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Great question. I'd initially planned to use underfloor heating/cooling. And it was only relatively late in the process I opted to drop it. The house is a passive house. Our local climate, glazing, sun, and shading keep the house comfortable throughout the seasons due to the home's insulation, and the mechanical ventilation with a heat exchanger. To avoid overheating, any underfloor heating would only be a degree or two above the air temperature. So there'd not be a toasty feet feeling in winter. And in summer it was deemed a hydronic system would not result in effective cooling. I've gone instead with a ducted heat pump (separate to the MVHR). And opted not to do hydronic underfloor heating/cooling due to capital costs; unsightly external heat exchangers; extra complexity. I am installing heated floors under bathroom tiles. Whether they get used or not...

You make a great point. The chat has been had.

leaves are going to be a problem. particularly at these heights. working on a solution.

thank you for the feedback. what are the key water decisions and aspirations you have for your property?

​@@ManaiaPeter Hey Mate, thanks for asking. I don't want to take you too far down the rabbit hole on my property, as I'm sure you're very busy managing yours. But, since you asked... We have 2,240sqm in an urban setting in the Philippines. The house, parking, large swimming pool, and utility/storage/tool sheds will use a total footprint of 450 - 500 sqm. About 350 - 400 sqm will be a dedicated veggie garden. The remaining 1,300sqm will primarily be a grass lawn, with 12 - 15 small fruit trees scattered about. We will have as much solar as we can fit on all structures' roofs. Our city water supply is very limited: intermittent hours and weak pressure. We will have a well dug. We want to use rain catchment as much as possible. Our area used to have at least some rain about 50% of days annually. But this year and 4 - 5 years ago we've had bad droughts. I think we've had a little rain ONE DAY this year (2024). We used to have 3cm - 10cm of precipitation per month, with an average of about 6cm/month. I don't think we've had 6cm of rain cumulatively the first 4 months of 2024. We try to be environmentally conscious, but we also like our creature comforts: a very large house, a very large swimming pool, A/C, long, hot showers, washing machine, a car, etc. We will be six full-time house inhabitants and will have frequent visitors. The 350- 400sqm veggie garden is important to us, as we hope to achieve a significant level of self-sufficiency in veggies, herbs, and spices. My current thinking is to have one fairly large steel water tank and two underground cisterns -- much like the water retention tanks you installed. And, like you, we need to remove a very old septic tank and install a new one. Lots of work to be done. Your video was the closest I've found to our needs. I hope I can find dependable professionals like you seem to have found. Thanks again!

Thanks for the feedback.

There were no rangers at the huts. Lots of fallen tree detours, and trail marker searching. Conditions would change rapidly with rain. Hiked in mostly fine October weather.