DragonFireSG

Hi, I am studying water heating options for a new house. Can you give me an estimate for 2x CAPH-80 heat pump systems? Thinking of doing a parallel install for system redundancy. Is this feasible? Our fear with a central system is that a failure may leave us without hot water for an extended period of time - which has happened before with the gas fired heater in our current house. Do also give me estimates for the 80 liter micro heat pumps too. I am also considering the use of independent units for each floor/bathroom versus a large central system for the whole house if the cost premium over a central system isn't too great. I have 6 bathrooms (showers, no baths save for one with a jacuzzi) spread out across a 4.5 storey house. Also a kitchen, a bar counter and two powder rooms needing hot water facilities. Rain showers will be installed in 4 bathrooms. That said, what installation options are there? Are you able to supply products for my plumbing contractor to installed, or do you require installation to be done by an approved contractor? Work on the house has not started yet so actual delivery will likely be in Q3-4 2018. I am currently putting out feelers to get cost estimates for various facilities. TIA.

If you are planning on running PoE, do pay special attention to the voltage your desired AP model requires. Check out this table to make sure your product selections are compatible. https://help.ubnt.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000263008--UniFi-Understanding-PoE-and-How-UniFi-Devices-are-Powered

Probably going to go with a electrician's ladder from the front balcony if it is not a requirement to provision a staircase. I'll do a consultation with a PV installer in the coming weeks to find out more.

Network engineer here. Running copper is always preferable if you have the means to do so. Pre plan your wiring, and allocate outlets for your access points at strategic locations in the roof. AP placement is important. Most enterprise APs are designed for mounting with the flat face pointing down. Mounting them wrong will dramatically reduce your coverage range. Remember that it takes two hands to clap. All the transmit power in the world at the AP won't help if the other device cannot talk back - and an improperly placed AP is a surefire way to cause such a situation. - No metal within 1 foot of the AP - No glass within 1 foot of the AP - Avoid RC walls. Metal rebar inside. - Mount the AP high up, and point the face down = I'd suggest using Ubiquiti UniFi APs if you can. They aren't cheap, but work really well for large residences. I had 3 installed for a friend in a 3000 sqft single floor apartment in Ardmore Park. Full signal coverage everywhere, even inside the toilet on the throne with the doors closed. This is a huge place mind you, with a lift shaft down the center. Lift shafts are nasty, being RC all round. For most landed properties, I'd say 1 per floor will suffice most times.

Anyone know anything about the 2015 SCDF circular on PV installs? Does this apply to landed residential properties? There are a huge number of conditions to comply with, including the provisioning of a staircase to the roof hosting the array,

This is a bit late, but there are ways to reduce the amount of maintenance you need to do on a koi pond with a bit of investment and technology. Most koi ponds in Singapore are built using brush and mat filters, which require maintenance every two weeks for optimal fish health. These are pushed for mainly one thing - maintenance costs pond owners will pay "professional" cleaners to do the dirty work for them. Modern easy maintenance (5m every two days, hands dry vs 4 hours every other weekend, whole body soaking wet) filters can be easily retro fit to a koi pond. There are a few schools of thought to achieve this.. If you haven't already destroyed your koi pond, I'd be happy to share with you some possibilities. A video from my self cleaning pond is below. Crystal clear water down to 5ft, no mats or brushes to clean. I inspect the system mechanically once a month for wear and damage. There have been mechanical issues with my filter the past couple of years, but these have mostly been sorted out. This was a small price to pay for the self cleaning aspect. If you can go without crystal clear water, a simpler (manually flushed, and far cheaper) particulates separator can be installed that has no moving parts. (Google Ultrasieve)

Lo Folks, Any idea if gas/flame garden torches are permitted in Singapore? Came across these rather impressive things. Would look wonderful around my future koi pond. There's just something innately beautiful and primal about a dancing flame.

Lo Folks, I will be investigating the solar installation in a year or so as my plot is currently still grassland UTICA's prices do look tasty, but I am not sure of their panel specs at this time.

Thanks for sharing your experiences

No plans for battery banks that need regular replacement. I work with datacenters, and the cost of battery maintenance is really serious. Having seen 2 battery related fires in 15 years due to equipment failures (thank goodness for fm200), I ain't putting a bank of things with the stored potential energy of a bomb in my house. As you mentioned, there is little point in Singapore doing off-grid where the power is clean and stable. Any system I install is gonna be strictly grid tie only. At current efficiency levels, we have reached a decent level of parity between SP cost and PV install cost. ROI is as short as 5-6 years now for heavy users, vs 10-15 just a while ago. I anticipate SP power costs will continue increasing too. We aren't gonna see oil this cheap forever. Power generated in the day will offset that consumed at night. It's a decent arrangement.

Thanks. I was planning getting to TOP before getting a solar installer to come quote for and install the additional toys. Based on the BCA green handbook on PV installations (https://www.bca.gov.sg/GreenMark/others/pv_guide.pdf), further BCA approval should not be necessary as long as I make sure the roof is rated for the PV installation loading. I will put out feelers and get some input from PV installers on this. Panel prices have reached parity, and power costs are increasing. If the system is good for 20-25 years, it will be a worthwhile investment.

Hi Folks, Currently in the midst of planning a property built from scratch having acquired an empty plot of land. We will be building to the build height limit of 12m, with the main structure within the setback requirements as dictated in URA/BCA guidelines I am planning on covering much of the entire roof with solar panels after construction. The question here is if the panels are considered part of the building structure, or something bolted on to the building. There will likely be a 20-30cm air gap between the roof of the building and the panel array, which will mean the building + panels set will slightly exceed the build envelope. Basically I need to know if I will need to plan for a slightly shorter building, maybe 11.5m from minimum platform level to allow for the air gap and the frame holding the array. I am assuming lightning protection rods may exceed the 12m mark. The other question would be if I can extend the array to cover the 45 degree setback of the attic - but within the 7.5m setback from the front, This will give me an extra row of panels and shade for the top floor. Cheers, Ken