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Specifications for switch?

whjohnson

I don't generally touch anything to do with solar kit but have been asked to come up with a method whereby an immersion heater can be switched from mains to solar or solar to mains.

A straight forword solution is simply a change over switch with 2 supplies in and one supply out to the heater, but because one of the input supplies is coming from solar - post-inverter so mains voltage - I would like to know if I can use a conventional change over switch or are there some special requiements for switching the mains output derived from a solar supply?

Comments welcome

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  • Does the solar have a separate output for feeding the immersion?

    Normally, the output of the inverter is just wired into the mains.  In which case, creating two separate circuits for feeding the immersion, and adding a switch to choose one or other of them, is pretty pointless.  You have no control over whether the immersion is getting solar or mains electricity.

    Some inverters have a UPS-like output for running important appliances, such as freezers.  But even they will be running off the mains if it's night time and the battery (if fitted) is flat.

    The off-the-shelf solar diverters monitor the mains supply using a current clamp, and turn on the immersion if they see you exporting spare electricity.  I'm not sure if they have an emergency bypass.

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  • Does the solar have a separate output for feeding the immersion?

    Normally, the output of the inverter is just wired into the mains.  In which case, creating two separate circuits for feeding the immersion, and adding a switch to choose one or other of them, is pretty pointless.  You have no control over whether the immersion is getting solar or mains electricity.

    Some inverters have a UPS-like output for running important appliances, such as freezers.  But even they will be running off the mains if it's night time and the battery (if fitted) is flat.

    The off-the-shelf solar diverters monitor the mains supply using a current clamp, and turn on the immersion if they see you exporting spare electricity.  I'm not sure if they have an emergency bypass.

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