Verdict
The MyEnergi Eddi is an awesome concept if you wish to benefit from an funding in solar panels or wind energy. It works brilliantly, chopping your gasoline use and sometimes treating you to a full tank of sizzling water, however its success is depending on how a lot electrical energy you’re producing, and how a lot you’re utilizing elsewhere within the residence. Its increase capabilities – and significantly Budget Boost – can assist you save much more, however they’re most likely not cause sufficient to justify shopping for it in case you don’t even have a supply of inexperienced electrical energy reminiscent of solar panels.
Pros
- Supports residence technology and cargo balancing
- Variable energy diversion from 100W as much as 3kW
- Powerful and fairly simple app
Cons
- May want non-compulsory elements for the perfect outcomes
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Automatic or scheduled water heatingThe Eddi diverts any spare solar energy into heating your water. It might be scheduled to make use of grid energy when it’s low-cost, too -
App managementThe MyEnergi app helps you view and configure water heating. It additionally works with different MyEnergi merchandise
Introduction
MyEnergi’s Eddi is known as a solar energy diverter, however in actuality it’s a bit extra versatile than that. A smallish steel field, it connects between your fuse board and an immersion heater, and might management the quantity of electrical energy flowing to your water tank.
The Eddi is most helpful for individuals with a variable type of residence electrical energy technology, reminiscent of solar or wind. With the precise connections, it may well monitor the quantity of energy flowing in or out of your residence, and use any extra electrical energy to warmth up a tank filled with sizzling water. That’s not its solely trick, nevertheless. The Eddi might be scheduled or configured to work with variable tariffs, which means you could possibly get cheaper and greener sizzling water by utilizing an in a single day off-peak price.
This belongs to a household of MyEnergi merchandise designed to work collectively. As such, it goes properly with the Zappi automobile charger or Libbi battery, all of which use the identical app. But whereas it’s somewhat area of interest, it’s not distinctive – the Marlec Solar iBoost is somewhat cheaper and does a lot the identical job. The Eddi comes with a 3 yr guarantee, which you’ll be able to improve to 5 years.
Design and set up
- Professional set up wanted
- Smart, rugged design
- Handy show
The MyEnergi Eddi is a reasonably neat and compact unit, with a small backlit mono display screen managed by a couple of buttons. It might be fitted anyplace on the cable between your client unit (fuse field) and immersion heater, however there are a couple of concerns. Firstly, it wants a wired or wi-fi connection to the web, and secondly when you’ve got a supply of technology, the Eddi wants to have the ability to measure how a lot energy your residence is importing from or exporting to the grid.
This might be achieved in a couple of methods. The Eddi comes with a CT (present transformer) clamp, which might be fitted round the principle energy cable getting into your residence. If you’ll be able to’t or don’t wish to run a cable, the non-compulsory Harvi hub gives a wi-fi different. With the CT put in, the Eddi is aware of in case you’re exporting energy, and might ramp up its output so this spare energy is used to warmth water as a substitute.
If you’re shopping for the Eddi as a part of a wider MyEnergi set up, maybe together with the Zappi automobile charger, you should use a CT clamp related to a different gadget within the setup to measure grid utilization. For instance, in my system a CT related to the Zappi measures grid efficiency, whereas the one on the Eddi screens the output from my solar panels. This tells the system how a lot we’re taking or giving to the grid, and how a lot we’re producing at any given second. The Eddi helps two CT clamps, so you’ll be able to have it monitor each your grid and solar if that’s most handy.
While I’m normally pleased to attach numerous electrical units, the Eddi is a job for the professionals. Any suitably certified electrician can match it, however you’ll get extra assist setting it up in case you select one who’s been skilled by MyEnergi. If it’s a part of a solar set up, you also needs to search for an MCS licensed installer.
You can, in principle, use the Eddi to regulate two separate water tanks – or a appropriate heater just like the Everhot Electric Stove – however there are limitations. It’ll solely energy one gadget at a time, every with a most 3.6 kilowatt (kW) enter. And as a result of it really works by various the output energy, it’s solely appropriate for ‘dumb’ hundreds – you’ll be able to’t for instance configure it to divert energy to a washer or different equipment.
MyEnergy sells an non-compulsory relay and sensor board, which helps some extra superior installations. For instance, this improve lets the Eddi work with some warmth pumps, utilizing spare energy solely till there’s sufficient for the warmth pump to start working, after which it should hand over. This mixture additionally helps legionella management cycles, the place a warmth pump can set off the Eddi to warmth water to the upper temperatures wanted to kill off any micro organism.
Core options
- Supports residence energy technology
- Good management and knowledge visualisations within the app
The principal job of the Eddi is to assist individuals benefit from their solar panels or different residence technology sources. Because it normally prices extra to import electrical energy than you’ll be able to promote it for, it is smart to make use of as a lot of your personal electrical energy as attainable moderately than exporting it into the grid. As such, the Eddi retains a watch on your grid connection, and whenever you begin exporting energy, it steps up its personal energy use to convey the export again all the way down to zero. If you then begin importing – say since you’ve turned a few lights on – the Eddi reduces its personal energy use till the home is once more in steadiness.
Depending on how a lot energy you’re producing and utilizing, the Eddi can fluctuate the ability it diverts to your sizzling water cylinder from only a hundred watts as much as its 3.6kW most. In apply, a 3kW-rated immersion heater will draw a most of 3kW even when extra energy is obtainable.
When the tank is as much as temperature, its thermostat breaks the circuit and the Eddi stops sending energy, which you’ll be able to see occurring at about 12:15 within the screenshot under. If the tank cools down otherwise you run off some sizzling water, it’ll begin heating once more, which occurred briefly at round 13:30.
Diverting electrical energy on this means may end in a full tank of sizzling water earlier than the tip of the day which, in comparison with heating it with gasoline on the January 2024 worth cap of 7p per kilowatt hour (kWh), may prevent round 60p. Even on days with out sufficient spare energy to totally warmth your tank, energy diverted by the Eddi will cut back the quantity of mains electrical energy or gasoline you’ll want to complete heating your water. Quite aside from saving you cash, that reduces the carbon affect of your sizzling water heating.
The Eddi also can ‘increase’ your sizzling water, heating it flat out with no matter electrical energy is obtainable. That’s a necessary characteristic in case you don’t have another heater reminiscent of a gasoline boiler, however it may additionally prevent cash. If you’re on an EV or time-of-use tariff the place your off-peak electrical energy price is the identical or lower than you pay for gasoline, it’ll be cheaper to warmth with electrical energy – and also you’re extra prone to be utilizing energy from low-carbon sources.
In apply, I’ve discovered the Eddi to do an awesome job of balancing electrical energy use in our residence. On a sunny day, our solar panels will usually generate sufficient spare electrical energy to warmth a full tank of water – which takes about 8kWh. While this is occurring, our sensible meter normally reveals that we’re neither importing nor exporting grid energy. This may change momentarily if the solar goes behind a cloud, or we activate a tool, however steadiness is normally restored inside 5-10 seconds. The financial savings have been important: through the 4 non-heating months from May-August 2023, our household of 4 used simply 360kWh of gasoline, value about £30 in whole.
MyEnergi’s app permits you to control your energy use and financial savings. Its glorious dashboard offers you a stay image of any technology, together with the energy being diverted to the Eddi and any grid imports and exports. You also can name up historic knowledge for any earlier day, or for the earlier week, month or yr. Selecting the Eddi itself permits you to view its whole energy use or, if it’s configured with two heaters, view every individually.
Advanced options
- Advanced scheduling options
- Fits in to the MyEnergi ecosystem
Strangely, for the best technique to automate boosting you’ll must ignore the app, create an account on the MyEnergi web site, then inform it your energy provider and tariff. Now you should use the web site’s Budget Boost characteristic to set an electrical energy worth under which your Eddi will mechanically warmth your water. This works for normal off-peak tariffs, however it’s superb for variable, time-of-use tariffs like Octopus Energy’s Agile Octopus, which might often go very low, and even pay you to make use of electrical energy.
Users with residence technology can use this characteristic to benefit from their funding by utilizing a mixture of their very own energy and boosting to warmth their water. Some customers with good export charges and a variable import tariff could typically discover they will purchase electrical energy for lower than they’ll be paid to export any surplus to the grid. Setting the Budget Boost threshold to your export price implies that the Eddi will use this low-cost grid energy, which means that extra of your personal technology is spare to promote.
The Eddi works properly by itself, however pairing it with the Zappi EV charger opens up new prospects. The app permits you to modify priorities between the 2, in order that – for instance – spare solar energy is used to warmth your water first, then cost your automobile later. If the automobile is the precedence, the Eddi will use any spare energy till there’s sufficient to fulfill the minimal 1.4kW required for EV charging, from which level the system will cease heating water and divert all spare energy to the automobile.
The MyEnergi product household additionally consists of the Libbi modular residence storage battery. This is managed by way of the identical app, and might be prioritised in the identical means. Give two or extra units equal precedence and the spare energy shall be divided between them. However, except you’ve acquired a giant solar panel setup, you may discover that they aren’t all totally heated or charged by the tip of the day.
The Eddi will work round most different automobile chargers, even when it’s not strictly conscious of them – it’ll simply use any spare energy it detects whether or not or not your automobile is charging. With third-party storage batteries, there’s an opportunity that the Eddi may interpret a tiny quantity of energy being exported whereas the battery discharges as spare energy from residence technology. This may set off a scenario the place the Eddi grabs all the ability from the battery and exhausts its cost.
Fortunately you’ll be able to configure an export threshold under which the Eddi received’t divert any energy, which ought to stop this drawback. In some installations you may alternatively match a CT clamp to the battery’s mains connection, giving the Eddi direct sight of the ability flowing out and in of it.
Latest offers
Should you purchase it?
Make probably the most of solar energy
If you’ve acquired solar or wind energy, the Eddi may offer you plentiful sizzling water alongside cash and carbon financial savings. It’ll allow you to profit from low-cost off-peak charges, too.
Best for properties with technology
While you’ll be able to nonetheless use the Eddi with off-peak energy, it most likely received’t pay for itself in case you don’t have a supply of renewable energy.
Final Thoughts
As a solar-aware energy diverter, the MyEnergi Eddi is one thing of a distinct segment product. Designed to work with sizzling water cylinders, it may well additionally play properly with different low-carbon units reminiscent of automobile chargers or – with an non-compulsory improve – a warmth pump.
The Eddi isn’t depending on residence technology, due to its intelligent help for variable and off-peak tariffs. However, it’s more than likely to avoid wasting you cash in case you’ve acquired solar panels or another type of micro technology, through which case it may minimize your gasoline use dramatically – significantly in the summertime months.
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Tested for greater than 12 months
FAQs
You can wire the Eddi your self, putting in it in sequence with the immersion heater. Unless you’re a really assured DIYer, nevertheless, we’d strongly advocate getting an electrician to do it for you.
Hot water is usually a good spot to ‘retailer’ extra solar energy, significantly in case you don’t have a battery or an EV to place it in. Depending on your use and how a lot solar you may have, they might pay for themselves inside a few years. However, some households can export solar electrical energy for greater than they’d pay to warmth water with gasoline or off-peak electrical energy. If that’s you, an Eddi may not prevent as a lot.
An Eddi detects whenever you’re producing extra energy than you’re utilizing, and diverts the spare energy into your immersion heater. That means you get free sizzling water.