EcoSolar Energy Conscious Design Limited
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turns on the pump to circulate water from the cylinder to the collector to raise the collector
temperature.
The Solar Controller also has the capability to data log and download to a PC, temperatures around
the system, solar radiation and the heat being recovered from the collector, these require the optional
sensors and flow meter to be installed, together with a USB interface.
The Solar Controller has four buttons of quadrant appearance located to the left of the LCD display.
Pressing the left and right buttons allows the user to scroll through the different temperatures being
monitored, the fault diagnosis screen and the two programming screens.
The up and down buttons are only used during system programming and should not be used by the
occupier. Generally, T1 is the temperature in the top of the solar collector, T2 is the temperature in the
bottom of the hot water cylinder and T3 is the temperature in the top of the hot water cylinder. Please
note the installer is able to change the sensor designation to suit a particular installation so the installer
should advise you on this.
The UVR61 controller can also automatically control a solar water heating system to heat several
different hot water cylinders from the same controller, the cylinders are prioritised. The controller can
also automatically control wetback boilers, turning on a pump to recover heat from the fire only when
there is heat to be recovered, i.e. the fire is hot. Multiple arrays of solar collectors in different locations
can also be controlled, such as when collectors cannot be installed facing North and are instead
installed facing East and West. The controller has an internal daily timer which is able to control 3
outputs, this function is often used to automate the backup heating. The controller will determine if
there is sufficient hot water available at a predetermined time of day and automatically turn on and off
the heating as required. The 6 sensors are able to be data logged via the optional D-Logg which can
download through a USB port to a computer, providing daily graphs of the data and system
performance and can also be exported in to Microsoft Excel.
Backup Water Heating
The backup water heating system needs to be managed to maximise the use of the solar heating
system, minimise the energy consumed heating water, and minimise the risk of Legionella. The backup
heating system is normally electric elements although gas, diesel and heat pump systems are also
common. Cylinders with electric elements, larger than 200 litres capacity, will generally have two
elements, one at low level the second at high level. Under normal circumstances the backup heating
source is turned off and is only turned on when additional hot water is required or to minimise the risk
of Legionella.
The UVR61 controller automatically turns on the water heating at a predetermined time of day. The
controller usually controls the top element. If you go away on holiday the Home / Away button
should be set to Away, this will stop the cylinder from being heated everyday.
Outside of the heated times, the user should monitor the weather and water temperature in the top of
the cylinder ( T3 ), over a short period of time they will determine the temperature below which
additional hot water is required, this temperature will vary from household to household and depend
upon hot water consumption. If the water does need to be heated the user should press the boost