Water heater switch (Immersion)

[hasanobts]

Hi

Looking to add an inline switch for my house water heater, currently there is a manual switch and I plan to add a Zwave switch before this so the manual can be left permanently on.

Any switch recommendations, will a normal light switch be sufficient or would there be an issue with the 'load'?



Thanks in advance.

[psubiaco]

Hi,
If your water heater is simple, a simple resistor is used, you have to take into account that when resistor is cold it's resistance is lower so the start-up power is just a little bit more than nominal power.
So, choose a switch that is able to manage the nominal power + 30%, and that has overvoltage protection on the relay contact (varistor) to prevent arcs.