{"id":87949,"date":"2024-12-06T09:53:16","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T00:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=87949"},"modified":"2024-12-06T10:03:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T00:33:11","slug":"wifi-hot-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"wifi<\/p>\n

I inadvertently brought a flyer home from a trade show recently, and my wife did a double take that stopped her and the recycling process in its tracks. She was fascinated and horrified at the WiFi control logo on this hot water tank<\/p>\n

“I can’t even have a shower in peace now…WHY ! does hot water<\/strong> need WiFi?<\/em><\/strong>“<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

How else are the hackers going to steal your shower thoughts or pump up the profits of Big Deodourant Inc?<\/p>\n

That explanation didn’t fly, but it did hatch the idea for this post.<\/p>\n

Though at first blush it sounds like a gimmick, everything needs the internet now, especially when it might represent 30% of your household energy consumption.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We’re Dealing With Stored Energy<\/h2>\n

Though your tank is always full of water, the temperature will vary. As you draw off the hottest water from the top, cold water enters from the bottom and rises gently through the tank in a stratified layer.<\/p>\n

Of course that governs how much time you can spend under the shower. If your fellow housemates have just been through, there may only be a few litres of warmth left before the cold layer gets to the top, and the outlet pipe runs cold.<\/p>\n

\"wood

Ye Olde hot water schematic showing how stratification produces layers in the tank. A divorced heat pump can be installed in place of the wood fire.<\/p><\/div>\n

Simplicity Is The Ultimate Refinement<\/h3>\n

Traditionally, your hot water cylinder had a simple resistive element in the bottom, connected to a controlled load (i.e., off-peak) electricity. Convection stirred up the water until the entire tank was hot enough to turn the thermostat off, and everything settled again, ready for you to draw off the hottest water from the top in the morning.<\/p>\n

At 3.6kW, it’s probably 40% larger than your kettle. When the controlled load circuit was energised, this element would fizz with about 15amps of current. That was half of the grid connection capacity when houses were first electrified.<\/p>\n

The element would run for an hour or three depending on the amount of water used since the last heating cycle and the ambient temperature.<\/p>\n

Fun Fact; A properly efficient Passivhaus design & building process means the heat that “leaks” gradually from a hot water tank will be accounted for inside the house. If your house if properly built, 1.5 to 3kWh\/day is a useful amount of winter heating that’s otherwise lost if the tank is outside.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Either way it’s easy to imagine 3h x 3.6kW = 10.8kWh and in today’s money (23c\/kWh) that’ll be $2.50 thanks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some units have a second element, placed partway up, to heat the top \u2153 of the tank. This was connected to the anytime tariff and would only come on as a booster.<\/p>\n

WiFi Offers Monitoring<\/h2>\n

If you have an app with your hot water heater, you’ll know how much energy is in your tank. This is very handy if, say, you have a CatchControl that can be triggered remotely to heat up before you get home from a holiday. It can also show how much energy a hot cycle for your washing machine uses.<\/p>\n

As we move toward a flexible, renewable-powered grid, daytime solar will be the cheapest energy source. So, if you’re on your way home from work and have an appetite for a spa bath, knowing the whole tank is already hot can be a boon.<\/p>\n

If you’re running a motel or rental property, there are even options to monitor a fleet of units.<\/p>\n

\"Rheem

Not my favourite hot water service. IMO the user interface is dreadful.<\/p><\/div>\n

WiFi Offers Control<\/h2>\n

Not every house has solar or a roof to bolt it onto. If you have a Time Of Use retail electricity plan, then changing the timer function remotely is great.<\/p>\n

My recent first-hand experience with a Rheem heat pump was enough to swear me off them for life. Pressing buttons with indecipherable pictures to navigate complex menus was nigh on impossible. Consulting the poorly translated instructions wasn’t much better. Little wonder the plumber hadn’t set it up correctly.<\/p>\n

\"Rheem

Terrible photography was the least of my worries here. There are 8 or more non-tactile “buttons” with ambiguous pictures. Worse still, they change colour, but there’s nothing to indicate if brown or blue is meant to indicate “ON” or “OFF”<\/p><\/div>\n

WiFi Can Diagnose Problems<\/h2>\n

Perhaps you have a spendthrift shower hog in your house? Maybe the minister for finance is an energy beancounter? WiFi might not help with the conflict, but it will provide evidence for the murder case.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

In all seriousness, though, we have two screenshots that tell a story here.<\/h3>\n

Firstly, there’s a brand new installation of a divorced\u00a0hot water heat pump<\/a>, where the compressor unit (the heat source) is separate from the tank. The customer was unhappy with its performance, and the monitoring showed what was wrong at a glance<\/span>. The standing losses were horrific.<\/p>\n

\"Reclaim

Losing 20\u00baC overnight is a pretty steep curve.<\/p><\/div>\n

This particular installation was a little unusual. The plumber placed the compressor higher than the tank, which meant the hot water was thermosiphoning from the tank back through the compressor. When it wasn’t running to create heat, it was sapping off the stored energy.<\/p>\n

A simple non-return valve would easily fix this, but diagnosing it would have been more difficult without the graph.<\/p>\n

What really cinches the case is a graph from a similar model that used a conventional layout. Standing losses are much lower; and much more obvious when you have a picture to explain it.<\/p>\n

\"Reclaim

Perhaps there’s 5\u00baC lost here between 2am & the first shower at 7:30am<\/p><\/div>\n

Another Thing To Integrate<\/h2>\n

I would recommend that if you’re planning a new hot water service, solar power, EV charging, or any number of electrification technologies, the best way to keep them all under control is a dedicated internet router and WiFi network. Run cables where you can to permanently connect things. An hour’s labour running a communication wire will be repaid the first time you don’t have to call out a technician for a Wi-Fi problem.<\/p>\n

Where there’s no option for a cable, WiFi will, of course, do. However a router dedicated to energy things means when you change telco or NBN plan, all the tricky setup can be plugged straight back in without re-commissioning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I inadvertently brought a flyer home from a trade show recently, and my wife did a double take that stopped her and the recycling process in its tracks. She was fascinated and horrified at the WiFi control logo on this hot water tank “I can’t even have a shower in peace now…WHY ! does hot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":87956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-hot-water","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WiFi monitoring helps you track and control your hot water consumption like never before. But is it overkill?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WiFi monitoring helps you track and control your hot water consumption like never before. But is it overkill?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-06T00:23:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-06T00:33:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"629\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anthony Bennett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anthony Bennett\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d\"},\"headline\":\"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-06T00:23:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-06T00:33:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1147,\"commentCount\":35,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Solar Hot Water\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/\",\"name\":\"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-06T00:23:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-06T00:33:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"WiFi monitoring helps you track and control your hot water consumption like never before. But is it overkill?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/11\\\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":629},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wifi-hot-water\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Solar Hot Water\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/solar-hot-water\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SolarQuotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/solarquotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/au.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/solarquotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d\",\"name\":\"Anthony Bennett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Anthony Bennett\"},\"description\":\"Anthony joined the SolarQuotes team in 2022. He\u2019s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/anthony\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?","description":"WiFi monitoring helps you track and control your hot water consumption like never before. But is it overkill?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?","og_description":"WiFi monitoring helps you track and control your hot water consumption like never before. But is it overkill?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2024-12-06T00:23:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-06T00:33:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":629,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anthony Bennett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/"},"author":{"name":"Anthony Bennett","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d"},"headline":"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?","datePublished":"2024-12-06T00:23:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-06T00:33:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/"},"wordCount":1147,"commentCount":35,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg","articleSection":["Solar Hot Water"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/","name":"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-06T00:23:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-06T00:33:11+00:00","description":"WiFi monitoring helps you track and control your hot water consumption like never before. But is it overkill?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg","width":1200,"height":629},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wifi-hot-water\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Solar Hot Water","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Does Your Hot Water Need Wi-Fi?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d","name":"Anthony Bennett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Anthony Bennett"},"description":"Anthony joined the SolarQuotes team in 2022. He\u2019s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/anthony\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/heatpump-wifi-header.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-mSx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94157,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/hot-water-heat-pump-size-dont-get-left-cold-wet\/","url_meta":{"origin":87949,"position":0},"title":"Hot Water Heat Pump Size: Don’t Get Left Cold & Wet","author":"Tim Johnston","date":"September 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When it comes to heat pump hot water units, one of the most important decisions you\u2019ll make is choosing a tank big enough for your needs. As I\u2019ve heard one commentator put it, \u201cno one likes being left cold, wet and naked.\u201d Why Does Hot Water Heat Pump Tank Size\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hot Water Heat Pumps"","block_context":{"text":"Hot Water Heat Pumps","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/hot-water-heat-pumps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A man having a shower","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hot-water-heat-pump-size.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hot-water-heat-pump-size.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hot-water-heat-pump-size.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hot-water-heat-pump-size.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hot-water-heat-pump-size.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54722,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electric-hot-water-solar\/","url_meta":{"origin":87949,"position":1},"title":"Are Off Peak Hot Water Tariffs A Waste Of Time For Solar Owners?","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"October 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week Finn got me into hot water.\u00a0 He did this by referring me to a study called:: \"Analysis of electricity consumption and thermal storage of domestic electric water heating systems to utilize excess PV generation\" Let me translate that from Academeze into English for you: Are electric hot water\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Hot Water"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Off peak hot water tariffs and solar power","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/off-peak-hw.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":90365,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sunshine-on-tap-turn-your-hot-water-system-into-a-battery\/","url_meta":{"origin":87949,"position":2},"title":"Sunshine On Tap: Turn Your Hot Water System Into A Battery","author":"Max Opray","date":"March 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Don't you hate it when you're out and realise you've left the gas on at home? It's a nightmare when we do it with a gas stove, yet millions of Australians are essentially doing this every day to keep their water piping hot. There's a more efficient alternative: use a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hot Water Heat Pumps"","block_context":{"text":"Hot Water Heat Pumps","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/hot-water-heat-pumps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A tap and a sunset","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/silhouette-of-a-tap-with-water-being-dropped-at-su-2025-02-09-02-51-40-utc.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/silhouette-of-a-tap-with-water-being-dropped-at-su-2025-02-09-02-51-40-utc.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/silhouette-of-a-tap-with-water-being-dropped-at-su-2025-02-09-02-51-40-utc.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/silhouette-of-a-tap-with-water-being-dropped-at-su-2025-02-09-02-51-40-utc.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/silhouette-of-a-tap-with-water-being-dropped-at-su-2025-02-09-02-51-40-utc.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14874,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/conserving-hot-water-gives-better-return-diverter-relay-heat-pump-hot-water-system\/","url_meta":{"origin":87949,"position":3},"title":"Conserving Hot Water Gives A Better Return Than Any Diverter, Relay, Or Heat Pump Hot Water System","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"September 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been writing a lot about hot water lately and how to use the energy of the sun to get it.\u00a0 In fact, I've been concentrating on it so much I've neglected my other duties and gotten into hot water as a result.\u00a0 Mind you, this may have all been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Hot Water"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"shower of money","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/save-hot-water2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":78121,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/copper-solar-hot-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":87949,"position":4},"title":"Copper Hot Water Systems & Solar: A Timeless Combination","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"August 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"If we've noticed anything of late in the SolarQuotes office, it's that water heating isn't just a mundane task; it's a subject passionately debated and deeply entrenched. Who would have thought? With all the talk of woke water heaters and the virtue signalling of efficiency, it seems even the most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Hot Water"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Hot Water","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-hot-water\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hot water copper tank","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/copper-bottomed-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/copper-bottomed-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/copper-bottomed-header.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/copper-bottomed-header.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/copper-bottomed-header.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98332,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/taps-running-too-hot-theyre-probably-ill-tempered\/","url_meta":{"origin":87949,"position":5},"title":"Taps Running Too Hot Or Cold? They’re Probably Ill Tempered","author":"Max Opray","date":"April 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're getting scalded by the water pouring out of your taps or suffering through underwhelmingly tepid showers, there's a likely culprit: the tempering valve. Why Are Your Taps Running Too Hot Or Cold? Hot water storage systems are supposed to keep water at a temperature of at least 60C\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hot Water Heat Pumps"","block_context":{"text":"Hot Water Heat Pumps","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/hot-water-heat-pumps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A shower running too hot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tempering-valve.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tempering-valve.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tempering-valve.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tempering-valve.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tempering-valve.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87949"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88340,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87949\/revisions\/88340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}