The OffGrid Solar Geyser Harvester is the only solution that can perform the
heavy work
required to heat your Geyser water, using your existing or new Solar Installation, without your
regular intervention, and do so at a reasonable cost.
And our Harvester will do this continually and persistently every minute of every day (and even
at night), without fail.
Every other approach (as detailed below) will either, not meet the electrical demands; will
disrupt your expensive solar system; require your constant intervention; or ultimately damage
your valuable batteries.
And so it is for these reasons (to-date), that only large solar installations dare include
Electrical
Geyser water heating into their design.
And this because the problem of large volume water heating is generally only dealt with by the
brute force of a very large power supply and very large battery storage.
Trying to solve this problem electrically by other means can result in undue expense and/or
considerable personal inconvenience, and potential equipment damage...
... or likely and eventually, all of these.
Some old-school solutions may be tried, and will be, and have been...
Yet many of these fall short on real satisfaction...
And here below (in simplified form) is the why and how of such efforts.
Geyser Heat Pump
(sometimes referred to as a Heat Exchanger)
The Heat Pump is an Air Conditioner in reverse... It gathers heat from the ambient air and
then heats it further to warm your Geyser water...
There are a number of variants.
Pros:
This method saves on overall energy expenditure, as it saves on total electrical energy required.
It can also help in that the electrical power load on your inverter can be smaller (when mated
to your Inverter), as the greater efficiency permits a smaller power demand on the installation
(by design).
Cons:
A very expensive installation, and likely replacement of your existing Geyser.
An unnecessary disruption in replacing your existing Geyser unit.
The waste caused due to the physical replacement of a perfectly working good piece of
equipment....
Necessary servicing as befitting a motorised pressure unit... allowing that this unit works for
many hours every day of the year, inevitably demanding regular servicing.
Disappointing performance as heating is efficient only when ambient temperature is high;
while efficiency can drop dramatically when the ambient temperature is low.
Importantly and crucially, the heat pump cannot protect your batteries on those cloudy days
when the incoming solar energy is low, and when as a consequence the batteries will be
dramatically and repeatedly drained by this energy hungry piece of equipment... consequently
demanding you intervene personally and directly to avoid permanent damage to your batteries.
You could put in a timer to prevent the Geyser draining the battery at night... but during the
daytime, you will need to constantly monitor and manage the system directly.
And lastly, and methinks importantly, they are NOISY… their fans always get rougher with
age, and the always grinding pressure pump (directly fastened to your walls) drills
maddeningly into your head when all else is quite in the dead of night.
Solar Geyser
This method can mean putting in a solution either additional to your existing Geyser, or as a
replacement to your current Geyser.
This method involves circulating water in tubes exposed to direct sunlight, and in this way
collecting and concentrating heat to circulate into your hot water geyser.
Passive systems and others using a small electric pump are available.
Pros:
Effective and efficient...
Will place no extra load on your Solar Installation.
Requires little maintenance.
Cons:
Expensive to install.
Can be a significant eyesore (added to your roof),
Difficult installation, requires disruption and risk as does any significant physical changes to
your plumbing and roof.
Leaves your existing solar panels wasting their excess energy, with nowhere to put the excess
power they receive; and also compete for unshaded roof-space.
They can have serious problems when they get too much heat. This mechanism has no built-in
‘brake’ to stop heating when too hot. There are dramatic stories around on what it takes to
control overheating.
They compete for unshaded roof-space with your Inverter’s Solar Panels.
Gas Geyser
Gas Geysers have become a popular solution to deal with the heating of water.
They became more popular as the installation of Solar has to-date not accommodated
conventional electric geysers…. And this is so because without smart management geysers can
quickly overwhelm Inverters, and even more so their batteries.
Pros:
Gas heating sets the home user free from the vagaries of ESKOM.
Gas heating takes the biggest load off current ‘dumb’ Solar-Inverter Electrical Systems.
Cons:
Less safe than electrical installations.
Dirtier operation.
Shorter lifespan than electrical.
Expensive to install and requires a full geyser installation plus gas tanks.
The smaller instant heating variety cost less, but restrict water flow performance.
Requires continuous gas refills.
In the case of both full tank gas heating and instant gas heating, the efficiency is lower and so
can be more expensive than electric heating; and this is so because with electricity the heating
element is submersed inside the water tank and so suffers no losses; and with Gas the burner is
external and so subject to significant heating waste.
Gas costs as much as electrical heating per BTU (unit of energy), and as it is more lossy, it is
necessarily more costly.
And gas is so much more disadvantageous when compared to using the excess solar energy
produced by the solar panels on your roof.
Consequently OffGrid Geyser Harvester working alongside panels and an Inverter wins against
gas hands down, with no contest in fact.
More of Everything:
More Panels, a larger or an added Inverter, and more batteries...
This method would solve the problem as a whole or in part, but it is expensive, wasteful and
entirely unnecessary.
This method will still likely fail on overcast days... and fail badly.
Living with your Situation:
By this we might suppose that you could continue to let ESKOM do the water heating, and you
can continue on as you are.
Pros:
The cheapest and easiest way out (you might suppose at a glance), with no effort at all required
on your part, and no extra money spent.
Cons:
The Pro above is deceptive…
You will not be self-sufficient in your domestic electrical needs.
Continue to throw away most valuable solar energy.
OffGrid Geyser Harvester
OffGrid Geyser Harvester is our unique solution designed to specifically to take only the excess
energy produced by your panels (more power there than most suspect), while not
overwhelming your inverter, and not taping into your batteries, and then heating up your
unaltered Geyser with this spare electrical energy.
This solution also provides the ability to easily (WiFi switch & timer) top up your Geyser with
utility power as and when required.
Geyser Harvester will not be a cost to you, but rather a rewarding high return on investment.
Pros:
Costs less to implement than all other options.
Least disruptive of all possible installations; leaving the Geyser entirely untouched, requiring
only the addition of the Appliance.
Lowest possible running cost.
The cost of our OffGrid Geyser Harvester will likely be recouped in as little as 2-3 years, at
going electricity prices.
And from there on your saving and efficiency and self-reliance will persist for the lifetime of
your solar system.
Cons:
still looking… 😊
