When our growing older immersion sizzling water system must be changed, I wish to set up an energy-saving warmth pump.
They value extra however use much less electrical energy, and I calculated that we might get the cash by slicing $270 off our annual payments. Plus we’ll do our bit to chop greenhouse gases and cut back demand on a harassed electrical energy grid.
But placing a warmth pump in our twentieth ground Melbourne condo was not possible.
The present sizzling water system sits in a laundry closet, with the water heated by a component built-in into the storage tank. A warmth pump works like a reverse cycle air conditioner that extracts warmth from the air and have to be put in outdoors.
There is not any place for a warmth pump on our balcony and the physique guidelines don’t enable it.
Defeated, we changed our previous immersion heater with a brand new one however I knew there was a greater choice.
Immersion sizzling water programs are the commonest kind in Victoria however the most costly to run, nonetheless, like most individuals, we warmth our water in a single day when electrical energy is cheaper.
Under our present plan, we will warmth water at 20.5c per kilowatt hour after 11.30pm, whereas photo voltaic electrical energy prices us 34.5c per kWh.
This strikes me as outdated. Australia now has a rising surplus of electrical energy in the course of the day when the grid is flooded with a lot photo voltaic power that some even “leaks” out of the system. Government businesses are encouraging “load shifting” and “demand flexibility” to assist take up extra energy and stabilize the grid.
Common recommendation is to run your dishwasher or washer in the course of the day, however such duties account for a small a part of the necessity. Also, you must be at dwelling and suppose forward. Hot water programs, quite the opposite, make up about 30% of the common family power use, and we do not even should get up to show them on.
Can’t we warmth our water in the course of the day and take up a few of that low-cost wasted solar energy?
The preliminary questions puzzled me. I discovered others who requested the identical questions on-line however obtained inexplicable technical solutions. Different states have totally different guidelines, and distributors supply a complicated array of plans and costs.
But I obtained the concept of a photo voltaic sponge. Available in some areas, these inexpensive photo voltaic tariffs coincide with the time when photo voltaic panels pump probably the most power and households use the least quantity of electrical energy.
I known as our supplier and was informed, sure, I can entry a photo voltaic sponge and solely pay 9c per kWh between 10am and 3pm. This is what I used to be on the lookout for. Then got here the frustration. No, I am unable to use it for decent water, as a result of our system is metered individually for the whole lot within the condo. That’s why it reveals up as “managed load utilization” on our payments.
Panicked, I sought recommendation from Mark Ellis, an power effectivity knowledgeable who works for the International Energy Agency and has spent a long time consulting with governments.
“We hear lots about batteries as a part of the transition to renewables,” mentioned Ellis, “however virtually each dwelling already has a battery within the type of a low-temperature sizzling water system. A typical 300 liter system can retailer about 15 kWh of power, which is roughly equal to a typical dwelling battery.
In the previous we have been inspired to run our sizzling water programs at evening to soak up the electrical energy produced by coal-fired energy stations that sizzled in the dead of night. When the growing older vegetation exit the system, we have to shift the photo voltaic peak to the afternoon and retailer the surplus renewable power within the sizzling water programs, the “batteries” which are already put in in many of the homes.
While the change is comparatively simple, governments, energy turbines and retailers are doing little to facilitate the transition.
Ellis suggested me to name an electrician to do two fundamental jobs. First, rewire the recent water system to get it to a separate “managed load” meter and put it within the common meter with all the opposite home equipment. Second, put a timer on the recent water system in order that it solely switches on between 10 am and three pm, concurrently a budget, photo voltaic sponge electrical energy tariff.
You might have to buy round for a aggressive quote. For the neighborhood group Electrify Bouddi, Ellis lately organized a sparky to rework the Central Coast for $350 utilizing a easy analogue timer. I used to be quoted $1,000 for work on our condo in Melbourne, with a digital timer that I may function by way of a Bluetooth app. Even at that worth, the work will quickly pay for itself as we’ll solely pay 9c per kWh for electrical energy.
Swapping out standard immersion or gas-fired sizzling water programs for warmth pumps might be the best choice for a lot of, particularly if you should use energy from rooftop photo voltaic panels.
If that is not an choice although, and you may entry a photo voltaic sponge tariff, contemplate placing your common sizzling water service on a timer to profit from cheaper energy. You haven’t got to attend till the system must be changed to make the change.
It generally is a win on your pocket and the planet.