Solar Off Grid.  PV Solar Matched to Heating Element .

Author	Message
Murphy's friend Guru Joined: 04/10/2019 Location: Australia Posts: 671	Posted: 08:23am 13 May 2023         Confused said   AH Davo99, thanks very much.   Any chance of a close up photo of the units in your system. My son has experience in TVs and Computers and will understand the makeup of your system far better than i do. Do you foresee any problems or the need to test for a bit longer. Again thanks very much to you, KeepIS, Phil, Roger and Murph. for the detailed replies. Just be very very careful messing about with high voltage DC, it can easily kill you. If you have lots of panels then Davo's no electronic approach would be the easiest. In my case with just 12 x 190W panels (2 x 6 panel strings) some electronics help a lot to get  160 liter water hot enough for the thermostat, set at 70 degrees, to turn off. This time of the year it takes 1/2 day if sunny, most of the day if overcast. Do NOT use the inbuilt thermostat to switch direct DC, it will destroy itself quickly. That thermostat only switches 12V with KeepIS and my electronic controller and will last longer than the heater used that way.