There seems to be a lot of confusion about what the Power Setting on the Alde Controller actually does.
This will explain it in simple terms, making it easy to understand.
Let’s get to where you set the Energy settings are..
From the main screen, tap the Energy Icon at the bottom left. This brings you to the Electrical Power setting
The first thing you need to know is that the Alde system, which heats both the glycol for heating and the hot water, has two heating elements.
If you set the slider to 1 kW, it powers on only one heater element.
If you set it to 2 KW, it powers on both heating elements.
At the bottom, you can also turn the Gas on as an additional heat source if you wish.
So, what does this mean, and how should I set this?
The Alde system features a 20-amp breaker, which serves as the primary breaker for both the Alde Heating System and the Truma Saphire Air Conditioning system.
Each Heating Element uses 8.3 amps of power. (1kw)
The Truma Saphir uses 8.7 amps
If you set the Max electricity to 2KW and turn both Alde heating elements on and the Truma AC, you get this:
8.3 amps + 8.3 amps + 8.7 amps = 25.3 amps.
This will trip the 20-amp breaker over time.
If you set the Max electricity to 1 KW, so you are turning on only one heating element, you get this:
8.3 amps + 8.7 amps = 17 amps.
Your Truma AC will run forever without tripping the 20-amp breaker.
What is the best setting?
In summer, when you need the AC to work, set the Max electricity to 1 kW so that your breaker won’t trip, as you will only be drawing 17 amps.
If you want your hot water to heat faster than the single element can heat it, turn the Gas on.
In the winter, or if you are up north and don’t need air conditioning, set the Max electricity to 2 kW to turn both heating elements on, maximizing heat and hot water. You can also probably turn the Gas off to save on Gas.
Other Circumstances.
Now that you understand how the Alde Energy management works, you can make good decisions on how to manage it. The above presumes you are on 30-amp shore power.
If you are on a 15 or 20-amp shore power at home, turning on both heating elements will draw 16.6 amps and exceed the available power.
The Truma AC uses 8.7 amps, so on a 15-amp circuit, you can set the Max power to 0 kW to turn both heating elements off and only run on Gas for heating. You can then run the Truma AC.
In the Alde section for the AC, you can turn the Truma AC off (Manual, Auto, Off) and run a single heating element.
If you have a 20-amp outlet, it will look like the outlet shown on the right. This changes the math slightly, provided it delivers 20 amps.
2 Heating elements: 8.3 + 8.3 = 16.6 amps
1 element + AC = 8.3 + 8.7 = 17 amps
2 elements + AC = 8.3 + 8.3 + 8.7 25.3 will trip the breaker.
I hope this allows you to manage the energy settings on your Alde properly now that you understand precisely how it works.
