RE: Re: Solar PV ?

[Marcus Warrington <marcus.warrington@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Peter,


=D8  Next option is a Sunny Beam display (groovy looking) which has usb
dow=
nload. Needs to be in bluetooth range. Costs a bit under =A3200.

Actually my installer can get the SunnyBeams for about =A3100 + vat , so I
=
could get them for =A3105 if I order as part of my install (5% vat) or
=A31=
20 (20% vat) if I order later. I am tempted to get one just to see,
especia=
lly as I watched one sell on eBay for =A3148 last week !

If you were interested in getting one then I could get my installer to
orde=
r an extra one for you.

Thanks for the clarification on Sunny Explorer, sounds like if I'm just
wan=
ting the CSV's there won't be a problem.

One of my Directors here at work has a SolarPV array fitted and has rigged
=
up a IP switched socket (global cache) to a ~2KW immersion tank. He then
us=
es a current clamp meter (like the OWL) connected to a PC and if his
genera=
tion exceed his cosumption by ~2KW he automatically sends a HTTP request
to=
the switch to turn on the immersion heater.

Marcus

From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of P=
eter + Jane
Sent: 15 July 2011 06:30
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Re: Solar PV ?



Hi Marcus
I am sort of relieved to hear this. My conclusion
was that a cabled connection was prohibitively
expensive, and I was wondering if there was a
cheaper option than the webbox that I had missed.
Next option is a Sunny Beam display (groovy
looking) which has usb download. Needs to be in
bluetooth range. Costs a bit under =A3200.
Sunny Explorer software is free.
It doesn't crash or lose connection, it just does odd things.
It has quite nice graphics (histograms
day/month/year). It allows interrogation and
option setting. It shows a lot of settings data
and running data (voltages, frequency etc). I like it for all that.
When you log on it always starts from no data and
has to download everything (so it doesn't
remember historical data, for example). So nyou
have to wait. My solution...stay logged on.
The histograms are nice (I can send sample screenshots if you want)
What is strange is that for monthly data, for
example, it might have the odd day with nothing.
Or the odd day with a spuriously high figure.
These data must be stored in the inverter in a
different file from the downloadable csv data. My
experience is the csv data are always correct. So
the missing day or the high figure will not be in
the csv data! I thought it may be my inverter
(4000TL), but a neighbour finds the same.
The sample rate for the csv data is much more
frequent than the histogram stuff, which in turn
is much better than the histogram displayed on
the front panel of the inverter. With it you can
change passwords for inverter access. Pity it doesn't remember them!
I use an Efergy display (retired when I got an
Owl+USB) then brought out of retirement. I
insisted on a separate small consumer unit for
connection of inverter output upstream of my
house consumer units (6 of them :-[). There is or
was a practice of connecting solar input on a
spare way in the normal house consumer unit. My
view was that consumer unit mcbs are for output.
I thought that was a bad idea as consumption and
generation couldn't be separated for measuring. I
also question the safety of a consumer unit that
could be live when the isolator switch is off.
Installer's arguement is that the inverter cuts out if no mains is
detected=
.
So I download csv data from the inverter and
download usage data from the Owl and one day when
I have time I will correlate them!!!
I have tried twice on this list to encourage
another solar user to come up with a more elegant
monitoring system, or an automated switching
system based on consumption and generation
monitoring as I am on the limits of my skills in
that area! My plea was ignored!!
In the meantime the two monitors are in the
kitchen with a triple X10 switch and the hot tub
heater, the tumble drier and the washing machine
are rigged that they can be switched on manually
if generation exceeds consumption by a suitable
amount. I opted for the assumption that I would
export 50% of what I generate, so the game is to
use as much as possible as it is "free".
HTH
Peter
PS 6:30am already 645 watts. Baseload 770 watts
(ha, Sonos, MHRV, etc). Looks like another profitable day ahead!

At 16:14 14/07/2011, you wrote:
>
>
>Peter,
>
>After my installer has been talking to the SMA
>support guys, it transpires that the RS485 card
>only works with their webbox (=A3350!) and not
>with their Sunny Explorer software. I'm not
>convinced that's necessarily true but probably
>safe to say it certainly wouldn't be the "plug
>and play" solution I'd envisaged.
>
>Anyway, given this new piece of information I'm
>back to having to make do with Bluetooth like
>yourself. My server is probably only about 7M
>away from where the inverter will be so I'm
>pretty confident I would be abler to get away
>with using a simple passive USB/Cat5 extender to
>get the receiver into the same cellar as the
>inverter (i.e. within line of sight).
>
>When you say that Sunny Explorer is "flakey"
>what do you mean ? Does it crash or just loose
>connection, if it crashes then that's probably
>easier to automate a solution for.
>
>Marcus
>
>From:
><mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>ukha_d@xxxxxxx<mailto:ukha_d%40ya=
hoogroups.com>
>[mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx<mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>]
On Behalf=
Of Peter + Jane
>Sent: 13 July 2011 14:46
>To: <mailto:ukha_d%40yahoogroups.com>ukha_d@xxxxxxx<mailto:ukha_d%=
40yahoogroups.com>
>Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Re: Solar PV ?
>
>Marcus
>
>FYI I played with USB to cat 5 baluns + bluetooth
>dongle. Worked, but dropped out occasionally. I
>now use 2 x 10m plus 1 x 5m active USB cables
>plus a dongle. Cost =A325 total. Stable and works
>with Sunny Explorer software, which itself is a
>bit flakey. CSV files downloadable so still ok!
>
>Yes I did get a deal on Sanyo. Shape of my
>available roof was perfect for them, so no
>brainer (as long as they last!) Not proven technology.
>
>Rgds
>Peter
>
>At 11:36 13/07/2011, you wrote:
>
> >Intersting you mention the Bluetooth, as I was a
> >little concerened about coverage because it
> >would be below ground level rather than at a
> >high point. I was planning on using a cheap BT
> >dongle to gather statistics from the inverter on
> >the house server, but maybe I'll invest in the
> >optional RS485 card for the inverter and use a cable instead.
> >
> >
> >I looked at Sanyo HIPS but again, for me, they
> >cost more (added about an extra =A32K to the
> >quote!) than they'd return. I think if you've
> >limited roof space ,or you get them cheap, they make more sense.
>
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>
>

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