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Sense Energy Monitor with Solar – Track Electricity Usage and Solar Production in Real Time Meets Rigorous ETL/Intertek Safety Standards?
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If you really want to understand your house energy usage and solar output, consider installing a Sense energy meter with the solar option.
I used to read the meter trying to get a feel for things, but the energy meter only shows if you are using more (or less). You probably want more detail.
https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Energy-Monitor-Solar-Electricity/dp/B075K51T9X/
Where you place the Envoy is critical. You can't just plug it into any outlet :-).
The Enphase micro-inverters send a signal down the power line but it can get blocked by all sorts of things.
I only got my Envoy to stabilize by having the electrician wire it as close to the power coming off the panels as possible. I then ran an ethernet cable from the Envoy (mounted on the back of my place) to my ethernet hub since WiFi is also a problem with the Envoy :-).
[Disclosure; I have an older model of the Envoy, and the newer model may have addressed these issues]
As others have pointed out, even if the Envoy is reporting microinverters offline etc, you can have assurance that they are still producing power for your home (usually).
I added a Sense monitor to keep track of my house usage and my solar usage. I rarely look at the Envoy anymore, but it is still useful to make sure everything is working properly.
I have Enphase too, and the Envoy. I don't use the Envoy. I use Sense instead.
You want to focus on two numbers; the kWhs your home consumes, and the kWhs your solar array produces.
The out of box app is good but mostly for capturing production. You need to purchase either the proprietary or decent third-party tracking hardware to take advantage of the app's real-time consumption over production tracking. I haven't explored this option yet.
I'm considering going with the Sense monitor. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B075K51T9X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_6X79AGCJKYH3XP1SRDMY
You will get less clipping as the panels age (the first few years are the most noticeable). I suspect you will only get clipping during peak months (just around now).
Is it worth trying to swap out the micro-inverters? Probably not, but I have not looked hard at the numbers.
I will say this. New solar owners get a bit obsessed with solar production numbers :-). You have a rather beefy 11.4kW system (mine is 6.8kW).
If you have money to spare, I would look for ways to save kWhs :-). Have you installed a Sense?
A few thoughts;
1) Get a Sense energy monitor so you know where you energy is going.
2) Convert your lights to LED (Hue may be expensive, but they unit sips of power).
3) Look into the Hubitat Elevation hub to automate things you can. NYCE motion sensors with Hubitat and Zone Motion Controllers is as close to occupancy sensing as I've seen :-).
4) Do you have natural gas? If so, you might save a ton on electricity by switching things over to gas.
Agreed! I rarely see a deal I think is actually fair to the buyer :-). See if they will throw in an Envoy energy monitor into the mix.
Regardless, you will want Sense (see Amazon URL below) to monitor your home energy usage and your solar production :-).
You might consider side stepping the solar system monitor and go with something like (Sense)[https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Energy-Monitor-Solar-Electricity/dp/B075K51T9X/].
I have Enphase and rarely use the Enphase monitoring solution (Envoy). I have both Envoy and Sense.
I'd suggest something like this energy monitor. It senses inductive current in the lines, so you can monitor power usage of your house, independent of CMP's meter. I wouldn't expect perfect accuracy, but if it's saying 400kwh and CMP is saying 1200kwh, you can take that to them and tell them their meter is fucked.
They make smart electricity trackers that clgo in the fuse box and clip around the leads. These measure the load through ~~Magic~~ ~~magnetic fields~~ magic.
In five years, you will be glad of the size you picked! Panels lose power (by a bit), and an EV may be in your future etc.
I suggest you get to know your home electricity usage;
https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Energy-Monitor-Solar-Electricity/dp/B075K51T9X/
85% is a nice number!
Do you know where your energy is going?
I suggest getting a Sense energy monitor to understand your electricity usage. Get the solar add on so you can monitor both use and production.
With some careful changes, you might get that 85% number up to 100% :-).
There are two versions of the Sense power monitor. The standard/base model has current sensors that go into your main breaker box to monitor the in-home usage. There is a "Solar" model that comes with two additional sensors that monitor the power your solar panel is generating and so can compute generation vs utility consumption. See https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Energy-Monitor-Solar-Electricity/dp/B075K51T9X
Sense is an energy monitor. It works with any installation of solar, and shows you your house usage and your solar production.
https://imgur.com/gallery/qkI6TOB
https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Energy-Monitor-Solar-Electricity/dp/B075K51T9X/
You can save yourself some headaches by installing and using Sense rather than the Enphase data. Sense looks at the actual power coming off the panels, and going into the grid or your house. It is updated every second. You can have confidence in the kWhr number for generation and usage (the difference either gets pulled from the grid or pushed into the grid).
By talking kWhrs, you can start to understand what your system is producing, and what your home is consuming. Sense will also break down WHERE that power is getting used.
Yikes! Sense gathers data from your solar array, and house consumption every second.
Easy'ish solution; Sense Energy Monitor
I suspect what you are looking for is Sense :-).
I recommend a Sense energy monitor (with solar add on). Not only will you know what your house is consuming, you can keep your eye on what your solar array produces). It is easy to install.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075K51T9X
The Sense app displays a really good view of what is going on second to second. I have mine running all the time on an ipad embedded in the wall :-).
I have the Envoy (granted an older model). Look into Sense to monitor both your consumption and your solar output.
I rarely consult the Envoy :-).
Hello All - long time lurker, first time poster.
A friend of mine received the Sense Solar Monitor for Christmas ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075K51T9X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_3WQBM8YC3KHHPNG6YKWP), and we took an initial look at his home setup for install instructions. From our initial look, we will definitely be calling an Electrician to provide quotes/assessments.
Wondering if you guys could weigh in on what to expect or what would be reasonable in terms of work to be done to have this installed. And then any random guesses on cost to install would be helpful (we presume mostly labor or likely Circuit Breaker replacements !?) Again just looking for something to set our expectations on so when we call around we don't sound dumber than we did before we started this thread.
Install instructions (https://help.sense.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006133908-Installing-Sense-Solar)
This is for a California home, and there are solar panels already installed. Hope the pictures look ok.
Hello All - long time lurker, first time poster.
A friend of mine received the Sense Solar Monitor for Christmas ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075K51T9X/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_3WQBM8YC3KHHPNG6YKWP), and we took an initial look at his home setup for install instructions. From our initial look, we will definitely be calling an Electrician to provide quotes/assessments.
Wondering if you guys could weigh in on what to expect or what would be reasonable in terms of work to be done to have this installed. And then any random guesses on cost to install would be helpful (we presume mostly labor or likely Circuit Breaker replacements !?) Again just looking for something to set our expectations on so when we call around we don't sound dumber than we did before we started this thread.
Install instructions (https://help.sense.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006133908-Installing-Sense-Solar)
This is for a California home, and there are solar panels already installed. Hope the pictures look ok.
are you looking for it ?
it is just one example, there are various home power monitor
Look into the Sense energy monitor. It can monitor your energy consumption and your solar production.
Investigate the Sense energy monitor with solar add-on. Not only will you know what your solar is producing, you will know what you are consuming :-).
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