Pitfalls to look out for when installing solar power

Solar polar?

Also why install a solar geyser? It has a regular heating element inside so you’ll be using electricity anyway to heat up the water in the early mornings (after you showe and the sun isn’t very high in the sky) and in the late afternoon/evenings when the sun is gone.

Rather just get PV solar and a heat pump.
For each 1kWh of electricity (from PV or Eskom) that goes into the heat pump and 4kWh of energy comes out to heat the water.
 
mypetcow said:
Solar polar?

Also why install a solar geyser? It has a regular heating element inside so you’ll be using electricity anyway to heat up the water in the early mornings (after you showe and the sun isn’t very high in the sky) and in the late afternoon/evenings when the sun is gone.

Rather just get PV solar and a heat pump.
For each 1kWh of electricity (from PV or Eskom) that goes into the heat pump and 4kWh of energy comes out to heat the water.
Click to expand...
In theory, if designed correctly, you can use the same heat pump system for air conditioning. i.e. take the heat from in your house, and put it in your water.
 
mypetcow said:
Solar polar?

Also why install a solar geyser? It has a regular heating element inside so you’ll be using electricity anyway to heat up the water in the early mornings (after you showe and the sun isn’t very high in the sky) and in the late afternoon/evenings when the sun is gone.

Rather just get PV solar and a heat pump.
For each 1kWh of electricity (from PV or Eskom) that goes into the heat pump and 4kWh of energy comes out to heat the water.
Click to expand...
I must research this heat pump. I just have a few questions watched a view videos on YT about heat pumps do you install it indoors and how much does it cost +-?
 
mypetcow said:
Solar polar?

Also why install a solar geyser? It has a regular heating element inside so you’ll be using electricity anyway to heat up the water in the early mornings (after you showe and the sun isn’t very high in the sky) and in the late afternoon/evenings when the sun is gone.

Rather just get PV solar and a heat pump.
For each 1kWh of electricity (from PV or Eskom) that goes into the heat pump and 4kWh of energy comes out to heat the water.
Click to expand...
Heat pump is about triple the price
 
“If you are spending this kind of money on a solar system, then it makes sense to work with qualified technicians and installers who know what they are doing,” said Vlok.
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Dude, I've seen the work of qualified technicians where things catch fire. My own work is immensely safer even though it doesn't use the approved materials like loose wire nuts and such. Also what most people miss is that the regulations are based on the building code. An insurer still can't reject claims like a burst geyser because your roof can't technically support the solar panel installation as the two are unrelated.
 
Speedster said:
Heat pump is about triple the price
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The point is that the solar geyser is as near as makes no difference a scam and that while you pay less for it than for a heat pump you end up using Eskom electricity to heat the water anyway. It’s pretty much like donating that money to the whosever sells you the solar geyser and getting nothing in return. Why?

You shower in the morning.
The geyser partially fills up with cold water.
The temperature in the geyser is below the set temperature of the thermostat.
The heating element will turn on.
Why?
Because at 6am when you shower the sun isn’t as high in the sky to adequately heat the water.
By 7am the water is hot again (thanks Eskom)
The whole day when you’re not using the geyser the water is kept hot by the sun. (Minimal gain here)
6pm you get home.
You make dinner and wash your dishes by hand (a dishwasher would be more efficient but not the point here)
Now it’s night and the the geyser is below the set temperature again.
The electric element turns on and heats the water again.

The minimal daytime heat loss savings never justify a solar geyser. It’s a scam.

So if you care about saving money and don’t feel like constantly servicing your solar geyser just get a heat pump. Yes it’s more expensive but unlike a solar geyser it actually does something to save you money.
 
mypetcow said:
The point is that the solar geyser is as near as makes no difference a scam and that while you pay less for it than for a heat pump you end up using Eskom electricity to heat the water anyway. It’s pretty much like donating that money to the whosever sells you the solar geyser and getting nothing in return. Why?

You shower in the morning.
The geyser partially fills up with cold water.
The temperature in the geyser is below the set temperature of the thermostat.
The heating element will turn on.
Why?
Because at 6am when you shower the sun isn’t as high in the sky to adequately heat the water.
By 7am the water is hot again (thanks Eskom)
The whole day when you’re not using the geyser the water is kept hot by the sun. (Minimal gain here)
6pm you get home.
You make dinner and wash your dishes by hand (a dishwasher would be more efficient but not the point here)
Now it’s night and the the geyser is below the set temperature again.
The electric element turns on and heats the water again.

The minimal daytime heat loss savings never justify a solar geyser. It’s a scam.

So if you care about saving money and don’t feel like constantly servicing your solar geyser just get a heat pump. Yes it’s more expensive but unlike a solar geyser it actually does something to save you money.
Click to expand...
You're using it wrong. I had a solar geyser at my previous house and it saved a ton of electricity.

First point, don't have the geyser turn on in the morning.
 
ActivateD said:
I must research this heat pump. I just have a few questions watched a view videos on YT about heat pumps do you install it indoors and how much does it cost +-?
Click to expand...
From the same guys that probably made your geyser. All the information is there:

www.kwikot.com

Kwikpump Domestic Standard Heat Pump 2530W – Rust Free Areas – Inland - HP-003

Uses only ⅓ of the electricity of a geyser. Used with an electric geyser or solar geyser. Works in all weather conditions. Available in Standard and Supreme models. Available heating capacities 2530W, 2850W and 5500W. You can also find other variants’ specification here
www.kwikot.com www.kwikot.com
 
Speedster said:
You're using it wrong. I had a solar geyser at my previous house and it saved a ton of electricity.

First point, don't have the geyser turn on in the morning.
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The thing is that I’m not going camping. I’m not prepared to compromise on my quality of life.

If I need hot water at a particular time like 8am for whatever reason I don’t want to be waiting on ‘my solar geyser’ that only gets the water hot (provided it’s not overcast) by lunch. Or have to manually turn it on.

I mean the technology should work for me not the other way around. Hence my point above. Heat pump all the way. It’s cheaper in the long run.
 
mypetcow said:
The thing is that I’m not going camping. I’m not prepared to compromise on my quality of life.

If I need hot water at a particular time like 8am for whatever reason I don’t want to be waiting on ‘my solar geyser’ that only gets the water hot (provided it’s not overcast) by lunch. Or have to manually turn it on.

I mean the technology should work for me not the other way around. Hence my point above. Heat pump all the way. It’s cheaper in the long run.
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Heat pumps also take time to heat water
 
Speedster said:
Heat pump is about triple the price
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A decent high pressure solar geyser is R13k to R20k depending on model. A decent heat pump is R18k to R20k for a 5.4kWh model.

You do get cheaper solar geysers kits, I have seen a few of those up close, they are or extremely poor quality. You also get cheaper heat pumps where the same applies
 
McGuywer said:
Where would one buy a heat pump?
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I bought mine from ITS heat pump and solar, they also recommended an approved installer. Was a really professional experience.

There are lots of other makes / manufacturers like alliance and solnet
 
I've been using a solar geyser since 2011. It's worked flawless ever since.

Just don't buy cheap shyt and get it installed by professionals.

My solar geyser used to be boosted by eskom, but I hate eskom so when the drought hit Cape Town, while they were installing my jojo tanks, I installed a Dewhot 16l constant temp gas geyser, plus 2 x 19kg bottles to boost the SG water this occurs mainly during the coldest months of winter. The rest of the year the SG gets way more hotter than is needed.

During winter if the SG temperature drops below 50°C there's an inline temperature bypass valve, this diverts SG water to the GG which boosts it back to 60°C then back to the main house supply. This setup reduces the amount of gas needed to reheat the water.

We've never run out of hot water ever! no matter what time of day or night it is, no matter how many showers or baths we have per day or night, cloudy or clear weather, loadshedding or not.

Pros:
Hot water 24/7/365
no electric element repairs / costs
no waiting for geyser to heat up
no waiting for heat pump to heat up
no timers required
no eskom required
no solar pv required
no worries about battery charge
battery power can now be used for more important things at night
no heat pump repair costs
no heat pump down time
near zero maintenance for both geysers


Cons:
(I can't think of anything cause it just works 100% all the time, but will mention the following)
Gas delivery once or twice a year
Gas inspection once a year. (insurance)
1 x 9v ignitor battery for gas geyser once a year

My hot water. heating, cooking is off grid - fark eskom!

What's going to happen when your heat pump is broken or in for repairs?

Why anyone would waste solar charge time or battery power to heat water - when a simple bespoke solar / gas water heating system installed professionally as mentioned above is more than adequate is beyond me.
 
spiff said:
I've been using a solar geyser since 2011. It's worked flawless ever since.

Just don't buy cheap shyt and get it installed by professionals.

My solar geyser used to be boosted by eskom, but I hate eskom so when the drought hit Cape Town, while they were installing my jojo tanks, I installed a Dewhot 16l constant temp gas geyser, plus 2 x 19kg bottles to boost the SG water this occurs mainly during the coldest months of winter. The rest of the year the SG gets way more hotter than is needed.

During winter if the SG temperature drops below 50°C there's an inline temperature bypass valve, this diverts SG water to the GG which boosts it back to 60°C then back to the main house supply. This setup reduces the amount of gas needed to reheat the water.

We've never run out of hot water ever! no matter what time of day or night it is, no matter how many showers or baths we have per day or night, cloudy or clear weather, loadshedding or not.

Pros:
Hot water 24/7/365
no electric element repairs / costs
no waiting for geyser to heat up
no waiting for heat pump to heat up
no timers required
no eskom required
no solar pv required
no worries about battery charge
battery power can now be used for more important things at night
no heat pump repair costs
no heat pump down time
near zero maintenance for both geysers


Cons:
(I can't think of anything cause it just works 100% all the time, but will mention the following)
Gas delivery once or twice a year
Gas inspection once a year. (insurance)
1 x 9v ignitor battery for gas geyser once a year

My hot water. heating, cooking is off grid - fark eskom!

What's going to happen when your heat pump is broken or in for repairs?

Why anyone would waste solar charge time or battery power to heat water - when a simple bespoke solar / gas water heating system installed professionally as mentioned above is more than adequate is beyond me.
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I retrofitted a solar collector to my geyser at my previous house and am a big advocate. However, at my new place I'll be installing solar PV. Retrofitting the geyser will cost about R10k (collector, pump, geyserwise & installation). For that same R10k (and roofspace) I can add almost 1.5kwp of panels, which should give about 9kwh most days. I'll only need, say, 4 or 5 kwh to heat the geyser which means the excess can be used elsewhere. While solar geysers on their own are a big win, if one is planning to install solar PV it makes more sense rather adding more panels.
 
Speedster said:
I retrofitted a solar collector to my geyser at my previous house and am a big advocate. However, at my new place I'll be installing solar PV. Retrofitting the geyser will cost about R10k (collector, pump, geyserwise & installation). For that same R10k (and roofspace) I can add almost 1.5kwp of panels, which should give about 9kwh most days. I'll only need, say, 4 or 5 kwh to heat the geyser which means the excess can be used elsewhere. While solar geysers on their own are a big win, if one is planning to install solar PV it makes more sense rather adding more panels.
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4 or 5 in summer sure, but winter is at least double that.

Still I fully agree with the logic.

Besides one can push up the temperate and let it heat up in the day and then you need very little at night.

As it stands with mine set to 65 it only uses 5-7 on average and peaks a bit higher on high usage days.

Once I go PV I’ll be setting it to 75 and letting it run the moment there is enough production in the morning all day until there isn’t.

Should require at worst 3kW off battery on a bad day when we maybe come home very late or some such anomalous behaviour.

Of course unlike now I wouldn’t need to turn it off when leaving the house so it will stay on while the sun shines and then only trigger if I come home and it’s running too cool.
 
Are those automatic gas-powered geysers worth it? From what I have read they power-up and light the gas automatically when you turn the hot tap on. And heat the water inline as it flows through?
 
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