User Manual

PowerOptimal Elon® 100 User Manual
Version date: 2022/06/28
Page 5 of 24
Version number: 2.15
© PowerOptimal (Pty) Ltd 2022. The content of this document is confidential and all rights to the intellectual
property and/or information contained herein remain vested in PowerOptimal, except if otherwise agreed in
writing.
1.2 Main system components
The main components of the system are as follows:
• Solar modules with struts, brackets and cabling
• PowerOptimal Elon® unit with controller
• Existing or new water heater or geyser (hot water tank with AC heating element and AC
thermostat)
• Isolators for grid and solar connections
1.3 Deciding on size of Elon® system (basic guide)
The table below provides a basic guide to selecting the size of your Elon® system based on number of
people in the household and/or hot water use. The Installation Manual (which you can download
from
www.poweroptimal.com/manuals) contains a more detailed guide.
HOW MANY SOLAR PV MODULES DO I NEED?
Solar PV array size
(kW
p
)
Showers per
day*
50%+ of daily hot
water use provided
for how many people?
How many
people off-grid
for hot water?
Typical number
of solar PV
modules
1 – 1.2
2 - 3 modules
1.2 – 1.6
3 - 4 modules
1.5 – 2
4 - 5 modules
2.4 – 3.2
(two parallel PV strings)
6 - 8 modules
3 – 4
(two parallel PV strings)
8 - 10 modules
* 6-minute showers at 40 ºC with 8 litre/min (low-flow) showerheads
WHAT SIZE GEYSER ELEMENT IS THE BEST MATCH?
Solar PV array size
(kW
p
)
Best matching geyser
element size
(kW)
2
nd
choice geyser
element size*
(kW)
Geyser (water tank) size
(litres)
1 – 1.2
4
3
100 - 200
1.2 – 1.6
3
4 or 2
100 - 200
1.6 – 2
2
3
150 – 300
2 – 4
(two parallel PV strings)
4
NA
200+
* Second choice element size would reduce efficiency by 10 – 20%.