Everhot and AGA Cookers with Solar or Self-Generated Power
Can I connect my solar panels to my cooker?
We frequently get asked about running an AGA or Everhot from your own source of energy, usually solar but sometimes from a wind or water turbine.
Everhots work really well with solar (and any renewable) energy but you cannot directly connect your energy source to the cooker. Don’t try!
Battery is best
The best way to make use of as much of your own energy as possible is to have a battery to store the excess for use later when consumption is greater than generation.
Best alternative
(Or stick with a grid-connected system so the grid acts as the battery. You’ll have to work out the economics of whether paying for a battery will overcome the losses you incur from the higher cost of any power you import and the small amount you get paid for what you export.)
In simple terms that’s it really – buy a house battery to store your energy.
The battery acts as a buffer so you can save the energy for use when you need it. It will also smooth out the peaks and troughs in generation and consumption, and since most of us are grid-connected as well you have this as a backup when you need it.
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Heat Storage Cookers
Everhots and Electric AGAs including the ‘AGA 13amp’, AGA Dual Control, AGA Total Control, AGA 3 Series, AGA 7 Series (basically all electric AGAs except the Economy 7 or ‘30amp’ model) are all heat-storage cookers but none can store enough heat-energy for long enough from a short (or long for that matter) burst of ‘charge’ to then keep going for a few hours after losing power; they need to ‘top-up’ fairly continuously with a slow 'drip-feed' of energy to maintain temperature.
Economy 7 ‘Heat Storage’ (or ‘30amp’) AGA
The Economy 7 AGA has a big thermal store (a stack of heat-storage bricks) which ‘charge’ for 5-7 hours to just over 700o C overnight in the cheaper-rate period and then use that stored heat to maintain the cooker’s temperature throughout the day.
Sounds ideal – why not charge this on you own power? Well, it needs 5-7 hours at around 20amps (approximately 5kW) every day. Or in ‘electrical units’ (kWh) this is about 224 per week [32 per day] for a two oven, or 274 per week [39 per day] for a four oven. It doesn’t matter if this is overnight or during the day but it does need it every day. (The AGA works best when this is delivered in a 5-10 hour period too.)
Since most domestic solar arrays are a maximum of 4kW this is a non-starter; 4kW is less than 5kW after all (!) so even at their best (middle of a sunny day in June) they can’t cope. If you have a bigger system which may manage the 5kW (or more) in perfect conditions - can it manage on a dull February day? Probably not. Stick to a grid-connected system with a battery; it is easier.
The Economy 7 AGA’s control system is not set up for your own power either – even though there are three banks of elements (14 in total, 2 banks of 4 and one of 6) they are switched all together ‘as one’ so to split this you’d need to redesign and manufacture your own internal cabling and connections, plus the control panel and software to run it. (Good luck with that one!)
What about adapting a Solar Immersion Heater Control?
If you try to run the mains and your own power in parallel then you’re likely to come unstuck. Some solar immersion heater controls can divert power to the hot water when generation exceeds consumption however this is through a simple ‘resistive’ load that’s not really time-sensitive. The AGA can’t use anything like this as it would kick in with a load of around 5kW (it can’t be ‘managed’ to be less) and instantly tip the system in to deficit causing it to switch back off again.
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Conclusion
In conclusion – yes, generating your own power is great, and a good thing to do. It’s better for the planet and you’ll see financial as well as environmental savings. But it’s best to think of it as a part of the house’s energy system rather than just for the cooker. If you can afford the capital cost then yes, add a battery to use more of your own power, this will improve the environmental credentials and financial savings.
Some notes
You should not try to connect the Everhot or AGA cooker directly to solar panels or any other form of power generation. They are designed to connect to the mains.
You can’t convert any AGA to be an ‘Economy 7’ model. In fact you can’t convert or switch any electric AGA to another type of electric AGA.
You can’t convert an oil, gas or solid fuel AGA to electric (with a genuine kit – AGA do not make one and stopped with their oil to electric kit a few years’ ago). We know other third-party kits are available but we haven’t heard good reports from our customers who took a gamble and fitted one.
Electrical Load Figures
Figures do not include induction hobs, Integrated modules nor fan ovens.
Figures are approximate and may vary.
| Cooker Model | Electrical Connection | Peak Load | Average Load (Per hour) |
| Everhot 60 Everhot 90i/Plus Everhot 100i/Plus Everhot 110i/Plus Everhot 120i Everhot 150i (Excludes induction hob on 'i' models) |
13amp | 2.8kW | 0.6kW (at full heat) |
| Everhot 120 Plus Everhot 150 Plus Everhot 160i |
2 x 13amp | 2 x 2.8kW | 2 x 0.6kW (at full heat) |
| Note: when an Everhot is in 'ECO' mode the maximum power draw is limited to 2kW. You can also reduce the peak load when coming out of ECO to heat to 'full' using the 'delay' function to heat the hotplate first, then the ovens 1 to 12 hours later. |
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| Cooker Model | Electrical Connection | Peak Load | Average Load (Per hour) |
| 13amp Electric AGA | 13amp | 2.5kW | 1kW (at full heat) |
| AGA R7 (And Dual Control) |
32amp | 6kW Oven element about 1.8kW Hotplates 2.5kW each |
1kW (at full heat) |
| AGA eR7 (And Total Control) |
32amp | 6kW | 1kW (at full heat) |
| AGA R3 | 2 x 13amp | 2 x 2.8kW | 1kW (at full heat) |
| AGA eR3 | 32amp | 6kW | 1kW (at full heat) |
| Economy 7 AGA | 32amp | 5kW | 5kW when charging About 0.1kW at other times. |