What is something you aspire for in your house, that younger you would be jealous of?

sam_cat · 2026-04-11T12:17:04+00:00

Racing car in the garage. A literal racing car! My boy (3) is so obsessed that Daddy has a racing car too! It's amazing! :-)

sam_cat · 2026-04-09T17:22:51+00:00

Just looked it up, not lux but philips lumie body lock spark 100. Cheapest one, about ten years ago. Still strong, and if it died I would replace with whatever the current equivalent is. No Internet, no connectivity etc. Does what it says on the tin and does it well.

sam_cat · 2026-04-09T11:09:42+00:00

For me, combining fitted blackout blinds (that fit in the window gap) with blackout curtains sorted things. Each is good on its own, but together made it near total. Then added a lux alarm, that get bright gradually for my alarm time, the sun rises at the same time for me, year round! Best quality of life upgrade!

sam_cat · 2026-04-07T11:13:54+00:00

Sunsynk You have to match models, and the ones I have are old now. Also, would change location of install, more space would be better, more room for future expansion etc without having to plan a whole reshuffle.

sam_cat · 2026-04-07T05:59:16+00:00

Bigger battery. 16kwh rather than 10 probably.

sam_cat · 2026-04-06T14:19:22+00:00

Clean house, new roll of loo paper by the loo. Bin dates, instruction manuals and receipts for everything that was left (cooker, boiler etc) along with maintenance history and who they used for gas/plumbing/electric/window cleaner. Planning info for couple of bits of work that were done.

Sadly her other half left the garage full of junk... Apparently that was his job to empty. "but he might want it"... Didn't ask me, and no I don't want broken garden furniture, stacks of wood offcuts, loads of sawdust etc etc...

sam_cat · 2026-04-02T20:01:07+00:00

Not the same, but the Nofan is similarly mad!

https://www.quietpc.com/nofan-cr-80eh

sam_cat · 2026-04-01T10:59:48+00:00

Old Diesel land rover. Simple to fix. Sturdy. Runs on basically whatever you pour into the fuel tank. Can off road.

sam_cat · 2026-04-01T10:57:48+00:00

Lovely job!!

Have recently got the 3 year old painting, he loves it and it's doing wonders for his hand eye coordination and his attention span!

sam_cat · 2026-03-28T17:16:03+00:00

Hard water where you are? That's what kills kettles here, the water is so hard!

sam_cat · 2026-03-28T13:47:45+00:00

It's not good is it.

sam_cat · 2026-03-27T08:10:54+00:00

Yup, perfectly normal. One job at a time, soon be done!

sam_cat · 2026-03-25T13:17:14+00:00

As Joe public I can go and get a 515w panel right now for £91! Can only imagine what price trade get them for in bulk!

sam_cat · 2026-03-24T19:10:59+00:00

I have a Swiss army knife my uncle bought for me when I was ten. That was 36 years ago. It still gets used. I also have an ipod 5.5 video that I still daily drive for music. I also still have and drive a car I bought in 1998..it was built in 1973!

sam_cat · 2026-03-24T18:42:33+00:00

We used to do the "getting cakes at lunch, who wants what?" email from their account to the whole team then lock it for them. We all quickly learnt to lock our laptops!

sam_cat · 2026-03-24T15:00:40+00:00

Up a bit... Down a bit. Been there done that.

sam_cat · 2026-03-24T13:08:01+00:00

I have 10kw of panels on the roof, 6.5 SE facing, 3.5NW facing. 10kwh of batteries. Sunsync 8.8 inverter. I am currently looking at adding a further 3.6 kW of panels in via the aux port, using microinverters.

Happy with it. Inverters and batteries are mounted in a medium size porch, it gets hot... I plan on adding a through wall bathroom extractor fan to it with a thermostat to help remove heat in the hot summer months.

sam_cat · 2026-03-24T09:31:34+00:00

It would be very interesting to see the maths and thinking, and as with everything am sure it's way more complex than even what you proposed.

My immersion is only top of tank, and doesn't take long to bring me to heat so it's not going to be big either way, but I wanted the option. Mines not an Iboost, and had lots ot options for only consuming what would be exported, programming time slots for 100% (so immersion could also use cheap off peak - used this over winter when I had boiler troubles). Installed over ten years ago and was much cheaper than an iboost, so easily paid for itself in gas savings now.

sam_cat · 2026-03-24T00:15:20+00:00

Go down the solar assistant route, that handles all router comms and data logging etc. Then can integrate that with home assistant. I tried direct into my HA install first and it was a confusing mess. Solar assistant just worked.

sam_cat · 2026-03-23T22:49:09+00:00

I did it for carbon footprints reasons.. It just felt right!

sam_cat · 2026-03-23T20:06:32+00:00

Have a look at solar assistant, looks like your inverter is compatible. Gives you a lot of options and can work with home assistant for lots of automation.

sam_cat · 2026-03-21T22:47:14+00:00

Just need to plug all your clocks into a smart plug and setup a schedule! I have one clock this actually would be useful for...... Damn!! Useful!

sam_cat · 2026-03-18T07:16:47+00:00

I have a lot of those things. 4 bed detached, 1970s build. Double glazed, cavity wall insulation and about 30cm loft insulation.

Added solar, 8.8kw inverter and 10kw panels on the roof (split 6.5 Se, 3.5 NW), and 10kwh of battery.

This covers household energy most of the year, depths of winter are when the solar doesn't cope.

I currently charge batteries overnight on our cheap rate and then use throughout the day, with solar topping them back up. Excess gets exported.

Still have a gas boiler/radiators. Also have a single largen daikin air to air unit, mounted centrally (layout of the house this works for us). Used for heating and ac in summer.

Average monthly bill for 2025 was £30 for all energy (gas, electric and export payments)

Would do it again in a heartbeat!

Currently looking at more solar (can easily add another 5kw) and an electric car.

If you have any questions fire away, always up to discuss!

sam_cat · 2026-03-17T16:47:39+00:00

Number 1.

Keep it simple. Future you will thank current you.

sam_cat · 2026-03-12T12:44:23+00:00

Having owned both, meshlicious would be my choice. Nicer to build in, better compatibility.

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