Solamiser User Manual

Solamiser

User
Manual
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 Solamiser User Manual

CONTENTS

SECTION PAGE
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 3
COMMISSIONING 14
USER GUIDE 18
TROUBLESHOOTING 21
SPECIFICATIONS 22

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 Solamiser User Manual

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Warning: Danger of death due to electric

shock. Solamiser is connected directly to the
mains consumer unit and should be installed
by a qualified electrician in accordance with
IEE wiring regulations.

Status LED

Access Screws
Fixing Holes

Heat Sink

Current Clamp
Jack Socket

Cable Gland

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MOUNTING SOLAMISER

a) Using the 4 Fixing holes and screws provided,

Install Solamiser on a vertical surface as close as
possible to the mains consumer unit.

b) Ensure that there is at least 150 mm of clearance

both above and below Solamiser and 50 mm of
clearance to the left of Solamiser to facilitate
plugging in the current sensor.

c) Turn off and isolate the mains power switch at the

front of the consumer unit.

d) Mount Solamiser where the ambient temperature

will not exceed 30° C. The black heat sink on the
front of the unit must not be obstructed. This is to
allow free airflow through its fins to prevent power
devices from overheating.

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CONNECTING SOLAMISER

A single five core 1.5 mm² flexible cable should be

connected to the unit as shown.
Depending on the type of 5 core cable used it will either
be colour coded or have core numbers.

Core numbers and example colours are as follows:

Yellow and green = E (Earth);

Core 1 = Brown = L (Line);
Core 2 = Blue = N (Neutral);
Core 3 = Black = H1(Heater 1 Line);
Core 4 = Grey = H2 (Heater 2 Line).

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a) Pass the five core cable through the gland at the bottom
of Solamiser and connect to the four way terminal
block on the printed circuit board as shown.

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b) Using a suitable 3 mm diameter eye crimp connection,

connect the separate earth screw (Heatsink mounting
screw) to the yellow and green earth core of the 5 core
cable.

Be careful not to over tighten this screw as it

is very easy to crack the ABS plastic lid. The
screw should be only just tight enough to
make good contact with the heat sink screw.

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 Solamiser User Manual

c) Position the PCB copper side facing you with the

connector at the top. Ensure the jack socket is
protruding into its hole at the left hand side of the
wall fixed base.

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 Solamiser User Manual

d) Replace the lid and screw it into position. Note:

For safety reasons ensure the lid is securely
closed before connecting to the consumer unit.

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CONNECTING THE COMSUMER UNIT

With its main switch turned OFF remove the front cover
of the consumer unit. Refer to the diagram on the next
page.

e) Identify and disconnect the immersion heater's L

(Line) cable from its circuit breaker.

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Note: Solamiser does not have an internal fuse or

circuit breaker as circuit protection is provided by
the consumer unit's immersion heater circuit
breaker. The rating of this circuit breaker should
not exceed 16 A.

f) Connect the brown core of the five core cable

between Solamiser terminal Marked L and the
consumer unit immersion heater circuit breaker
output.

g) Connect the blue core of the five core cable

between Solamiser terminal marked N to the
consumer unit neutral busbar.

h) Connect the yellow and green core of the five

core cable between Solamiser heat sink mounting
screw marked E and the the consumer unit's earth
busbar.

i) Connect the black core of the five core cable

between Solamiser terminal Marked H1 and the
previously disconnected immersion heater cable
inside of the consumer unit. This can be done with
a suitable in-line crimp connector.

j) If you have a second load, such as a storage

heater that Solamiser can switch, the power cable
of this device should also be routed to the

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 Solamiser User Manual

consumer unit. This can be connected to the grey

core of the five core Solamiser cable i.e. connect
Solamiser terminal Marked H2 to the L (Line) of
this load. Neutral and Earth connections of this
load should be connected respectively to the
neutral and earth busbars of the consumer unit.
Note that this load will be switched ON when the
immersion heater is switched OFF. The same
immersion heater consumer unit MCB also
protects this circuit through Solamiser. This load
should not exceed 16A

k) If you want Solamiser to remain on immersion all

day long, please exchange this unit for the special
single channel version of Solamiser. Do not wire
H1 and H2 together as this will damage the
unit.

l) If you don't want to collect energy after the change

over to H2 then don't connect Solamiser's terminal
H2 to anything and make sure that if the grey
core is connected, the unused end is insulated
to prevent a short circuit when H2 switches on.

m) The current clamp can usually be mounted on the

mains incoming cable inside the consumer unit.
Note: For safety reasons, before putting the
current clamp onto the mains incoming cable, plug
the current clamp into the 3.5mm Jack socket at
the left hand side of Solamiser.

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before make change

Booster -break

over switch
16A
MCB Thermostat
L Immersion + E
N Solamiser H1
E

n) If you wish to be able to bypass Solamiser to

provide power to your emersion heater to either
boost heating or provide heat during the winter if
your gas boiler breaks down, you can fit a switch
as shown above. This is an optional extra and
could be fitted by your electrician should you feel
the need for this facility.

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COMMISSIONING SOLAMISER

Solamiser senses the current flowing through the house's

main incoming power cable at a point between the utility
company's energy meter and the consumer unit. This is
accomplished with a non invasive current clamp. There is
no need to disconnect the 'sealed' mains cable.

In addition to sensing the amount of current passing

between the energy meter and the consumer unit the
current clamp also senses the direction of the current. It
is therefore important that the current clamp is mounted
the right way round on main incoming cable otherwise
the sensing direction will be reversed and will result in
excessive energy use.

To get the current clamp the right way round proceed as

follows:

a) Plug the current clamp's 3.5mm Jack plug into the

Jack socket on the left hand side of Solamiser. It is
safer to plug in the current clamp before clipping
round the mains cable.

b) Clip the current clamp on the mains cable between

the consumer unit and the utility company's
energy meter. At this stage it doesn't matter which
way round, just mount it and close the clip and
note the orientation.

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c) Turn off any appliances which may be operating in

the house at this time i.e. all consumer unit MCBs
then turn on the consumer unit's main switch.

d) Turn on the consumer unit immersion heater

circuit breaker and ensure that any other switches
in the immersion heater circuit are also switched
on.

e) The LED at the top of Solamiser should start to

blink.

f) If the LED is flashing short pulses (0.1 sec ON

time, variable OFF time) then Solamiser is
balancing the energy from the solar panels minus
the energy being consumed by the rest of the
house, with the energy consumed by the
immersion heater. Each pulse represents
approximately 1 Wh of energy being diverted to
the immersion heater. If the LED is pulsing, say
once every two second, then the power to the
immersion heater at that moment is approx 1.8 kW
i.e. 1800 pulses per hour.

g) If the LED is ON for half a second and then OFF

for half a second, Solamiser 'thinks' the house is
importing energy from the mains. There is not
enough solar energy to supply the house. The
immersion heater is turned off to avoid using
mains power.

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h) If the LED is ON for two seconds then OFF for two

seconds, Solamiser 'thinks' the house is exporting
energy to the national grid. This should only
happen if the energy used by the house and
immersion heater is less than the energy produced
by the solar panels. This can happen on very
sunny days or when the immersion heater
thermostat has turned off or the immersion heater
has been switched off by the user.

i) If you are doing this installation work during

daylight hours and all other electrical appliances in
the house besides the immersion heater are
turned off, then you would expect Solamiser to be
in a balanced state and the LED should be
producing 0.1 second pulses as described in f)
above.

j) If this is not the case then switch off, remove and

replace the current clamp the other way round,
then switch on again and observe the LED a
second time.

k) If Solamiser's LED is now flashing as described in

f) above it is most likely that the current clamp is
now in the correct orientation.

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l) Check the utility company's energy meter and

observe the rate of energy flow. This should be
close to zero with a small amount of export energy
about -150W.

m) If you are installing after dark there is no solar

energy available so you would expect the LED to
flash once per second (on for half a second then
off for half a second) indicating energy import. If it
flashes once every 2 seconds then the current
clamp should be reversed.

n) Solamiser is now correctly commissioned.

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USING SOLAMISER

Solamiser is a 'fit and forget' device.

It is useful to occasionally look at the flashing LED to

check that the device is continuing to function correctly.

The LED can flash in one of four modes as follows:

MODE 1 - IMPORT

When the LED flashes ON for half a second then OFF for
half a second, Solamiser is detecting import energy. This
typically occur after dark. When you are consuming
electricity from the grid. The immersion heater is always
switched off in MODE 1.

MODE 2 - EXPORT

When the LED flashes ON for two seconds then OFF for
two seconds, Solamiser is detecting export energy. This
means that excess energy from your solar panels is
being sent back to the grid. This will occur when your
immersion heater is switched off.

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MODE 3 – DIVERTING TO IMMERSION HEATER

When producing single pulses Solamiser is detecting that

very little energy is flowing back to the mains. Nearly all
excess electricity being generated by your solar panels is
being used by both your house and your immersion
heater.

Variable amounts of energy are diverted to your

immersion heater to maintain this balanced state. For
example, if you turn on the TV, the amount of energy
going to the immersion heater will reduce by the amount
used by the TV. If the sun goes behind a cloud
Solamiser will reduce power to the immersion heater to
maintain balance.

The pulse rate of the LED in MODE 3 reflects the amount

of energy being diverted to the immersion heater i.e.
approximately 1 pulse per Wh.

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MODE 4 – DIVERTING TO OPTIONAL SECOND LOAD

When producing double pulses Solamiser is diverting to

an optional second load e.g. a storage heater. The
purpose of the double pulse is to indicate that the second
load is now connected and the immersion heating cycle
has finished. Similar to MODE 3, a double pulse is
produced for approximately each 1 Wh consumed by the
second load.

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TROUBLESHOOTING

If the LED flashes in MODE 1 only at all times you may

have a faulty immersion.

If the LED flashes in MODE 2 only at all times Solamiser

is either incorrectly installed or faulty and your immersion
may be consuming import energy at a cost.

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SPECIFICATIONS

Rated Voltage 240V a.c.

Rated Current 16A rms.
Rated Frequency 50 Hz.

Maximum Mains Cable Current through Current Clamp:

100A rms.
Maximum Load Current 16A rms per load.
Maximum Ambient Temperature 40 Deg C.

Power balance point fixed at -5% i.e. exporting approx

150W to avoid import.
Energy transferred to immersion heater per heating cycle
fixed at 7 kWh if available from PV.
Energy transferred to second optional load = remaining
solar energy for day depending on weather.

Dimensions

Width 132mm x Height 68mm x Depth 100mm

Weight 700g

To be installed in accordance with IEE wiring regulations.

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