Keeping your home warm / heating / energy crisis / insulation etc

In other news the system appeared to run nicely yesterday. We had 22.5c rad temp and I almost did a Princess Margaret on my nads getting in the bath

I realise at this juncture it's probably too late but... is that an open cell foam? Have you checked with your mortgage provider? I know there have been issues people being refused mortgages because of spray foam.

I think he's in North America? I don't think they have the issues with regards to spray foam that the UK has?

looking at the plugs I think you're right

When we had our loft conversion done in our last place they did spray foam insulation, I didn't think anything of it but about a week after it was done I started seeing shit loads of stories about it and all the problems with mortgages etc.

When we put it on the market I was so fucking stressed that it would be an issue but in the end it didn't even come up.

What is the problem with spray foam?
It’s pretty common in Canada.
It started in basements and is now being used on above grade exterior walls.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/spray-foam-insulation-and-mortgages/

They say you should use an immerser at least once a week too and run of taps!

Thank you.
Much of that article seems to be written by people who don’t understand the application. Foam is used on basement walls and in walls above grade. It would only be used in attics where there is air movement.
We have a drier, colder climate. Foam makes a noticeable difference in dampness in basements and heat retention in the house.

Modern heat pumps can take the water to 70degC+ during the legionella cycle, without using the immersion at all.

There's nothing wrong with spray foam insulation but there was a spate of cowboys installing it where it wasn't needed, incorrectly, using the wrong type of foam or all of the above. A lot of mortgage providers in the UK just took a blanket approach that they wouldn't offer mortgages on anything with spray foam insulation full stop. Hence the slight panic when anyone sees it.

Do you have a referral code for heat pump installation? I think you get £100 if I end up going ahead.

Does anyone have one of these BT Thermometers/Humidity Meters?

I like the idea of a log, but can't ascertain from the reviews if it'll be shit in practice.

Basically I want to put one of these in two different places (bedroom and brick shed with limited WiFi) and be able to periodically check the humidity. Being altered when it goes mental in the brick shed would be a bonus.

ThermoPro TP357 Room Thermometer Indoor Bluetooth Hygrometer Humidity Meter and Temperature Monitor with Smart App and Data Recording with Humidity Sensor for Baby Room Office, 2 Pieces https://amzn.eu/d/5ksZ8KJ

1 Attachment

I don't have those ones but I have some govee ones that look the same, just make sure you calibrate them first (just Google calibrate hygrometer, you just need an air tight container and some salt water) as they can vary by a few percent.

I have normal non smart thermopro meters scattered around the house and they are good

For smart functionality and logging I have switchbot sensors which have been great but don't have a visual display
https://amzn.eu/d/94FvQju

How does the app work?

Do they log the data locally or in the cloud or something and then you read the log via BT?

How long does the battery last?

Thanks. Bit more than I was expecting.

I bought a few of these on recommendation from here; the temp readings were initially way out of whack but they’ve settled down a bit since. App works well. Apparently you can integrate the data into Home Assistant etc, but I haven’t explored that yet.

I have a few of those TP357 and these Govee https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086YYL439 plus a switchbot sensor outside https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVLYPYT1

All work fine but I've got them all on Home Assistant for logging rather than using the native apps so can't comment on those (HA picked them up straight off so didn't even need the app for setup).

I have one of the TP357 at the opposite end of the house to the bluetooth reciever and still connects fine.

(Although someone bought a couple of those recently and they were way less accurate than mine
https://www.lfgss.com/comments/17523781/ )

I think Sonoff SNZB-02D are supposedly very good for this stuff.

They are 25% off currently direct from switchbot if that helps

They're Zigbee aren't they? Some type of hub is needed for them.

I'm now in an epic struggle to fight my way out of a procrastination cave as to the merits of a Raspberry Pi in a NES case or a slim PC for HA to manage my two smart home devices.

So does the switchbot says "Hub Required", is that only required if you want to link it to a Google hub/alexia? Of would I still need it if I wanted to link it to HA at a later date?

Cheers.

I have the switchbot for outside temperature. No hub or switchbot app, HA picked it up automatically (it seems to do that with a lot of bluetooth stuff).

My Raspberry Pi 3 that I use for HA has no case. It's on the todo list ...