Hello from the Philippines, John. Great video. I relocated to the Philippines from the UK almost 1.5 years ago. My Filipina wife and I built our new home on the 1000 sq m lot we had in the province (countryside). At the same time we built the house we installed a great solar system. We are 100% off-grid so no electricity bill. It is only my wife and I so we thought a 6KW inverter would be enough and it certainly is. We have 18 panels with 3 x 51.2v 200AH 10.24KW batteries. Even when we had a bad run of typhoons back in November the system still managed to give us power all day as well as giving us enough supply through the evening. We can easily run the following on our system - 3 x split AC 1 x built in electric oven 1 x built in ceramic hob 1 x kettle 1 x refrigerator 2 x TV's 1 x water cooler 1 x washing machine 4 x fans 1 x rice cooker And all out house lighting Regards Simon
Thank you for watching. Great to hear about your own journey too, that's very encouraging and just goes to show what is possible with renewables and some planning.
Well John as a lot of others have already said we have definitely missed you monthly no nonsense good or bad vlogs. You have been very busy and must be near the end of the journey looking forward to future vlogs . Just one question have you downloaded the Netzero app for the powerwall ?
Hi Glyn thanks for the kind words. Yes I have downloaded it just to check on what data it can see and health check on the old and new batteries. I deleted it soon afterwards as I don't like too many 3rd party apps having access to personal accounts. Removed access for it from my Tesla account too.
Hello John, good to see all the developments at your property. Not many high cost grid units taken so two Powerwalls looks like the right number for you at the moment. Our garage looks a lot like yours did and I've wondered about removing the central pillar ... but having just replaced the two doors it would be madness (anticipating wife's reaction) to change! Here's hoping for a better 2025. Nic
Thanks Nic. The central pillar was always a pain, been like that since we moved in when the house was new in 2001 so eventually got round to sorting it. I sold the old doors on eBay and got £300 for them, so you could take that tack too. Yes let's hope for more sun in 2025!
John, very interesting and a somewhat busy year! A brilliant image in the opening sequence of that red/yellow sky. I also noticed one of your images on the wall is one which I have! (The horizontal one.) Best wishes to you and Jill for the New Year.
Good to see you back on YT and very helpful stats for the year. We are looking to add a Heat Pump and in your video you mentioned about re-balancing the radiators due to not enough heat downstairs. I wondered have you been happy with the HP and does it give you enough heat? Is there anything you would have done differently? I did see you interview with your installer so I guess you are happy but it's the small.memtion of getting it hotter downstairs that got me thinking. Great to see you back
Thanks for the welcome back James. The heat pump has been great there's nothing I would have change having lived with it across 18 months. Balancing the rads should happen on any radiator based system, gas or heat pump driven. Most often the upstairs rads run too hot. Closing the lock shields, rather than stopping down the rad thermostat reduces the flow through them allowing the warmer water to circulate to the lower downstairs radiators rather than cooling down as it enters then leaves the upstairs rads. Balancing is probably more important with an ASHP as the flow temp are lower and therefore more noticeable in a room where there is more heat loss. I was not too clear in the video, our worst performing room is the dinning room has the biggest heat loss. The rest of the downstairs rooms are fine, we have a temp sensor in every room in the house. The dinning room needed more heat and it'd rads are at the end of the pipe run which makes it even more important to balance the system.
@@johntisburythank you, useful to know. We are on the cusp of ordering but there's been a couple of negative comments from people my wife knows one of whom has a HP and regrets but it sounds like there's haven't been set up properly.
@jamesmcfeely9150 good system design and installation is everything with a heat pump. It all starts with the heat loss survey. Get a good engineer, someone like a heat geek and you will be fine.
@@johntisbury agreed. the order is about to be submitted with Heat Geek due to the guarantee they offer. Look forward to seeing the videos in 2025. All the best, James
I have one Powerwall 2 and managed a 79% off peak for the year after adding our ASHP a couple of years ago, so yours is very good. As previously stated we seem to have similar homes with your being newer. Also our electricity usage very similar, Home Use was 15.8MWh, 13.4MWh imported from the grid and 2.3MWh Exported. Solar for year was down for us at 5183.3kWh. I too have the original 2011 FiT but have separated the deemed export part as I doubled the solar now adding to the East side of my roof. The export being 15p means we have bought electricity at 7p used solar and battery but allowing us to sell more at the higher price. I wanted an extra Powerwall but DNO say I need 3 phase. App[arently the Powerwall 3 can be used as DC and then I can also use as many as I can afford! There is also talk that it will at some time work with my Powerwall 2. So currently waiting for this. Also must add this includes my Tesla Model 3 charging over the last year for over 10,000 miles.
Thanks for watching. I love the fact that everyone has a different use case for a similar setup. The 15p export option is a great idea and works well for you. Shame the PW3 is not compatible with PW2 and your DNO has pushed for 3-phase if you want a 2nd PW2. That does put a damper on adding a second one as a 3-phase upgrade deeding on cable length and run can be very expensive. Thanks for your stats too, good to see.
Hi John, great video. I've got the same issue with my double garage in that it has a central pillar. Could you please share the rough cost of removing the pillar, adding the steel work and new garage door? Many thanks, Dave
Thanks for watching. Cost of pillar removal, steel work was £3,200 which included a structural engineer's report. Which you will need in case you want to sell the property at a future date. I sold the old garage doors on eBay for £400. New doors are very much dependant on the brand and quality you purchase. They start from around £2,500. We paid £4k for insulated high quality doors with good security fixings.
@@johntisbury Fantastic John, thank you so much for the detailed breakdown. That is not as much as I was expecting it to cost, so makes it a real option for me. Thanks again!
No worries. Builder prices will be the thing that varies tremendously. Our builder Ryan is a one man builder and has a great reputation for quality and workmanship. Choose wisely, ask for references and the ability to view their previous work. I know it's only a garage door, but Ryan did a fabulous job, even replacing the plastic fascia as it was previously in 2 pieces and he did it in 1.
Good afternoon John, one more quick query. What do you use to monitor your temperatures and humidity levels? I have some Zigbee devices but have mainly use Hue (as they work). Be useful to know which devices you use if you have a moment.
I use zigged devices too, the Sonoff SNBZ-02 model. Battery life is excellent way over 12months and connectivity is good. I get your point about zigged though as I have smart plugs on zigbee with are very erratic in their connection stability. Hue is great, expensive but it does work and is reliable.
It's been one of the few early adopter decisions that has paid off! Mind you back in 2011 our solar installation cost £15K which would buy you a street's worth of solar now. 😀
Hi Kevin, thanks for watching. No I don't run a legionella cycle. TBF it is rarely needed if you empty the hot water tank on a regular basis there's no risk of bacteria building up. I've given you a link to a Heat Geek video on the subject which is well worth a watch. ua-cam.com/video/oJeyc_cGIMU/v-deo.htmlsi=CP8v4oZNDL5PzWpm
Not often quotes of this nature have a breakdown of labour and parts, typically it's a total cost. Not thought about it until you asked the question as to why. For example automotive repairs and servicing does provide a parts and labour breakdown. They can do this because they have standard job times for various tasks which they quote against. based on their hourly rate. With heating installations working labour time is harder to do as they don't know what they will find until they start, so most often they work it out based on a day rate. Either way you don't tend to get a breakdown. I'm planning to do an in-depth video on the install, costs, usage and performance so will cover that then if that's okay.
Question on the powerwall 2, if the grid power goes off, does yours take over immedietly or do you have a few seconds loss of power? Mine goes off for 3 seconds, which i was told is normal in the UK. Iv had to buy a few ups's for my computer equipment to stay on and still having to reset the oven and microwave clock 😭
Good question Shaun. Not all outages are the same in terms of how the power goes down. Instant ones are not normally detected by the Powerwall until after a few seconds like you have experienced. The Powerwall is not a UPS so it won't automatically cut in unless there's a slow drop in voltage before a power cut.
Hi. We have PW2s as well and when grid goes out we lose electric for about one second. Like you in thinking of adding in a UPS so our internet stays on (I work from home) as well as the essential IT equipment/backup storage. I never quite understand why it does go off as when it does we are already running off the battery. Shame it's not quite as seamless as I assumed.
Not sure if you meant that’s normal for Tesla systems in the UK or if it was supposedly a norm for any system in the UK as a requirement, if the latter it’s incorrect as the Sigen systems switch seamlessly.
Very interesting, would suggest you give up deemed FIT export and change it for Octopus fixed at 15p per unit…even more £ to plough back into renewable tech!!!
Thanks for watching. For us it's not worth it at the moment to swap. We exported 160kWh in 2024 to the grid as we use almost all on-site. That would give us £24 on a 15p export. We get circa £130 for the Deemed export meaning we would lose out. Until our exports are more then we will swap over. As I mentioned in the video we export very little as it's all used up on-site.
Thanks for watching. Averages can be a bit deceiving as they blend the outliers. Like you, this Jan 2025 just our ASHP has been daily pulling 30 - 50kWh in the really cold snap. Total houses has been 70 - 80kWh which includes car charging to be fair.
It is great to see you back, John. I have certainly missed your videos.
Thank you Nigel, good of you to say so.
Hello from the Philippines, John.
Great video.
I relocated to the Philippines from the UK almost 1.5 years ago. My Filipina wife and I built our new home on the 1000 sq m lot we had in the province (countryside).
At the same time we built the house we installed a great solar system. We are 100% off-grid so no electricity bill.
It is only my wife and I so we thought a 6KW inverter would be enough and it certainly is.
We have 18 panels with 3 x 51.2v 200AH 10.24KW batteries. Even when we had a bad run of typhoons back in November the system still managed to give us power all day as well as giving us enough supply through the evening.
We can easily run the following on our system -
3 x split AC
1 x built in electric oven
1 x built in ceramic hob
1 x kettle
1 x refrigerator
2 x TV's
1 x water cooler
1 x washing machine
4 x fans
1 x rice cooker
And all out house lighting
Regards
Simon
Thank you for watching. Great to hear about your own journey too, that's very encouraging and just goes to show what is possible with renewables and some planning.
Thank you for sharing. That FiT payment really is the hero of the day!
Thanks for watching. Yes the FiT is helping tremendously with our renewables journey.
WOW John ,welcome back you have been busy.
Thanks Andrew, yes time does seem to get away with you!
Brilliant to see a vlog out John. Excited to watch tomorrow.
I hope you find it useful. Appreciate the welcoming back too.
Good to see you back John 😁
Thank you 🙏
Well John as a lot of others have already said we have definitely missed you monthly no nonsense good or bad vlogs. You have been very busy and must be near the end of the journey looking forward to future vlogs . Just one question have you downloaded the Netzero app for the powerwall ?
Hi Glyn thanks for the kind words.
Yes I have downloaded it just to check on what data it can see and health check on the old and new batteries. I deleted it soon afterwards as I don't like too many 3rd party apps having access to personal accounts. Removed access for it from my Tesla account too.
Hello John, good to see all the developments at your property. Not many high cost grid units taken so two Powerwalls looks like the right number for you at the moment. Our garage looks a lot like yours did and I've wondered about removing the central pillar ... but having just replaced the two doors it would be madness (anticipating wife's reaction) to change! Here's hoping for a better 2025. Nic
Thanks Nic. The central pillar was always a pain, been like that since we moved in when the house was new in 2001 so eventually got round to sorting it. I sold the old doors on eBay and got £300 for them, so you could take that tack too.
Yes let's hope for more sun in 2025!
John, very interesting and a somewhat busy year! A brilliant image in the opening sequence of that red/yellow sky. I also noticed one of your images on the wall is one which I have! (The horizontal one.) Best wishes to you and Jill for the New Year.
Thanks Barry, happy New Year to you too. Ah yes so you do have that image. We do well for sunsets here, not so much for sunrises.
Good to see you back on YT and very helpful stats for the year. We are looking to add a Heat Pump and in your video you mentioned about re-balancing the radiators due to not enough heat downstairs. I wondered have you been happy with the HP and does it give you enough heat? Is there anything you would have done differently? I did see you interview with your installer so I guess you are happy but it's the small.memtion of getting it hotter downstairs that got me thinking. Great to see you back
Thanks for the welcome back James.
The heat pump has been great there's nothing I would have change having lived with it across 18 months.
Balancing the rads should happen on any radiator based system, gas or heat pump driven. Most often the upstairs rads run too hot. Closing the lock shields, rather than stopping down the rad thermostat reduces the flow through them allowing the warmer water to circulate to the lower downstairs radiators rather than cooling down as it enters then leaves the upstairs rads. Balancing is probably more important with an ASHP as the flow temp are lower and therefore more noticeable in a room where there is more heat loss. I was not too clear in the video, our worst performing room is the dinning room has the biggest heat loss. The rest of the downstairs rooms are fine, we have a temp sensor in every room in the house. The dinning room needed more heat and it'd rads are at the end of the pipe run which makes it even more important to balance the system.
@@johntisburythank you, useful to know. We are on the cusp of ordering but there's been a couple of negative comments from people my wife knows one of whom has a HP and regrets but it sounds like there's haven't been set up properly.
@jamesmcfeely9150 good system design and installation is everything with a heat pump. It all starts with the heat loss survey. Get a good engineer, someone like a heat geek and you will be fine.
@@johntisbury agreed. the order is about to be submitted with Heat Geek due to the guarantee they offer. Look forward to seeing the videos in 2025. All the best, James
I have one Powerwall 2 and managed a 79% off peak for the year after adding our ASHP a couple of years ago, so yours is very good. As previously stated we seem to have similar homes with your being newer. Also our electricity usage very similar, Home Use was 15.8MWh, 13.4MWh imported from the grid and 2.3MWh Exported. Solar for year was down for us at 5183.3kWh. I too have the original 2011 FiT but have separated the deemed export part as I doubled the solar now adding to the East side of my roof. The export being 15p means we have bought electricity at 7p used solar and battery but allowing us to sell more at the higher price.
I wanted an extra Powerwall but DNO say I need 3 phase.
App[arently the Powerwall 3 can be used as DC and then I can also use as many as I can afford! There is also talk that it will at some time work with my Powerwall 2. So currently waiting for this.
Also must add this includes my Tesla Model 3 charging over the last year for over 10,000 miles.
Thanks for watching. I love the fact that everyone has a different use case for a similar setup. The 15p export option is a great idea and works well for you. Shame the PW3 is not compatible with PW2 and your DNO has pushed for 3-phase if you want a 2nd PW2. That does put a damper on adding a second one as a 3-phase upgrade deeding on cable length and run can be very expensive.
Thanks for your stats too, good to see.
Hi John, great video. I've got the same issue with my double garage in that it has a central pillar. Could you please share the rough cost of removing the pillar, adding the steel work and new garage door? Many thanks, Dave
Thanks for watching.
Cost of pillar removal, steel work was £3,200 which included a structural engineer's report. Which you will need in case you want to sell the property at a future date.
I sold the old garage doors on eBay for £400. New doors are very much dependant on the brand and quality you purchase. They start from around £2,500. We paid £4k for insulated high quality doors with good security fixings.
@@johntisbury Fantastic John, thank you so much for the detailed breakdown. That is not as much as I was expecting it to cost, so makes it a real option for me. Thanks again!
No worries. Builder prices will be the thing that varies tremendously. Our builder Ryan is a one man builder and has a great reputation for quality and workmanship. Choose wisely, ask for references and the ability to view their previous work. I know it's only a garage door, but Ryan did a fabulous job, even replacing the plastic fascia as it was previously in 2 pieces and he did it in 1.
Good afternoon John, one more quick query. What do you use to monitor your temperatures and humidity levels? I have some Zigbee devices but have mainly use Hue (as they work). Be useful to know which devices you use if you have a moment.
I use zigged devices too, the Sonoff SNBZ-02 model. Battery life is excellent way over 12months and connectivity is good. I get your point about zigged though as I have smart plugs on zigbee with are very erratic in their connection stability. Hue is great, expensive but it does work and is reliable.
your right about your golden FITs, mine went on in 2013 so not as lucky as you John :)
It's been one of the few early adopter decisions that has paid off! Mind you back in 2011 our solar installation cost £15K which would buy you a street's worth of solar now. 😀
Hello. Will be getting a heat pump in near future. Do you run a legionnela cycle and if so how often? Thanks.
Hi Kevin, thanks for watching.
No I don't run a legionella cycle. TBF it is rarely needed if you empty the hot water tank on a regular basis there's no risk of bacteria building up. I've given you a link to a Heat Geek video on the subject which is well worth a watch. ua-cam.com/video/oJeyc_cGIMU/v-deo.htmlsi=CP8v4oZNDL5PzWpm
Do you mind indicating the cost for the supply and separately the installation of the Air to air units
Not often quotes of this nature have a breakdown of labour and parts, typically it's a total cost. Not thought about it until you asked the question as to why. For example automotive repairs and servicing does provide a parts and labour breakdown. They can do this because they have standard job times for various tasks which they quote against. based on their hourly rate. With heating installations working labour time is harder to do as they don't know what they will find until they start, so most often they work it out based on a day rate. Either way you don't tend to get a breakdown.
I'm planning to do an in-depth video on the install, costs, usage and performance so will cover that then if that's okay.
Question on the powerwall 2, if the grid power goes off, does yours take over immedietly or do you have a few seconds loss of power? Mine goes off for 3 seconds, which i was told is normal in the UK. Iv had to buy a few ups's for my computer equipment to stay on and still having to reset the oven and microwave clock 😭
Good question Shaun. Not all outages are the same in terms of how the power goes down. Instant ones are not normally detected by the Powerwall until after a few seconds like you have experienced. The Powerwall is not a UPS so it won't automatically cut in unless there's a slow drop in voltage before a power cut.
Hi. We have PW2s as well and when grid goes out we lose electric for about one second. Like you in thinking of adding in a UPS so our internet stays on (I work from home) as well as the essential IT equipment/backup storage. I never quite understand why it does go off as when it does we are already running off the battery. Shame it's not quite as seamless as I assumed.
3 seconds is a lot, but just the half to one second that we have is too long for the computers and clocks, etc, which get upset like yours.
Not sure if you meant that’s normal for Tesla systems in the UK or if it was supposedly a norm for any system in the UK as a requirement, if the latter it’s incorrect as the Sigen systems switch seamlessly.
Omg what an expensive year!
@@makersmancave9725 you give with one hand and take with the other 😀
Very interesting, would suggest you give up deemed FIT export and change it for Octopus fixed at 15p per unit…even more £ to plough back into renewable tech!!!
Thanks for watching.
For us it's not worth it at the moment to swap. We exported 160kWh in 2024 to the grid as we use almost all on-site. That would give us £24 on a 15p export. We get circa £130 for the Deemed export meaning we would lose out. Until our exports are more then we will swap over. As I mentioned in the video we export very little as it's all used up on-site.
Interesting. And impressively low daily kwh for the house.. ive been tipping toward 40 or 50kwh in this jan 2025 cold spell..
Thanks for watching. Averages can be a bit deceiving as they blend the outliers. Like you, this Jan 2025 just our ASHP has been daily pulling 30 - 50kWh in the really cold snap. Total houses has been 70 - 80kWh which includes car charging to be fair.
@@johntisbury Yes I hope the occasional peak it doesn't put people off getting them.