First results are in for our solar panels!

[Beaglehound]

Interesting post Stockbeard. The comments below the article about the leaky bucket kind of confirm that it isn’t a clear cut issue, fair bit of disagreement there. We had the guy round who installed the air con system to explain how it works last night, and he basically didn’t know the most energy efficient way of using it. I appreciated his honesty at least.

From a bit of google work, using air con for heating in a cold winter climate like here in Hida and in Nagano for Bushiman seems to be a bit different than in more moderate climates as at lower temperatures below zero the heat pump (cheap to operate) becomes less efficient and it needs to supplement through using a heat strip (super expensive) in the air conditioner. So perhaps by keeping the temperature more stable inside, more of the heat you need is generated via the cheaper heat pump and less via the ruinous heat strip. Written as a complete non expert though, I will see what my builder says next week and see if it makes sense.

[Beaglehound]

Just to report back on the ‘air con on all the time or not’ question, having spoken to our builder again I don’t think he has specialised knowledge, couldn’t really explain why it was better to leave it on all the time. Might be a case of experiment and see what’s best.

[Ori]

I know this is a quite old thread, but I was wondering what StockBeard can say Yamato Juken and Yucaco system after living in the house for 2 years?
I'm choosing a builder at the moment and cannot decide between YK and Ichijo - while both offer well insulated houses, Yamato Juken is quite cheaper than Ichijio, but has a lot of bad reviews. On other hand, Ichijo seem to be loved by many, but is a little too expensive for us.
I also can't decide whether I should install Yucaco (or other central AC) or simply go with AC in every room. I'm concerned about higher running and maintenance costs of Yucaco, as well as mold in the ducts and aircon fights.
Also wondering how solar panels keep performing... Ichijo offers battery for free at the moment, so it makes investing in solar more attractive.

[Bronson]

Would be interested to know as well! Am in a similar situation, deciding between Ichijo and another house builder.