After the Fosdem talk, Bart & Mathias mentioned that it would be possible to connect an in-circuit meter to the fluksometer, in order to get the most accurate reading.
In http://www.flukso.net/content/real-power-and-apparent-power there is a comment by Bart stating that we need to look for a meter complying with IEC61036 so I found this unit: http://www.socomec.com/presentation-countis-am10_en.html
Would that be ok?
Hi aboaboit,
Look for a DIN-rail meter that has an S0 output like the one you mentioned. The S0 output is an open-collector one which can be directly connected to the Fluksometer's (internal) digital ports. This particular meter has a meter constant of 1 pulse per 100Wh, which is too low. Try to find one which has a meter constant of 1pulse/Wh as these will play nice with the Fluksometer.
Note that installing one of these DIN-rail meters requires re-routing of your mains cabling, which should be performed by a qualified electrician.
Cheers,
Bart.
Installation isn't a problem but price is: according to RS Components (large italian shop), the ABB OD1365 costs 103 EUR for 1 piece (and that's the cheapest non-EOLed unit with pulse output).
Had the cost been comparable to a fluksometer clamp, I'd have probably bought one just for kicks... now I'll just be happy with 2% accuracy.
Thanks,
Andrea.
In Belgium they install these GSC counters with an S0 interface;
some have allready used this to count their solar production;
would it be compatible with the Flukso as well?
http://users.telenet.be/slagveldweg/zonnepanelen/logging.htm
According to the datasheet, the EM10 has a pulse-type open-collector output (i.e. S0) with a pulse resolution of 1Wh. Perfect for hooking up to one of the Fluksometer's digital ports.
Cheers,
Bart.
these types of devices go well below 20 Euros - take this one as example:
http://cgi.ebay.de/WECHSELSTROMZAHLER-STROMZAHLER-HUTSCHIENE-S0-LCD-5-50...
but they don`t measure power, they measure energy. they are much more accurate than the ampere/clamps method,but they are not well for realtime monitoring, especially when you have loads below 100W. So - if you have 1000 pulses per kwh, you have 1 pulse for every Wh.
All true, except that the 20EUR ones are Made in China. Nothing wrong with that. Except that the mechanical design, especially the screw connectors, are not up to standards. At least the ones I tried out.
Remember: Tens of amps need to pass through those connectors. You don't want this part to be flaky.