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So my Inverter died in July and I just found out because of my edison bill to the tune of 3600 dollars. The green light was on the whole time, Edison just takes the monthly bill direct from checking account. If i log in to solar edge it shows it makes power just tiny amounts. I got zero warning on this and it looks like my installer needs to give me more permissions to get alerts etc. Installer thinks the inverter died. I dont want this to happen again nor do I want to rely on solar edge to tell me if there is a problem. Any advice on solar monitoring. I really just need basic stuff like your not producing power and a notification sent to my phone or an email. Any help appreciated.
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My inverters have a power readout on the front, which I look at on
sunny days. Lacking that, there are all kinds of inexpensive meters
you could attach externally. If output is not there, I go after the array
with other meters. Bruce Roe
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And you can always read your own Utility Meter, if it's set to count up and downPowerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-ListerComment
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Yeah I get that. SolarEdge has a nice app and all that and when I first got the solar 3 years ago I was glued to it and then it just lost I guess the wow factor. I am an idiot for not checking it more and looking into more of the notifications schemas available if it failed. On some blogs it doesnt look like the solar edge reporting is perfect either and the fact that my installer has to now give me more access kind of irritates me. My inverter does have a screen and some lights and when I found out my bill i went out to see what was going on and the green light that says generating power was on, I go to my app and its just miniscule amounts since July 25th. I can see the exact day and time it failed. Again I am an idiot for just assuming all is well but I dont want to stare at this thing all day either lol thats why I was checking on some after market stuff for notifications like if I am not generating for a day I get a push notification. I looked at Sense online but I cant tell exactly if they do that.Comment
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Basic stuff: A little more self reliance might have been helpful in heading off the situation you describe. To help prevent a recurrence and as a kind of internal head's up, you might try reading your electric meter once in a while and see if the readings make sense.
PV is good stuff, but some user input is required.Comment
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yup i learned that the hard way. Like I said I was waaay into it when it first went in, watching my meter go backward, on the app multiple times a day. After a couple years the "excitement" went away and it was just working until well until it was not. Yeah I know I could set a reminder once a week to check my system but would prefer some sort of automation to check it that is not tied to the inverter but separate. Until then its gonna be a reminder in my phone.Comment
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The TED monitoring system has the capabilities you are looking for......here's a screen shot of the notification setup in the system setup.......
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DanS26 -
The resolution of your screen shot is pretty poor but I went to their website. Do I need the TED commander to do this? Looks like an app? Really just need a push notification to device if the solar system is not producing etc. Its 500 bucks but I just wasted 2000 because my system was down despite my inverter on the outside saying everything is good. I dont trust solar edge at this point at all.Last edited by ajohansson; 02-21-2021, 10:14 PM.Comment
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Spend the big bucks if you need those functions, I would not trust it to still be
operational when you next need it. The DROK 80-300V I showed is around
$30 delivered from Amz. Here is another item capable of super reliable
monitoring, often seen as surplus for about the same $. Bruce Roe
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Sorry about the resolution.....I live out in the boondocks of southern Indiana and my bandwidth is extremely poor so I resize pics. Above is the best I can do. Yes I got my Starlink order in.
I've had the TED Pro system for over 8 years.....before that I had the TED 5000 system. I monitor 28 individual power circuits in my home which include the Main power, two solar inverters and an EV circuit in my garage.
In your case you would only need to monitor the two main panel circuits but you may also want to monitor your inverter AC production circuits. I think the basic system can monitor 2 circuits so a couple of Spyders for the solar circuits would be wise to install also. You want the "TED Advisor" functionality of the system which comes with the basic system. I monitor the system on my desktop, my iPad and iPhone. I also have TED report my solar production to PVOutput.org every 5 minutes.
Yes its pricey.....~$500 and you have to install CT (circuit transformers) on the circuits you want to monitor. If you are not handy then an electrician may be necessary. The TED Pro Home would handle your requirements. The TED system uses PLC (power line communications) and does not play well with noisy power lines in your house. If you have noisy lines a conditioner may be necessary.
ps. Just a bit of advice from experience. Install the system with a UPS (uninterruptible power supply)....does not have to be large but it will protect your data from power glitches that seem to corrupt data without it.
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