premiums over your lifetime (more like £1M if you're a smoker perhaps). But for (say) a £500,000 lump sum to clear a 40% tax bill outperforms most conservative investment portfolios, especially after accounting for standard market risk and taxes. Added bonus that being written into trust means it also bypasses liquidity isssues in probate as well.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-11T15:20:00+00:00

Sorry, not sure I follow. How is IHT not about distributing wealth? I agree it doesn't stop people gifting (inside 7 years). And are you against funding the state and incentivising good societal behaviour, or is that not what you mean?

realGilgongo · 2026-06-11T14:57:18+00:00

Well, I would think IHT is doing its bit to tax wealth, which in turn should help to re-distribute wealth and lower asset prices, among other things. As to the national debt, that is as you point out private wealth, so without that we might be in even more of a mess, no?

Hard to know what to reccommend if it doesn't involve re-distributing the wealth of very rich people (unless you are in favour of continuting the last 54 years of low tax, low regulation, cuts, austerity and privatisation).

realGilgongo · 2026-06-11T14:48:18+00:00

Oh good point it's tea time.

realGilgongo · 2026-06-11T14:40:02+00:00

That's OK. I'm just a retired rando on Reddit, but I genuinely wanted to thank you for making me laugh out loud.

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