[RE-wrenches] Monitoring on Remote Sites

[Luke Christy]

Adam,
I would second Dave’s suggestion to use wireless bridges for this application -if hardwired internet access is available elsewhere on the property and if there is decent line of sight access between that point and where your equipment lives. 

I have used a lot of Ubiquiti Litebeam point-to-point links for this sort of thing and they are awesome. They have given me rock solid dependability once they are set up and configured, they function just like a virtual ethernet cable over the radio link, and you can even have a single access point transmit to multiple stations. Range for the entry-level Litebeam M5 unit is up to 10km and you can get a pre-configured pair of antenna dishes on Amazon for less than $200. Two devices can be had for around $100 if you are willing to configure them yourself with a laptop or the UISP app from Ubiquiti.   Worth checking out. Other versions are available with longer range and more features but I have found the Litebeam M5 is very affordable and works well for most shorter-range applications. 


Luke Christy

Renewable energy consultant.

NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional™: 

Solar Gain Services, LLC
PO Box 531
Monte Vista, CO. 81144
SGSRenewables at Gmail.com <mailto:SGSRenewables at gmail.com>
719.588.3044


> On Mar 14, 2022, at 11:48 AM, AE Solar <autonomousenergies at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Wrenchers,
> We have a project on a large property, where the install site has no internet (there is internet much further away on the property, and on a different service) and cell reception is pretty bad. We attempted to use SMA Cell Modem Kits (sunny boy inverters), but couldn't get a good enough signal for them to work. The client was fine with having just a production meter with no internet based monitoring. Now there is the possibility of expanding the system quite a bit (also with Sunny Boy's), and I'd prefer to figure out a way to monitor everything from offsite. Has anyone had any success using a third party antenna with the SMA Cell Modem Kits? Or have thoughts on other methods for setting up monitoring where we could, at a minimum, see the combined output of all the inverters? Thanks for any thoughts.
> Adam
> 
> Adam Katzman (he/him)
> Autonomous Energies | Owner/Operator
> www.AutonomousEnergies.com <http://www.autonomousenergies.com/>
> (518) 567-1468
> 
> 
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