The method of connecting a water heater and pump with insufficient network power

Summer residents and owners of suburban housing, in which the power supply is low, often encounter a problem that arises during the installation and operation of the electric hot water supply system at home.

Turning on a powerful submersible pump of an automatic pumping station with a running water heater leads to an overload of the power supply and tripping of a circuit breaker located in the shield near the electricity meter.

The reasons for this are clear, since the starting current of the electric motor can exceed its operating current by 2 to 3 times. And if silt or sand gets on the impeller of the pump, then not only the starting current increases, but also the working current.

When the inrush current occurs when other energy-intensive consumers are connected to the power grid, this is enough to trigger the machine. Indeed, for example, a storage water heater, installed in private houses with a capacity of 80 - 100 liters, has a consumption of 1.25 - 2.5 kW.

A downhole pump or domestic pumping station consumes approximately 0.6 - 2.5 kW. If at the time of start-up this power increases several times, then taking into account other consumers, the total total power consumed by the power supply by all consumers is many times higher than its allowed power and the cut-off current of the input automatic machine. In this case, the “machine knocks out”, the house is de-energized.

If there was, for example, an electric kettle at the pump site, you can go to the back room, garage or bathhouse, and turn off the water heater before turning on the electric kettle. Well, and accordingly, when the water in the kettle boils, follow the same path and the same manipulations in the reverse order. Although it is not convenient. But, when operating an automatic pumping station, the moment of its inclusion is unknown. The pressure in the diaphragm tank has decreased and the pump will turn on to bring the pressure to the set value.

Meanwhile, there is a simple way to avoid network congestion and shutting down the machine. To do this, it is enough to use any automation that, when the pump is turned on, will turn off the water heater for the duration of the water intake.

To do this, you can use a shield current relay (non-priority load disconnect relay). The pump must be included in the power supply circuit of the priority load, and the water heater in a non-priority line. Then, during the operation of the pump, the water heater will automatically turn off; when the pump is turned off, it will turn on. Since it takes only a few minutes to fill the membrane tank with water, the water in the storage water heater will not have time to cool.

F&F current relay

If the house has already completed repair and laying a special line from the shield with the relay to the outlet of the water heater is not possible, then it is advisable to use a new innovative household appliance - network load optimizer OEL-820. This device consists of two socket adapter blocks with a plug and a socket.

Through one, the pump is connected to the outlet, and through the other, the water heater is connected to the outlet. At the same time, the pump and the water heater can be located in different rooms, since the interaction between the OEL-820 units is remote, via a radio channel. After turning on, no configuration is required; everything starts working immediately, in automatic mode. No additional wires are required.

Nose and water connection using OEL-820

In this case, we assign the pumping station to block A, and the water heater to block B of the load optimizer. When the submersible pump is turned on, the water heater automatically shuts off while the membrane tank is filling.When the pump is turned off, the operation of the storage water heater resumes.

Yuri Shurchkov