@batalto i thought that too but appartently they arent the same but Id love to mix them but think it may cause issues as the Aoboets are rated to go down to a % and burn at a higher rate (sorry my jargon is way off !!) 

@boblochinver Hi Bob, Good to see you back contributing.

I would highly recommend installing an i-boost or similar. I personally installed an Immersun unit, which although more expensive than the i-boost, has additional features which I find particularly useful.

One feature that I particularly like is the monitoring service, which allows me to view on my laptop (or smart phone) not only what power my solar panels are generating, but also how much power is being imported or exported, how much is being used within our home along with how much is being diverted to the selected load. It also has the ability to divert power to up to three individual loads.

At the moment I use my diverter in the following manner:-

Load 1 is the immersion heater in our hot water tank. When the water is up to temperature the diverter switches over to supply a 2kW electric convection heater (load 2) located in the hallway. This is controlled by a thermostat connected to the diverter, which switches off the output when the desired indoor temperature has been achieved. I have though about getting a electric storage radiator which would become load 3. With this setup, from Spring through to Autumn we get almost the whole of our hot water needs heated by solar energy, and by using any excess to provide heating within our home we have been able to reduce our gas consumption by 20%.

I have contemplated getting a battery system, but since our average import of electrical energy is only 4kwh per day, I am not certain it would be cost effective. Maybe if they develop Iron - Air Batteries for home use and the almost 40% efficient solar panels become available.

On your setup you may wish to replace your electric shower with a conventional one after installing a diverter.

In March this year I installed an Air to Air ASHP, which I have been using to provide AC when it was quite hot, and more recently for heating. I run it during the day when solar power is available to heat our home to 23C to 24C, which then keeps the place warm through the night. The Immersun monitor is now particularly useful, in that if a cloud comes over and the solar output falls, I can switch off the ASHP until the cloud has passed over.

One of the other areas that I have been researching is uses for solar thermal, which of course allows heat energy to be stored in water. Much cheaper than batteries. 

@boblochinver I think you agree talking about peak power output and depth of discharge. Peak power output is what it says on the tin. Depth of discharge (DoD) is the amount left in the battery before you stop using it. Most home batteries you set the DoD to 80% as this prolongs the battery life. You can go higher (90%+) but it has an impact on the battery cycle life. However all of this is controlled by the Battery Management System (BMS) or directly on your hybrid inverter. I use a Sofar3000sp and it's got all the settings for the battery on there - I just leave it alone. If you have batteries all of this is probably on your hybrid inverter.

Recently I also got a battery cable from Pylontech themselves so I can log into the battery and check their status. I've only used it to update the firmware as I had an issue combining 2.4kwh batteries to 3kwh batteries. The upgrade did the trick.

@batalto I suspect that you are right in that i have settings on the Lux that basically allow me to set charge and discharge levels etc but I think my worry is that if i mix the batteries it may cause issues that leaves me with redundant pairs that dont work. 

@derek-m Hi Derek, yeah ive been busy with stuff but now looking more at my setup. I agree getting rid of the electric shower and just using the hot water tank is the way to go and I aim to do that as quickly as i can.

Finally, energy prices have become a major news item this week.

But interesting that the mainstream media still talks about it mostly in terms of gas prices.

Little mention of the effect for 100% electric households.

Mike

@mike-patrick 

Hi Mike,

As Graham Hendra suggest in the video, just buy one less bottle of wine per day and you will not have to worry about rising energy costs. Or maybe buy an extra bottle or two of wine per day, which won't help with rising energy costs, but it will help you to not worry about it.

Joking apart, 45% of electricity generation at the moment is from gas fired power stations, so rising gas prices affects both. 85% of households have gas boilers. 

Gas is dirty, so the media prefer to blame gas rather than electricity which of course is green and friendly. Much of the gas is now imported, so the UK has little influence over wholesale market forces.

Hopefully this will focus minds towards using less rather than just getting the cheapest. 

On the original topic of the thread, I suspect the 'new normal' for electricity is going to be around 20p/kWh for a while. I'm thinking my recent 16.5p fix was a great deal; however not a lot of good if the supplier goes bust. 

Oil is on the way up too though.

https://www.boilerjuice.com/heating-oil-prices-england/?utm_term=heating%20oil%20prices&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&src=&gclid=CjwKCAjw4qCKBhAVEiwAkTYsPCMFqNGRriIMU_iW5Yx3CN0vLhLaoL8dhbH_PaZhB4CJZngMfn1sdxoCff8QAvD_BwE

@kev-m 

Hi Kev,

Yes, energy costs are not going to reduce in the foreseeable future if at all, so we should all be looking to reduce our energy consumption.

If you look at the analysis I posted a while back, insulation is probably the most cost effective way of reducing energy consumption. A 20% reduction in heat demand should produce an approximate 25% reduction in energy consumption. It is particularly beneficial with an ASHP, in that reduced heat demand means that the system can operate at lower leaving water temperature, which in turn increases the efficiency of the heat pump. A definite win - win situation.  

Posted by: @derek-m

@kev-m 

Hi Kev,

Yes, energy costs are not going to reduce in the foreseeable future if at all, so we should all be looking to reduce our energy consumption.

If you look at the analysis I posted a while back, insulation is probably the most cost effective way of reducing energy consumption. A 20% reduction in heat demand should produce an approximate 25% reduction in energy consumption. It is particularly beneficial with an ASHP, in that reduced heat demand means that the system can operate at lower leaving water temperature, which in turn increases the efficiency of the heat pump. A definite win - win situation.  

I agree about insulation.  You're not posting this from the M25 are you 😉 

@kev-m I agree about insulation.  You're not posting this from the M25 are you  

Hi Kev,

No, sorry to disappoint you, I prefer trying to influence people from the comfort of my office chair, rather than sitting on a hard motorway.

Whilst I agree with the need for better insulation, I totally disagree with the methods employed by some people. I suspect it does not actually help the cause and could in fact put irate motorist off from even considering better insulation.

Rather than blocking motorways and creating even more energy consumption and pollution, they should be at home investigating ways in which they can reduce their carbon footprint.

@kev-m, oil was bound to go up, which was our worst case, plan B, scenario. It's difficult to see how this is going to be a "cheap" winter for heating.