Solar monitoring...

Hi all,

My recent installation (final phase of my PV project) included a 4kW system with enphase inverters. The cool thing about this installation is the web interface and the ability to monitor production and inverter (therefore, module) performance. The remainder of the system is on 2 Sunnyboy 3000s.

I'm looking at options to hook up the Sunnyboys to allow for web based or even just remote monitoring and wonder if any of you have done this. I'm looking for advice/recommendations. So far, I've looked at Sunnybeam and also Sunny Webbox solutions (leaning towards the latter).

We're pleased with our installation and produce enough to cover our home and car (LEAF) energy usage and recommend it, esp with the various tax credits still currently in play.

Mahalo!

I use an egauge system with the ability to monitor things from the web and also to isolate certain equipment that I would like to track. http://www.egauge.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

batzman said:

I use an egauge system with the ability to monitor things from the web and also to isolate certain equipment that I would like to track. http://www.egauge.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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That seems really expensive. I've really been thinking about a TED 5000.

Thanks for the suggestions. I had not considered these and I'm now looking into the TED 5000. It looks like this will also allow for monitoring of actual usage.

I'll let you know how it goes with the installation.

I use the TED 5000 on a cottage, and it works very well in regards to monitoring power usage. It will also allow me to input a cost per khwr in there with tiers even. It makes splitting up the bill a lot easier.

I've had a TED 5000 installed for about 10 months and I use it daily to monitor my solar production and my EVSE power usage, as well as to monitor my whole house power usage. Setup and installation can be a bit tricky for those of us who are less adept or proficient in working with our home electrical systems, but the result has been a reliable and useful system that I wouldn't want to be without.

I've solved a few glitches and made some adjustments in my system, and I've learned a bit (emphasis on a BIT) about TED over the months.

Is there interest on the forum for a TED technical solutions thread?

It might be worthwhile to check if the sunnyboys have some sort of interface? If they have a serial interface, it is fairly straightforward to read data from such devices and home made solutions (which just cost time and $0 otherwise) are totally feasible.

I have the Sunny Beam. It works fine, except the Bluetooth range could be better. I have yet to get the Sunny Data Control software installed though. I need to work on that, so I can archive all my data.

We have the sunny webbox which works fine and is very easy to access from anywhere on the web. We tried using the TED 5000 but I couldn't find an electrical contractor to install it since it is not approved for installation in San Diego so I returned it.

-u

keydiver said:

I have the Sunny Beam. It works fine, except the Bluetooth range could be better. I have yet to get the Sunny Data Control software installed though. I need to work on that, so I can archive all my data.

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I also have Sunny Beam up and running. My system uses Tigo Maximizers which give me panel level DC output, string level DC output and system level DC output.

I also just installed a Bluetooth SMA Piggy-back card and a Sunny Beam for Inverter level AC and DC monitoring. The Sunny Data Control has been functionally replaced with Sunny Explorer for BT communications.

My DC production is web-based and my AC production is stored locally via the Sunny Beam.

I also like the near instantaneious display of current output, today's production and lifetime production.

My Sunny Beam is a near real-time monitor of inverter data.

'KeyDiver' - Do you have a BT piggy-back or a piggy-back plus. The PLUS has an external antenae, and I have no issues with range.