Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Enphase consumption CT measurement problem.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Enphase consumption CT measurement problem.

    I have had my solar setup for 1.5 years so far, no issue. 3.48 kW of SolarWorld panels and Enphase IQ7 micros. I have had the production CT installed from the beginning and I just now got around to installing the consumption CT's. So far the readings do not look right. When I look into the error, it was not apparent to me the problem.
    Enphase_1.JPG
    Enphase_2.JPG



  • #2
    Have you tried flipping the CTs 180 degrees?
    9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Ampster View Post
      Have you tried flipping the CTs 180 degrees?
      I will double check tonight but the install instruction say to have the arrows point toward the load, away from the grid. I am 80% sure I have this correct but will follow-up.

      Thanks

      Comment


      • #4
        The Net number calculated under the date looks wrong. I have an Enphase system but it only has production and the blue bars are in the same orientation as in your chart. My blue bars show production and yours appear to show consumption. It could be the CTs are plugged into the wrong socket.

        Does the net number correspond with your utility meter or utility company website?
        Last edited by Ampster; 02-18-2020, 07:19 PM.
        9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012

        Comment


        • #5
          @jcondemn, any update?
          9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012

          Comment


          • #6
            I was able to check a couple things this weekend.
            #1, Direction of Consumption CT's. As per the Enphase instruction, the arrow should point towards the load.
            Panel1_1.JPG
            Panel3_1.JPG
            Panel2_1.JPG


            The production also seems to be in the right direction:
            Panel4_1.JPG
            Attached Files
            Last edited by jcondemn; 02-23-2020, 10:20 PM.

            Comment


            • #7
              You have your consumption meter set to "load with solar production" or "load only"? In your case it should be "load with solar production" as the solar breaker is on the load side. You can change this in the https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/ page.

              Comment


              • #8
                I have it set on load with solar production. I tried to take a screenshot but it did not come through very well.
                Setting.JPG

                Comment


                • #9
                  Did you power off and repower your Enlighten box after you made those changes. I am just grasping at straws here.
                  Have you checked that the CTs are plugged into the right spot on your Enlighten box. As I noted earlier the blue bars look like consumption niumbers but are labeled production. I would presume the plugs are polarized so they could not be reversed.
                  Were you able to correlate any of the gross numbers with what your power company data says for a day or fixed period?
                  9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    BREAKTHROUGH!!
                    I listened/watched an Enphase tech brief on CT Wizard and the presenter happened to mention that some main breakers will flip the input/output lugs. I looked and mine was that case, so my L1 was actually L2. I will try and switch the CT connections tonight.
                    Breaker.JPG

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      That may be a clue. I did notice that there was only one solar CT and that may need to be on a particular leg as well. The installers could have put it on the wrong leg. It wouldn't make a difference inititially when just measuring solar since solar generation is balanced. I wonder if that is why your blue bars are labeled production but look like they follow a consumption pattern?
                      Last edited by Ampster; 02-25-2020, 03:52 PM.
                      9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Nice, that's probably it.

                        Off topic a bit but I've been using this project in a docker container as supplemental monitoring. Nice thing is it updates every minute.
                        https://github.com/dlmcpaul/EnphaseCollector

                        Enphase has some good monitoring but this is more real time, you can also export the data.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          So I swapped the leads on the Envoy for the consumption CT's and have been monitoring all day and the data looks good. Note that big power spike in the morning, that is our electric car (Ford C-Max Energi) pre-heating the cabin. The heating system is just resistance heaters on that car so it's like a giant toaster oven. Better ($) electric cars are using heat pumps more effectively to heat.

                          Power_1.JPG

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by jcondemn View Post
                            So I swapped the leads on the Envoy for the consumption CT's and have been monitoring all day and the data looks good. Note that big power spike in the morning, that is our electric car (Ford C-Max Energi) pre-heating the cabin. The heating system is just resistance heaters on that car so it's like a giant toaster oven. Better ($) electric cars are using heat pumps more effectively to heat.
                            Thanks for the update.
                            Funny that you mention Better ($) electric cars using heat pumps. The manufacturers are getting smarter over time. My expensive EV built in 2016 uses resistive heat to heat the cabin. My newer, less expensive one built in 2019 uses inductive heat by stalling the motor to provide the heat for the batteries and the cabin.

                            Are you getting the benefits of a good EV TOU rate?
                            9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Currently I do not have TOU rate pricing. My utility company (Xcel) has a great program where the rate is ~$0.04 per kWh which is awesome. It also includes a $5 a month hook-up charge which covers the extra meter. I have not done the math to calculate the cost savings for such a small battery (10 kWh) on the Ford. I assume a much larger EV is in our near-ish (2-3 year) future and getting TOU will absolutely make sense then.

                              Ampster, what EV's do you currently have? Curious.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X