Hi,
We have three phase connected to the three analog ports and its displaying correctly. We also have a solar PV system. Whats the simplest way to get the PV output displayed. Can I just connect a current clamp to the PV input and wire it to port#4?
Or do I need to rewire the fuse box to add something like this? http://www.schnap.com.au/kilowatt-hour-meter/single-phase-electric-kilow...
that can connect to port#4 which is a pulse port?
Paul
As PV inverters tend to have a "bad" power factor at nights it is no good choice to measure their output by current clamp (see https://www.flukso.net/content/current-clamp-good-pv-current-measuring and linked forum posts).
And as there are only three analog/clamp inputs, the only choice anyway is to use a pulse meter. Thus, second alternative preferred, adding a simple pulse meter that you'll get from $/Eur 20 onwards exclusive installation. If you are no expert, let this be done by an electrician; your insurance will thank you.
What inverter do you own?
Many include the ability to report their production.
I connect to my SMA-5000TL Inverter by Bluetooth with an old Android phone and a $5 App (Oxley Solar) uploads the production data to PV Output for me.
The same Android phone then downloads PV output data using the PV Output App to display my generation against my consumption.
If the Red line peeks above the green line then we're importing power.
This setup has definitely changed my and my wife's habits. She'll now wait until the Green goes above 1500 before turning on the washing machine for example. cause she knows it draws up to that much power.
I'm also uploading solar generation to PVOutput directly, using a Raspberry Pi running SMAspot. The Raspberry costs about $80 (including a bluetooth and wifi dongle), and SMAspot is free. (Don't try this unless you have considerable Linux and programming experience.)
Cheers,
Michi.