PowerOptimal Elon 100 - how to maximise your savings

How can you Maximise Your Savings with the Elon 100 Solar PV Water Heater?

The Elon 100® solar PV water heater will help you save money on the biggest single electricity user in your household: your geyser.

Here are some tips for maximising your savings:

The best way to maximise your savings is to set the Elon® control dial to “SOLAR ONLY”. This will ensure that the unit will never use grid (mains) power for heating water. You can still boost with mains power (for example on a cloudy day) by turning the dial to "MAINS ONLY" if needed. (Turn the dial to “MAINS ONLY” until the red light starts flashing, then turn it back to “SOLAR ONLY”. It will complete one heating cycle with grid and then go back to using solar power only.)

However, the "SOLAR ONLY" setting will only be feasible if you have enough solar PV modules for your household’s level of hot water use. Even if you have a smaller system, you might be able to run it on “SOLAR ONLY” for most of the year, depending on your location.

If “SOLAR ONLY” doesn’t work for your household, setting the dial at "3" will yield the most savings whilst maintaining hot water availability mornings and evenings. Install water-saving (low-flow) showerheads. This can reduce your hot water use by 20 to 40%. (You will also save on your water bill!) Shower, don’t bath; Reduce shower duration; Check that your geyser is well insulated; It is generally best to shower in the mornings for maximum savings, since then the water can be reheated during the day. (If you have the control dial on “SOLAR ONLY”, you can alternatively shower only in the evenings, as long as you remember that you won’t have hot water early in the morning.) A bigger geyser (200L vs 150L or 100L) is better for maximising savings, since more energy from the sun can be stored in the bigger volume of water.

See this video for more on how to use the Elon 100 solar PV water heater.