Wattson - help with generation

schneil · 27 December 2018 at 12:39AM

Hi all

I'm hoping to get some help on this forum, as I know many MSE members have a wattson (or similar) to monitor their solar generation.

I have a solar PV system that was installed by Evo Energy in 2014.
At the time a wattson energyhive system was installed so I could easily work out when I was exporting or importing electricity.

The wattson transmitter has two inputs. One is for the electicity I am using, the other for the electricity I am generating, The "using" input is connected to a sensor clip that wraps round the electrcity feed to my consumer unit. The "generating" input I think goes to a clip that is wrapped round the electricity feed from the panels, but it is hidden by a fuse box.

This setup worked fine until a couple of months ago, when the generating sensor feed stopped working. To rectify this I bought a new sensor clip and wrapped it round one of the electricity feeds from the solar panels. I get a generated electricity reading, however it is 200W too high.

(my wattson dashboard: wattson.energyhive.com dashboard neilc )

Could anyone help me with where to put the new clip. I've tried a few locations, but none seem correct?

I can upload a picture of the fusebox area if that helps?

EricMears · 27 December 2018 at 9:41AM

schneil wrote: »

The wattson transmitter has two inputs. One is for the electicity I am using, the other for the electricity I am generating, The "using" input is connected to a sensor clip that wraps round the electrcity feed to my consumer unit. The "generating" input I think goes to a clip that is wrapped round the electricity feed from the panels, but it is hidden by a fuse box.

This setup worked fine until a couple of months ago, when the generating sensor feed stopped working. To rectify this I bought a new sensor clip and wrapped it round one of the electricity feeds from the solar panels. I get a generated electricity reading, however it is 200W too high.

(my wattson dashboard: wattson.energyhive.com dashboard neilc )

Could anyone help me with where to put the new clip. I've tried a few locations, but none seem correct?

I can upload a picture of the fusebox area if that helps?

I wouldn't have thought it makes a great deal of difference where you put the new clip as long as it's clamped around a single conductor of the wire that takes power from the inverter to the fusebox. One possible error you might be making would be to clamp it around a three core cable doing that job instead of picking out a single conductor but that's so obvious I doubt you'd have done that.

Where did you buy the new clip from ? It could be that it's faulty or just that it's not absolutely correct. My guess would be is that it's only 'similar to' the original rather than being 'identical'. You can find out by fitting your existing 'usage' clip to the generator cable and the new one to the usage position. If the old clip also doesn't agree with the inverter readings, then I'm obviously completely wrong and there's something else strange going on in your installation. But if the old clip starts agreeing with inverter and the new clip is giving wrong readings then you'd need to try a different new clip.

schneil · 27 December 2018 at 11:21AM

Hello Eric

Thanks for your quick reply. Yes you are right a bit of sanity checking is in order to rule out a faulty sensor clip or wattson transmitter.

To confirm from the solar panels there are two cables that feed into a Henley block. I think one is live and the other neutral. Wrapping the Wattson "generating" clip round either of these cables gives the same result, the solar power generation figure is about 200W too high. I don't think either are three core cables.

(For information the "using" sensor clip is wrapped round the live feed from the Henley block to the main fuse box)

I tried swapping the sensor clips round and got the same results in reverse (the generating output swapped exactly with the using).

I also tried a spare sensor clip (I have three), and got the same results. To confirm all sensor clips are ones from DIY Kyoto (the original manufacturers).

Anyone any other ideas?

(If anyone can see my wattson dshboard there is a jump at 8:45 this morning when the panels switched on. The generating output jumps from 0 to 220w)

Heedtheadvice · 28 December 2018 at 11:37PM

Not being familiar with your particular solar set up......
You write " wrapped it round one of the electricity feeds from the solar panels. "

Can you confirm that the sensor is clipped on the "live" wire between inverter and consumer unit?....rather than one wire from a solar panel chain to the inverter?..... or do you have micro inverters?

schneil · 3 January 2019 at 2:45PM

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

Not being familiar with your particular solar set up......
You write " wrapped it round one of the electricity feeds from the solar panels. "

Can you confirm that the sensor is clipped on the "live" wire between inverter and consumer unit?....rather than one wire from a solar panel chain to the inverter?..... or do you have micro inverters?

Hello Heedtheadvice.

The "generating" sensor is clipped to a live wire from the solar panels. This wire sits between the Henley block and my consumer unit.

The live wire is not between the panels and the inverter. Also I just have the one inverter.

I'll take a picture tonight or tomorrow of the solar wiring and hopefully it'll help show the current set up.

ashanimatarage · 19 January 2019 at 9:28AM

Hello, Yes you are correct a touch of mental stability checking is so as to discount a flawed sensor cut or wattson transmitter.

Wattson - help with generation

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