geyser timer???or not

[murdock]

well i have advised people not to waste money on geyser timers...because i ran tests on my own house and found there was no need for a timer... here is a few tips...when it comes to saving electricity.

firstly make sure when you your spouse and kids need to bath or shower...all shower/bath around the same time...why because it takes an hour and a bit to heat up the geyser back to temperature...now if the kids bath at 5 the geyser will switch on for approx. 1hr 10 min then your spouse showers at 7 it takes just over an hour to heat up again and then you shower at 9 then your geyser has been switched on for 3 nearly 4 hour in total ...so if you all bath/shower at the about same time the geyser will heat up once for just over an hour...instead of 3/4 hours...remember if you dont have a dishwasher chances are dishes are getting washed in the evening so try plan all these things around the same time...just be careful your geyser might be toooo small to handle all these events at the same or similar time...so stagger the kids and dishes then shower /bath at the same time as your spouse...a little later i the evening when the water has heated up.

a timer for a geyser which fits into your electrical distribution board with an overide cost for sale to the public approx. R600 including vat...it shouldnt take an electrician longer than an hour to fit the unit...so long as there sufficient space in the DB.

turn you geyser down slightly it should not be more than 70 dgrees.

lag the pipes and check if you geyser has internal insulation...i think the newer geyser lack the insulation which the older geysers had.

i did tests on my geyser before we had a full time maid...and after a 5 day test i decided it was not needed...now we have a full time maid and the geyser is switching on/off all day...i have just completed a 3 day test...and i have decided it would now be in my best interest to now fit a timer.

remeber a geyser and stove are normally your highest electricty consumers.

[hal1964]

Hi,

Have to say I have been doing this for the past three years and it works. There is however a problem, the timer switches do burn out, I have now had two that was burnt beyoubnd recognition, and having spoekn to a electrician have been advised to install a relay. Problem is that I have yet to find a relay and a wiring diagram for installing the relay any suggestions?

[Sparks]

A timer of the correct wattage won't burn out. I agree with the beginning of your post Murdoch-anti timer. I prefer geyser blankets & pipe insulation. Over the years the geyser has been redesigned for optimum performance and see no reason to interfere with the cycle. That would be like over-riding an aircon or setting it colder to compensate for an open door/window.

[hal1964]

Both the timers were 20A?

[daveob]

Besides the fact that we have a solar panel linked to the standard geyser with a pump, you may still want to look at the GeyserWise control. If you have ( or are thinking about a future ) solar panel, get the GeyserWise MAX model. Our control panel is situated in the hallway and displays the current temp at all times.

It has a temp sensor at the geyser and allows you to set the max temperature for each 6 hour time zone - 0:00 to 6:00, 6:00 to 12:00, 12:00 to 18:00 and 18:00 to 0:00. Therefore, you can specify a lower max temp for the overnight and mornings, and warmer for the afternoon / evenings.

In addition, it has 4 different timers that you can set the element to be on / off.

An over-ride button allows you to force the element to power on, if you need to heat the geyser past the timer settings.

[tec0]

What I do is, I turn my geyser on manually at 3:00pm every day. Then leave it on till just after 9:00pm and turn it off again. Now my geyser is set on its maximum temperature and I have hot water the next morning no problem at all. My savings on this have been R300 per month. Now it can be more if I turn my geyser down but then it will become an inconvenience. The lower temperature means the water cool faster and that is not good at all.

[Jerrad]

unfortunately all timers have a max operating life, Time switch contacts build up carbon on their contacts from switching on and off in load conditions. I have tested many timers and have found that by the time you start saving money the timer has reached the end of its life. The best way to save money in the long run on water heating is a heat pump.This is not so cheap though, but you need to do your homework before going down this road.

[AndyD]

Contacts should be rated at 10000-20000 operations depending on quality. Worst case scenario even at 10000 operation lifespan and 4 operations per day it should last around 7 years. Best case 20000 operations life at 2 operations per day should last 27 years. I have noticed a tendancy for contractors to install a 15A timer on a standard 4KW cylinder which would draw 16-18Amps. I assume their thinking is in keeping the installation costs low by not using a contactor but even at 10-20% over the maximum rated load of the contacts the mean time between failures would plummet.

That said, I know a few people who estimated their geyser timer paid itself off in 6-8 months.

[Ralf]

Funny I have the directly opposed personal experience. My own house has three geysers. I have put all three on the standard pool- pump timers and my electricity cost reduction just in the first month paid for more than only the three timers. When done in conjunction with thermal blankets around the geysers a two hour period of running the geyser is sufficient for hot water around the day. Personal savings per month are up to R 1000.00. The geysers are 250, 200 and 150 liters and service a 7 headed household.

[Dave A]

Funny I have the directly opposed personal experience. My own house has three geysers. I have put all three on the standard pool- pump timers and my electricity cost reduction just in the first month paid for more than only the three timers. When done in conjunction with thermal blankets around the geysers a two hour period of running the geyser is sufficient for hot water around the day. Personal savings per month are up to R 1000.00. The geysers are 250, 200 and 150 liters and service a 7 headed household.

Were the thermal blankets put in at the same time as the timers?

UPDATE: I've since done my own smart geyser timer study where I installed a Geyserwise TSE controller. I proved a 25.81% saving based purely on the effect of using smart geyser timer settings alone.

If you take a look at the day-by-day detail I give at the bottom of the post I explain how all things considered, even that proven saving is actually a conservative figure.

Once you understand your hot water draw cycle and how to use a geyser timer correctly, there's little doubt there are savings to be had.

[Bob Innes]

Hi Murdock, I have done extensive tests on a geyser timer in my house, over the last 3-years, using an electronic kwh instrument, and have proved in my household of two, (my wife and myself) that I have a saving of 24% on the geyser power only. Just thought I would let you know.

[Citizen X]

In a few extension in Lenasia, City Power have installed geyser timers unilaterally and made it clear that it is compulsory. This timer next to your db board switches the geyser on or off automatically during certain times. Whilst, I stand to be corrected, it appears that these timers can be controlled by radio frequency and thereby also allow them to switch it off remotely for extended periods if and when they see the need...

[Justloadit]

The amount of power consumed is directly proportional to the number of siblings living with you, and is also linked to living in maid and family. It is also further linked to whether your siblings are male or female.

I have put in a solar heating system and can vouch that I save at least one full heating cycle per day since installation.

Females tend to change cloths more often and tend to spend more time in grooming which includes many bathing trips.
Maids for some unknown reason, only use the one tap marked with a red indicator for everything they wash including just washing their hands.

Whilst it is easy to say that you have to teach being power thrifty, the problem is I leave early in the morning and return fairly late at night, so the little time I have with the family, is not to be squandered on shouting.

[IMHO]

i did tests on my geyser before we had a full time maid...and after a 5 day test i decided it was not needed...now we have a full time maid and the geyser is switching on/off all day...i have just completed a 3 day test...and i have decided it would now be in my best interest to now fit a timer.

I would love to do these tests. I run a guest house and have no idea when my geysers is turning on and off. With this knowledge one can surely work out a plan to save a bundle. I also have one installation of three geysers in series, the one feeding the other. I am starting to think this is chowing electricity?

How do you do the tests? Do you have to stand there all day or is some technology available?

[AndyD]

I also have one installation of three geysers in series, the one feeding the other. I am starting to think this is chowing electricity?

This is an alternative to installing one massive geyser, the first geyser preheats the water by 10-15 degrees Celsius, the second cylinder is set at 10-15 degrees higher again and the final cylinder is set at the final required water temp. It's quite an efficient wasy of doing things because you're not holding massive amounts of water at the final temp so the losses are less than when you use a single big cylinder.

How do you do the tests? Do you have to stand there all day or is some technology available?

Buy yourself an Owl monitor. Connect it up to the supply of the hot water cylinders. Download the info on to your pc where it's shown in graph form.