Which in-wall 240v controller for a 2000-watt heater?

[madmartian]

If the heater is a 220.240 volt heater, then the white wire is not a neutral wire. A 2-wire Romex cable is available only with one black and one white wire plus ground, so white has to be used for one leg of the split, single-phase electric supply. The white wire should be, but isn't always, marked as such usually with colored tape.

 

AFAIK, the Micro Module requires a neutral wire.

 

Ah yes, I forgot. It's been 15 years since I touched 240. And these wires are not marked! I will do that while I'm upgrading. Looks like options 1 and 2 can only handle single phase 240, not double phase like we typically have in the US. That makes the incredible melting 2477SA1 my only option, unless there's a Z-wave item I can use. The only ones I have seen so far can't handle 2000 watts. The 2477SA1 wont fit in the space below the heater, so I really need a better option.

[stusviews]

Info only: The electric supply in virtually all of North America is single-phase (residences) or 3-phase (commercial). One exception is Philadelphia which still has a 2-phase electric supply. Much literature incorrectly uses the term phase when referring to each opposite leg of the single-phase electric supply. Electric diagrams correctly use L1 and L2 or A and B.

 

If you have overhead wires entering your home, you'll see that there are three wires, often two insulated wires and one bare wire. The insulated wires provide 220/240VAC from the distribution transformer (on the nearest pole). The bare wire is actually the center tap of the transformer and is the neutral wire. The potential between each leg and the neutral wire is 110/120VAC. Because it's alternating current (AC), the direction of the current flow is 180º out-of-phase with the flow in the opposite leg.

[madmartian]

Clearly I don't know as much about electricity as I think I do.

 

This begs the question if the Insteon micro on/off controller claims to support "240v single phase", then why does it require a neutral wire separate from the ground wire?

[stusviews]

The ground wire is for safety. No electrical device requires that a ground wire even be present except for those that ensure safety, for example, a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) receptacle. The electric code requires a ground, the device being supplied with electric does not.

 

In Europe and other areas, the potential between line and neutral is 240VAC. In North America, that voltage is 110/120VAC.

[grabijam]

I have a 2000 watt 240v wall heater (TPI/Markel 4400 series). I would like to add an in-wall controller so I can use a thermostat with my ISY to turn the wall heater on and off. I have seen several options, such as:

 

IN-LINELINC RELAY - INSTEON 2475SDB REMOTE CONTROL IN-LINE ON/OFF SWITCH (DUAL-BAND)

 

INSTEON 2443-222 MICRO ON/OFF MODULE

 

220V / 240V 30 AMP INSTEON 2477SA1 LOAD CONTROLLER NORMALLY OPEN RELAY (DUAL-BAND)

 

Some of these talk about different types of loads and some don't. Some talk about 277v (not 240) which I had never heard of. I am not clear which is best for my application. Or is there a z-wave module that would be better?

I have two identical 120V 6 amp heaters (towel bars) that I want to control on an Insteon network.  Can I use the 240V load controller and take one leg to each of these heaters along with a neutral?  Are there any potential issues if one heater wasn't present, i.e. unbalanced load on the controller?

[larryllix]

I have two identical 120V 6 amp heaters (towel bars) that I want to control on an Insteon network.  Can I use the 240V load controller and take one leg to each of these heaters along with a neutral?  Are there any potential issues if one heater wasn't present, i.e. unbalanced load on the controller?

You are going to need to be on a GFCI circuit, if you are within arms length of a sink, shower or tub,  and for 240v they get real expensive.

[stusviews]

Is each heater on a separate circuit? If so, are they on opposite legs of the split, single-phase electric supply?