Gas vs. Solar geyser

[Pieter1]

Howzit ladies and gents.

 

Are any of you using either of these two geysers?

What are the pros and cons in your opinion?

 

Thanks

Pieter

[kosmonooit]

You can get a combo - that is a solar setup that harvested solar energy to heat water and a gas geyser that will boost to the required temps on demand if need be. Bosch has a nice unit.

 

Or an electric element type geyser to boost / maintain temps (that is the conventional solar setup)

 

But there is also heat pumps - much more efficient that an electric element type.

[fanievb]

We have solar

pros

1. no eksdom
2. no need to remember gas bottles
3. elec backup in case of winter

 

cons

1. expensive
2. wastes water in summer (pressure release/overflow)
3. if you are more than 2 people, you need a big one

[gogo@]

Running a gas geyser (Bosch, WR11 I think and if I remember right there's one with higher volume, WR16) and very happy with it.  Was new about 10 years ago, replacing a museum piece. Very efficient.  I'm normally stingy with hot water and shower at the gym often but not with the last cylinder.  That lasted 3 months (19kg).  We have regular power issues besides load shedding but no matter what there's hot water.  If I had to do it again I'd maybe look at the solar-gas combo mentioned above but as there was no geyser in place we didn't even look at solar as an option.

[Stretch]

I have a solar heater geyser here in Ireland. We are a family of 4 and from March till October we hardly use an alternative source to heat the water (in our case, piped gas). If we do when it's a very overcast day we only have to top up the temp for about 10 minutes a day.

 

Back in SA I had a small gas geyser in one bathroom with a basin and shower, and it was helluva convenient when they're was load shedding and it worked very well in general. Big Gas bottle later about 3 months I think

[Eddy Gordo]

I have solar for a few years now. I changed from very old geysers for the simple reason that it was extremely high on electric consumption. Solar has saved me a R1000 to R1500 a month. However I have had consistent issues with the cylinders and the geyser wise controller. 

 

When we were younger my Mom installed a gas geyser. Water is instantly hot. Gas runs out and you have to replace the tank.

 

Not sure if solar or gas works out cheaper as the solar still uses electric to boost the temperature.

[Pieter1]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the input. We are in the process of buying a house and the gas coc is turning into a headache but there is a solar geyser in use atm. But I’m not sure how old this solar geyser is. Will do some homework.

[The Ouzo]

I have solar for a few years now. I changed from very old geysers for the simple reason that it was extremely high on electric consumption. Solar has saved me a R1000 to R1500 a month. However I have had consistent issues with the cylinders and the geyser wise controller. 

 

When we were younger my Mom installed a gas geyser. Water is instantly hot. Gas runs out and you have to replace the tank.

 

Not sure if solar or gas works out cheaper as the solar still uses electric to boost the temperature.

what issues are you having with the Geyser Wise ?

I had one for many years, then the insides burnt out one day.

 

I'm still surprised that they are the only ones making a complete package that does timing and heat settings.

I've been trying to find a solution that will do the same but via an cellphone app.

[kosmonooit]

Take a look at ITS Solar

 

I've been on their training, good product range.

 

Solar with heat pump is the most efficient elecrical wise, might even be cheaper than gas. Also heat pumps don't draw too much power so they can be inverter / PV  driven,

[Eddy Gordo]

what issues are you having with the Geyser Wise ?

I had one for many years, then the insides burnt out one day.

 

I'm still surprised that they are the only ones making a complete package that does timing and heat settings.

I've been trying to find a solution that will do the same but via an cellphone app.

thermostat, pump controller and something else. Their service is also very slow. Takes them forever to send someone out to come and fix, and I find that the guys only know the basics.

[stefmeister]

Take a look at ITS Solar

 

I've been on their training, good product range.

 

Solar with heat pump is the most efficient elecrical wise, might even be cheaper than gas. Also heat pumps don't draw too much power so they can be inverter / PV  driven,

 

Can you suggest a PV/heatpump system that can also supply some power during load shedding to run a few led downlighters, TV and modem? 

Looking to install such a kit in the next month or two.

[Frosty]

I saved R600/month once my solar geyser was installed. I only need to use the grid in winter to bring the temperature up to 40-45 for the morning shower. At night it circulates the water to prevent the collectors from freezing, so there’s a big drop in geyser temps.

 

During the day, it gets up to 50 in winter except for the overcast days. I bump it above 50 with the element to rid any bacteria from growing in the tank. Summer is no problem, as it can get up to 70.

 

I do need a gas unit at the kitchen/scullery sink, as it wastes a lot of water before getting hot. The taps are at least 20m from the geyser.

[The Ouzo]

thermostat, pump controller and something else. Their service is also very slow. Takes them forever to send someone out to come and fix, and I find that the guys only know the basics.

ok, I just used it on a normal geyser, so no pump controller.

[Paul Ruinaard]

You can get a combo - that is a solar setup that harvested solar energy to heat water and a gas geyser that will boost to the required temps on demand if need be. Bosch has a nice unit.

 

Or an electric element type geyser to boost / maintain temps (that is the conventional solar setup)

 

But there is also heat pumps - much more efficient that an electric element type.

You got details of that solar/gas unit - i am looking at putting in a gas geyser for kitchen areas to ensure the hot water is always hot there - i have a heat pump already for showers etc. But this sounds ideal.

[kosmonooit]

You got details of that solar/gas unit - i am looking at putting in a gas geyser for kitchen areas to ensure the hot water is always hot there - i have a heat pump already for showers etc. But this sounds ideal.

This on-line shop has a range of Bosch that you can use their solar kit with

 

https://giveitgas.co.za/shop/bosch-standard-geysers/bosch-solar-kit/#.Xw3PleexW00

 

Note they are an on-line shop, do not keep stock, but I did use them once and it went okay.

[kosmonooit]

Can you suggest a PV/heatpump system that can also supply some power during load shedding to run a few led downlighters, TV and modem? 

Looking to install such a kit in the next month or two.

That is a big ask ... but the most recent system I did (like last month) using Victron Inverter, charge controller etc. 6kW peak PV array, 12kWh Lithium batteries totaled about R250k all in. That is a very decent system that can do all sorts of wonderful things with a robust 5kW inverter that can handle motor startup in-rush currents.