solar monitors

bfbbuggy

just had solar panels fitted, asked for an in room display but the order got lost so i couldn't have one. does anyone know if you can get an in room display unit that i can fit myself. the electrican said the owl monitors would work if you clipped it on to the inverter but ours wont display anything. i just dont want to keep climbing into the loft to see if the panels are working. thanks, julie

TrickyDicky101

Is the cable you've clipped the Owl to a single cable or twin? You need to connect it to a cable which is a single strand.

rogerblack

Are there two seperate wires from the inverter?
OWL type devices need to be clamped around either live or neutral.
If you clamp it round a cable carrying both, it won't work.
This may only be accessible outside the cable at either end.

bfbbuggy

not sure my hubby did it, i'm on crutches and can't get into the loft which is why i wanted an in-room monitor in the first place. i will get him to check when he gets in. thanks for your replies.

Yut_Man

I am in a similar situation to yourself. I use a electric monitor on our electric supply, although it doesnt tell me which way the electric is going. importing or exporting it can quite easily be worked out. I know that with no heavy electric items running. kettle etc, the fridge is 200w and my pc is 200w. If say the reading is 600w and I turn on a electric item. light say at 60W and the reading increases to 660 then I know im importing. however if the reading drops to 540 then I know I am exporting. so by knowing if PC turned on and fridge running I can easily work out my total electric generated by my solar panels. I know this might sound a bit complicated but after a few days I automaticly know which way its going and whats on in the house. It is usually quite easy to tell. If you have a reasonable day my system generates more than a 1000w so unless I have the kettle on I know I will be exporting. so its just a matter of adding the power output of the items running in my house to the reading being shown. hope this helps.

Equaliser123

Which inverter do you have? If an SMA with bluetooth, check out the Sunnybeam. Cracking little monitor.

[Deleted User]

I'm waiting for this to come out - it's supposed to be the end of the month and seems just the job.

http://www.eco-eye.com/products-smartPV.html

Freepost

Deleted_User wrote: »

I'm waiting for this to come out - it's supposed to be the end of the month and seems just the job.

http://www.eco-eye.com/products-smartPV.html

Looks good and a good price.

F.