Immersion Heater - PV electricity

[echase]

as Sharpener points out that it is not best practice to run an immersion off a ring main anyway.

My house is wired that way and its never been much of a problem. It is even the same ring main as the TV uses and the TV never complains about any interference from the SSR.

 

[Andysimm2000]

Non electrical question...

I currently have a combi boiler with no hot water tank / immersion heater. I can see that I could install a pressurised tank, Immersion fed from solar surplus, Combisol Mixer valve (to either send hot water to taps or preheat boiler water feed) but can not see an economic feedback - I hate to see me "wasting" solar PV but can anyone persuade me that my thoughts are wrong?
TIA
Andy

 

[pmcalli]

Non electrical question...

I currently have a combi boiler with no hot water tank / immersion heater. I can see that I could install a pressurised tank, Immersion fed from solar surplus, Combisol Mixer valve (to either send hot water to taps or preheat boiler water feed) but can not see an economic feedback - I hate to see me "wasting" solar PV but can anyone persuade me that my thoughts are wrong?
TIA
Andy

I have had someone in your situation install an unvented tank with dual immersions and then feed it to the combi boiler. It's not cheap £300 plus but the saving per year is over £100 so pay back is around three years

 

[pauldreed]

Hobbo2006 - I got your PM re Solar Power Manager, but could not reply as your inbox is full and you can't receive any more messages.

Good luck with your project, and if you get stuck, please post here in the forum, and we will try and assist.

 

[Hobbo2006]

thanks Paul, not sure what's going on as the inbox is empty. Could it be that I'm still restricted as I'm a newbie?


*cue flood of posts*

 

[Hobbo2006]

what I'm looking for, and doesn't seem to exist just at the moment. Is a device that we measure both PV generation and electricity usage with those clip on sensors. It would then need to act as a switch to turn on a 1kW immersion element when there was sufficient surplus.

There seem to be lots of homemade ideas floating which require getting on the roof or being able to put circuits together, but none that the average Joe could install.


A couple of those sensors into a transmitter.... wirelessly connected to a box, which would link to the 1kW element would be ideal...

 

[echase]

There seem to be lots of homemade ideas floating which require getting on the roof or being able to put circuits together, but none that the average Joe could install.

That will be solved when my unit comes commercially available soon. And don’t need the expense of a 1kW element. But it is still slightly cheaper to make your own from design ideas here if you have the skills.

A couple of those sensors into a transmitter.... wirelessly connected to a box, which would link to the 1kW element would be ideal...

Nice in theory but in practice quite difficult to design hence all the good ideas here. Don’t recall any of them needing a climb on the roof.

 

[Plotty]

what I'm looking for, and doesn't seem to exist just at the moment. Is a device that we measure both PV generation and electricity usage ...

Hi Hobbo, That's what we're all looking for here! :6:If you go through the posts, some contributors - Inie Meanie, echase, pmcalli, pauldread, etc. -have designed gizmo's that appear to do this, some of which are for sale: contact them to find out. There are also a number of commercial systems on the market, or just off it, like EMMA and IntellyPower. The industry's been slow to react to customer demand, but things are looking up now. Meethinks that by the end of this year, there will be several systems available with reasonable payback periods.

 

[Hobbo2006]

If the parts are modular and I have instructions then I can do that but that's as far as it goes. Would be willing to pay some money for the right device to be made for me. If it means I don't have to change the immersion element that that's even better.

 

[Whip1971]

Hi hobbo, I would PM pmcalli. He's been extreamly helpfull to me. I'm an electrician, not an electronics technition. But with his help Ive just started building his circuit. And he answers to his emails. Good luck