I'm looking at buying a Fluksometer to monitor energy generated by a PV array and energy used in an off grid house. Appears most monitoring of PV output is done post-inverter (in my case at 230VAC).
From what I can see if I monitor the PV array post-inverter and the house consumption I'll have 2x sensors on the same wire!
What I'm trying to do is monitor PV production, pre-inverter/charger and consumption post inverter. Hopefully then I should be able to measure PV output, calculate MPPT/battery charging/inverter efficiency, and monitor/minimise energy usage.
So to make this really simple - is there a clip on clamp or pulse output KW/hr meter I can use to measure a DC current at a variable voltage? Any help much appreciated!
Keppel
i think it's better to use the inverters RS-485 or bluetooth connection with a logger designed for this type of inverters.
There's the Carlo Gavazzi VMU-E and VMU-X combination. They can measure 0-400V 0-20A DC with 1% accuracy and come a.o. with a pulse output. They do not come cheap however.