Geyser - Smartswitch vs Geyserwise

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Just_Ice

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I currently have a regular geyser - and will likely put in a solar installation (panels, battery, inverter) in the next 12 months. In the mean time though, to save on some electricity, other than a geyser blanket - what makes more sense, to wire up a smart circuit breaker at the DB board and set timers as need be, or alternatively, to go down the Geyserwise route?

More info on either is appreciated.
 
Well I am no expert but if you go the Full Geyserwise wifi it will be a huge amount more than just a smart timer, including installation.
The only benefit you will have I think is that you can see the temperature. That is probably good as you can see what temp is before someone maybe want to use hot water and know if you must switch it on or not. Or know before sun goes down if you need to top up heat a bit. But if the price difference is worth that, I don't know.
 
Just_Ice said:
I currently have a regular geyser - and will likely put in a solar installation (panels, battery, inverter) in the next 12 months. In the mean time though, to save on some electricity, other than a geyser blanket - what makes more sense, to wire up a smart circuit breaker at the DB board and set timers as need be, or alternatively, to go down the Geyserwise route?

More info on either is appreciated.
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I had a manual CBI Geyser timer since 2013. Worked well, can set the geyser on / off at 30 minute intervals. IIRC i paid R300 for it in 2013. But the changes to the times had to be done at the DB.
Since the solar install, I bought a CBI Astute. Much more functions in terms of timing and can switch on/of remotely.
May not have the ability to tell temps etc , but for R500 installed, it was worth the money.
I can now control my geyser to the minute and if weather changes, i can adjust the times via the app.
It also has Daily scheduling for times.
 
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Money not an option issue, the Geywerwise, smart DB switches work well though but you won't be able to see geyser temperature. Just make sure whatever switch you go for is rated for whatever current your geyser element will draw. You can also look at using pipe insulation/lagging from the geyser on hot pipes as far as you can to get some savings.
 
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Installing this in a week or so, will be controlled via my HA which monitors solar and battery levels and the odd schedule.

R375

www.geewiz.co.za

EWELINK WIFI Smart Circuit Breaker Type Timer - 63A with Power KWh Monitoring - Ewelink Smart App - Geyser Timer

Timer | Power Meter | Amperage set | Surge Protection Surge Protector Remote on/off Control Timer function Voltmeter Power Metering / Energy monitoring Ammeter Over/under voltage protection Over current/power protection Amperage Control Remote control at any time from anywhere...
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
 
Installed the Geyserwise TSE Smart a year ago, paid itself off in months. The Wifi connectivity gives me the control I need.

Temperature works in 4 time steps, each 6 hours (0:00-06:00; 06:00-12:00;12:00-18:00;18:00-24:00). I can easily set the temp for each step and then enable/disable timers.

As I have more than year of solar data, I can now better plan max usage of excess solar power.
 
I installed a CBI Astute isolator in the roof next to my geyser ages ago, and used the timer function to turn it on and off to take advantage of my solar system as best I could. I have a GoSolr 5 kw installed which won't run the geyser during a power outage, but the battery and panels combined will provide all the power you need to get the water hot.

Just recently added dongle from Heinz to my inverter which gives me all the inverter data in HA. Now I use the State of Charge from my solar system to turn the geyser on and off (85% turn on, 35% turn off).

I did have to add a timer to turn the geyser on at 4pm, after a cloudy day in Joburg where the battery never got to 85% (and the wife had a cold shower the next day!!). Works a treat and has reduced my electricity usage from City Power massively.
 
Just_Ice said:
I currently have a regular geyser - and will likely put in a solar installation (panels, battery, inverter) in the next 12 months. In the mean time though, to save on some electricity, other than a geyser blanket - what makes more sense, to wire up a smart circuit breaker at the DB board and set timers as need be, or alternatively, to go down the Geyserwise route?

More info on either is appreciated.
Click to expand...

the temperatures makes a big difference especially of you going Solar PV - I can warm up on battery in the AM so it saves me a lot - and when full sun i can set it to go higher temps.
you do get temperature sensors for other smart devices so there is that but I cant say much as I don't have those - but I'm happyish with the geyser wise - haven't gone full automation but I have set some nice routines for the geysers on the default app -

Edit:
I see you have geyeserwise already the upgrade to smart is pretty cheap - only replace the front panel circuit board so no new wiring etc - there is the Geyserwala unofficial upgrade that's not bad as well
 
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I'd go with geyserwise. Being able to see temp gives you so much more control, especially if you have done rugrats around. At the moment for me it is always a guess whethern I'm going to be able to take a shower.

Edit: just for clarity, at my previous house I had solar geyser with Geyserwise. Currently I've got solar PV with geysers on CBI Astute run by Home Assistant. Using the Astute's allows me to manage my load but it's a bit of a guess as to the current temp, especially early morning. Girls bath/shower at night and then geyser comes on early morning for wife and I to shower. I could put the geyser on a lot longer in the morning, but that would obviously drain battery more (or use mains), so it is a juggling act. My next upgrade is to go install gesyerwise/geyserwalla on the main bathroom geyser which will solve a chunk of the challenges
 
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Anyone willing to share some Home Assistant automations for the Geyserwise. I've recently installed one and just using it for some very basic management. Would love to see some examples of how PV production etc. is used to change Set Temp blocks etc. Have not yet been brave enough to start writing my own YAML....
 
Vetseun said:
Anyone willing to share some Home Assistant automations for the Geyserwise. I've recently installed one and just using it for some very basic management. Would love to see some examples of how PV production etc. is used to change Set Temp blocks etc. Have not yet been brave enough to start writing my own YAML....
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The good thing is that with the HA automation advancements you can get away without writing YAML
 
I have been using a Geyserwise system with two dedicated 550 w solar panels for two years now.

For me this a total set and forget system. I use extra power from my general solar system for one hour a day between 7 am and 8 am and in the two years I have never had to shower in cold water. I also never need to mess around with the system or change settings. Even during an extended power failure of 4 days I did not have a problem.
 
Stonemason said:
I have been using a Geyserwise system with two dedicated 550 w solar panels for two years now.

For me this a total set and forget system. I use extra power from my general solar system for one hour a day between 7 am and 8 am and in the two years I have never had to shower in cold water. I also never need to mess around with the system or change settings. Even during an extended power failure of 4 days I did not have a problem.
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Why the separation? * unless that was there before your general solar system..

Honestly i would have just added the 2x550 w panels to your solar system here the potential 1.1Kw is only used for hot water whilst if it was on the general system it will be used for that and anything else
 
isie said:
Why the separation? * unless that was there before your general solar system..

Honestly i would have just added the 2x550 w panels to your solar system here the potential 1.1Kw is only used for hot water whilst if it was on the general system it will be used for that and anything else
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No, the separation was by design. I prefer multiple options, If one fails then the other one takes over. The rest of my solar system provides far more electricity than I can use and there was no need to add the geyser's panels to the general system.
 
Stonemason said:
I have been using a Geyserwise system with two dedicated 550 w solar panels for two years now.

For me this a total set and forget system. I use extra power from my general solar system for one hour a day between 7 am and 8 am and in the two years I have never had to shower in cold water. I also never need to mess around with the system or change settings. Even during an extended power failure of 4 days I did not have a problem.
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I want to look into something like this ... where do I start? Who do I contact?
Is there a package deal somewhere?
 
Speedster said:
Far cheaper to add an extra panel to your existing PV setup
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Unless your PV strings already are at the maximum the inverter can handle. It certainly will not be cheaper to buy a larger inverter.
 
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