Solar iBoost Problem

[nantyspark]

This could prove a head scratcher.
A few days ago I installed, at home, a Solar iBoost and I must say with my 3.92 South facing array it appears to work well. BUT, there is a problem and I wonder if any of you have come across one similar.

The day I installed it was a very wet one. Soon after, I began experiencing broadband problems. Got in touch with my ISP who could find no problem on the line. I thought it might be associated with the recent heavy rain.

Broadband was OK early morning and late evening but was 'iffy' during the day. Today, another overcast day, broadband was OK until the sun appeared and I was unable to connect to web sites. I do not pretend to be Sherlock Holmes but with a long career of fault-finding behind me 2+2 suddenly = SolariBoost. I went to the airing cupboard where I could see the iBoost heating the water. I switched it off and lo and behold broadband connections returned.

I do not believe it to be an 'electrical' problem since all electrical equipment is OK. I believe it to be some form of 'wireless' interaction between the iBoost wireless sender and my modem/router a TP Link W8960N.

The modem/router is wireless but I am actually connected to it by ethernet cable.

Having written this I am thinking I might be posting on the wrong forum. We are electricians not IT guys.

Anyone seen this before? Any suggestions where to redirect my question?

Cheers

Ken

 

[Gavin A]

interference with the cat 5 cable probably, check the route it's been run, I'd expect it's been run next to the cable to the immersion, or possibly other power cables.

 

[Earthstore]

Just a thought, are you using any type of plug in signal booster for your broadband?

 

[nantyspark]

Thanks guys.
Gavin - There has been nothing 'run'. The feed between isolator and immersion was broken and the solar iBoost was fitted between the isolator and immersion. The only other item was the wireless sender clamped to the live cable outside.
Earthstore - No signal booster being used.

Here is some further info.

Prior to fitting Solar iBoost I never experienced a Broadband problem in the past 3 years.
Solar iBoost is fitted in the airing cupboard between isolator and immersion on a direct (non-shared) spur from a 16A MCB in the downstairs Consumer Unit.
The iBoost wireless Sender Unit is clamped to the live cable between the utility meter and the consumer unit. The clamp is fitted in the correct direction and whenever there is a surplus being provided by the PV this is diverted to the Solar iBoost which heats the water and switches off automatically when the water tank is hot.

The Solar iBoost is therefore working correctly, or at least doing what it should do.

Before fitting the Solar iBoost my broadband connection was usually of the order of 9.6Mbps Download and 0.85Mbps Upload and remains at these levels until the problem manifests itself.

The problem manifests itself as follows:

During darkness or overcast skies when no PV being produced, the broadband connection is normal and works fine.

When the sun appears or at any time there is a surplus being produced, the Solar iBoost kicks in and solar is used to heat the water tank. It is at this time that the broadband connection fails and I am unable to connect to any web site. On one occasion I did manage to partially perform a broadband speed test which returned a download speed of 0.1Mbps (not a typo).

Using the scenario where a surplus is being produced, the iBoost is heating the water and my broadband connection has failed if, as an example, a kettle is switched on such that no surplus is being produced, my broadband connection returns to its normal download speed and I can connect to websites. As soon as the kettle boils and switches off my broadband 'fails' again. Broadband then remains down either until no surplus is being produced or the water tank is Hot and iBoost automatically switches off.


During a period when a surplus was being produced I went to the outside cab and removed the cable from the sender unit and found that my broadband connection returned to normal. When I plugged the cable back into the sender unit the broadband failed again.

The PC is connected by ethernet cable to the modem/router which is directly connected to the master socket. The modem/router is able to operate by wireless but I have switched this off so that there is no wifi connection to the modem/router only LAN connections.

I apologise for this long post. I have tried to provide maximum information. The problem has me stumped at the moment so I will probably have to telephone the manufacturer.

 

[whinmoor]

Have you tried contacting the manufacturer?

 

[nantyspark]

Have you tried contacting the manufacturer?

The last line of my post (1 hr before your reply), states that I will probably have to.
Today was a Bank Holiday.

 

[BruceB]

Interference with the broadband is either being caused by the wireless link or by the high frequency harmonics caused by the iBoost switching.

You could eliminate the former by trying a temporary wired link from the sensor. But I think it is more likely the latter.

Two ideas to improve it:
- replace the broadband filter between the router and the telephone line and have it as close as possible to the router.
- disconnect any unused extension cabling from the phone line. It acts as a large receiving aerial which picks up interference.

 

[Gavin A]

I thought my post was fairly to the point, obviously not.

check where your cat 5 cable is run for the internet router / check where the incoming broadband has been run, it sound like interference from the cable feeding the immersion heater, due to the chopped waveform produced by the iboost, which will affect the entire cable from the consumer unit to the immersion, possibly even other cables to a lesser extent.

If all internet related cables have proper segregation from all AC cables for their entire route, then you can rule this out, but that would be the first thing to check.

 

[nantyspark]

I thought my post was fairly to the point, obviously not.

check where your cat 5 cable is run for the internet router / check where the incoming broadband has been run, it sound like interference from the cable feeding the immersion heater, due to the chopped waveform produced by the iboost, which will affect the entire cable from the consumer unit to the immersion, possibly even other cables to a lesser extent.

If all internet related cables have proper segregation from all AC cables for their entire route, then you can rule this out, but that would be the first thing to check.

Hi Gavin,

I'm sorry. What I was trying to say is that there is no Cat5 cabling. The modem/router is connected directly to the master socket and the PC is connected to the modem/router by a short length of Cat5 cable at desktop level.
There is no additional cable involved in the installation of the iBoost.

 

[nantyspark]

Interference with the broadband is either being caused by the wireless link or by the high frequency harmonics caused by the iBoost switching.

You could eliminate the former by trying a temporary wired link from the sensor. But I think it is more likely the latter.

Two ideas to improve it:
- replace the broadband filter between the router and the telephone line and have it as close as possible to the router.
- disconnect any unused extension cabling from the phone line. It acts as a large receiving aerial which picks up interference.

Hi Bruce,

Thanks. It would be nice to try a wired link from the sensor but I do not believe that is possible since the system is designed to operate wirelessly.
I will replace the broadband filter which at the moment is on the end of the router cable directly connected to the Master Socket.
Regarding extension cabling on the phone line. I do have a 2-phone dect system connected so I will disconnect that to check any effect.

Cheers

Ken

 

[Gavin A]

Hi Gavin,

I'm sorry. What I was trying to say is that there is no Cat5 cabling. The modem/router is connected directly to the master socket and the PC is connected to the modem/router by a short length of Cat5 cable at desktop level.
There is no additional cable involved in the installation of the iBoost.

What about the incoming broadband cable to the router?

it could be that the router is sensitive to the voltage flicker from the iboost, but usually they're powered via little transformers which should stop that being the case.

 

[nantyspark]

The past few days have been poor for Solar. Today much better. I therefore disconnected the immersion from the Solar iBoost and replaced it with a kettle.
The broadband problem still existed, but at least I had eliminated the heater element and thermostat.
Connected my laptop to the test socket inside the Master Socket.
Long story short - replaced the microfilter everything OK.

Solar iBoost now heating the water and I have a working broadband connection. All down to a microfilter.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. Much appreciated.

 

[Sunshine777]

The past few days have been poor for Solar. Today much better. I therefore disconnected the immersion from the Solar iBoost and replaced it with a kettle.
The broadband problem still existed, but at least I had eliminated the heater element and thermostat.
Connected my laptop to the test socket inside the Master Socket.
Long story short - replaced the microfilter everything OK.

Solar iBoost now heating the water and I have a working broadband connection. All down to a microfilter.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. Much appreciated.

That's not the first time I've heard of a micro filter causing an issue but to be honest it's not something that would have occurred to me to suggest in your circumstances. Small innocuous devices that can cause perplexing problems!

I don't think you need one on the router (unless you have a phone plugged into the same socket) - you just need them for the phones.

good to hear the problem's solved.

 

[BruceB]

Strictly you do need need one on the router, but as most routers nowadays come with RJ11 connectors then the adsl output of a microfilter provides the physical conversion from a bt socket. Not only does the microfilter prevent adsl interference being heard on the telephone line, but it also prevents interference picked up on the internal telephone wiring and interference generated by internal telephone equipment passing back to the router input. It was the first thing I suggested earlier because I have seen faulty filters cause the broadband to fail for a few seconds when a phone is taken off hook. The wiki article on dsl filter gives more for those interested and some links. Not all filters are created equal!

 

[Graham Hilton]

Hi Ken,

Did you resolve the issue?

Graham

 

[Graham Hilton]

Just a thought... perhaps you should try fitting a device that doesn't use phase angle and passes harmonics testing! EN61000-3-2

 

[SibertSolar]

Indeed....

 

[nantyspark]

Yes, I did fix it. Please have a look at post number 12. Some time ago. Along with my solar panels turns out to be the best investment I have ever made. Hot water most days throughout the winter months. Definitely a happy chappy.

 

[Worcester]

It was the first thing I suggested earlier because I have seen faulty filters cause the broadband to fail for a few seconds when a phone is taken off hook. The wiki article on dsl filter gives more for those interested and some links. Not all filters are created equal!

On a completely different note (and hijacking this thread ) we used to have that problem, however no seperate micro filters any where as BT had fitted one of their super duper master sockets with seperate outlets for broadband and phone and we had no extensions plugged in anywhere else. (I have two lines here, and the broadband is on the secondary line)

Upgraded to ftc recently and as part of that process of installing their modem they also fitted a new super duper master socket, when asking the engineer why, he couldn't explain - it was just what they did, - yet he didn't know if there was any difference whatsoever, anyway wether it's the mew master socket or the ftc process, the broadband doesn't drop any more