Another reason to avoid solar water heating ?

[ChrisB]

mmmmmmmm with gas going up by 35% who cares if your rinsing with hot solar water or not.


ChrisB

[visioninthedark]

What about using one of those shower mixer taps to set the maximum water temperature before it goes in the machine? If it was plumbed into the sink tap you could run the tap for a mo to get the warm water through before switching the machine on. The splash of water would at least be warm and if there was an error message showing up then you could simply turn down the temp on the mixer unit. Rough init when a washing machine tries to exert control on your life...

[NickJ]

having been through the process of selecting a dishwasher to work on hot fill to use with solar water we found the Miele range allow hot filling up to 60C and the use of solar heated water is specifically mentioned in the manual. This feature was denied by the half wit in the local electrical store but we checked with miele and bought online!

Obviously you need to ensure you have a thermostatic blending valve on your hot water to avoid solar water at 90 going in but to be honest this should be fitted to any system with solar as you dont want to try and wash your hands under water at 90 either

Also the meile machines may not be cheap but they are designed with a 20 year service life and are very nice to use.

[microman]

Likewise the Bosch we have just bought recommends cold but does allow hot up to 60 C.

[Joe T]

I wonder how long it will be until we go over to one input, just cold like France and other European countries.

Also noticed on a lot of these appliances they now only have a soft touch type power on button, no good for timers etc, whats that about?
Thats the trouble with ordering online, now I have to stay up late just to turn it on for the Economy7

[nino500]

This is an intersting one.

I've been a boat dweller for a couple of years in the recent past and used to read a lot of related publications.

Boat and barge owners need to use as little electrical power as possible to stay within the power limits of their inverters. Therefore a washing mashine that takes a hot fill is essential.

I remember an article in a barge magazine where the owners found a range of machines which were full domestic size but had no internal heater element so your wash temperature is whatever the hot water system supplies. I think they were made by Philips but only availabe to the US market for some reason. I'll have a look back through my barge magazines and see if I can find it.

This would be Ideal for a green home as you would be likely to be using inverter mains power as well as solar water heating.

Nino.

[Night Train]

This would be Ideal for a green home as you would be likely to be using inverter mains power as well as solar water heating.

Nino.

Using less power can't be a bad thing where ever we live. It would be interesting to know what is available.

[battyv]

HIhi
I have run our cold fill Bosch on hot water from tank (wood and solar heated). Tried various setting, quick eco etc.
Also had power meter in line.
Result was around 20% electricity saving, and yes I do try and run cold water out of supply line, especially for first fill.
I'm paying about 16p/unit for my 100% renewable electric.
So the eco wash we usually use costs around 20p and with hot fill was around 14p to 16p.
Having just put up 2kw wind turbine I have got positively retentative about SAVING it before having to generate it.
If anyone comes up with pv's significantly below £4/watt let us know.
cheers

[NickJ]

Sadly PVs below £4/watt retail is looking less likley at present due to production limitations and a silicon shortage. however with the much touted credit crunch etc. things may change. Fortunatly for me (I work in the renewables industry) demand for PV remains strong at the moment....less good if you want cheap PV. You could probably get it below £4 if you bought enough though...PM me if you need 4kw plus!

[MB]

Maplin are selling a solar pack consisting of 60 watts of amorphous panels (four panels), plus solar controller for £199.

Okay, so amorphous isn't as good as crystaline, but I've had some of these panels for the past 15 months and they're pretty good. Compared to my crystaline panels they're bigger, but watt for watt they generate very similar amounts of electrickery.