Power meter

Sep 12, 2016 36 Replies

Exactly.

I get paid whether I use it or export it, so wife has now got into hang of using high power draw items during generation periods. I store anything she can't use.

You guys are funding it, so want to be as efficient with your money as possible.

In which case one of the home energy monitors given away by utilities should do fine - there are plenty on ebay, with and without USB ability. You just have to break out live and neutral and fit their current sensor around only one of them.

That will probably be easier/neater that measuring voltage or time - they already come with a control panel gadget where you can see your 'usage' over time. Many of them have wireless current sensors so you don't need to locate the control panel near the sensor.

Theo

Well that's very considerate of you. ;-)

Are we all invited round for Xmas?

Cheers, T i m

There is absolutely no prospect of storing a significant amount of energy. Unless you have a swimming pool sized store. And then most would leak away before you could use it.

This is why it's uneconomical to even bother trying to measure it.

No it does not.

When you water is up to temperature, the immersion heater shuts down and the power is exported.

For a "Doctor" you're pretty thick. His "Solar switch" varies the voltage to the immersion heater to match the power it consumes to the power generated by the PV panels. The object is to avoid importing electricity when the PV is generating less than the (normally 3Kw) immersion heater.

Obviously.

My point is my store can take a huge amount of energy which I would otherwise be exporting ........... as I get paid either way the more I use & store the better. Yesterday I used (or stored) 11.6kWh and today (so far) 8.65kWh

I do not think I have yet got to the point that the store has reached max temp and switched off immersion .......

Rubbish .... you are way wrong on this

Fair point. Do you know of any suitable device, or do you mean just use an electric clock ?

Harry ... sorry you are way wrong again ..... 3 posts in a row , good even for you.

The solar switch I have ... switches full mains AC in time slices .... it's either on or its off .... so its is always 220V

Doubtful. But if so it's an inferior device.

Fact not doubtful

It works and the unit is used by a great many people .... the design negates the need for changing the immersion to a lower voltage unit (which some systems require)

As test I just put my multimeter across it ..... voltage is same as mains voltage ......... and is either full on or full off.

Sampling is at 20Hz with a zero export threshold, you might be getting loads of small time units of 'on' .... but that makes no difference to an immersion.

Which one is it? How did your payback calculation go?

I only have a conventional cylinder, and am not sure how worthwhile such a device would be.

Chris

Now we know that the supply can be switched at 20 Hz, would such a meter cope?

Chris

I'd missed that gem (it's in a subthread my killfile has hidden) no I don't suppose it would run accurately.

Ah, I guess once a certain poster has spoken, you ignore the sub-thread. ;-)

Chris

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