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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Wrenches,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Chris' email motivated me to buy a low-cost,
easy-to-install monitoring system for residential and small commercial PV
systems. I sent RFQs to vendors asking for a monitoring system for my PV
systems, a SunnyBoy 240VAC PV system, and an
oldie-but-goodie Trace 120VAC PV system. See <A
href="http://www.solarsolar.com/oursys.html" target=_blank><FONT size=2
face=Arial>http://www.solarsolar.com/oursys.html</FONT></A><FONT size=2
face=Arial> and </FONT><A href="http://www.solarsolar.com/solardwgs.html"
target=_blank><FONT size=2
face=Arial>http://www.solarsolar.com/solardwgs.html</FONT></A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><A
href="mailto:sales@fatspaniel.com">sales@fatspaniel.com</A> and <A
href="mailto:Distributor@TheEnergyDetective.com">Distributor@TheEnergyDetective.com</A> did
not reply to my RFQ email. Draker Labs sent an automated reply but did not
contact me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Daron at locusenergy.com replied quickly. He was
very supportive, quickly answered questions, and gave us a training
webinar. Price for one system is reasonable: </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>$509
for 5 years of generation monitoring, data hosting, and performance hardware,
plus $40 for California rebate program automated reporting, plus $130
to monitor electric consumption. Daron did a good job explaining Locus, but
I needed 2 systems and didn't want to spend over $1,000.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Charlie at egauge.net also replied quickly. Their
residential eGauge system to monitor the Grid, PV system #1 and #2 costs
$760, It includes the eGauge main unit, homeplug communication adapter and 5
CT's (2 CTs for the main utility feeds - one on each leg), 1 CT for
the SunnyBoy system and 2 CTs for the Trace system. Better price, but still
higher than I wanted to spend.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Robin at powersave.us (Envi) answered my phone and
email questions quickly. Their price was much lower so I bought their
hardware. $237 for 1<FONT size=2 face=Arial> Envi monitor with
</FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>1 transmitter and 2 CTs for PV system
#1, plus </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>$79 for 1 transmitter with 2 CTs for PV
system #2, plus $12 for the USB cable, plus $17 </FONT><FONT size=2
face=Arial>for shipping.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Powersave shipped the equipment promptly,
but it took me a few days to get around to installing the
hardware. The Envi monitor is in our office next to my computer.
Installing the transmitter and CT on the Trace/battery PV system was easy. The
Trace inverter is in the garage next to our office but not away
from our electric service panel. You only
need one CT to monitor a 120VAC PV system's output.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The SunnyBoy inverter is next to the electric
service panel. </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Grid power wiring
into the service panel is behind the clamped and sealed utility meter.
I did not want to break the utility seal to open that section of the
panel so I am not monitoring the grid. Besides, monitoring the grid with
a net metered PV system only tells what the utility kWh
meter measures. Inside our 200A service panel, t</FONT><FONT size=2
face=Arial>here is just barely enough space for the transmitter. The CTs
are big, but I was able to squeeze them into the panel, replace the breaker
cover, and close the panel door.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Loading the USB cable driver was easy, but I
had trouble getting the computer to see the 3rd party monitoring
software. So I used the "C2 Terminal" free software to make sure my
computer was seeing the Envi meter. I still could not get any of the
monitoring software to work because the instructions were not intuitive or
simple enough for me to understand.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Tony at <A
href="http://makehistori.net/">http://makehistori.net/</A> emailed
instructions a few days ago. Today I had some time to muddle my way through
downloading, logging in, registering, etc. and am up and running. I am still
learning how to use his software.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Chris at currentcost.com is has been emailing to
help me use their software. I'll give it a try.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Robin at powersave.us recommends Techtoniq. I'll
give it a try too.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>When I first talked to Robin at powersave.us, I
asked him why his device was not listed on the California Solar Initiative
(CSI) Eligible System Performance Meters List. See <A
href="http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/equipment/meter.php">http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/equipment/meter.php</A> He
did not know about the list but understood immediately how important it was to
get listed. Today, he emailed that their meter will be on the CSI list June
1st.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Joel Davidson</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=chris@solarandwindfx.com href="mailto:chris@solarandwindfx.com">Chris
Schaefer</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 12, 2010 10:07
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [RE-wrenches] low cost DAS
systems</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Good
Day Wrenches,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
I’m looking for suggestions for a low cost DAS system for home/small
commercial use. It just seems to be such a useful basic tool to verify
performance other than just the Kwh meter. I’d like to add this to all of our
clients quotes and projects. Looking for the basics like module temperature
and irradiance and it would be nice if it would tie into the existing
inverters DAS like an Enphase, Fronius or SMA to name a few since they already
have inverter and PV in/output information. Or is Fat Spaniel and Helitronics
my only options otherwise? Thanks for the help ahead of
time.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Christopher<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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width=370 height=60 v:shapes="_x0000_s1027"></SPAN><![endif]><FONT
size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">
Chris Schaefer’s<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<H1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><B><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></H1>
<H1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" align=left><B><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">WHERE KNOWLEDGE EQUALS POWER
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">INDEPENDENCE</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=1 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 6pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Specializing in Off-Grid
Electricity for Remote Homes<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Grid-Tied Power for Residential
and Commercial Sites<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=1 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 6pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Tel 585-229-2083 ~ Cell
585-748-1870<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address
style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(res://ietag.dll/#34/#1001); BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x; BACKGROUND-POSITION: left bottom"
tabIndex=0 w:st="on"><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">5115 South Hill
Road</SPAN></FONT></I></st1:address></st1:Street><I><FONT size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Canandaigua <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State>
14424<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><I><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><A
href="http://www.solarandwindfx.com/">www.solarandwindfx.com</A> ~ <A
href="mailto:chris@solarandwindfx.com">chris@solarandwindfx.com</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<P>
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