What is the Catch Power Control?

Catch Power have been going about their business quietly, until recently with the purchase of Solar Analytics, an industry monitoring favourite . Catch are based out of Glen Innes and were always best known for their Green and Blue diverters. A couple of years ago they developed the catch power solar relay, which they’ve recently renamed the catch power control. So that’s really been the main item that we’ve been installing for about the past 18-24 months now as well. This is installed in place of the Fronius smart meter, or the sungrow smart meter with the two inverters that we supply. It does also work with a couple of other brands. Catch Power has dealt with those brands to incorporate a way of working together.

Catch Power’s Main Function

This device’s main function is hot water diversion. You can set up a time window to heat your hot water tank using excess solar energy. At installation, we set a window from 7 am to 2 pm. We tell the system to use excess solar energy when it reaches 3.6 kW, the average for a 3.6 kW element (or whatever your element is, like 2.4 kW or 4.8 kW). For example, when your system generates more than 3.6 kW of excess power, it shifts that power to your hot water system. This might happen at 7:30 am in summer but not until 9-10 am in winter when solar generation is lower. We ensure the system is sized according to your needs.

In this video, Matt and Daniel of GI Energy explained how important it is to have Catch Power and distribute its energy where you would need it.

The Catch Power Solar Relay – Solar Power Hot Water Heating System

Why is this important?

So as you may be aware, export rates for feeding solar energy into the grid have reduced over time and in some areas may be limited or even ‘taxed’, but that is for another article. In short we want to use as much of our solar generatio

catch power energy usage

n as we can, and send as little back to the grid.

For beginners in solar energy, we don’t want to sell energy back to the grid. When producing power, the first job is to power your house appliances. The excess goes back to the grid, and you get small credits, but you are charged much more (except for those on legacy tariffs). We encourage using as much power as possible. This device diverts energy to heat your hot water instead of selling it back, ensuring you use solar power.

This power is more valuable to us. We pay four or five times more for purchased power than we receive. The device works in the background, so you don’t manage it daily. If it needs adjustment, we will teach you or you can call us.

On sunny or moderately sunny days, this is the best outcome. On overcast or rainy mornings, we set a second window from 2 pm to 5 pm after the primary solar window. Most hot water tanks take about three hours to heat, depending on the tank’s size and the time of year. If the first window isn’t successful and the hot water isn’t 100%, the device will mix solar and grid power to top it up for the next day.

Does it work?

From the data we have collected over the past two years, the Catch control will be over 89% effective in Southeast Queensland. This is based on a single phase home with a system size of >8kW, with the average installation now at 10kW of solar panels.

What about the other 11%?

You can set up the device with a third window (or however many extra ‘top up’ windows you need). If you need help, give us a call, and we can do it remotely if the device is connected to your home Wi-Fi. For example, if the system was installed in summer, and by winter, six or seven months later, your hot water requirements change, we can adjust it for you.

Reducing export limits?

Most new installations are between 10-13kW in size, regardless of the property being single or three phase. In the case of single phase, this in nearly all scenarios is the largest system size allowed by the energy distributor (10kVa inverter). In QLD there is now the option of agreeing to a dynamic connection with the distributor to allow you to export up to 10kW of energy at any given time. The Catch Control has this feature in built and at the time of writing is unique in this. This will also allow limited feed in tariffs should this ever be a requirement from the network.

Smart EV Charging?

Like the hot water diversion, Catch has also programmed this device to allow flexible car charging from excess power. This works with the Fronius Wattpilot wall charger and Fronius inverter. You can see everything through the Monocle app run by Catch Power. The app shows system production, home consumption, battery storage (if installed), and options to adjust your hot water or other appliance diversion.

Did we mention this device is Australian owned and made?

Catch Power began operation in 2015 in Glen Innes, New South Wales so you can rest assured you are supporting an Australian business with a full five year warranty. Their team and support continues to grow with the recent purchase of Solar Analytics, combining their industry leading monitoring experience into the Catch Power Control.