Not all together

So the contractor project manager for the 3-phase installation has called and will phone in a day or two with a specific date. The good news is that, contrary to earlier advice, the work can go forward on its own, with the house electrical work and the meter installation following. This requires a second visit to disconnect the single phase cable but this seems fine!

The pump arrives!

Well the pump and exchange tank have been delivered. There might be a small expansion tank missing or not.

The trenches have sunk 70mm or so in places (which is a pity for the re-seeded grass). The 3-phase electricity installation grinds forward; it has been passed to the contractors and they have appointed a project manager who wants to see the site, with luck this week. Expect more delays before an actual date can be agreed!

We did think about using the cold ground in summer to provide 'free' cooling by circulating the coolant from the ground loop into special fan convectors or a 'VBX' system. Apparently this is normal anyway in Scandinavia in order to re-heat the ground, though not here. With thermal timescales of centuries (?) for the boreholes we maybe should keep watching the coolant return temperature for a few years! The cooling of the house may be a marginal value except for a few days each year.

Drive back to normal

Well the drive is at last restored (almost - the manhole frame is here but not the actual cover, supposed to be next week...). With August meaning holidays and jobs to be done in school breaks things take time.

Many delays and glitches getting the right gravel and tiles for restoration but all seems now OK and there is access almost everywhere.

The 3 phase power may be a while as the various bureaucracies grind forward (that is the power company, the meter/supply company and the electrician, all of whom need to come the same day, and the local authority who need to approve the traffic controls needed.)

The heat pump itself is supposed to be delivered next week, after which there is still plumbing, connections etc. It appears that a web interface for the heat pump that enables monitoring (but not control) is imminent - seems a bit behind the curve for a new machine (Swedish at that!). So actual controls are via clunky up-and-down and select menus like an old-fashioned mobile phone. We will have smart meter monitoring on each phase via our Alterme system - not sure if it is worth having monitoring of the heat pump alone (though it may be the only unit on one phase).

More filling

Well it progresses but fairly slowly. It is August and the builder has people on holiday and doing school jobs (top season for these) so we had no-one until today but the one man here today has filled in a good deal and started the manhole with the bricks, sand and lintels delivered yesterday and Monday.

The rain no doubt contributes to the Somme-like surfaces but all should be well some time next week when the gravel may come. The external electric box has come (white of course!).

It is striking how much less one can get back into a hole than one took out of it - even allowing for the manhole and the sand!