J
janner43
Hi all,
We are doing a self build 2 bed bungalow in Devon which is going to be very highly insulated with u-values of..
Floor 0.15
Walls 0.14
Ceiling 0.11
With an air tightness factor of 0.8
MVHR with 89% efficiency
* Our other design spec includes no central heating system (not required with the previous specs), we'll just add a panel heater to act as a top up for the stored heat within the home when required. The MVHR should do the rest.
* An "experiment" with no central hot water - just local instantaneous water heaters (3 @ 12kw) where required. Half the plumbing, no dead leg of water, no waste hot water stored. We are not having a bath, so an instantaneous electric shower (9.5kw)
* We are having a 3.7kw solar array. The whole concept is based on the PassivHaus model with a couple of tweaks.
I don't really want to debate the design concepts - feel free to comment if you like, though
.
The whole idea has been predicated on thinking differently about the designs when it comes to the heating and water heating together with an avoidance of the connection costs, plumbing, boiler purchase, boiler servicing costs associated with a gas connection (which is available).
We have a great, fully qualified sparky on the project who grew up with our son & is a good guy. I know he'll give us good advice, but I would appreciate several points of view on this please. He is kindly not supplying materials & is letting me source those to save some money. He is also arranging for a pal with the MCS ticket to commission the solar array at mates rates.
That's the background, now to the questions...
1) Consumer Unit...
I wondered if it would be a good idea to have two consumer units...
One for the heavy items - three 12kw water heaters and one 9.5kw shower
One for everything else
Or just get one large unit?
Would there be an issue with the solar array connectivity if we had two consumer units?
I like the idea of splitting as many of the circuits as possible, so what sort of config would you design if this was your build?
2) What brands are the best value for money - I'm familiar (Dad was an electrician for decades, started his trade in the 1950s) with MK, Wylex - but are they as good now as they were or are other names just as good?
3) Any recommendation on which make of sockets & switches to get?
4) Any recommendations as to the cheapest place to buy the gear from please? I already have a Trade Account at Travis Perkins (and Trade Point - don't laugh, it might be handy...)
I hope I have given you enough information & thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and for any answers / opinions / recommends you might be willing to give.
Cheers all.
We are doing a self build 2 bed bungalow in Devon which is going to be very highly insulated with u-values of..
Floor 0.15
Walls 0.14
Ceiling 0.11
With an air tightness factor of 0.8
MVHR with 89% efficiency
* Our other design spec includes no central heating system (not required with the previous specs), we'll just add a panel heater to act as a top up for the stored heat within the home when required. The MVHR should do the rest.
* An "experiment" with no central hot water - just local instantaneous water heaters (3 @ 12kw) where required. Half the plumbing, no dead leg of water, no waste hot water stored. We are not having a bath, so an instantaneous electric shower (9.5kw)
* We are having a 3.7kw solar array. The whole concept is based on the PassivHaus model with a couple of tweaks.
I don't really want to debate the design concepts - feel free to comment if you like, though
.The whole idea has been predicated on thinking differently about the designs when it comes to the heating and water heating together with an avoidance of the connection costs, plumbing, boiler purchase, boiler servicing costs associated with a gas connection (which is available).
We have a great, fully qualified sparky on the project who grew up with our son & is a good guy. I know he'll give us good advice, but I would appreciate several points of view on this please. He is kindly not supplying materials & is letting me source those to save some money. He is also arranging for a pal with the MCS ticket to commission the solar array at mates rates.
That's the background, now to the questions...
1) Consumer Unit...
I wondered if it would be a good idea to have two consumer units...
One for the heavy items - three 12kw water heaters and one 9.5kw shower
One for everything else
Or just get one large unit?
Would there be an issue with the solar array connectivity if we had two consumer units?
I like the idea of splitting as many of the circuits as possible, so what sort of config would you design if this was your build?
2) What brands are the best value for money - I'm familiar (Dad was an electrician for decades, started his trade in the 1950s) with MK, Wylex - but are they as good now as they were or are other names just as good?
3) Any recommendation on which make of sockets & switches to get?
4) Any recommendations as to the cheapest place to buy the gear from please? I already have a Trade Account at Travis Perkins (and Trade Point - don't laugh, it might be handy...
) I hope I have given you enough information & thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and for any answers / opinions / recommends you might be willing to give.
Cheers all.
