Commercial and industrial geyser and boiler manufacturer Kwikot on September 18 launched its new Elon Smart Water heating system – a smart geyser system that uses solar-PV-generated electricity and/or grid power.

The Elon solution was developed by electricity technology startup company PowerOptimal in partnership with Kwikot and specialist electronics manufacturer Microtronix, which served as the manufacturing partner that developed the prototype and manufactures the systems.

The solution can also be retrofitted into most of Kwikot's existing geysers by replacing the thermostat components with the Elon components. It can also be incorporated into most of Kwikot's direct solar water heater geyser systems.

The solution uses a 3 kW element, which is standard for 150-ℓ geysers. The heating element can use direct current power from the solar panels and alternating current from the grid, said PowerOptimal co-founder and CEO Richard Fearon.

The solution is typically combined with 3 kW of solar PV panels.

Retrofitting the thermostat with the smart Elon system can be done by qualified plumbers. However, the solar PV system must be installed by accredited electricians who must issue an ancillary certificate of compliance, he emphasised.

Customers that have an existing solar rooftop system can also connect this to the Elon system.

The solution will monitor hot water use and adapt over time to routine uses, such as by heating water in anticipation. It can also be managed from a smart device, including setting parameters and viewing operational data from its sensors.

The Elon system also offers built-in leak detection and preventive maintenance intelligence. This will enable users to get alerts of leaks or when parameters indicate a potentially serious fault.

This should help to prevent bursts, and also enables the solution provider to provide rental models to eliminate upfront costs with a monthly bill, said Fearon.

"This allows us to provide hot water as a service, with customers only paying for the hot water they use. We can monitor and manage the system on their behalf," he said during the launch on September 18.

Further, the Elon Smart Water system connects via WiFi, but the partners are looking at incorporating other means of connectivity, as requested by customers and as informed by the performance of these new solutions over time.

"Our vision is to be part of the smart home. Our goal was to manage hot water differently," said PowerOptimal co-founder and COO Dr Sean Moolman.

Heating water can constitute between 40% and 50% of a typical household's electricity use, and there are many inefficiencies and risks that can be addressed through the use of a smart solar solution.

Electricity costs have risen by 5.6-times consumer inflation on average each year over the past 28 years, while water costs have risen by 4.6-times consumer inflation on average each year over the past 28 years, Moolman highlighted.

A ten-minute shower currently costs about R24, if a conventional 15-ℓ/minute showerhead is used, and one bath costs about R14, he illustrated.

Using solar power to heat the water and sensors to monitor the geyser provide immediate cost and prevention benefits, while analysing patterns of use and adapting operations can provide further improvements in efficiency.

The payback period for the Elon system is between two to four years, he added.

"Water is also no longer an insignificant part of hot water costs. Water and electricity are basic necessities to improve quality of life in South Africa, but the very high increases in their prices do not paint a good picture of enabling people to access them."

By comparison, the price of solar PV modules has fallen from about $100/W in 1976 to about $0.20/W in 2021. In South Africa, the prices have fallen from about R6/W in 2017 to about R2.40/W this year, and R2.10/W in the past few months.

"It is amazing how this technology has improved."

Water heating in South Africa consumes around 17% of the country's total energy and, because the country uses mainly coal-fired electricity, the carbon footprint of its hot water is also very high compared with other countries.

"The carbon footprint of our hot water is larger than the carbon footprint of Sri Lanka," Moolman illustrated.

There are an estimated seven-million residential geysers in South Africa, and Kwikot holds a market share of about 60%. Most of these can be retrofitted with the Elon system to turn them into smart, green geysers in people's homes, he said.