Heatrae Sadia launches Megaflo Eco Solar PV Ready to provide free hot water by harnessing excess electricity

Heatrae Sadia has launched Megaflo Eco Solar PV Ready, an unvented cylinder that heats hot water for free by harnessing excess electricity generated by domestic solar PV arrays.

Around 877,000 homes in the UK have solar PV panels installed, with almost 4,000 installations carried out in April 2016 alone*. However, it is estimated that 50 per cent of users are not consuming the power produced by their PV panels. This is because properties are generally unoccupied during the daytime, and electrical appliances and lighting are therefore not being used during daylight hours when the electricity is being generated.

The Megaflo Eco Solar PV Ready cylinder has been designed to ensure any surplus electricity can be used to heat hot water, free of charge, in turn reducing utility bills. Any power that is generated in addition to the household’s normal requirements will be diverted to the cylinder, rather than being sent to the grid. The water is heated to the desired temperature, controlled by a thermostat, ready for the household to use when required, with high-performance insulation keeping the water hot.

To avoid any draw from the grid, a ‘buffer’ of energy will be retained; typically, if there is 2.2kW of export energy, the controller will divert 2kW into the cylinder’s immersion heater, leaving a 200kW buffer.

Megaflo Eco Solar PV Ready can be used in conjunction with any PV array, whether existing or new. Installing the cylinder is simple; the wiring is identical to the Megaflo Eco, and providing the installer has a G3 unvented qualification they don’t need any additional training. A separate remote control – the Megaflo Buddy – enables the end user to control and modify settings, and displays the energy and savings being generated.

Megaflo Eco Solar PV Ready will not affect the property owner’s FiT Generation payments, this is a ‘deemed’ usage contract that has an export tariff paid, whether the energy is consumed or not. Where an export meter is fitted the benefits of Megaflo Eco PV Ready can still outweigh the costs of heating water directly from the grid.

A programmable timer with dual times is included, so that electricity from the grid can still be used to heat the hot water when required and the user can take advantage of economy energy tariffs.

John Forster, product manager at Heatrae Sadia, said: “In a household with a PV array generating a 2kW surplus and a 200 litre Megaflo Eco Solar PV Ready cylinder, after five hours the hot water temperature can potentially increase from 20^oC to 60^oC. Cloudy weather will of course affect the amount of energy produced, but even then the water will still be pre-heated, reducing the amount of energy required to heat the cylinder.”

Megaflo Eco Solar PV Ready is available in direct versions – in volumes of 210, 250 and 300 litres – and indirect versions – in volumes of 170, 210, 250 and 300 litres. The cylinder is NEMKO approved.

For further information, visit www.megaflo.com or call 01603 420 220.