The problem
The owner of this Mermaid Waters home wanted the solar side of their hot water unit taken out of service, so the unit would run on its electric element alone. Pipes ran from the unit in its cupboard up to the solar panels on the roof.
What we did
- Capped off the solar pipes that lead to the panels on the roof
- Tested the unit once the solar side was disconnected
- Found during testing that the temperature and pressure relief (TPR) valve was faulty
- Replaced the faulty TPR valve
- Checked that the electric thermostat and element were working
The result
The hot water unit now runs on its electric thermostat and element and gives a reliable supply of hot water.
The TPR valve is the main safety valve on a storage hot water unit. It lets water out if the temperature or pressure inside the tank climbs too high, so a faulty one should be replaced, not left. Because it was picked up while we were testing the unit, it was replaced as part of the same job rather than turning into a separate callout later.
