Update August 2023: AWS have been removed from the SolarQuotes diverter comparison table. It appears as of 16/8/23, AWS’s parent company is in liquidation.
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Australian Wind and Solar (AWS) is readying for the release of its new solar diverter model – the SunMate 3.0.
According to the Australian Government’s YourHome, water heating is the second largest segment of household energy use in Australia, after space heating and cooling.
If you already have a solar power system and electric water heater installed, a solar diverter could help to cut this cost. It’s device that enables you to reroute surplus power from a solar system for this purpose without needing to change the hot water system. In a situation where surplus power isn’t available; your water continues to be heated from energy from the mains grid as normal.
SQ’s Ronald provided some valuable information on solar diverters here, and goes into detail on some of the devices currently available in Australia that can also be found on our solar hot water diverter comparison table. One of the brands mentioned in both is SunMate, manufactured in Victoria.
SunMate 3.0 Due In March 2020
AWS contacted us last week to let us know the new SunMate model is due for release in March next year. If you’re considering a solar diverter in the near future, the SunMate 3.0 might be worth a look.
“The key objectives of the project have been to redevelop and advance the SunMate for current Australian conditions, manufacture the new SunMate PCB and a weather-proof housing unit that is easy to install,” says AWS.
AWS says other new features in SunMate 3.0 are:
- It’s wireless ready.
- It has an app interface.
- It has 3 outputs – each can be configured for variable or threshold power (the current version has 2 outputs).
- It offers temperature sensor or thermostat operation.
Variable Power? Threshold Power?
The variable power mode is for water heating (100W – 3600W – to be confirmed) while threshold mode control is for appliance control; i.e. non-heating appliances – but you’d need to be careful what is hooked up to it given the intermittent nature of the power provided.
Solar Diverter Savings And Cost
The AWS web site is still claiming a 4 person family with a 4kW solar power system can expect savings of nearly $400 per year using the current model, SunMate 2.0 – a claim Ronald questioned in his review back in 2017.
As for the cost of the SunMate 3.0 solar hot water diverter, that hasn’t been provided, but the 2.0 is around $850 for the single phase model and $1,250 for the three-phase; plus installation.
AWS isn’t expecting to be cranking out huge volumes of the new diverters – the estimated number of SunMate 3.0’s produced “will grow to 1,000 units per annum”. Still, it’s nice to see solar components being manufactured here in Australia.
You can learn more about SunMate here.
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Hi Michael,
I live on a farm and as such can see an opportunity to divert power for a bore pump as well as my hot water. Is there a product out there that could do this? Reading the Sunmate 2.0 spiel it mentioned 2 outlets but then only mentioned that it could do 2 water heaters with these outlets.
Thanks
Ashley
Hi Ashley, Ronald here.
I’m afraid a normal solar hot water diverter can only power resistive loads and these are for heating only, such as hot water systems and electric heaters.
If your bore pump is currently running off your mains power you can put it on a timer so it will switch on during the day when your rooftop solar will be providing power. Another, more expensive, option would be to get a Fronius inverter, rely, and smart meter — or something that will do the same jobs — which will only switch the bore pump on when there is sufficient solar power.
The sunmate 2 fails to deliver benefits because it does not work well with current smart meters. The problem is that the sunmate modulates the power too slowly for the meter, which then records burst of full power and no power. This means that you are paying for full power at times when it shouldn’t be happening. I have one of these for a couple of years, and have been eagerly awaiting the sunmate 3, but this now so late I doubt it will every appear. It is a great idea, but the execution is bad, and it’s actually no more effective than a timer – at a fraction of the cost.
What’s the update on this product?
On AWS website, it says that COVID-19 is delaying the release? Seriously? A bit of a cop out…. Many companies are still producing and releasing ….. and they’re not blaming COVID.
I suspect they’re trying to exhaust stock of Sunmate 2.0 before releasing v3.0.
Announced back in 2019, more than 18 months now. Looking more like vapourware which they got special grants from the government to spruik the fact they’re making the product here in Australia.