Solamiser User Manual
Solamiser
User
Manual
1
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.
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Status LED
Fixing Holes
Heat Sink
Access Screws
Current Clamp
Jack Socket
Cable Gland
Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser
L
E
N
16A
MCB
H1
Booster -break
before make change
over switch
Thermostat
Immersion + E
Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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Solamiser User Manual
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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