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  • pvoutput.org question about "Secondary Device" Direction

    Hi all,

    I have a newly installed grid-tied 4.2kW Solar system (LG Neon 350W x 12 + optimizers + SolarEdge inverter). PG&E is my grid provider.

    I am trying to hook all this up to my pvoutput.org accound and I think this is what I am supposed to do in my pvoutput settings:

    Automatic Uploads -- Primary Device:
    Primary Device: SolarEdge
    Direction: Solar
    Setup with SolarEdge API Key and Side Id
    Energy: Enabled
    Temperature: Enabled
    Voltage: Enabled


    Automatic Uploads -- Secondary Device
    Secondary Device: Wattvision (My Wattvision account is hooked up to a RainForest Eagle cloud account which monitors my PG&E Smart Meter)
    Direction: ???
    Sensor ID: <Wattvision Supplied>
    API ID: <Wattvision Supplied>
    API Key: <Wattvision Supplied>



    What should I be using as the "Direction" for the secondary device?

    When I look at my Wattvision as well as my Rainforest cloud account, during daytime, the smart meter consumption is showing as negative (as it should)


    Many thanks in advance!

  • #2
    Mine is set to consumption.
    5.775 kW System: 21 SolarWorld SW275 x 1 SMA 5000

    Comment


    • #3
      sabersix, thank you.

      That makes sense.

      So, under what scenarios would one use "Net" ?

      Comment


      • #4
        joyjit - Is there a reason why you're using Wattvision instead of the SolarEdge Monitoring service? Is there something better about it? I've been playing around with SolarEdge API to see if I want to do something different, especially for TOU (on PG&E as well using TOU-B plan) and if somebody has a good solution where I could put in TOU info to figure out my production/consumption for Peak/Off Peak - Winter/Summer, I might do that instead of using the API and coding it all myself.

        Comment


        • #5
          TAZ427 I am using Solar Edge monitoring to monitor my panels. I am using Wattvision to monitor pg&e.

          Not sure if there is a better way to do this?

          Anyways does anyone know when/how to use "Net" direction on pvoutput?

          ​​​​​​


          ​​​​​​

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by joyjit View Post
            TAZ427 I am using Solar Edge monitoring to monitor my panels. I am using Wattvision to monitor pg&e.

            Not sure if there is a better way to do this?

            Anyways does anyone know when/how to use "Net" direction on pvoutput?

            ​​​​​​


            ​​​​​​
            Ah, Ok, I had a consumption meter (Watt Node) put in with my solar. I started looking into PVoutput as I haven't done it, I set up an account (haven't donated yet.) I was considering adding my consumption, temp, etc on there.

            Out of curiosity, did Wattvision require any extra hardware or did it simply poll your meters data, what Info is required? Are you using the free 7 days of data service and pumping the information up to PVoutput or are there limitations with the free service requiring pay service to do this?

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            • #7
              TAZ427 This is the config I have with pvoutput:

              Solar Edge Monitoring API --> PVOutput Pirmary

              PG&E Smart Meter --> Rainforest Eagle --> Rainforest Eagle Cloud ID --> Wattvision --> Wattvision API Key --> PVOutput Secondary

              I am using the Wattvision FREE account, no issues.

              Also, I found the answer to my original question.

              Its better to use the "NET" directtion for the secondary, not the "Consumption" direction.

              That way, the pvoutput graphs show you your correct generattion as well as your current usage (the excess is fed to the grid).


              If you use the "Consumption" method, it does not show the graphs correctly when my panels are producing more electricity than I am using (i.e. when I am feeding electricity back to the grid).

              sabersix you may want to try out the "Net" direction for Secondary and see if you like that better.

              Thanks

              Comment


              • #8
                It pretty much depends on if your meter is physically measuring net or consumption.
                it would be consumption if it is load side of the solar interconnect or net if it is grid side of the solar interconnect.
                OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by ButchDeal View Post
                  It pretty much depends on if your meter is physically measuring net or consumption.
                  I think you are absolutely correct. In my case, the PG&E Smart meter goes backwards when my panels produce more than I need, i.e. it shows "Net" (as shown by the Rainforest Eagle)

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