• CONSIDER UPSIZING TO A BIGGER SOLAR GEYSER COMPARED TO NORMAL GEYSER.

  • A Solar Geyser has only one chance (between 09:00 and 15:00) to heat up. You will need to store enough hot water, heated by the sun, as to not use the backup element too much. The more water you can store, the bigger the saving you will achieve.

 

• TRY CHANGE THE DAILY SHOWER ROUTINE TO MOSTLY EVENINGS.

  • The solar needs around 5-6 hours of good sunshine to get the geyser to an average of 50-60’C. We would like the solar to sit unused, if at all possible, during this time. This way we give the sun the chance to heat the entire tank. The water (given a whole day of sun) will be hottest at around 17:00-18:00 and will gradually get colder. If left unused to the following morning, it might have lost up to 10’C overnight.

 

• SOLAR GEYSERS SOMETIMES STILL NEED ELECTRICAL BACKUP.

  • We design the systems to maximise savings and eliminate the need for element usage as much as possible, however, we have around 300 days of sunshine per year. The other 65 days are overcast and rainy and at some stage, will need the element to assist. For this reason, we also install a thermostat and timer which can control when you want the element to assist electrically.

 

• YOU CAN FINE TUNE THE TIMER AND THERMOSTAT TO YOUR ROUTINE.

  • You do not need 2 hours of element for only one shower. Consider fine tuning the time zones to each persons liking. If only one person showers in the morning, you might need only 30 min of element time for that shower (assuming the geyser was emptied last night). You can set different time zones for different times of the day.

 

• SOLAR GEYSER DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR WATER PRESSURE

  • Solar geysers are simply an extension of your plumbing system and does not affect pressure unless a separate Pressure Control Valve is fitted for that solar geyser. If your pressure is low, try and clean the sivs on the tap outlet. It might be blocked with rust and debris. Older houses with galvanized piping also sometimes struggle with pressure problems. This cannot be caused or fixed by adding a solar geyser as the solar geyser simply replaces your conventional geyser and are exactly the same internal construction.

 

• SHOWER INSTEAD OF BATH

  • You need around 50lt per 5 min shower and up to 100lt for a bath. If we size the solar geyser accordingly, you will achieve maximum savings. If the solar geyser/panel is too small, you will need to employ the element and this will reduce the saving OR you will run out of hot water.

 

 

• TAKE NOTE OF THE WEATHER

  • Sometimes it might be a sunny day but with scattered clouds. These clouds, especially during the 11:00 – 13:00 period, will halter full solar absorption. This can affect the overall yield of the solar panel and can result in the geyser not reaching its intended temperature. The backup element will thus be needed to increase the temperature.

 

• COLD WATER ON A RAINY DAY

  • Our solar geysers should supply a full tank of hot water for every fully sunny day we have (provided usage is kept to a minimum in those sunny hours). If you have cold water as soon as a rainy day arrives, chances are the element has not switched on. This can be due to the time-zones set or even the geyser switched being turned off. Have the Geyser Switch on the DB board tripped? Is the clock on the timer accurate? Are there time-zones set on the timer? If you had plenty of hot water on sunny days but not on rainy ones, it is usually element/timer/switch related.

 

• 220v Pumps vs 12v Battery Pumps

  • We offer 2 x varieties of pumps. One is an Eskom powered 220v Pump and the other a 12v Battery operated pump. The 220v will require AC 220v (Eskom) power to work and will turn off when the power is out. The 12v pump can work as long as there is sun. It will work off of its 12v 7ah battery and 10w PV panel, even in power outages. Note that the 12v pump system can only run the pump and if the element is required, Eskom powered will have to be restored.

 

• Overheating

  • We can turn off or adjust the element but we cannot control the sun. Overheating systems can cause damage by dispelling water through the safety or air release valves to attempt to cool the system down. In extreme case, with severe overheating, vacuum breakers or other valves may fail due to heat build up.

  • With full solar geysers, it will dispel quite a strong stream of water from the safety valve. This is  the normal function of that safety valve and no need for concern. Should the valve continually drip or leak after that, the rubber seal could be damaged and may need to be replaced.

  • On conversion systems, the Geyserwise will turn off the pump to keep the geyser  itself  from overheating, however the solar panel might still build up excessive heat. All our systems come standard with a steam release and safety valve on the panel. They are designed to dispel water onto the roof to cool the panel down. If they constantly leak after that, they may need to be replaced.

  • Load Shedding and power outages  may negatively affect the excessive heat problem and may cause damage to the systems. It is imperative to switch the Geyserwise to holiday  mode when not in use for longer  than a weekend. It is also highly recommended to cover the panels  when it is known that outages  will occur or when not in use for longer  than a weekend.

 

• Placement, Shade, Orientation

  • The best performance will be found on a directly northern facing roof, at 36 degrees inclination, free of shade. A Roof facing north-east will get sun earlier in the morning, but will loose out on some afternoon sun. A roof facing north-west, will loose out on morning sun, but have sun later into the afternoon. You can easily loose 10-15% of efficiency when not facing directly north.

  • Shade from tall trees or chimneys, even if in the neighbours yard, can also cause a drop in efficiency. If this shade covers part of the panel at a critical part of the day, it can result in another 10-15% drop in temperature. This would mean that electricity will need to boost the tempetaure higher, more often. This can be negated by upsizing the solar panel if possible.

  • Roofs facing directly east or west, can loose 40-50% efficiency. The Solar panel will thus need to be twice the size.

 

• Frost Conditions

  • Solar Panels will freeze in very cold weather. Therefore the Geyserwise controller has a frost function that will circulate some water from the geyser to heat up the panel. It’s very important to make note that the Geyserwise is on and functioning. Make note of loadshedding and power outages to ensure an alternative power source is available. 12volt Pumped Systems will have it’s own battery to run the pump, should frost occur. Make sure this battery is in good health. 220volt systems will need to have an alternative power source connected in loadshedding times.

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• GeyserWise Display Discrepencies – Temperature Drop

  • The temperature sensor sits right at the bottom of the Geyser(sometimes middle). Because hot water (like air) rises, the display might show a temperature several degrees colder, sometimes half the temperature, of whats at the hot water outlet.

  • The display will only be accurate right after the element has switched off, or right after the sun has stopped heating. Thereafter it will gradually drop, however all the heat is simply rising to the top.