This revolutionary hot water cylinder learns a households behaviour and only heats what's needed, saving you on water heating!
What is it?
The way that a traditional electric hot water cylinder works means that you are paying to heat all of the water in your cylinder 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. The Rinnai Smart Cylinder™ has a smart thermostat which learns the pattern of hot water use, and then only heats the water when it knows it's going to be needed.
It's easy to use too with an LCD control pad, simply set and forget.
Suitable for residential indoor water heating applications—mains and low pressure systems.
A Smart cylinder is ideal for households that have a regular pattern of hot water use, as consistency is key. Also there is some interaction needed with the Smart controller, which is mounted on the cylinder. Easy access to the cylinder and controller is important.
Smart Cylinders are not suitable as a pool or spa heater, or for connection to an open loop solar or hot water heat pump system.
Water quality
Rinnai cylinders are made to suit most NZ council water supplies. However some water supplies can have a detrimental effect on the cylinder, its operation and life expectancy. Stainless steel cylinders ARE NOT suitable for bore or tank water.
Water supplies with a high level of calcium carbonate (hard water) can cause scaling on hot surfaces. We recommend a water temperature of no more than 65 ºC to minimise scale build-up. Scale reducing or water softening devices should be considered in hard water areas. The cylinder is not guaranteed against damage due to scaling.
Hot and cold water connections ¾ " (20 mm)
3 kW (all sizes) Incoloy 825 alloy sheath element positioned at the bottom of the tank
850 kPa (MP enamel, and SS cylinders)
120 kPa (low-medium pressure stainless steel)
To 15 bar
CFC-free polyurethane foam, compliant with MEPS standard
Cotherm iQuaflex 14 A probe thermostat
Rating of TPR supplied with cylinder— factory set to 850 kPa and 90 °C.
Based on a thermostat temp. setting of 60 °C and an incoming water temp. of 15 °C
June 2015
Savings are influenced by a number of factors including cylinder size, hot water use profiles and plumbing system design. Savings of up to 10% have been observed.
The savings claim is verified by results from European tapping tests. The European efficiency testing standard for a hot water system uses “tapping’s”. Tapping's are calls for hot water from the cylinder at various times to simulate real life hot water use.
The control pad for the Rinnai Smart Cylinder™ is connected to the thermostat in the cylinder via a cable. Due to electrical compliance requirements, mounting the control pad on the cylinder is currently the only option.
Like any product, there will be continuous improvement over time and eventually there may be the option to have a wireless controller or the technology to control the unit via mobile phone. The current design is a huge step forward in the efficiency of the electric hot water cylinder market in NZ.
The great thing about the Rinnai Smart Cylinder™ is that it works very well with not much input from you, the homeowner. The control is a set and forget product which allows you to make savings without having to do anything, it isn’t a control that you need to check or adjust. When the cylinder is installed, the level is set on the control pad (most people choose level three, the default setting) and then the cylinder begins to learn your habits and make savings. There may be the odd instance when you may want to change the mode - for example if you are going on holiday or have guests staying and your hot water pattern changes.
There are a few options here:
We would love to be able to put Smart control on every hot water cylinder in NZ, but due to electrical compliance requirements we can only supply these as part of a complete unit – the Rinnai Smart Cylinder™.
There are also complexities with selling the Smart controller as a standalone item, as the control is developed specifically for each size hot water cylinder, to ensure maximum efficiency as well as for safety reasons.
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