i Boost failing to heat water

Hi, can someone help please. We have i Boost with our solar panels to heat water, however it does not work properly, despite having plenty of excess of energy by solar panels. Initially, once the electrician installed the i Boost, it was not recognising the excess of energy, so we thought the i boost was faulty, however- electrician came and checked everything and said it is unlikely, called the GivEnergy themselves. This was resolved by enabling the setting by Givenergy on the ( computer) settings and that very day the I boost was working when recognised excess of energy set on default setting. However it was working only for a week , although in this time, it never gave us enough of hot water - water was lukewarm. By this time I have noticed we have not saved any energy in the last week using i boost. I noticed the i boost will switch on - you can hear the fan of the i boost going, but will go off within few seconds, stating - water heating off. Does anyone know if this is a faulty unit or we should give ring givenergy again to check the settings?

What happens when you use 'Boost'? Could the immersion element be faulty?

When I press boost for 15 minutes, it will work. And it does not cut off. We checked the thermostat resistance and this is fine too.

https://www.marlec.co.uk/troubleshootmysolariboost/ - check out 'Water Heating Off' troubleshooting.

IBoost has nothing to do with GivEnergy and the system are independent of each other. AFAIK there are no settings in the GivEnergy Portal that would affect the iBoost.
You need to check that the CT clamp is installed correctly and that the iBosst is able to receive the signal from the remote sender.

Do you know which setting 'This was resolved by enabling the setting by Givenergy on the ( computer) settings and that very day the I boost was working when recognised excess of energy set on default setting.' referes to and have you checked it? Some settings in the inverters can 'mysteriously' reset themselves or get changed when other setings are enabled.

Also, are you running any batteries? There's not much excess generation at this time of year, so maybe the batteries are consuming all the generation?

I'm wondering if the iBoost is responding to excess generation before the inverter decides to nick it for the battery. The iBoost ramps up and then there's no power left.

Take a look at this from the iBoost FAQs relating to using iBoost with Battery storage:

• The Solar iBoost+ has a 100W export threshold before it starts to divert energy to the immersion. This smooths out any rapid changes in energy consumption and generation so that only on-site generation is consumed.
  -
• From April 2019 the Solar iBoost+ was released with a programmable function to raise the cut-in threshold primarily to accommodate some battery charging systems with thresholds around and above 100W. The homeowner can decide how to prioritise self consumption depending on the cut-in threshold of the particular battery system installed.
  -
• Battery Charging Prioritised – where the battery cut-in is <50W the Solar iBoost+ can be installed without adjustment. Where the battery cut-in is close to or more than 100W the we suggest a raise in the Solar iBoost+ a cut-in level of 50W higher to avoid any conflict in operation. Some battery systems send low levels of power to the grid when in operation which can be seen as export by the Solar iBoost+. Simply raise the Solar iBoost+ level in 50W increments until any conflict is overcome. We recommend that battery systems cut-in levels be set as low as possible if adjustable, to maximise self consumption.
  -
• Hot Water Prioritised – Set the battery charging cut-in level to >100W, maintain a gap of 50W between the battery cut-in and Solar iBoost+ settings if possible.
  -
• Note: Solar iBoost+ and Solar iBoost (original) models prior to April 2019 are also compatible alongside battery systems with thresholds under 100W without any changes normally. For battery systems with a higher cut-in the Sender 250 is available on line to retro-fit in place of the existing Sender, this cuts-in the Solar iBoost+ at 250W.

Thanks
How do i check or adjust the Solar iboost + settings?
Regards
Steve

From the manual:

Using Solar iBoost+ Alongside Battery Storage?
Solar iBoost+ has a default cut in threshold of 100W of export before diversion commences. This
is programmable incrementally upwards to 500W. When the battery storage threshold is <100W
the Solar iBoost+ can be installed as supplied in its default mode resulting in battery storage
prioritised with water heating following when the batteries are full.
If a higher level is needed to accommodate a battery storage system with >100W cut-in follow
these instructions:

1. View the Programming section, see over. Follow the instructions to set the time and date
   of the clock.
2. On the last press of button A confirming the date and time “Storage Offset 100W
   (Default)” will display.
3. Press Button B to step 50W increments up to a maximum of 500W. When the level
   required is reached press button A to save.
4. The Boost settings menu appears, proceed to make any settings required or leave the
   unit for approximately 30 seconds to time out.
   Should the user choose to prioritise water heating adjustments to the battery storage threshold
   may be required.
   Caution: Position battery storage CT and Solar iBoost+ Sender clamps approximately 10cm
   apart to avoid measurement errors.

What are the battery cut in levels on a Giv 9.5 battery and 5.0 Hybrid inverter Gen 1

Thanks
I wish the installer had left me a manual. Found it on the web now

I use 200Watts on my iBoost and it plays nicely with my Gen1 Hy5.
I don't think that there are any applicable settings in the GivEnergy settings.

Zakalwe Exactly this. Do this and you'll be fine (assuming everything else in the system is working; ie. heating element, wiring, water actually in the tank etc)

I checked mine this morning and it's actually set at 250W.

I do remember when I installed the sender it was a bit fussy about the CT clamp placement. The incoming tail in my house goes through the mains isolator and then inside the house. The installer mounted a Henley block to feed the Inverter and consumer unit. The inverter CT clamp is mounted on the internal tail, before the Henley block. I also have a CT clamp on the same tail for my EV charger. I tried placing the iBoost tail on the same cable, but it didn't seem to like it. I ended up placing the CT clamp on the tail between the meter and the main isolator.

Zakalwe
completely agree,
I'm going to guess that the ct's are two close, rule of thumb get them min 6 inches apart.
for me and my installs, giv CT place on the main incoming to the fuse-board,
IBoost connect to the supplier side.

Zakalwe thank you for the answer the clamp is 100% positioned correctly. I know iboost has nothing to do with GivEnergy, just thought community would have similar experience.

If the iBoost can successfully heat the water when in boost mode then it implies that the iBoost is wired correctly and the immersion is working. If the clamp is fitted correctly (how do you know, by the way?) then the only options would appear to be a faulty iBoost or the wireless signal is not getting through from the sender to the iBoost.

Have you tried re-pairing the sender? Confirmed that the signal is being received when the sender is in its final location?

just wanted to up date everyone- we found out where was the problem was. We have an oil heating for heating and water and in all those years we lived in the house ( since 2004) no one told us - even our heating engineer who serviced our heating system every year, that we have 2 thermostats . One Thermostat is set up for oil heating, and second one is set up for the immersion heating if needed when there is an issue with oil heating. Of course in all those years, we never used the direct immersion heating. So after doing a lot of research, we found the immersion thermostat was set up on very low, like 20 degrees only, hence we had very cold water!! Since we corrected the thermostat, the i boost works a treat.

What is the battery threshold for an AC3 with 9.5 battery, anyone got the data. Installed today and I’ve got a 2015 iBoost which we have essentially disabled by removing the CT clamp so as not to cause conflict. Thanks.

I don't think that you can adjust the threshold on one that old. I think that you can get a different sender from Marlec though.

Zakalwe I was thinking of doing just that but wanted to make sure the 250w CT clamp was above the battery cut in.

SteveCook what was the level you found please, not having much luck in my search.

I have mine set at 250W. It pretty much tames the iBoost right down. Of course, some appliances such as a steam iron will always catch it out, but in the main it behaves very well when set to 250.