More Nowtys bailiwick, I'm already bricking it at off the shelf new!Oldgreybeard wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 6:01 pm If you want some more batteries to play with I just spotted a couple of duff 5kWh Growatt packs on ebay. Cells look OK, just the BMS has packed up. They're in Axminster though, so probably not ideal for anyone further up country: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134210436769 ... R7i3qrHbYA
On my previous Go time slot of 2030-0030 I didn’t really benefit from space heating because we allow the house to cool down at that time. It wasn’t optimal for the SH in the shed either, because it sat there leaking heat for hours while the shed was unoccupied. My new 0230-0630 time slot coincides with when we warm the house up, so resistive heat at 7.5p/kWh will save me a lot compared with 15p/kWh gas (particularly if you consider the inherent inefficiency of my gas boiler). The SH too will be toasty from 0730 when the shed is occupied. The A2A with its CoP of 4, together with my 0230-0630 cheap slot, will absolutely smash it in the cheap period giving me 1.9p/kWh right when I can really use the heat.
Joe, unless you already have, get a natural pond - ours covers so much hardcore from part of the reno :whistle:Joeboy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 5:56 pm I turned over a composter today to get potatoes (and compost) and saw a wee movement. It was a, about the size of a thumb, living in there where its damp and the hunting is good. I picked him up and took him to another shaded composter. Hopefully settling in fine.
, Damsel and Dragon Flies, other wee beasties etc. Bats love hunting over it too. 
Years ago, when we had storage heaters in a house we bought not long after we got married, I altered the mechanical time switch to turn on later. They still turned off at the same time, around 06:30 I think. That made a significant difference to how long the heaters would stay warm. I can't remember the exact times, but remember that they only really needed around 4 hours to charge, so having them start to charge at around 02:30 was a lot better than having them start to charge at around 23:30.Stinsy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 6:55 pmOn my previous Go time slot of 2030-0030 I didn’t really benefit from space heating because we allow the house to cool down at that time. It wasn’t optimal for the SH in the shed either, because it sat there leaking heat for hours while the shed was unoccupied. My new 0230-0630 time slot coincides with when we warm the house up, so resistive heat at 7.5p/kWh will save me a lot compared with 15p/kWh gas (particularly if you consider the inherent inefficiency of my gas boiler). The SH too will be toasty from 0730 when the shed is occupied. The A2A with its CoP of 4, together with my 0230-0630 cheap slot, will absolutely smash it in the cheap period giving me 1.9p/kWh right when I can really use the heat.
On peak electric, resistive heat at 40p/kWh doesn’t wash compared to 15p/kWh gas. The A2A however will give me heat at 10p/kWh on peak electric. This beats gas at 15p/kWh without considering how inefficient my gas boiler is in real use.
Therefore I plan to run the HP together with my resistive heaters in the mornings. And run the HP together with my gas boiler in the evening.
I may yet look into an A/C system... Sounds pretty damn good especially with a 4:1 cop and the dehumidifier bonus.. I look forward to the updates! We will be adding one more storage heater before Winter purely as it's sitting there doing nothing in storage. Will add another 2.4 or so kWh per hour of stored power across the charging window, so that would be around 12 kWh to be released. In previous years I had isolated parts of the house. This year I'm going to try and bring the whole house up with the WBS & storage heaters and hold it. Will find the balance by Nov and roll through to Spring. Dehumidifiers will take care of the moisture across both floors. The aim continues to be zero gas.Oldgreybeard wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 7:23 pmYears ago, when we had storage heaters in a house we bought not long after we got married, I altered the mechanical time switch to turn on later. They still turned off at the same time, around 06:30 I think. That made a significant difference to how long the heaters would stay warm. I can't remember the exact times, but remember that they only really needed around 4 hours to charge, so having them start to charge at around 02:30 was a lot better than having them start to charge at around 23:30.Stinsy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 6:55 pmOn my previous Go time slot of 2030-0030 I didn’t really benefit from space heating because we allow the house to cool down at that time. It wasn’t optimal for the SH in the shed either, because it sat there leaking heat for hours while the shed was unoccupied. My new 0230-0630 time slot coincides with when we warm the house up, so resistive heat at 7.5p/kWh will save me a lot compared with 15p/kWh gas (particularly if you consider the inherent inefficiency of my gas boiler). The SH too will be toasty from 0730 when the shed is occupied. The A2A with its CoP of 4, together with my 0230-0630 cheap slot, will absolutely smash it in the cheap period giving me 1.9p/kWh right when I can really use the heat.
On peak electric, resistive heat at 40p/kWh doesn’t wash compared to 15p/kWh gas. The A2A however will give me heat at 10p/kWh on peak electric. This beats gas at 15p/kWh without considering how inefficient my gas boiler is in real use.
Therefore I plan to run the HP together with my resistive heaters in the mornings. And run the HP together with my gas boiler in the evening.
Fully agree with appreciating things more growing your own and having the time to do what you want when you want to, wish I could have retired at 30!Bugtownboy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 26, 2022 5:41 pm A lot of what you’ve both said (Joe and OGB) really chimes with our situation.
Finished work mid 50’s, paid off the mortgage on the five bedroomed place, cut up the credit cards and bought, finally our forever home - longest we’ve ever stayed in a place is 9 years. End of this year we’ve bettered that.
1930’s 3 bed detached that really needed dragging into the 21st century.
Became my ‘job’ to repair and improve. Completely redone - with trade help, I know my limitations. We’ve changed most of our furniture with bits I’ve renovated - I’ve even made some, as long as it’s not too fancy.
Took me 35 years of doing the corporate thing to realise the most important thing is time.
Time to appreciate changing seasons, the ‘critters’ we share our space with (we had the first reported Ivy Mining Bee colony in South Somerset in the garden), time to realise that ‘weeds’ offer important food plants to insects and their progeny.
Appreciating the taste of anything home grown - and we are growing more and more.
But, even though we have far less money coming in than when we worked, we have more truly disposable income.
We have also developed an absolute aversion to debt.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re not rich in the financial sense, but the amount of joy we get from appreciating little things and having time to do ‘things’ is priceless.
Vacuum pump and gauges here if you need them.
Thanks Iain.
It will be a while yet, maybe for Summer 24.
, about the size of a thumb, living in there where its damp and the hunting is good. I picked him up and took him to another shaded composter. Hopefully settling in fine.
