Monday, I just finished installing and wiring everything in time to catch sunset on one of the only sunny days we have had
. The forecast doesn't look promising anytime soon either. I didn't have my energy monitoring system hooked up yet that day as the sun set, but I did put a current clamp style meter on one of the hot wires and observed a current that was reduced as the sun faded away. So I assume things are working
.
Enphase sells an EMU for power production monitoring and stuff, but I cannot justify the cost with my single inverter installation. If I get ahold of more panels and more inverters, then I will probably look into getting an EMU. For now I rigged up a Kill A Watt energy meter to read one side of the 240v ac line that the inverter uses. I should be able to multiply the watt hour readings by 2 to get a good idea of what the system is producing. A note on the Kill A Watt; it reads the current on the neutral line. Trying to do what I am, that is a problem. The 240 system to the inverter doesn't use the neutral for current carrying, just communication. I had to route one of the hot wires thru the Kill A Watt's neutral side and the neutral thru the other. The Kill A Watt doesn't seem to mind, and seems to be reporting current consistant to my clamp on meter.
One drawback of this monitoring set-up is that it doesn't tell me which direction the power is flowing. The Kill A Watt doesn't know the difference. I do know the stand by power used by the inverter though, so I can figure it out.