SolarEdge's new immersion controller

I have been installing the SolarEdge immersion controllers for a long time now. They are a great piece of kit and as with all SolarEdge kit, it just works.

However, theres a new one out and, as has been the trasdition for many years, new kit gets tested before any of my clients get to have one. Got to be sure its up to scratch and all that.

So firstly theres a quick look at the guts of the beast.

This is the old one, I have obviously uninstalled it at this point.

And this is the new one, cover off and all its inner gubbins on view.

Theres a fair bit of difference between them. It looks like the communications board, the one on top, is now the common comms board as used in the inverters. This makes a lot of sense and allows production to be simplified as well as makinsome repairs really easy.

Its great to be rid of the twiddly indicator/button board on the old unit, and I am a big fan of not having to wind mounting screws in through the casing.

Speaking of the casing, this is a massive leap forward. The unit now has a casing which matches the new display free inverters, so all the kit looks good now, a small thing but I do like it. It hangs on a miniature version of the inverter bracket so installation is much simpler, a one handed operation now where the old one was two hands whilst wishing for a third.

Once the unit is mounted, wiring is a simple operation, a grid connection and a connection to the immersion heater (or whatever load).

Theres two things which I am not massively keen on. The first is the Ferrite beads. Quite fiddly to fit with the double wrapping opposing setup on the grid AC. It feels like the bead is just a bit too big for the case. Its not a big deal in my setup where theres lots of room to get in there, but I imagine in some cupboard spaces we get weedged into it could be a right pain.

The second thing is the antenna. In the manual it states its a seperate kit, but in the box its prefitted. It is a minor issue, one which I think has more to do with pace of development in SolarEdge than anything else. Either the packaging will change to match the manual or vice versa.

From there on out its plain sailing. Switch on the power, use the SetApp app, sort the name out please, and configure as per any other home automation device.

Scheduling etc is exactly the same so no real big changes in configuration.

So after all that you kind of get left wondering what the point was. Sure its got snazzy new hardware and a new case so it looks like all the other bits and bobs, but tis not really doing anything different is it?

Well yes, it does do some different things. Oddly though, the installation manual makes no mention of it. There is the facility to add a tank temp sensor, possibly two. Its a standard PT100 sensor which for some reason SolarEdge have chosen to package seperately in a awful package add on. Whilst there is no chance I will be buying the SolarEdge item, I do happen to have a few PT100 sensors kicking around, underfloor heating, solar thermal and heat pumps tends to gather random parts. I shall just fit one of those and see what control options I get from there. Also I wouldn't recommend installing the probe in the location shown in the manual, at the top of the tank makes no sense.

I expect scenarios will be involved somewhere.

Perhaps a destratification pump driven by the temp sensor.

But thats another article for another day.