Geyser Timer

[Mogomisto]

i can confirm that you do save money, but very little.
I did the test for a year where i switched the geyser on when i woke up, 40 minutes later i have a shower and then 15 minutes later i switched the geyser off.
Total runtime per day 60 minutes
i was saving about 25 units a month
i live alone
I dont even bother anymore, now i have turned the thermostat down to 55 degrees and just leave it on all the time

Are you implying that having it on for only 60 minutes a day and having it on the whole day resulted in you saving only 25 units a month?

 

[Mogomisto]

From the link in post #4 I've been using this one for over 12 years already (touch wood) ... self installed and does the job ... make sure to use the right size wire gauge when you do the bridge to the timer from the breaker.

View attachment 883784

How often have you changed it? What is the life span of the battery?

 

[Dimpie (JIGSAW)]

How often have you changed it? What is the life span of the battery?

Actually replace this unit for the first time about a month ago ... battery lasted the whole lifespan of the unit. (±15 years)

 

[isie]

Are you implying that having it on for only 60 minutes a day and having it on the whole day resulted in you saving only 25 units a month?

TBH if your geyser thermostat and element are working and no leaks and you do not use hot water willy nilly
a timer would result in no or very minute savings.

Most people save with a geyser timer because even if they use the water it doesn't need to heat up as often and weather they aware of it or not they change their behaviour.
lower temps will give better savings
40 -45 is a decent temp for a shower but because of bacteria (especially legionella) need to set it at least 50-55

 

[Tim_vb]

Hi, this is the one I got and from this shop.

63A 1P Smart Circuit Breaker with monitoring - eWelink

Connect this high powered Smart Switch to your high current appliances and control it from anywhere. This device is perfect to control your geyser (up to 63A). You can set this device to automatically switch off your geyser during peak times and switch it back on during off peak times.

www.robofactory.co.za

I'm yet to test the accuracy of the Amps and Watts that it records will be interested to know how accurate it is, but I'm liking the data it gives, you can download a 3month usage spreadsheet too, only thing I wish it would give is the actual time that the kW where being used.

Once I'm done with the geyser testing I'm thinking of moving it around and seeing what my whole house or certain circuts in the house are drawing.

How is this working out? I'm thinking of using this on the main switch for my whole house to force my system to use batteries at night when there is no loadshedding

 

[Valerion]

I installed this: https://sonoffafrica.co.za/product/sonoff-powr320d/ (Original firmware)
There is a version with a temperature sensor as well, but I missed it when browsing the site.

I installed it so I can heat my geyser using my solar, using Home Assistant to switch it on at 10:30 and off at 15:45. I find that the water is still very hot the next morning.

However, if someone visits and takes a long shower after sunset, I end up with a cold shower the next morning. In those cases I also heat it overnight.