Solar geyser conversion

[ENT_DocY]

Hi all.
I'm looking for recommendations for a reputable guy to convert my existing geyser to solar. Nowadays everyone and his dog supposedly does solar, inverter, generator etc so it's hard to know who actually knows what he's doing and who is just taking the opportunity to make a quick buck.

 

[Confucius]

Where are you based and what do you actually want to achieve?

There’s flat panel, evacuated tubes as well as solar pv that you can used to heat water. They work great in summer but really poorly in winter.

For the price that people charge these days (20-25k) I don’t really think it’s worth it. I installed an evacuated tube system in 2020 (DIY) and it cost me around 15k including the 200l geyser. Now I see people charge double that installed.

Other thing with evacuated tubes, is that it will boil the water in the tank after 2 days in summer or if you have a pump, the pump shuts off and you have boiling water running down your roof. I cover the tubes with shade cloth if I go away for more than 2 days.

If you have an inverter or are planning to get one soon, rather just add additional solar panels and use that to heat water and also add another geyser. Heat water when the sun shines and use the hot water afterwards.

Well, all the above also depends on your household and the water usage.

 

[ENT_DocY]

Thanks @Confucius So I have a 5kva inverter system at the moment, but the geyser is not connected to it simply because the power draw is too high.
I can honestly do without the geyser during normal load shedding, but the problem comes when the municipal system fails and the lights then stay off for days on end sometimes. So for those times I'd like to have the solar geyser so at least there's some water that's warmer than cold lol, doesn't have to be piping hot.
I'm in JHB, Roodepoort.

 

[Confucius]

Thanks @Confucius So I have a 5kva inverter system at the moment, but the geyser is not connected to it simply because the power draw is too high.
I can honestly do without the geyser during normal load shedding, but the problem comes when the municipal system fails and the lights then stay off for days on end sometimes. So for those times I'd like to have the solar geyser so at least there's some water that's warmer than cold lol, doesn't have to be piping hot.
I'm in JHB, Roodepoort.

If your inverter is able to power non essential loads from solar, then that’s first prize and the more pv panels will help, even if you need to install an additional grid tie inverter to your system.

You can also install what many refer to as a doomsday switch. Basically a changeover switch so that you are then able still power your geyser/other items from the inverter when you have an extended outage. You would then do this under controlled circumstances to ensure you don’t exceed the inverter max draw. Also look at changing the element to a 2kw element. Takes longer to heat but is more friendly on the inverter.

 

[johnny_h]

If you can use it through the inverter then solar panels will be a win-win. When you have municipal power then you'll use the panels for normal everyday load and save money and when there's no power and you really need to run the geyser through the inverter, use the switchover to go from Eskom to Inverter.
You can use something like this

Din Changeover Switch 2P 63ADefault Title

Used to switch between municipal power and another source. Din Rail Changeover Switch2 Pole63 Amps

britelighting.co.za

where you can have say the top be Eskom, middle be off and bottom be inverter.
So if there's enough power from the solar panels and Eskom is out, just flip it and run through the inverter

 

[Pansyfaust]

Thanks @Confucius So I have a 5kva inverter system at the moment, but the geyser is not connected to it simply because the power draw is too high.
I can honestly do without the geyser during normal load shedding, but the problem comes when the municipal system fails and the lights then stay off for days on end sometimes. So for those times I'd like to have the solar geyser so at least there's some water that's warmer than cold lol, doesn't have to be piping hot.
I'm in JHB, Roodepoort.

Is there not a middle ground here where you get a low KW Geyser (like 1000W?) that takes longer to heat up but load is far lower on your battery/inverter system?

 

[Red Falcon]

100 litre geysers are 2000w.

Is there not a middle ground here where you get a low KW Geyser (like 1000W?) that takes longer to heat up but load is far lower on your battery/inverter system?

 

[Red Falcon]

You could consider a kit like this. Geyser conversion.

the link above excludes the solar panel though

Basically changes your geyser element to a 12v system that uses solar to power the element.

 

[CarboVan]

Due to multiple db's and complexity, I had no choice but to have my geyser on the inverter...
I replaced my 3kw element with a 2kw PTC element - > XTEND Elements | Energy Efficient - Long Life - Ceramic Elements
And set up my geyser timer to only run during peak solar times. (and as far as possible outside of usual loadshedding slots)
This freed up 1kw on the inverter. Much more cost effective than getting an extra kw worth of panels.

For reference, 75mins a day keeps my 150L geyser topped up nicely. Note this is for 1 person, shower only (no baths) and washing the dishes/general use. Would likely need to double or triple the hours for 2+ people.

 

[ENT_DocY]

If you can use it through the inverter then solar panels will be a win-win. When you have municipal power then you'll use the panels for normal everyday load and save money and when there's no power and you really need to run the geyser through the inverter, use the switchover to go from Eskom to Inverter.
You can use something like this

Din Changeover Switch 2P 63ADefault Title

Used to switch between municipal power and another source. Din Rail Changeover Switch2 Pole63 Amps

britelighting.co.za

where you can have say the top be Eskom, middle be off and bottom be inverter.
So if there's enough power from the solar panels and Eskom is out, just flip it and run through the inverter

Really liking this idea!

 

[el3venth]

You can replace the element in any size geyser.
For example replace the geyser element with a 1kW element.
Sure it will take 4x longer to heat than a 4kW element, but uses the same energy, and much more inverter friendly.
Then you make the geyser only kick in when the battery is above a certain level and kick off once it goes below that level.

This way you can use any excess PV power from your inverter system to heat the water.

 

[johnny_h]

Really liking this idea!

I think it's a decent compromise for now. If you then decide later to upgrade your inverter, you can run it from the inverter full time.

I was also looking at both adding more solar panels and what the best way to heat the geyser was.
The options I looked at were:.
1. Get a solar geyser.
2. Convert to heat pump
3. Add more solar panels and run through the inverter.

The cost to get enough solar panels to run the geyser through the inverter is a less than the cost of a solar geyser or heat pump conversion. And to be able to also use the panels for the rest of the household makes it way more cost efficient since the geyser isn't always running at 100% - it'll switch off when the water is hot enough until the temp drops down again.

 

[Valheru]

You could consider a kit like this. Geyser conversion.

the link above excludes the solar panel though

Basically changes your geyser element to a 12v system that uses solar to power the element.

Necro bump.

Does anyone else have experience with this solution. I want to DIY try this one out before deciding on something a bit more permenant.

 

[g0l1athrulz]

I would just go gas geyser, 48kg gas bottle lasts us 9 months(family of 5)

 

[Valheru]

I would just go gas geyser, 48kg gas bottle lasts us 9 months(family of 5)

We have 3.5 bathrooms. So plus kitchen I would have to install multiple head units. Not feasible right now as I could not install gas bottles where I wanted to for the stove (compliance issue).

Edit: I have reading to do. Seems my understanding is outdated.

 

[Artilugo]

I have a Japanese gas geyser, a paloma 26 lpm hooked to 2x 48kg canisters. Its computer controlled to.use less gas, so needs between 5w running to 60w on startup. My 2 cents is to add a 2kw solar geyser to prefeed my gas geyser, it will basically use maybe in the winter months.

I think thats a good solution, you use a fair amount of gas on startup, after that its quite efficient.