Hot water system Tariff 31 controlled load now kicking in at 12:30pm

[Robw1]

Hi,

Noticed that my draw from the grid started going up at 12:30pm every day and that the usage at 12:30am went down to nothing, it used to be that the hot water system on Tariff 31 controlled load would start at 12:30am but now it seems to start at 12:30pm.

Also noticed that the rates for Tariff 31 controlled load have increased to $0.2558, higher than the general usage charges. Seems that it is straight from the grid as well and I can't use my excess solar generation in the middle of the day to power the hot water system.

Has anyone else noticed this or have advice on how to get my hot water system off the Tariff 31 controlled load circuit?

Thanks 

[NeilC]

@Paulsod 

Seems to me that you are not going about this in the correct way.

To start with, if the solar system only supplies 2.5kWh you will always have a shortfall as most heating elements are 15a and so will require 3.6kWh to heat the water.

I presume that you mean that you when had a DIGITAL METER installed that you mean a SMART METER installed, I also presume that when going to the smart meter you changed your plan to a Time of Use Tariff.

With TOU your cheapest tariff will be the Shoulder Rate, which is typically from 10:00 till 15:00 and that is the time that your timer (or in your case, when you turn on the Hot Water unit) will allow you to get the cheapest rate.

However, you must realise that you will always pay to heat your hot water while you do not have the capacity to generate enough power to completely power the hot water unit.

Also don't forget that any other electrical devices in the house will also consume your solar generation (fans, fridges, TV's etc).

Remember the times before and after Shoulder are the most expensive rates of the day and you should avoid turning on your hot water unit during those PEAK times.

You also must realise why you can produce 3kWh but only put 2.5kWh into the grid. The reason being that on overcast days you may still be able to produce 2.5kwh.

Our system is a 6.6kw with a 5kWh inverter and so on some overcast days we can still put 5kWh into the grid.

I would also suggest that you look at HEAT PUMP hot-water units. They use considerably less power, ours consumes about 3.5kWh over the average 3 hours a day that it takes to heat the water.

Further more ours was free and you may also be able to apply for a free one in your state.

Overcast day here in Adelaide, 09:00 at the moment, and we are generating about 1.5kWh which is about half of our normal output for a typical day at this time and will still be enough to supply our complete house including the hot-water unit.

In our last 90 day billing period we only consumed 4.977kWh of power during the shoulder period and in this current period (10 days so far) we have consumed .038kWh (cost is $0.0128 so far) as most days have been overcast.

[Paulsod]

 

 I presume you don't know Smart Meters are called Ditigal Meters as well. Even Agl has them as Ditigal Meters.

Obliviously you didn't thoroughly read my posting as I have 3.6kw as the power needed for my Water Heater plus the 2.5kw my Solar Panel would produce. So obliviously there would be a shortfall of 1.1kw that has to come from the Grid.

I presume you don't know the procedures involved of changing Tariffs in this circumstance.

After I had the Analogue Meter removed by a Energex Contractor I had to get another Electrican to remove the Tariff 31/33 Control Box. That was removed this morning so now I have to wait for paperwork to reach Energex who will then notify AGL of the change. Who will then notify me of the different plans. Easy, hey!

The other mistakes was presuming what Tariff is better for me without knowing more details. As S.A is the worst State for Electric prices (see above), unless you know what a person circumstances are, the less presuming about Tariffs you do the better. Also having a Heat Pump Water Heater comes under that category.

Plus you seem to vary what a overcast day is. It is a totally grey cloudy day. Your 2nd statement about half the power is correct.

Cheers

Paul

P.s I would urge everybody to check other Electric Companies for better deals. AGL use to be good, now they come in at 5th spot (Carnstars rating in S.A). Carnstar has AGL as 3rd in Qld. I know that is wrong as Globird also beats them.