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Lightwave immersion heater switch on off-peak supply.

Sparkingchip
I am finishing off someone else’s job, there were controlled from a phone using Lightwave immersion heater switches on both the peak and off peak supplies that the other guy took out for some unknown reason, now they need to be reinstalled.


Apparently the off peak Lightwave switch was only supplied by the off peak CU, but I am told it worked.


I am weighing up the possibilities:
  • The switch has a rechargeable battery and works when the power is off.

  • The app stores the command and executes it when the switch is powered up overnight.

  • The switch doesn’t work, but the customer doesn’t realise this as he is not at home when the switch is supposed to turn the off peak immersion heater off.


I am thinking the switch needs a permanent supply.
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    https://support.lightwaverf.com/hc/article_attachments/115002091351/LW934.pdf
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    Far too complicated for me to understand. Me of an old clunky rotating 24 hour disc reliable time switch era. I like the motto K.I.S. Keep it simple.


    Z.
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    No mention of a backup-battery in there, so off the top of my head I'd guess at one of two theories - ether the device is capable of remembering it's state while switched off (so it's dead during peak hours, but switches according to program during the off-peak period) - or (I notice it has volt-free contacts) the device was powered from the adjacent 24h supply, but still switched the off-peak supply to the immersion - it might then appear to work (i.e. app says it's on) but didn't actually heat until off-peak kicked in.


    Or of course they're just confused or fibbing.


      - Andy.
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    I tried pointing out that the off-peak immersion heater doesn’t need a controller, because it is connected to a time controlled supply and only gets powered up over night.


    But the customer is adamant that literally everything in his home has to be controlled via his phone.
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    Sparkingchip:

    I tried pointing out that the off-peak immersion heater doesn’t need a controller, because it is connected to a time controlled supply and only gets powered up over night.


    But the customer is adamant that literally everything in his home has to be controlled via his phone.


    It's probably useful if they're away for extended periods, but want to have hot water on their return.

       - Andy.


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    I emailed the technical helpline, the switch doesn’t have a backup battery and the app doesn’t store instructions to execute them when power is restored. 

    So it seems the switch did not work properly, but the customer probably did not realise.


    Initally I reinstalled the off-peak switch with two supplies, but then realised the storage heaters have been removed and only the off-peak immersion was actually connected to the off-peak supply, so moved it to the peak side of the consumer unit.


    That leaves the customer in complete control of the timing and means he can take advantage of new tariffs such as those offered by Octopus that means he could heat his hot water during a period when he is paid to consume electricity.
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    Sparkingchip:

    I emailed the technical helpline, the switch doesn’t have a backup battery and the app doesn’t store instructions to execute them when power is restored. 

    So it seems the switch did not work properly, but the customer probably did not realise.


    Initally I reinstalled the off-peak switch with two supplies, but then realised the storage heaters have been removed and only the off-peak immersion was actually connected to the off-peak supply, so moved it to the peak side of the consumer unit.


    That leaves the customer in complete control of the timing and means he can take advantage of new tariffs such as those offered by Octopus that means he could heat his hot water during a period when he is paid to consume electricity.


    I hope that you charged "consultant rates" Andy. You are just too good.


    Z.


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    Zoom probably said that a little "tongue in cheek" however yes you should be paid consultancy. How many times do we give advice freely only to find our customer repairs the problem themselves or gets A N Other to fix it. We spend some time and use our experience (knowledge and practice gained over many years) to reveal a "fix" but often we only charge if we physically carry out that fix.


    Perhaps if we considered that our total fee should be made up of 25% theory and 75% physical we could still get some recompense for our work.


    I have, a couple of times in the past, had former customers ring me to ask "I`ve got an electrician here who needs to know how you wired/modinfied XYZ so he can carry on with his works" and I`ve thought to myself - cheeky git, why didn`t they get me to do it? and how come an "electrician" can`t see something that should be relatively obvious? Of course I`ve replied "Oh it`s a while ago I`m afraid I can not remember!


    So well done Sparking for solving it (we can not always rely on the customer to tell us the right thing even with their best of intensions)
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    ebee:

    Zoom probably said that a little "tongue in cheek" however yes you should be paid consultancy. How many times do we give advice freely only to find our customer repairs the problem themselves or gets A N Other to fix it. We spend some time and use our experience (knowledge and practice gained over many years) to reveal a "fix" but often we only charge if we physically carry out that fix.


    Perhaps if we considered that our total fee should be made up of 25% theory and 75% physical we could still get some recompense for our work.


    I have, a couple of times in the past, had former customers ring me to ask "I`ve got an electrician here who needs to know how you wired/modinfied XYZ so he can carry on with his works" and I`ve thought to myself - cheeky git, why didn`t they get me to do it? and how come an "electrician" can`t see something that should be relatively obvious? Of course I`ve replied "Oh it`s a while ago I`m afraid I can not remember!


    So well done Sparking for solving it (we can not always rely on the customer to tell us the right thing even with their best of intensions)


    Frustrating. It was Friday afternoon at about 3.30p.m. and I was tired after a hard week. I received a phone call from a potential customer enquiring about his shower cable size perhaps being too small for his new 10.XkW electrical shower that his plumber was installing. I said that I would attend within a day or two. "Oh" said the enquirer, "I though that you could come today."


    If I did, just what could I do?


    Some people are best ignored. (Or at least made to wait a bit)


    Z.


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    I sure we have all been in situations where the customer tells us that something worked, but you are looking at it thinking there was no way it could have worked properly.


    Often the thing that worked until you did some completely unrelated work which you are now being told needs fixing because of something you done didn’t work properly in the first place.


    I have had some classics over the years, such as the MCB for the garage socket circuit trips when my husband plugs his (cheap) chop saw in and it’s only done it since you installed the new cooker circuit. So I called back and swapped the B16 for a B20 however payment was not forthcoming. It just makes you a bit more abrupt with people and you end up telling them quite clearly that things are their problem and you aren’t taking ownership of their problems.

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