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  • Electricity Use Monitor

    Hi, Along with installing a new solar system (currently in progress) I would also like to monitor my home electricity use to see where I could possibly reduce it. Since there are so many systems available I thought I would see if anyone has any recommendations. I'm not looking for something too expensive (less than $300) or too difficult to install. Some have just a clip that attaches over the main incoming cables and that would be ok. My new solar system has a monitor to let me know how much I'm generating so I don't think I need to track separately with an electric monitor, or do some people do both?

    Thanks for the feedback!

  • #2
    Originally posted by Truenorth View Post
    My new solar system has a monitor to let me know how much I'm generating so I don't think I need to track separately with an electric monitor, or do some people do both?
    I bought a TED5004.
    It can monitor 4 of 240V circuits. For me that is: AC, pool panel, house panel, solar.
    The data I got from Solaredge inverter was a little optimistic I believe.
    And a larger granularity (15 minute) than what I can see with TED5000 system.

    There are other options out there as well.

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    • Truenorth
      Truenorth commented
      Editing a comment
      Sounds like a nice system, I will check it out. Looks like monitoring the solaredge is a benefit as well.

      Thanks!

  • #3
    Originally posted by foo1bar View Post
    I bought a TED5004.
    IAnd a larger granularity (15 minute) than what I can see with TED5000 system.
    There are other options out there as well.
    I had the solaredge 15min monitoring which worked great till it didn't. so the installer swapped out the 15min communication via internet card, for the every 4hr card that communicates with a cell tower... which worked great..till it didn't, n had to replace the inverter, but again with this 4hr card.. its been up n running now for 3weeks, without a hiccup... glad I got the 25year bumper to bumper warr... now gotta pray all parties r in business for the next 24years...

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    • #4
      Thanks!...sounds like I better research the solaredge extended warranty!

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      • #5
        Maybe not what you're looking for but the basic Kill-a-Watt meter is a useful and simple tool.
        2.2kw Suntech mono, Classic 200, NEW Trace SW4024

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        • #6
          Originally posted by Truenorth View Post
          Thanks!...sounds like I better research the solaredge extended warranty!
          yep... if I had to do it all over again, i'd investigate further... I put in my 1st system at my sons house, and it worked fine... 9months later I installed a similar system at my home, and there too it worked fine for months... then the online monitoring started to go down.. sometime for hrs, sometimes for days, and for the same reason it went down (no apparent reason), it would come back up... then after doing that for a couple of months, the installer changed over from internet monitoring to cell tower, and here to it worked fine for about 2months, and then it went down for days at a time and then would re-appear... finally the installer replaced the inverter and I've been good for a month +... and my son's unit which was working fine also went down, and they replaced his card with this cell tower gizmo...

          it seems we are paying a lot of $$$$ for electronic's that don't have all the bugs worked out...

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          • #7
            FWIW, I read and record electricity usage daily from the POCO meter and use several kill-a-Watt meters for major appliance usage. A bit old fashioned maybe, and some tricks about relative meter calibrations were necessary, but I believe I've got a pretty good handle on energy usage as well as generation, which comes from the array monitor.

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            • #8
              Originally posted by paris401 View Post
              the online monitoring started to go down.. sometime for hrs, sometimes for days, and for the same reason it went down (no apparent reason), it would come back up... then after doing that for a couple of months, the installer changed over from internet monitoring to cell tower, and here to it worked fine for about 2months, and then it went down for days at a time and then would re-appear...
              Was the internet monitoring wireless?

              I used hardwired ethernet to my SolarEdge because I didn't want to deal with flaky monitoring connections.

              Comment


              • #9
                I have used a TED5000 for over 6 years now. Monitor my main panel electrical use, two solar inverters and a 35 year old built in refrigerator. Four circuits for the TED5000, but the new TED Pro with Spyders can monitor significantly more circuits. Lots of people have problems with power line communications but I never experienced those problems. The new TED Pro is supposed to have addressed those problems but I never had a need to switch.

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                • #10
                  The TED communicates well with PVoutput.org. Pretty much bullet proof for over 4 years now.

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                  • #11
                    Originally posted by DanKegel View Post

                    Was the internet monitoring wireless?

                    I used hardwired ethernet to my SolarEdge because I didn't want to deal with flaky monitoring connections.
                    yes it was wireless... as it was almost impossible to connect via hardwire.. and wireless is def flaky...

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                    • #12
                      Originally posted by paris401 View Post
                      yes it was wireless... as it was almost impossible to connect via hardwire.. and wireless is def flaky...
                      Yeah, it was just barely doable here.
                      I spent a merry day in very dusty overalls fishing cat5 through our crawlspace and through holes in cement walls using a very long bent coathanger,
                      drilling holes myself, crimping connectors onto the cat 5, and moving our router around so there'd be something to plug it into in the basement.
                      If I had had to pay someone to do it, it would have been rather expensive.
                      But in return I got a rock-solid connection.

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                      • #13
                        I use a Rainforest Eagle that communicates over Zigbee to the utility meter, but your utility has to support that. I don't really use the Rainforest interface on it though - I pull the data out of it using their API and store it to a time series database along with the production data I get from my enphase envoy. You can also send the data to pvoutput with it.

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                        • #14
                          I have a SolarEdge inverter that I added consumption monitoring to. For specific circuits, I have a Smartthings hub with energy meters. I use initialstate to graph/trend the data from the Smartthings hub. I would like to get a CURB system but cant justify spending the $400 on it.

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                          • #15
                            Thanks for all of the feed back! Has anyone tried the Sense monitor system?

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