Controlling 240 volts

[langenet]

I will be moving shortly to a new home which has a pool with a 1 hp pool pump. While some say the pump should run 24/7 during the summer, there are those who say and have experience shutting off the pump for 6 hrs between midnight at 6:00 a.m with no adverse affect on water quality.
Saying that, I want to automate this process so I can save 25% on my electricity bill. However, the pump is a 240 volt unit and until it fails and is replaced by a smaller more efficent 120 volt 3/4 hp unit, I need to know how I can control the power to this unit.
How are you guys doing this? I am currently running X-10 exclusively.

Robert

[Pnord]

Your local home improvement store should have a 240volt timeclock that would work.

http://www.smarthome.com/25088/Inter...r-Timer/p.aspx

If you want to automate with X10 they make an electric water heater module that would also switch 240 volt loads.

http://www.smarthome.com/2477SA2/INS...al-Band/p.aspx

If your pump has a cord & plug connection then

http://www.smarthome.com/2021/X10-He...r-PAM04/p.aspx

Good luck

[langenet]

Thanks for all the info. Unfortunately, the Insteon/X-10 solution is only for resistance only loads - i.e. water tanks, heaters. I'm not sure how if it can safely work with inductive loads like a pump....

Ideally, I'd like to control by HS if possible. I'm sure there must be others who are controlling their pools/spas with HS... anyone???

Robert

[nightwalker]

A bit pricey but something like this should work.

http://convergentwaves.com/cgi-bin/m..._Code=ELK-9100

[nsisman]

Are you sure a 3/4 110V would be more efficient ?

I was always under the impression that 240V was cheaper to run ?

Also I would run the pump at night when rates are cheapest and shut it down during peak rate hours (if you have time of use rates) ?

Any electrical gurus out there ?

[dem5867]

Use a 120 volt module to power the 120 volt coil of a relay that has the 240 volt rating (And the current rating.) that you need on the contacts.. Some motor contactors have 120 volt coils and most are in some type of box...

[langenet]

Thanks to all those who replied with your suggestions. I have a good number of solutions I can implement.

nsisman - while we have recently had smart meters installed, we here in Ottawa for now don't have time of use rates. Not knowing much about pools, the inspector mentioned I could shut it off for a number of hours at night though...

When we had the pool inspected, the pool inspector said that the 1 hp motor was over kill and when it would die, the newer pump motors would be more efficient. A 120 volt 3/4 hp pump would consume less electicity... I guess I'll find out when I start monitoring my electricity consumption with my new Current Cost Power monitoring...

Robert

[langenet]

Does anyone have any experience with http://www.smarthome-products.com/sh...mount-receiver.

Seems like a cheaper solution than the ELK-9100 - http://convergentwaves.com/cgi-bin/m..._Code=ELK-9100 for the same kind of application.

I just want to be able to control the pool pump via HS.

Incidently, I heard that the pump can be shut off at night (unfortunately when the rates are cheaper). It needs to run during the day.... can anyone confirm this?

Robert

[Wadenut]

I've had an ELK-9100 wired directly into my panel to control my water heater for more than six years now. It's worked flawlessly. The only issue I've ever had with it is the fact that it has no UL or CSA approval. Smarthome assured me at the time they would get approval, but to my knowledge, never followed through. I have had the installation inspected by the local utility... no problem there. I don't recall the unit being terribly expensive.

BTW: A 3/4HP 120V pump will use less electricity than a 1 HP 220V pump only by virtue of the smaller motor. It will in fact, draw a bit less than 2X the current on a single phase that the prior motor draws from two.

[langenet]

I've often wondered about CSA approval on all this HA stuff plugged into the outlet. I suppose a UL rating is better than none - no rating would concern me too....

Robert

[drozwood90]

CSA is harder to get than UL.

I had some dealing with both...

I think of it as:
CSA = THOU SHALL (we said it's OK, you can't get sued)
US = THOU SHOULD (but you can get sued if what you told us is not true)

--Dan

[Dave W]

Does anyone have any experience with Incidently, I heard that the pump can be shut off at night (unfortunately when the rates are cheaper). It needs to run during the day.... can anyone confirm this?
Robert

$0.02
Pump should run when pool is occupied, and for some period after occupants are out. (how big is pool? what is filter capacity? what is pump volumn? etc are factors for determining how long). Day filtering makes sense because of getting more dead bugs floating during the day and because of alge growth during sun light. If chlorine injection is through the filter, then day running is necessary. If chlorine is from a float or other non-pump driven method, then I don't see why at least a portion of your filter time could not be during lower rates at night.

I had pool in Florida and never heard of necessity to run pump 24 hr unless small undersized filter capacity required it. You need to determine you filter/pump rates to help make your decision. My experience was; if pool was put in by home builder, the filter and pump was usually undersized. If put in by pool builder, then usually properly matched or even over sized.