Luseth

they require regular maintenance, like you could get away for 5 years without a service on your boiler, you do that with a heat pump and it needs replacing. @Plumbers Crack a heat network is designed with a hot water buffer vessel so the idea is you need to keep that at 70 degrees (it can be lower and then a hiu would top up the difference where required for hot water ising electricity) and there is a diversity calculation to determine the amount of heat energy you need to put into keeping the buffer vessel at that temperature depending on the number of apartments / spaces that require heating. The radiators are then sized on the anticipated flow and return temperature's so if it is designed from the off based on utilising ground source it wouldnt be an issue (though admittedly it isnt always the case). We haven't done it yet but 5th gen heat networks do utilise ground source heat pumps. It’s clever stuff when done correctly but I don't think a lot of them are being done based on ground source (you wont get a buffer vessel to stay at 70 with just ground source, it would need an additional heat source such as biomass boilers or hydrogen which most modern boilers that we install are capable of with only minor changes internally). But that goes back to my original comment that I am not sure the industry is set on one single direction currently.

Yes @Diddums, odds are electric will play a bigger role but by all accounts i think its too early to tell where things are going for us as mechanical designers as far as where the energy will come from. (I have studied some electrical units too and would like to learn both if for nothing more than understanding both sides will only help the design process). You may have seen different but from my point of view a lot of the heating focus has been around heat networks so that the gas boilers can be swapped out down the line, its just a change of heat source then (and its fairly efficient combined with HIU’s). Its the heat source that people are still not sure of, we have worked quite closely with the guys that have written CP1 for CIBSE and been some of the early adopters of their revised guidance (in fact we were installing heat networks based on the Danish standards prior to CIBSE adopti g it and creating their version (though back then I only cadded it all!) As far as what we do as a business we are on the install side as well so typically the types of systems we install are somewhat dictated to us and we make it work (we are in the process of working on and installing our first net zero carbon project utilising underfloor heating and ground source heat pumps). The communal vent is much more traditional but the energy useage is offset by solar panels on the roof etc. So we are getting our foot in the door as a company 🙂 But as I say personally the design elements of a project is still relatively new to me (in fact I often think I might enjoy the BIM side of things more so my career path could change again down the road and my director did hint the other day that I could have the opportunity to lead that aspect of the business, though thats all for discussion yet) I am finding it funny how I have come on this forum and found someone I could discuss all this with, I always find everyone looks at me funny when i say what I do. Considering how much we rely on these systems for comfort and yet so few people know what it involves (like a lot of careers im sure!) Sorry for the long reply! 😁

Give me a shout if you jump on, I want to give it another go. I'm not sure I will stick with it but I wouldn't like to write it off without a fair go.

I'm happy enough with Southgate and think he deserves the world cup which to me is where he should be assessed, a lot of the recent results have not been great admittedly but you can see he is also looking ahead and if we disrupt it now we are back to square 1. Being a Birmingham City fan at the moment has really been tough over recent years but it appears like we are on the verge of being sold and there is a lot of speculation as to who will end up owning us and with Bassini being the front runner, who is really behind / backing him. Suspicions are that it is David Sullivan at West Ham (as he is in the process of selling West Ham currently) which would be interesting as he left us previously and we found ourselves in a world of hurt. On the flip side our fans blame him for our current plight so it will take a lot for him to win them over.

Quite a variety on here then 😄 @Diddums that sounds an incredibly interesting place to work at! Well seeing as I did start the thread it's only right I do add my bit as well. Personally I am a mechanical design engineer (or at least I qualify for it in the next couple of months), so I have worked for the same company for 6 years just as a CAD technician (so turning marked up drawings into 2d professional drawings) and about 2 years ago I spoke to the boss about moving into design and he agreed, so I have been attending college for a day a week working towards my HNC, I can go further but have chosen not to just yet (and unfortunately for him, the young designer at the time was let go and I have now slotted into that position). As a company we design mechanical and electrical systems for large buildings (mainly residential apartments and the such), moving into mechanical design as I am I am moving into designing heating, cooling, ventilation, drainage & water services (this typically includes plantrooms & tankrooms that run the water to apartments and the such) and I get involved in others such as fire suppression systems, smoke ventilation and building management systems (I have to spec up some of these things). The past year or so I have worked on my first project based in Bath and it is being installed currently so I will be going down to see it next week. Where I think one of the senior designers has realised I will be incredibly valueable is with Revit & BIM, this is basically the 3d modelling of buildings (I will sort out a few screenshots at some point to show you guys) and everything that goes into them, something I have an interest in but the opportunity has never come up to really get going with it until very recently. In addition I am partially responsible for IT & software management for the company, sometimes select products to install in the project and that sort of thing so it's quite a broad role I have at the moment. So my subject knowledge is quite broad and growing rapidly and I could realistically go and get a much higher paid job than I do currently but I kind of like it where I am because I am getting the opportunities now to develop, do some of my own things and the such as well. Though the conversation will be coming about pay this year, once I get my certificate, just need to build up some confidence for it because it's not something I have ever done before!

So just had a meeting with one of my directors at work (the one that's more likely to be grumpy than not). He made a comment about me being indespensable which was surprisingly nice! But it made me think of yesterday's bored at work thread and in turn wondering what everyone does for a living on here? 🙂

I am really surprised they haven't done one of these films like 20-30 or even 100 years on from the dinosaurs escaping, a time where they have had chance to breed and multiply and now humans face extinction type of scenario. Seems like an easy win to me and a way to take the series in a new direction.

I just watched Hustle with Adam Sandler, It's a bit strange seeing him in a less comical film / role. The film itself is actually really quite good, about a basketball scout who somewhat gambles his career on a player he thinks is the next big thing. The films got a lot of story that hits the right boxes for emotions etc... Thought it was really good, the story is a little cliche but the acting throughout was great but it also show's how brutal sport can be in terms of recruitment at younger levels and how one moment can be the difference between making it as a professional or going back to a menial job like the rest of us. Though it's based on basketball I imagine it applies to football in a similar fashion.

@GazzaGarratt I do like the series but it's not without it's flaws! Fallout New Vegas is probably the best of the series but I enjoyed Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. It's very much a love it / hate it series of games though so if you don't enjoy them you never will 🙂

Ah the lack of work doesn't worry me too much, my wife's on maternity at the moment so I did have a nose online the other day and it looks like there is quite the demand for what I do at the moment (I can do 3d modelling which makes me even more valueable) and most of them pay more than I'm on now! (I do like it where I am currently though). I have pottered about in FO76 this afternoon and levelled up a fair bit which has been good 😄 My wife is also round her parents this evening with the kids so house to myself too, bonus!

Haha I struggle when I have downtime, I think because I get so little of it I never know what to do with it! I had a brief go on modern warfare this morning, man it's so far away from Battlefield. I did ok but certainly don't feel I will reach the heights of yesteryear! I sorted out a bit of my garage and after lunch I'm going to try and sit down and play fallout 76 and maybe produce a couple of drawings for work just so I have something to show for today ^_^ (I have literally sent out 3 e-mails today).

Thought i'd post on here! So work's gone eerily quiet, I work in a design and build company and for the first time in my 6 and a half years at the company I have nothing to do. Jobs are being installed and built on site but we have no new work currently which means there is nothing to design. Fortunately today I'm working from home so could get away with doing other things so yeah does anyone have any suggestions 😄

So, in a further effort to embed myself into the forum (or embarrass myself) I thought I would talk about gardening (I have had a nose through and it looks like I am not the only one, was particularly impressed with @Drifter 's garden!). I have no idea what I am doing most of the time but I seem to have a few flowers growing 😄 (I will take some photos as everything comes into bloom over the next month or so). But yeah my garden mostly revolves around Dahlia's / Iris / Roses (they were there when we moved in). Another aspect of my gardening that I began towards the end of the lockdown, I was offered the opportunity to take on an allotment. I did so and it's been quite an experience so far (When I am next there I will take some photos and put them up alongside a before photo if I have one). This would be my first season where I have grown a substantial amount in that we got the allotment around March last year and we were in a hurry to get things in the ground (it was also incredibly overgrown by weed's which you will see from the neighbours plots when I put up a photo). So my question to you lot is related to the allotment side of things, do you grow anything that's edible in your outdoor spaces and if so what? To give you an idea of what I have growing on my allotment - Potatos (lots of these) Onions (lots of these as well) Cannelini beans Strawberries Cauliflower Artichoke Tomatos Swede Magetout Peas Asparagus (Only first year in the ground though) Leeks Pumpkins will be going in soon At home I also have some lettuce, more strawberries (including pineberries and Bubbleberries), watermelon (not sure how these will go), a grapevine (still too young to get anything from) a couple of small apple trees (It looks like I will get my first apples this year), a plum tree, cherry tree, some Kale & Beetroot.

So the likes of gamescom and E3 are dying out in favour of companies producing their own videos. Microsoft & Bethesda yesterday, Playstation and Nintendo do their State of play type of reveals while even PC gamer do their own reveal. Do any of you guy's watch them? I find them quite exciting seeing what's coming up (though there can often be some cringey moments in some of them) and I do dislike reveals being 3 or 4 years in advance just saying they are working on it without showing anything.

I thought it looked quite good, I am playing Fallout 76 on the xbox with my brothers at the moment and though it's janky as hell it's quite a fun game. This looks the same but set in space and provided they can keep the bugs to a minimum (though it is Bethesda) it could turn out quite good fun. It looks quite pretty and I love the concept being a Mass effect fan. Fingers crossed it will turn out good, I noted that there still wasn't a launch date though so technically it could be next christmas (2023) yet.

I have this in my backlog along with the first game (which I plan to boot up this week), thet have both had good reviews in the past but I do struggle to get into such big games these day's. It's not easy to do with young children sadly!

Yes, frustratingly the gunplay isnt that bad!

So I gave this a brief go last night with one of my usual battlefield mates and my points taken from it were - - New map wasn't actually too bad however much like all of them it's far too big (especially seeing as the focus seems to be back to 64 player game modes.... - My friend had issues with button prompts not appearing (he took a few screenshots to show us), I didn't notice if it was the same for me but if so and it got through QA that is incredibly poor. - I think this release really show's they will be putting the bare minimum into the game for the seasons durations and I imagine for sure the main bulk of the team has moved on. - Playing this then going to Battlefield V straight after just made BFV feel even better because the gulf between them is absurd. - I don't see a way back for this game at all and suspect I will have deleted it from my console this weekend.

Sorry but wasn't there already a remaster for PS4, why does there need to be another iteration. This is bonkers and show's the direction of the industry whilst a lot of the players continues to eat it up. I hope it bombs I really do. We need new IP's not remakes and remasters of existing games, with the current trend every time we move forwards in tv technology we will just get the next generation of the same games... Absurd...

I sadly think this is the run up to the death of the battlefield franchise and it's going to be mostly down to EA. There were some poor design choices in 2042 but the bulk of the issues stem from EA trying to turn battlefield into something akin to COD (which they have tried many times) in order to get their fifa of shooters. The season releases at this point are likely what you say James, if they don't then there is grounds for those paying for higher tiers to take them to court. I continue to play BFV (not necassarily their strongest release) but it's still night and day with this latest game. For me there is also the principle now, the price was higher for this game and the standard was so much lower on launch that I'm not sure I will return to it at all even if they put things right at this stage.

Not sure if you guy's ever played it, but Alpha Protocol to me was the best James Bond game (that wasn't a Bond game). If they made something like that I'd be quite happy 🙂 Though what they could do with today's tech and funding could be something special ^_^ Similarly the splinter cell games seem to have died off / gone quiet in recent years.

I played it recently ^_^ Still have a working N64 and whilst it's fun it obviously feel's very dated. I'm incredibly surprised it has not had a remake in this day and age, feels like a cash cow if ever there was one. Almost like a remake of Ocarina of time would be as well.

That was tough last night 😄 Not sure if part of it was just we all kept getting in each other's way and that as well. The last game (admittedly it was a division lower) was much better but I think we were down to 5 or 6 players? Nay mind, was enjoyable! I think someone mentioned that a few of you are playing modern warfare at the moment, I will have to wait till payday else my wife will kick me up the arse but I might look at getting it in a few weeks to give me something else to game with you lot on (might hit my targets on there better than I did last night 😄 )

Managed to get to the cinema the weekend for the first time since having children ^_^ So a few years, and got to see Top Gun 🙂 It's a brilliant film and I would argue as good (maybe better) than the original, a little less romance and a bit more flying of planes, added tense moments to them and some of the action scenes were brilliant 🙂 Would definately recommend watching at the cinema rather than at home as well, it really need's a good sound system and big screen I think 🙂