SOL•THOR in Ireland
Old Irish farm transformed into a solar-powered home
Independence with the SOL•THOR: autonomous hot water production on a former Irish farm.
Facts about the project
- Planner/Installer/Owner
- Location
- Photovoltaic output and orientation
- Heat storage size
- Building type
- Year of construction and size
- my-PV product
- Heating element
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How did you find my-PV?
The electrical installation company DM Electrical and Solar Ltd completed a project with the SOL•THOR in Wexford, southeast Ireland: an autonomous system for domestic hot water in a former farmhouse. The building, originally an old farm that had fallen into disrepair, was fully renovated in 2018 and is now home to a family of four. The homeowner, who runs DM Electrical & Solar Ltd and has more than a decade of experience in the solar industry, discovered my-PV at the Solar & Storage Expo in Birmingham. There, he was introduced to the DC Power Manager SOL•THOR, which immediately matched his requirements. Although similar products exist on the market, the higher power capacity of SOL•THOR, offering up to 3.6 kW with linear regulation, convinced him to choose the my-PV solution.
Personal customer opinion and resumee
The customer is extremely satisfied with the autonomous hot water system. In the future, he plans to further optimize the setup by leveraging dynamic electricity tariffs once they become available in Ireland. He also intends to integrate PV-powered heat in upcoming projects within his dairy and agricultural operations. “It is indeed a very simple and straightforward installation. I will use it in future projects in the dairy and farming industry. I am looking forward to dynamic pricing as soon as that is available in Ireland, which will further optimize the system using the my-PV DTO.”
Obstacles/specialties during the installation?
The experienced professional, who carried out the installation himself, described mounting the SOL•THOR as particularly straightforward. He was already familiar with the my-PV DC heating element known as ELWA, and appreciates that the new DC solution does not require any additional installation steps — such as draining the hot water tank — unlike the ELWA. In many cases, a heating element is already built into the tank and can simply be connected to the SOL•THOR. If not, the tank must have at least a 1.5" thread to insert a heating element. The heating element does not necessarily have to come from my-PV but must not exceed 3.6 kW.
In Ireland, it is often difficult to find a buffer tank with a 1.5" thread, as most households use copper cylinders. With the SOL•THOR, this issue is eliminated because the electronics and heating element are separate components. This saves time and money and allows for a significantly faster installation.
How is the system set up?
The house was already equipped with a hybrid 5 kWp PV system with an inverter and battery; 5 kWp is the maximum capacity allowed by local grid regulations. To still make the most of the remaining roof area, five 380 W Qcells modules were added and connected directly to the SOL•THOR. As a DC solution, the SOL•THOR does not require an inverter, smart meter, or approval from the grid operator, since all available PV energy is used exclusively for heat generation.
This autonomous setup is particularly advantageous in the customer’s region, where power outages occur once or twice a week. During such outages, running the heat pump with a diesel generator is no longer necessary. The SOL•THOR continues operating with the five PV modules, ensuring reliable hot water in the boiler and providing a degree of independence from the public grid. Significant savings result from off-grid operation, and in winter the system can be programmed to use lower-cost nighttime electricity tariffs – optionally using grid power to reheat if desired.
The heating system includes a 210-liter buffer tank from Joule, connected to a Mitsubishi heat pump. The tank contains two 3 kW heating elements — one at the top and one at the bottom —which are controlled by the SOL•THOR in operating mode 2. Once the target temperature is reached, the SOL•THOR maintains a uniform temperature throughout the tank: it first heats the upper section, and if needed, it activates the lower element. The system preheats the water to 65 °C, so the heat pump only needs to run when the temperature drops below 45 °C.
This maximizes self-consumption of PV energy and improves overall efficiency. The dual configuration, standard in Ireland, is fully supported by the SOL•THOR, enabling precise and efficient control of both heating elements.
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SOL•THOR
in use
The DC Power Manager converts solar power directly into heat – efficiently and with minimal loss by using direct current from PV modules to power a heating element.
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