[RE-wrenches] Metering

[Ray Walters]

If you have a built in monitoring system for the PV (inverter's onboard 
metering?) that should tell you PV production, and then subtract that 
from the monthly utility readings to get the household loads.  I don't 
see the need for a separate inline meter, but I guess it depends how 
sophisticated the data needs to be.  Is your client just curious, or are 
they building some monster spread sheet that updates on a 15 minute 
interval?  Its all about the time interval they want.  Usually monthly 
intervals are plenty for most home owners, and that doesn't take 
metering magic, just some arithmetic.

Check out the E Guage, it can do what you want.  Personally I don't like 
being on the hook to support stuff like that years later.  I've already 
had trouble with Blue Planet dropping support of their phone app, which 
pissed some customers off, so I'm not into too many bells and whistles 
that I have to keep supporting down the road.  I've got clients that 
have systems over 20 years old, so support becomes a bigger issue, the 
longer you're in business.   Fancy monitoring = double the call backs.

Here's all they need to do: Get the monthly electric bill, check the 
cumulative production on the PV system, and then do some subtraction.  
Pretty simple for them, and you only get a call, if the inverter 
production is low or off.

Ray Walters
Remote Solar

On 5/11/2023 2:20 PM, Larry Brown via RE-wrenches wrote:
> Does anyone have a recommendation for a high quality meter that can be installed near the Main 200 Amp Electric Service Panel at the Point Of Interconnection in the Main Service Panel for a Grid Tied System
>
> The client wants to be able to track the electricity the household is actually using
> And how much the solar electric system is producing
>
> In the net metering arrangement with Central Hudson in NY, all the client gets to see on their bill is the net result of the solar credits subtracted from the actual usage. In this case, the solar generated credits is consistently zero because the usage exceeds the production
>
> Thanks
>
> Larry Brown
> Sun Mountain
>
>   
>
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