@TheRidDlerX a heat pump comes with a timer and will only add only +-1,5kw to your load at your preferred times. Generally takes 1-2 hours to heat 200l depending on ambient temperatures. 

PTC elements come in at +- 2kw and a DB timer is around R500. It should take around 4 hours to heat the water. 

It would maybe take longer to charge batteries meaning your system in only sitting idle from 15h00. 

Both are valid options, the Element and timer being a fraction of the cost of the heat pump.

 

I'm assuming that you currently have a 4kw element and have no way of heating your geyser with no eskom currently. 

Hey, just asking here since you guys seem to be way more knowledgable than me. Do you guys have any recommendations for heat pump brands? We've been meaning to get one installed by this company but I know next to nothing about HVAC. Thanks in advance.

Great topic, I have started looking into a heat pump but I only have 1 question and it seems I can't find the answer for it at the moment although my common sense says ja. 

I need to run my geyser 150L, 3kw element for about 30-45min in the morning, the rest of the day it runs off PV.

Will it make sense to get a heat pump or just to get another battery for the solar as my current battery runs out in the early morning just before the geyser kicks in?

On 2023/01/10 at 11:34 AM, sproete_za said:

Great topic, I have started looking into a heat pump but I only have 1 question and it seems I can't find the answer for it at the moment although my common sense says ja. 

I need to run my geyser 150L, 3kw element for about 30-45min in the morning, the rest of the day it runs off PV.

Will it make sense to get a heat pump or just to get another battery for the solar as my current battery runs out in the early morning just before the geyser kicks in?

If the geyser is not the reason the battery is running out in the morning then the heat pump won't solve that problem because other appliances are finishing the battery and you need more batteries. 

But if you have a small to medium solar array the reduced peak demands of the heat pump can be met even on cloudy days.

It depends on what problem you are trying to solve. The question is what is using the battery at night. 

Edited January 26, 20233 yr by Buyeye

On 2023/01/10 at 1:34 AM, sproete_za said:

Great topic, I have started looking into a heat pump but I only have 1 question and it seems I can't find the answer for it at the moment although my common sense says ja. 

I need to run my geyser 150L, 3kw element for about 30-45min in the morning, the rest of the day it runs off PV.

Will it make sense to get a heat pump or just to get another battery for the solar as my current battery runs out in the early morning just before the geyser kicks in?

OK... your signature says you have 6.4 kwH of battery. Take 10% off of that and you have a useable 5.8ish kwH. So at "early in the morning" your battery is running out, and that's just before the geyser turns on.

So the geyser, no matter how heated. is not the problem. The battery would be just as flat at that time.

If you're consuming 6ish kwh over night, that seems a bit high to me, and I think you should focus on that first. What is using that power?

Where I live we are two adults, our system usually uses 4 (max) to 3.5 kwh over night (from about 16:30 to 6:00). We use gas for cooking, and we avoid heavy loads after about 3pm. Your consumption is clearly different, but you may have more people or different priorities.

If you can't cut back, then I'd consider more battery. Because the worst situation for our systems must be early morning, when the battery has been used all night, overcast weather and a load shed.

 

Bit late to the topic but here goes, I've been using a enerflow heatpump since 2012, it uses 750 w when running, and it takes about 6 min to change temp by 1 degree C for 200 l geyser, in winter min temp = 22 degrees, summer about 30.  I've no had any issues (touch wood).  We only heat to 43 degrees and then only shower with warm water, except during loadshedding when there is "spare solar" when we heat to 50+ degrees, the enerflow cant heat above 55 degrees. The on/off switch for the geyser is in the kitchen so if you want to shower with hot water it needs planning.  We mostly shower in the evening.  The heat pump is on the essential loads for solar due to extensive power failures in our area.

On 2023/01/14 at 1:05 PM, Buyeye said:

The question is what is using the battery at night. 

 

On 2023/01/14 at 2:41 PM, Bobster. said:

If you're consuming 6ish kwh over night, that seems a bit high to me, and I think you should focus on that first. What is using that power?

My retired parents live with me and all the energy is used during the day. There is no cooking or anything in the evening, because the main meal is in the afternoon. All the lights are LEDs. The problem is only that the municiplateit shuts off the water from the reservoir from 20:00 in the evenings, so then the pressure pump from the Jojo kicks in, so opening each tap = 1000watts plus, minus. Then there is also a warm mist humidifier that is on during the night that uses about 350 watts. The battery is at 25% so between 1h and 2h in the morning.

I intend to purchase another battery in July when SARS pays out, because I'm still between 20% and 25% dependent on Eskom, which is probably not bad. I have the solar panels to charge the additional battery, so it's not a problem at least.

Thanks for your imput and opinions.