CATCH Power

I write this review as a warning to anyone considering a Green Catch from catch power. I would like to spare other the frustrations and hidden expense that can be associated with the Green Catch.I bought a Green Catch with my solar system, and initially it appeared to be working well, utilising solar to power my hot water system rather than the grid. Watching my energy usage painted a different picture. Every morning I could see that there was a period of solar export and grid import at the same time. Curious, I began isolating devices on the switchboard, finding this was the result of the Green Catch.Eventually with evidence gathered, I approached my installer who attempted to follow up with Scott from Catch Power, and eventually I was speaking with Scott directly. Over months Scott asked me to leave this with him before he stopped responding all together.What Catch Power doesn't tell you is how this Green Catch functions, that it relies on a flaw in older smart meters to achieve solar only" usage. In detail

I recently had a Catch Power device installed and have been delighted with the results. Now my hot water is being heated during the day by my generated solar power as well as appliance use during sunlight hours and then excess energy is being sent to the grid. This has resulted in minimal usage from the grid. I whole heartedly support the installation of A Catch Power system to gain the best value from the installation of solar panels.

Sought out and had a Catch Relay installed with recent new solar install. Acts as both a smart on / off switch for hot water / any load you want and doubles as a consumption monitor. Very happy with product, very programmable in terms of telling it when to come on based on certain conditions within solar system (export, voltage etc).Ties into Catch's Monocle" platform that is able to show usage

Update: Nov 22:So I have had the greencatch working for 3 months now. I have been recording what I call the 'ghost energy imports' due to its interaction with the Atlas Mk7A smart meter. I have observed that the level of ghost import is higher than I first recorded when I did the original review - it has approached 1kwh per day recently, which is quite significant. It is still saving me cost by diverting solar, but not as much. I heat my water only by solar, except when no solar for two days, when I switch it to boost from my off-peak. There are other devices I am told that do not suffer from this ghost import (one of which is called Power Diverter from South Australia). They don't integrate off-peak in its controls like greencatch (which may be illegal in some states anyway, so check first) and will normally activate the off-peak each night if it is connected. But if you do have off peak power, it is possible to arrange wiring so you can manually switch off the off-peak unless you need it for long days of no solar - more or less as I do with the Greencatch boost. This is an alternate approach. Which would I now install given I know what I now know and have experienced the level of manufacturer support recently? If I knew I was going to have an Atlas Mk7A smart meter - I would likely not chose the Greencatch as I would be saving more using another device and I could manually switch the off peak power from running at night unless I specifically needed it on occasions. If my greencatch dies and cannot be fixed under warranty, I will get a different device installed. Hope this helps.Original Review:Like others, I have fitted the Green Catch Version 2 and have the Atlas Mk7A smart meter. I am a retired electrical/ electronics/ software engineer. The GreenCatch is effectively diverting my excess solar to the HW heater and when there is insufficient solar, uses my off peak rather than mains to finish the heating - which is managed - unlike other diverters that just turn on the off peak whenever it is available regardless of need, wasting grid energy and costing money. This is a notable benefit of the Green Catch in generating overall saving costs from the grid. However, with the Atlas Mk7A smart meter and how the green catch operates, the smart meter does record a small amount of import even though power is being exported. You need to be aware of this. The manufacturer should disclose this information on their product description for complete transparency. However, most people won't notice this effect unless they deep dive analyse data - which I have done. In my case, the import recorded by the meter is in the range of 40-140wh per hour while the green catch is diverting power to the HW heater - or about 200 - 700wh per day worst case. The impact for me is to reduce my quarterly hot water savings using solar from about $170 maximum to about $155-165 (depending on weather and power use generally), so relatively trivial impact. So I'm happy with the savings the green catch gives me and certainly recommend it if you appreciate it limitations.

This product (my experience and testing)(green catch) does not work as promised, it is nothing more than an expensive on/off switch.There is no variable output on this device that matches your solar export. They do nothing more than rely on the average/net power over a time frame.So if you are exporting 1.8kw it will switch your 3.6kw element on for half a second, they claim that the net power in the second is 1.8kw. you lose export and pull grid power.. And my metre records all this, buyer bewareAccording to my calculations with this device (if it worked as stated) and my water usage It would take close to 10 years to cut even. With it not working I would be lucky to ever recoup costs.

I have a catch green and it works perfectly as described.Have a late model Smart metre installed and I have no phantom power issues or anything like that during day or night.I have a 8 kilowatt three phase system installed, therefore realistically I can only ever give 2.6kw to the heater , I have disabled my off-peak supply and I'm running completely from solar, it heats my 315 l tank and provides all my hot water needs 100% from solar.(I did balance my phases so the only thing on that phase is pretty much the hot water system)

Like Samantha I noticed that with my Green Catch I was drawing (and being charged) for power from the grid even when my solar was supposed to be diverted to my hot water system.I too have an Atlas MK7A smart meter so I raised a support case with Catch Power. After confirming a few things they let me know that they were working on a new version of firmware for the Green Catch, and in about a week would ship me a replacement Green Catch under warranty.I don't know what the new firmware changes, but after the replacement catch green was installed my inverter and smart meter now match what I was originally expecting, and I'm not using power from the grid during the day to heat my hot water.

Service is second to none, very knowledgable staff. Is a great device to work with your solar system. Will be looking at installing more of these in the future

Currently using a Green Catch and it works perfectly with my Fronius inverter and smart meter. Great idea and already saving me money. Should be standard for everyone who has electric element hot water and solar.

5 stars to Catch power.i had one installed 3 months ago and my daily electricity consumption dropped from 6.7kw/pd to 3.2 kw/pd