Loadshedding solutions

[NickGM]

22 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

surely that cant be right, we're not making tea here, we just want warm water to shower.

There must surely be a way to control this ?

It's "free" hot water. As long as it's not damaging anything by getting too hot, then there is no point in stopping the system from doing it's job. The hottest my system (plate and circulating pump) gets to is about 71 on a long sunny day. If I somehow throttled it at 60 deg (for example) then I'm just leaving the geyser with more work to do the next day... which could be cloudy, in which case it would have to use mains elec - which now both expensive and unreliable. For about 8 months of the year my geyser element does nothing.

[TheoG]

36 minutes ago, madmarc said:

A question for all you Electronic boffins from a mech guy

My Samsung Monitor requires  14V 1.78 amps (This is the output on the main adapter as well)

I have a DC Ups with 9v/1amp - 12v/3amps & 12v/1.5amps outlets - 17800 MaH that i use to run my wifi modem and range extenders on - lasts for over 5 hours

Can i run my samsung Monitor off the same UPS off one of the 12v outlets - will it work or will it blow up ??

UPS also has 15V/24V POE & LAN outlets - have no clue what they are for 

It might work, if you use the 12V/1.5A oulet you for sure wont blow it and it might work depending if the monitor will still work at 12V or not.

Does your UPS also have a 220V AC output?  If yes you can put the monitor's power supply on that.

Edited January 13, 2023 by TheoG

[The Ouzo]

33 minutes ago, NickGM said:

It's "free" hot water. As long as it's not damaging anything by getting too hot, then there is no point in stopping the system from doing it's job. The hottest my system (plate and circulating pump) gets to is about 71 on a long sunny day. If I somehow throttled it at 60 deg (for example) then I'm just leaving the geyser with more work to do the next day... which could be cloudy, in which case it would have to use mains elec - which now both expensive and unreliable. For about 8 months of the year my geyser element does nothing.

It’s potentially dangerous to someone just turning on a hot water tap. Like a child would do. 

[TheoG]

Just now, The Ouzo said:

It’s potentially dangerous to someone just turning on a hot water tap. Like a child would do. 

True, I don't have small kids in the house anymore  .

[-cK-]

21 minutes ago, TheoG said:

It might work, if you use the 12V/1.5A oulet you for sure wont blow it and it might work depending if the monitor will still work at 12V or not.

Does your UPS also have a 220V AC output?  If yes you can put the monitor's power supply on that.

I think the ups he is referring to is an ultralan micro UPS and those don't have a 240 out just in and then DC outs.  Unless the monitor support operating in that lower spec voltage I can't see it working without tinkering a bit to make up some sort of voltage converter but by that calculation the monitor will use about 21w and the ups is a 65w unit so add in the router you are already at about 50% capacity on that UPS so 2 hours runtime or less by my rough calculations.

 

Also the POE is for power over Ethernet not sure what the amps is on that port might be the easiest way if you could wire up a rj45 to a dc barrel then the source would be 15v xAmps but that might blow up the screen because of over volting.  One would also need to figure out what wire is what that is coming out the RJ45 first.  Bottom line once going over the volt spec I would be hesitant to experiment.

Edited January 13, 2023 by -cK-

[dave303e]

1 hour ago, madmarc said:

A question for all you Electronic boffins from a mech guy

My Samsung Monitor requires  14V 1.78 amps (This is the output on the main adapter as well)

I have a DC Ups with 9v/1amp - 12v/3amps & 12v/1.5amps outlets - 17800 MaH that i use to run my wifi modem and range extenders on - lasts for over 5 hours

Can i run my samsung Monitor off the same UPS off one of the 12v outlets - will it work or will it blow up ??

UPS also has 15V/24V POE & LAN outlets - have no clue what they are for 

The POE is so you can power certain wifi devices and the lan port is to accept lan signal in from modem. We have an outdoor wifi modem, gives you like 3km of wifi in a 45deg angle. The powersupply is indoors with a POE fitting and the lan cable from the modem/switch and then it just has a lan cable up to the unit on a pole which powers and gives the lan signal. Quite a useful thing

Edited January 13, 2023 by dave303e

[dirtman]

Looking for recommendations for trustworthy solar installers in Cape Town ( Northern Suburbs - Durbanville) . Thanks.

[ChrisF]

7 minutes ago, dirtman said:

Looking for recommendations for trustworthy solar installers in Cape Town ( Northern Suburbs - Durbanville) . Thanks.

 

[NickGM]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

It’s potentially dangerous to someone just turning on a hot water tap. Like a child would do. 

For sure, something to factor into the decision if one was going that route (Geyser or children!). Your initial comment indicated that those high temps didn't seem right and I'm just explaining the reasoning, for better or worse. From the Geyserwise Delta T manual:

You can adjust the cutout temp.

Personally I'm more afraid of the black widows in my house than the hot water tap.

[Robbie Stewart]

3 hours ago, NickGM said:

It's "free" hot water. As long as it's not damaging anything by getting too hot, then there is no point in stopping the system from doing it's job. The hottest my system (plate and circulating pump) gets to is about 71 on a long sunny day. If I somehow throttled it at 60 deg (for example) then I'm just leaving the geyser with more work to do the next day... which could be cloudy, in which case it would have to use mains elec - which now both expensive and unreliable. For about 8 months of the year my geyser element does nothing.

I have the GeyserWise Delta T setup and mine has never exceed 71°C on real hot days. My geyser has an inlet valve that closes the hot water when it exceeds around 53°C. 

My showers in hot days are only using the mid setting and in winter I turn the tap all the way to hot without needing to use electricity to warm the geyser. My workaround in the winter is to wait for the missus to do her hot showers before I go as hot for me is cold for her.

[ChrisF]

On 1/5/2023 at 6:16 PM, Theunissa said:

I attached a part of sans 10142 which is what all electrical must comy to incl solar. There are new things coming cas I said. So not everything out there is set in Concrete except what is Witten currently. And the current sans needs to be adhered to. And sans say battieres are not safe(specifically lead acid and gel.) there was a family last year whose kids lungs burned Die to the setup being wrong and batteries releasing gas. And not sufficient ventilation. The person wat trialed licence taken and prison for 1 year I think. Also came out that its supposed to be in a flame retardant room. I'm asking the one I know about the draft part of the sans you mentioned 

 

 

 

Did a bit of digging in the regulations.

 

SANS10142-1 refers to SANS 10086-1 for details on "Battery rooms"

 

SANS 10086-1 only speaks to lead acid batteries, and only for "large scale UPS applications".  For some context, companies such as Telkom has LARGE rooms filled with lead acid batteries.

 

The regs carry on to describe the forced ventilation for these rooms.  Back to Telkom - they use extract ventilation systems to ensure all possible hydrogen is extracted from the room, and the building.  As the fan will be exposed to hydrogen gas it is of the Class 1 Div 1 type, for potentially explosive atmospheres.

 

 

Okay, SANS 10086-1 also refers to  BS6132 and BS6133 - Alkaline and lead acid batteries respectively.  I dont have access to these two codes, but typically the SANS code is just a copy of the BS code ....

 

 

These codes do not speak to sealed batteries.  It also does not refer to lithium batteries.

 

 

As such this is SANS10142-1 Ed 3 7.14.3 does NOT apply to:

1. SMALL home installations.

2. Systems using sealed batteries.

 

That being said - best to keep the batteries and inverters in well ventilated spaces, even if it is just to keep the temperatures in check.

[jamiecanter]

Hi all,

 

A question for those with Wahoo Kickr's. What's the best budget friendly solution to power the trainer during load shedding? 

 

Looking at getting into the solar game but need something to cover me in the meantime.

 

Thanks

[lechatnoir]

10 minutes ago, jamiecanter said:

Hi all,

 

A question for those with Wahoo Kickr's. What's the best budget friendly solution to power the trainer during load shedding? 

 

Looking at getting into the solar game but need something to cover me in the meantime.

 

Thanks

if you have a garmin/wahoo headunit, you can control a smart trainer with that, so all you need to run is the kickr, and the PSU for that's rated at 60W, so any of those entry-level devices that put of AC power will be fine. a 300W one will run a Kickr for 2hrs before hitting 50%.

If you're using a fan, then you'll need something beefier - my fan's 110W, but chomps power. But taking your setup outside with lots of towels can sort that problem

[HdB]

With the Geyserwise type systems - when the power is off, the control panel inside the house is off.

So, would the water still be heated via the PV panels? Any risks, like the system continuing to heat the water past the safety point?

Edited January 16, 2023 by HdB

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, HdB said:

With the Geyserwise type systems - when the power is off, the control panel inside the house is off.

So, would the water still be heated via the PV panels? Any risks, like the system continuing to heat the water past the safety point?

 

There is a backup battery in the roof.  The panel should remain lit and active ..... at least this is how the dual element pv model works.

[HdB]

5 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

There is a backup battery in the roof.  The panel should remain lit and active ..... at least this is how the dual element pv model works.

Cool, thanks. I will check with the installer on this then.