Author Topic: So far of topic i cant even rememder what the topic Was? Home Energy monitering  (Read 2162 times)

old seagull man

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I'm looking around for a home energy monitoring system or the components to build one.
As i now have a number of inverters spread about the place. The SMA's have there own inbuilt WiFi, so their easy. but the older inverters, read cheap, off gumtree, and ebay just have there own internal displays.
So a walk around the house and sheds at the end of the day and some quick mental arithmetic and i have a number.
But i'd like instantaneous, and hourly and daily data. so when panels are moved or adjusted i have real data not just good guess work.


WiFi energy monitor, home energy monitor, local api support, WiFi energy meter

https://www.iammeter.com/


This is what im thinking about, bang it in the meter box and bobs your uncle.

So what did you do? how did it go? Was there a better way, and if you did it again what would you do different?

BruceM

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Sense makes a similar product.
I think putting more microwave transmitters in the house, to save pulling a wire, is a bad idea for the health of the occupants, as is WIFI in the home.  Only telecom cigarette science thinks that's a good idea, the independent science says otherwise.

I'd look for a wired solution.
Here's one that's fairly inexpensive:
Eyedro EHEM1-LV Home Electricity Monitor

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FN3X9GX/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07FN3X9GX&pd_rd_w=QScHo&pf_rd_p=f0dedbe2-13c8-4136-a746-4398ed93cf0f&pd_rd_wg=9mc4k&pf_rd_r=VECPPB24Z5E12PP361VS&pd_rd_r=8d20e38c-14f0-11e9-b2a1-ed44176090ba

« Last Edit: January 10, 2019, 04:03:05 PM by BruceM »

BruceM

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The last one looks nice and they have avoided wireless.
It's easy to get carried away with features and data you will never look at after the first week.  I did that on my own 120vdc system, but after making a simplified version for my neighbors, I preferred it.
 

old seagull man

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Thanks Everyone.

Bruce Please tell us all about the "Simpler" version.

I understand about the desire for no WiFi, but their are three double brick cavity walls between my office and the meter box on the outside wall. So that's a lot of holes to drill for cat 5 cable.
 :)

BruceM

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There must be an up and over (or other) route for the power to your office- that's the path to follow. 

Transmitters in the house; reminds me of the day when the latest new tech was xrays, and the fit of new shoes was tested by xrays of your feet.  It was deemed perfectly safe by the companies selling them to shoe stores. (It was NOT safe.)

Now the craze is WIFI, smartphones, IOT and the marketing hype is to have every appliance in the home and more have transmitters, so you will have a pulsed microwave transmitter near your body and head at all times.  Independent research shows clearly this is biologically harmful too.  Their voice is lost in the tsunami of new tech marketing.

I'm off grid on my own designed 120VDC power system with inverter used only for well and laundry, so no application for on-gridders.  I manually don't use electric cooking on dark days, and my batteries are charged fully every day with very low DOD (depth of discharge), so all I need to know is when is there enough PV power for electric cooking, and when can I run the inverter off PV for water pumping or laundry.  I plan on adding automation for well pumping and some electric air compressing to my 500 gallon storage tank, based on PV power available and home DC load. All I need to know about power is sun level, battery bank voltage and net charge; if voltage is at bulk and net charge is dropping fairly low, and it's 10AM in the winter they're almost full and I can cut loose on power consumption up to 2000W. Then battery voltage dropping below Bulk or Float tells me I've exceeded PV power. I don't care about SOC (state of charge) because the answer is always 85% or better in the early AM.  (Rarely less then 90%)

Or more simply- on dark or reduced power days I don't do laundry or pump water, or do much electric cooking beyond very low power crock pot or tea immersion heater.







« Last Edit: January 11, 2019, 08:30:11 PM by BruceM »