Iboost and buddy or can you go HA

[Joeboy]

Unsure what you want to do?
Iboost diverts surplus solar to immersion heater.
What are you wanting to turn on/off ?
Or what am I missing ?
George

Hi. I want to control when it goes on.....if its better to export electricity and heat on gas, i could arrange that etc.
Thanks for the pointers on the other equipment. Will look into it.

I run my iboost through a Hive plug for the on/off and autosensing then the switchbot for manual demand. Now that I'm doing the export thing switchbot comes on through the night and the iboost unit is powered off through the day so the power can get to the grid.

[Snuggy]

Thank you all. So when you use a smart plug the iboost is being disconnected from the power....and will pick up seamlessly when power is restored?

[Joeboy]

Thank you all. So when you use a smart plug the iboost is being disconnected from the power....and will pick up seamlessly when power is restored?

Yep.

[resybaby]

Thank you all. So when you use a smart plug the iboost is being disconnected from the power....and will pick up seamlessly when power is restored?

Same with my mechanical timer, just have to be there in the flesh to alter if you want.

[Snuggy]

So our PV is being installed next week (Tail end of hurricanes allowing).

The Electrician came round to reccy what needed doing. I commented it was imperative that the iboost have a plug fitted and the existing direct wiring of the immersion be changed to a switched socket so the iboost can be plugged into a smart plug and controlled via the wifi.
His reply?
"Cant be done"
"The way this works" he says and then tells me all about order of the calls on the power you are generating, and how the iboost gives you hot water!

So having ironed this out on here with help from you lot, I stood my ground and think I convinced him he could do it, and now believe that is what I am getting. However I have somewhat lost confidence in the electrical install at this point. Hoping that he just needed time to get his head round the idea that there will be times I want to be selling to the grid at 30p or so, rather than getting hot water heated when I dont need it etc etc.

[chris_n]

Make sure your WIFI socket is rated to carry 13A, many are only 10A. I would use a contactor as on page 1, I don't like sockets carrying heavy loads for long periods. They have a tendency to get warm.

[Snuggy]

Have 13amp rated wifi sockets and have use for 1.8kw storage heaters. I think the immersion is 3kw or less. The contactor wasnt raised by me, should I need that can it be added later or will he automatically install that. The immersion is on its own circuit breaker.
Thanks

[chris_n]

Have 13amp rated wifi sockets and have use for 1.8kw storage heaters. I think the immersion is 3kw or less. The contactor wasnt raised by me, should I need that can it be added later or will he automatically install that. The immersion is on its own circuit breaker.
Thanks

Immersion heaters are usually 3kW, if your WiFi sockets are 13A then you should be fine. I wouldn't expect the average domestic electrician to install a contactor if you hadn't specified that, most would just go off the rating of the equipment.

[Tinbum]

Make sure your WIFI socket is rated to carry 13A, many are only 10A. I would use a contactor as on page 1, I don't like sockets carrying heavy loads for long periods. They have a tendency to get warm.

I've found that the switches on 13A sockets (even MK ones) have a tendency to burn out and also modern 13 plugs are not up to the job of 13A continuously. Swapping any 13A switched socket for an unswitched one is a good idea.

[Yuff]

Thank you all. So when you use a smart plug the iboost is being disconnected from the power....and will pick up seamlessly when power is restored?

I’m not as technically gifted as most on here, but I had the iboost connected when I had panels and batteries installed but found when I signed up to export it was pointless heating the tank when I could heat it off peak on the immersion and export at 15p, so I had it by passed. I have a WiFi timer for the immersion fuse spur.
Another issue was when the DFS hour kicked in and I started exporting I would forget to turn the immersion off and the export would go to the tank until I realised.
At £4 per kWh that’s an expensive way to get hit water