Geyser timer solution for solar

Dimpie (COMPUTEK) said:
Madness

Mine is set to 50ºC for 2 people ... with more than enough hot water for another 2
I mix my water hot:cold / 20:80 ... the hot is just just there to break the cold
Click to expand...
Mine is 50 degrees from 10pm to 9am, then it increases to 55.
 
cavedog said:
Thought I'd post here what I ended up doing. Unfortunately still not the ideal solution for my specific setup. A few challenges.

1. Geyser element pulls max 3.1kW so when clouds roll over it drains the battery pretty quickly especially with a 5kW battery.
2. The risk of draining the battery completely and grid being unavailable is there so it might trip if its cloudy and grid is unavailable when the battery is drained.

Other than those 2 issues the Smart Wifi breaker that works with Tuya or Smart Life app works well so far.

Geyser set at 70C. 2 people shower at night and in the morning and there is enough hot water. That might change in winter will see. Geyser takes only 1h 50min to boil the next day for the thermostat to switch of at 70C.

Given the above and the fact that not the entire 150l might be at exact 70C it uses about 5.62kW daily.

View attachment 1881692


View attachment 1881693
Click to expand...
HomeAssistant would work nicely for you as you can monitor (in realtime) the inverter + battery performance while the geyser is on. The when that falls outside the parameters you switch off the geyser
 
Lupus said:
At 70 degrees for two people? Is he storing it for a week?
Click to expand...

It sounds like a lot but really isn't hey. Next morning there is still hot water for 2 people maybe a 3rd shower. I don't have these fancy things like you guys yet where you can just set the temp on an app so its a hard 70c for now. Winter is also coming and when guests stay over I don't want to be changing the changeover switch to grid for now so yeah.
 
cavedog said:
It sounds like a lot but really isn't hey. Next morning there is still hot water for 2 people maybe a 3rd shower. I don't have these fancy things like you guys yet where you can just set the temp on an app so its a hard 70c for now. Winter is also coming and when guests stay over I don't want to be changing the changeover switch to grid for now so yeah.
Click to expand...
Depends on how far you move the hot water dial
 
Lupus said:
Depends on how far you move the hot water dial
Click to expand...

That is also true. I just want it hot. I don't want these low bearly any heat from showers. Winter in PTA can be cold I don't want to shiver when I get out knowing I wasted 3 hours of free electricity during the day.
 
cavedog said:
That is also true. I just want it hot. I don't want these low bearly any heat from showers. Winter in PTA can be cold I don't want to shiver when I get out knowing I wasted 3 hours of free electricity during the day.
Click to expand...
55 would achieve that :) 70 degrees is overkill probably why most geysers top out at that :)
 
Lupus said:
55 would achieve that :) 70 degrees is overkill probably why most geysers top out at that :)
Click to expand...

Well, I'm still going on with the insurance for the 1st claim from hail damage and the 2nd waiting with the geyser claim for now so if the geyser burst in the meantime it might be a good thing for me. Luckily it sits outside on the roof so no damage indoors if it does happen.

I do think I want to investigate the heat pump replacement for the geyser will see.
 
cavedog said:
Well, I'm still going on with the insurance for the 1st claim from hail damage and the 2nd waiting with the geyser claim for now so if the geyser burst in the meantime it might be a good thing for me. Luckily it sits outside on the roof so no damage indoors if it does happen.

I do think I want to investigate the heat pump replacement for the geyser will see.
Click to expand...
It's not a replacement for the geyser, just the element :). It still uses the geyser to store the water and distribute it
 
PCWARITM said:
Is a heat pump really a good replacement for a geyser? Also, they're noisy.
Click to expand...
It doesn't replace the geyser it replaces the element in the geyser.
Plus they are generally mounted outside and it's as loud as an aircon but it's only really ever on for about 45 min and closing a door the sound is just a dull hum.
 
wingnut771 said:
Costs a million times more than the free geyser on the roof.
Click to expand...
But the savings and the less stressing is the real benefit.
Plus you still use it for free and can be used more often.
 
Lupus said:
It doesn't replace the geyser it replaces the element in the geyser.
Plus they are generally mounted outside and it's as loud as an aircon but it's only really ever on for about 45 min and closing a door the sound is just a dull hum.
Click to expand...
:ROFL:
Another win for geysers in series.
 
wingnut771 said:
You use less hotwater at 70c so there is less cold water going into the geyser cooling it down.
Click to expand...
Just having a mixer tap in the middle uses hot water, doesn't matter if it's hot to touch or not it's still using hot water.
A heat pump monitors the geysers temp better as well so 55 is 55 and it also only turns back on when it will hit 52.
 
Lupus said:
But the savings and the less stressing is the real benefit.
Plus you still use it for free and can be used more often.
Click to expand...
Just buy a 2kw element for R300. Turn breaker off, drain geyser, remove element, fit new element, turn water back on and let it fill up, turn breaker back on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X