Ras_al_Ghul

Hi all, Not sure if it's worth posting here, but there's a site listing gas refills across SA if anyone is interested: GasNearMe Not too shabby if you're looking for gas refills in the winter time

Agree with Scorp with this. I do normally run it at 11am - 15h30pm but then after a shower or using it a tad bit I’m down to about 40 degrees or so. I would then need that morning run to get me back to that temperature for a morning shower

Thanks again both - I will use your suggestions and try it out tomorrow morning. really appreciate the help 🙂

Thanks guys this helped! Used the timer this morning from 4am - 6:30am and we had boiling hot water. My next task is understanding how to set up the timer on the smart life app. At first the developer told me it was a kwikot HP and I then got a CBI timer switch installed with my solar system, only to find out yesterday that it’s an ITS HP that has WiFi connectivity (first sign of not trusting the developer maybe). I have attached two images of a test run for the timer on the smart life app (which I do like because you can see the temperatures etc). Am I doing it correct? I think my biggest concern is the switching off time, what am I meant to set the target temperature to at the bottom when switching off?

thanks for the advice... COP stands for?🙈

Awesome thank you for the response! So running it on a timer is just fine, I just need to adjust the timing to incorporate the weather aspect! I quoted the above because I am not sure what that meant... sorry for my ignorance, new to the renewable energy stuff!

My problem with the Deco is how it is set up to the main deco. if your setup is good i.e. main deco central in your home and the other decos connect to it like a snowflake schema, then things work out nicely. In my set up, the decos were in a straight line, but the main was on 1 end and then last deco on the other end about 20m away. It didn't work very well for me. I then switched to the Reyee ceiling mounted access points. This system is so much better and I have full coverage of 2.4GH and 5Gh across my entire house.

Hi Forum, Not sure if this has been asked before, but we just built our house in Centurion. The developer installed a 3.6kw ITS heat pump to a 200l geyser. Like all developers do, once the house has been built, they aren't much help with how to run things. I have a solar system installed, sunsynk 8kw with 2 5.12 batteries. I currently use the heat pump on a timer 5am - 7am (not as hot water as we want) and then 12pm - 15h30pm (hot water is good for an evening shower) - with this set up, I am pulling about 1-2kws from the grid but, I still would like a hot shower in the morning. My problem is, it's winter and the air is much colder, which I am assuming as to why the morning shower is not so hot. I then reached out to the developer today, who says keep the heat pump on constantly because it damages your pipes in winter (compression and expansion with the temperatures) and by running a timer I would use the same amount of electricity than from turning the HP off and on with a timer. The HP pulls around 860-960w, which doesn't sound too bad, but I did try that today and my batteries are already down to 66% at 8pm. (before this recommendation, I would reach 60% just before sunrise and then the grid and PV would run the HP in the am.) I also learnt today that the HP heats about 65l/h. That would mean I would need a good 3 to 3.5 hours in the morning for the water to reach 50deg. I guess what I am asking for in the forum is specifically: How on earth does one get the best benefit from this HP? Does one leave it on the whole day with the geyser (mine is currently off and on non-essentials)? Does one use a timer? If using a timer, how does one set it on the Smart Life App? When turning it off is there a target temperature it should reach? How long should I run it for if timed? Does using a timer damage the HP and the piping in the long run? (We did hear a pop in the ceiling the other night and have seen a slight leak - could it be from this off/on situation?) Any help would do here - I am wrecking my brain trying to figure out the best usage of the HP.

@AgentMulders thank you for your updates and feedback here. It has given me a lot more comfort on the FoxESS system. I have been given the following offer for our house that will be built around the end of the year: 12x 545W solar panels, 10kW FoxESS hybrid inverter (IP45) and a 11kWh Fox battery 1x Master and 3 x Slave. The house will have a gas stove, we are looking at implementing the Xtend 2kw element in the geyser and the inverter aircon as well. Just some advice on the offer, does this seem sufficient to get off the grid? In about 5 years time there will be a pool being installed, but I would probably upgrade then as well to accommodate for that. thanks in advance