TrickleStar TS2301 User manual

User Manual
TS2301 Wi-Fi Electric Water Heater Controller

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Table of Contents
1 Welcome! 3
2 Overview 4
- What's in the System? 4
- Water Heater Controller User Interfaces 5
3 Using the Water Heater Controller 6
- Understanding the LED Indicators and Power Button 7
4 Using the App 8
- Adding a New Device 9
- Transferring Ownership after Setup 15
- Controlling the Device 18
- Scheduling the Device 19
- Checking the Device Info 20
- Miscellaneous Tabs 21
5 Using the Portal 22
- Understanding the Icons 23
- Using the Icons on the Left Column 24
- On the Dashboard Page (Home Page) 25
- On the Devices Page 26
- Adding a new Water Heater Controller 27
- On the Control Page 35
- On the Energy Usage Page 37
- On the Schedules Page 38
- On the Settings Page 39
- On the Sensors Page 41
- On the Services Page 42
- On the Vacation Page 43
- On the 3rd Party Integration Page 44
- Taking Ownership of a Water Heater Controller Registered to a Different User 45
6 Maintenance 54
7 Feature List 59

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Welcome!
Thank you for choosing the
TrickleStar®TS2301 Wi-Fi Electric Water Heater Controller.
We
are your smart partner in maximizing savings for your electric water heater. You can now remotely
control your water heating timing and duration from anywhere.
You can also monitor the energy usage
from a summarized report found in your
TrickleStar Portal account.
If you have any inquiries about
TrickleStar products or need technical support, visit our website for
tutorials, videos and Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ). You can also contact us by email or phone.
Instruction V
ideos
If you want to see the Installation Instructions
as videos, visit our
YouTube channel:
https://www
.youtube.com/user/TrickleStarUS/
Website: www.tricklestar.com
Email: [e-mail]
Toll Free: 1-888-700-1098

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Overview
What's in the System?
Congratulations on the purchase of your new TrickleStar Wi-Fi Electric Water Heater Controller.
This Water Heater Controller offers a wide range of options to monitor and control your water
heater, via:
- the Water Heater Controller
- the TrickleStar Portal (Portal), which is also mobile browser friendly
- the TrickleStar App (App) on your smartphone.
This User Manual will guide you through the Water Heater Controller features using the Water
Heater Controller, Portal and App. You can check the list of features and the location from which
to perform the features by referring to “Feature List” from pages 59 to 62.
Water Heater
Controller
Portal / Portal Mobile App
John
Note: If you have not installed your Water Heater Controller, refer to the Installation Guide.

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Water Heater Controller User Interfaces
sensor 1sensor 2CTA-2045-B
connectivity
load
power
connectivity
indicator
load
indicator
power button
sensor 1 port
sensor 2 port
CTA-2045-B port
Fig 5-A

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Using the Water Heater Controller
The Water Heater Controller comes with a minimalist design. It only has two LED indicators and a
power button on the front panel, with two sensor ports and a CTA-2045-B port on the side panel. As
such, you need to use the TrickleStar Portal or TrickleStar App to perform the features. You can check
the list of features which the Water Heater Controller can perform by referring to “Feature List” from
pages 59 to 62.
However, you can check the LED indicators to obtain information on the Water Heater Controller. You
can also use the power button to manually turn on or off your water heater.
This device contains the following modules:
FCC ID: VPYLB1LD
IC: 772C-LB1LD
This device complies with part 15 of FCC Rules and Industry Canada’s license-exempt RSSs.
Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that
may cause undesired operation.
Le présent appareil est conforme à la partie 15 des règles de la FCC et aux normes des CNR
d'Industrie Canada applicables aux appareils radio exempts de licence. L'exploitation est autorisée
aux deux conditions suivantes : (1) l'appareil ne doit pas produire de brouillage, et (2) l'appareil
doit accepter tout brouillage subi, même si le brouillage est susceptible d'en compromettre le
fonctionnement.
FCC CAUTION
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by TrickleStar could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
This transmitter must not be co-located or operated in conjunction with any other antenna or
transmitter.

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If you do not have access to the Portal or App but you want to turn on your water heater:
Press the power button to turn on or off the water heater manually.
power
connectivity
load
connectivity indicator
load indicator
power button
Understanding the LED Indicators and Power Button
The LED indicators provide the following information:
Indicators Status Information
connectivity Does not light up There is no power to the Water Heater Controller.
Lights up in green The Water Heater Controller is connected to Wi-Fi but
there is no demand response activity.
Lights up in blue The Water Heater Controller is connected to Wi-Fi and
there is demand response activity.
Flashes in green The Water Heater Controller has not been connected to
Wi-Fi via the Portal or there is a connectivity error.
load Does not light up The load is off; there is no power to your water heater.
Lights up in red The load is on; power is supplied to your water heater.
Flashes in red An error has been detected, and the load is off as a
protective measure.
Fig 7-A

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Using the App
The TrickleStar App is a one-stop App platform allowing contractors and homeowners to easily
register, congure and control the Connected Products (Smart Thermostat and Wi-Fi Electric
Water Heater Controller).
This section explains the process of registering and controlling your Water Heater Controller using
the TrickleStar App.
Download the TrickleStar App to your mobile device from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
You can also scan the following QR codes:
Note: To use the App, you need to have a Portal account. If you have not created a Portal
account, create one at: portal.tricklestar.com
Fig 8-A

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Adding a New Device
To add a new device in the TrickleStar App, please follow the steps below:
1. Launch the TrickleStar App, you should
see the following screen if you do not have
any devices added to your TrickleStar
account.
Fig 9-A
2. Tap on the Menu icon and tap on “Add
New” to add a new device.
Fig 9-B

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3. Select “Wi-Fi Electric Water Heater
Controller”.
Fig 10-A
4. Create a new site for the device.
For example, you can name your site as
“Home”.
Fig 10-B

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5. Create a Device Name.
For example, you can name your device
as “Basement” or “Attic”.
Fig 11-A
6. Tap on the button that corresponds to the
state of the Water Heater Controller. For a
fresh, out of the box installation, it will typically
be the rst state of “Connectivity LED blinking”.
Fig 11-B

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7. Enter the device DSN into the text eld.
The DSN is case-sensitive, and all alphabets
must be in upper-case.
Fig 12-A
8. Go to the Wi-Fi settings in your mobile device
and connect to the Water Heater Controller’s
Wi-Fi broadcast.
Note: The Water Heater Controller Wi-Fi
broadcast should look like this: WaterHeater-
XXXXXXXXXXXX, where the 12 alphanumeric
represents the MAC address of the device.
Fig 12-B

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9. Ensure that your mobile device is now connected to the Water Heater Controller’s Wi-Fi
broadcast. At the TrickleStar App, tap on “Tap here” to open the Access Point interface. Connect
the Water Heater Controller to your Wi-Fi network. Next, you must connect your mobile device to
the same Wi-Fi network. Tap on “Done” afterwards.
Fig 13-A
Note: The Wi-Fi network credentials will be saved in the Water Heater Controller’s memory. These
credentials will not be lost even in the event the Water Heater Controller loses power.

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10. The App may take several minutes to register the device to your account.
Once connected to Wi-Fi, the Water Heater Controller’s “connectivity” LED indicator will be
lighted in green permanently.

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Transferring Ownership after Setup (For Contractors Only)
For Contractors assisting homeowners to setup the Water Heater Controller, the Contractors must
transfer ownership of the device (by transferring the entire Site) to the homeowner in the TrickleStar
App.
Contractors may follow the steps below to transfer ownership to the homeowners:
1. Tap on the Menu icon and select
“Sharing”.
Fig 15-A Fig 15-B
2. The Site Management and Sharing page
will be shown. Tap on “Ownership” tab.

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3. Tap on “Add New +”
Fig 16-A
4. Ensure the homeowner has already
created a Portal account. Enter the
homeowner’s email address to the Email
eld and select the Site to transfer. Tap
on “Add”.
Note: Once accepted, all devices under
the selected Site will be transferred to the
homeowner’s account.
Fig 16-B

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5. TrickleStar Portal will send an email to the
listed email address. The homeowner will
have to log into the TrickleStar App and
accept the ownership transfer request.
Fig 17-A
6. Once the ownership transfer request has
been accepted by the homeowner, the
contractor will lose all control over the
device permanently.

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Controlling the Device
To control the device, click on the Menu icon and select “Devices”.
The following are the controls accessible via the TrickleStar App in the Devices page:
Fig 18-A
Tap on the icon To
Boost on with timer or
Boost off.
Indicate if the App is
working at a different
network (Cloud) or same
network (LAN) with the
Water Heater Controller.
Turn on or off the water
heater.
Note:
• If you have registered more than one device in
your Site, tap on the device to access the
respective Devices page.
• If you have more than one Site in your TrickleStar
account, you need to rst select the desired
Site, and then tap on the device to access the
Devices page.
• The graphics on the page shows the real-time
power consumed by the water heater.

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Scheduling the Device
Tap on the “Schedules” icon to access the Schedules page. To edit the Schedule, click “Edit
Schedules”. The Water Heater Controller will automatically change the water heater on/off according
to the different times of the day, for all 7 days in a week. Tap on the “Add Schedule” icon to add a
new schedule event, or tap on existing schedules to edit or delete them.
Fig 19-A Fig 19-B
Note:
• You only need to congure the start time of each event, and it will remain in effect until
the next scheduled event.
• You can schedule up to 6 events in a day.

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Checking the Device Info
Tap on the “Info” icon to access the information of the Water Heater Controller operations and the
connected sensors.
The App allows you to view some general information about the Water Heater Controller, as well
as to set the advanced settings for the unit.
Tap on the icon To
Show the status of your
water heater.
Show the status of your
connected sensors.
Show the energy usage
and energy cost for a
specic period.
Show the information for
your device.
Show the settings for
Alerts and Reminders.
Change the Advanced
Settings for the Water
Heater Controller.
Fig 20-A