WOW 6KW thats some heater and i doubt that unit would be able to handle switching that heater on and off you will need something a bit more industrial.
What electrical points do you have to connect it to at the moment
Thanks Jane,
I'll see if there is one that can handle 6kw
Gazza wrote:Hi Paul,
WOW 6KW thats some heater and i doubt that unit would be able to handle switching that heater on and off you will need something a bit more industrial.
What electrical points do you have to connect it to at the moment
Big heater I know! Already planning a "gas route"
At the moment I have 10mm amourded running from my main board. On an independent 40amp RCD. From there 10mm into a waterproof plug and socket http://www.wickes.co.uk/Exterior/Exterior-W ... nvt/710490 Then 6mm into elecro heater. Your thoughts?
hebburnlad wrote:cant you just use a relay? any timer could just send a signal to a relay(or contactor )that could switch 30 amps
A relay is the same as a contact? I'll look into that.
Most time switches are only able to switch (turn on or off) small loads (currents) as there are small and utilise small relays or printed circuit boards so if you was to switch you large heater it would arc out and cause damage to the unit.
So you would use a contactor/relay to run the main power for the heater and then use the time switch to turn the contactor on and off so this way there is little or no load on the time switch and all the load goes through the contactor.
I am assuming that you have a thermostat controlling the water temperature ? If you do the heater would be turning on only when the water temperature fell below the thermostat setting, be this in the day or night. The issue is probably more to do with the temperature you are setting for the water more than when the electricity is being used. If you set the heater to only go on when you are on the economy 7 electricity rate your heater could potentially need to be on the full seven hours of economy 7 time just trying to get the water back up to the temperature that you set. Have you worked out how long the heater is currently on for ? You might actually find that the heater is already on during some of the economy 7 hours anyway so you are already paying that rate. (If you are already on that pricing model / tariff).
I think the E7 tariff starts at 01:00 and finishes at 08:00, so the water would already have had quite a long period of time when the outside temperatures would have been amongst the coldest before the heater would time in. Once 08:00 comes in and the heater is switched off, the water will then start to cool again and then 17 hours of cooling later you start the cycle off again of trying to heat up the full mass of water again. Could this route not prove a false economy and lead to temperature swings. Perhaps the best route is to fit a thermostat if you don’t already have one, or if you do have one set the temperature lower than that you are presently trying to maintain.
