Choice of intelligent switches ?

The_Debt_Monkey

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'm literally ready to pull the trigger and buy one of the Solar immersion III switches but where is the best place to Buy it from? They are for sale on eBay for £269 buy it now or they will accept a best offer or from the website https://www.solarimmersion.co.uk ?

Is the one for sale on eBay the third version?

Thanks in advance.
Jon

mickyduck

The_Debt_Monkey wrote: »

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'm literally ready to pull the trigger and buy one of the Solar immersion III switches but where is the best place to Buy it from? They are for sale on eBay for £269 buy it now or they will accept a best offer or from the website www.solarimmersion.co.uk ?

Is the one for sale on eBay the third version?

Thanks in advance.
Jon

Its £199 on their site linked above...

The_Debt_Monkey

mickyduck wrote: »

Its £199 on their site linked above...

There is VAT and delivery to be added to that figure. If the one on eBay is the same switch then I'll make an offer and hopefully get it a bit cheaper.

Cheers
Jon

mickyduck

The_Debt_Monkey wrote: »

There is VAT and delivery to be added to that figure. If the one on eBay is the same switch then I'll make an offer and hopefully get it a bit cheaper.

Cheers
Jon

sneaky pricing... when I bought mine VAT was included in the headline selling price I did have to pay £9 postage

mickyduck

Hi I have been watching my electricity usage since installation of this product and it does not seem to have reduced much ( wouldnt expect it to as I usually use gas to heat my water). The issue I am seeing is that the solar immersion when exporting is always reading 100% export. Yesterday was very sunny here and I generated 20 kWh but my meter still registered 3 units used while I was out between 8 am and 6 pm when I would thought my system was certainly generating enough to run my fridge, freezer and internet hub EVERYTHING else was switched off not on standby. I would have expected my solar immersion to vary in its % diverting depending on what I was usage at any time? Anyone with a similar install like to comment?

[Deleted User]

Hi, totally understand what you are saying and get the same thing. We still average about 6-7kWh.

The hot water might be free now but out of sunny hours use are...

Mac Mini in loft 24/7 with ext drives - think i'll bin this...
UPSs in loft running comms kit, router, vodafone sure signal, phone cordless base etc.
Hair dryers for wife and daughter
fridge & freezer
Toaster
LED floods running overnight
telly, video, dvd with active speakers
Power bricks for loads of devices i.e. 3 laptops charging, two Mobiles, four cordless phones etc
Still got a baby monitor as it tells be the temp!
Sometimes cut grass/hedge trim late evening - naughty!
ASHP maintaining itself.
14 dimplex smartrads on standby
Lighting
Probably more...

Prior to the solar immersion i.e. same time last hear we averaged 9-11kWh over the same period.

Lot's of scope for improvment so an am envious of your useage.

Cheers

PS Thinking of upgrading from my current cost monitor to a Wattson/Holmes monitor to get a better idea of useage.

Mister_G

Hi

I suspect that the main problem is that peak generation probably doesn't coincide with peak useage during the day. My 3kWp PV peaks at about 3kW just after midday. Prior to, and after that, it's only an average of 1-2Kw most of the time.

I'd have said that a reduction in grid consumption of 2-4kWh per day is probably pretty typical.

I have had the Solar Immersion fitted for about 3 months now, but I'm still not sure how much it is saving me. I do know that my grid consumption has dropped, but then it has been exceptionally sunny in July, according to the Sunny Explorer software that give me the generation figures.

May 384kWh
June 382kWh
July 435kWh to date

I have an Owl useage montior, which was pretty good, until I installed the PV. It's now more or less useless when the PV is generating.

The Watsson is obviously more accurate with PV, but the hassle of installing it for me (my PV installation is on the detached garage), as well as the cost, has rather put me off for now.

zeupater

Mister_G wrote: »

...
I have an Owl useage montior, which was pretty good, until I installed the PV. It's now more or less useless when the PV is generating ....

Hi

Depending on the way that the inverter has been cabled in, the OWL can still be very useful. We use the combination of information from the remote display for our inverter (SunnyBeam) and an OWL to gauge spare capacity.

Despite what others have reported on this forum, I find our OWL to generally be pretty accurate as a monitor if setup correctly and can really not see any way that any monitor which doesn't have the ability to take account of load mix power factors and normal grid voltage variability could be any more accurate .... the trick is to accept that this type of equipment are classified as monitors and not meters for a reason ...

HTH
Z

osolemio

As someone just thinking about having one of these devices installed I have read and re-read all I can until I am blue in the face but still have doubts/queries. What keeps bugging me is the seeming necessity to buy additional things. De-stratifying pumps, cut out switches, things to stop the water from the tank being too hot, additional thermostats for the immersion heater have all come up in various posts at one time or another. Puts me off a bit because the one thing I don't want to do is buy something only to have the installer do the teeth sucking bit before saying "Sorry Guv, you need an xxx and a yyy, that'll be another £500". I also don't know how long my 3KW immersion heater is and whether it has a thermostat of its own (edit - yes it has just checked), which seems to be important in choosing the right device. I don't want to be bamboozled by a salesman - any advice on how to proceed?

thenudeone

Another new device (not mentioned so far I think) and quite a bit cheaper at £175 inclusive
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SOLAMISER-FREE-HOT-WATER-and-background-heating-from-your-Solar-PV-Panels/221256463741?ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1&ih=012&category=42234&cmd=ViewItem