Enphase Production/Consumption Metering

In the last blog, we looked at Panel Level Monitoring based on the thecomputerperson blog. Further down in the comments, is another useful URL.

The URL is http://[ip address]/stream/meter. Like Panel Level Monitoring, it prompts you for the user id and password. But the usual envoy/serial no. does not work this time. The user id is installer and the password is not obvious. Fortunately, thecomputerperson has a blog describing an app to derive this password. Once you enter the credentials, you get a continuous stream of data with more arriving every 1 second. Each batch of data looks like this.

data: {
  "production":{
    "ph-a":{"p":2412.766,"q":195.631,"s":2419.61,"v":243.321,"i":9.95,"pf":1.0,"f":50.12},
    "ph-b":{"p":2216.147,"q":171.409,"s":2220.896,"v":245.239,"i":9.068,"pf":1.0,"f":50.12},
    "ph-c":{"p":2176.172,"q":178.79,"s":2178.513,"v":239.326,"i":9.112,"pf":1.0,"f":50.12}
  },
  "net-consumption":{
    "ph-a":{"p":-2275.016,"q":-312.015,"s":2293.029,"v":243.378,"i":9.421,"pf":-0.99,"f":50.12},
    "ph-b":{"p":-2014.286,"q":-212.405,"s":2023.73,"v":245.4,"i":8.257,"pf":-1.0,"f":50.12},
    "ph-c":{"p":-2151.988,"q":-342.735,"s":2171.025,"v":239.412,"i":9.078,"pf":-0.99,"f":50.12}
  },
  "total-consumption":{
    "ph-a":{"p":137.75,"q":-507.647,"s":128.826,"v":243.349,"i":0.529,"pf":1.0,"f":50.12},
    "ph-b":{"p":201.861,"q":-383.814,"s":199.012,"v":245.319,"i":0.811,"pf":1.0,"f":50.12},
    "ph-c":{"p":24.184,"q":-521.524,"s":7.95,"v":239.369,"i":0.033,"pf":1.0,"f":50.12}
  }
}

Enphase Panel Level Monitoring

No sooner had the Enphase Envoy been installed, I started exploring the web server installed on it. The Enphase Envoy uses your home wireless to send its data back to the cloud. You should be able to see the device on your router and find out its IP address. Connect to it using a browser to see the web pages that it serves up.

The normal pages have some basic info but the interesting stuff has been described in thecomputerperson blog. Have a look and do go past the blog into the comments. That is where some of the most interesting information lies.

One gold nugget was the call to get panel level information. The URL is http://[ip address]/api/v1/production/inverters. If you try that on a browser, you are prompted for a user id and password. The user id is envoy and the password is the last 6 digits of the serial number for the Enphase Envoy. The response is a JSON document listing each panel and their outputs. The values are the serial number of the panel (serialNumber), the timestamp this information was last updated (lastReportDate), the device type (devType) which is always 1, the power last reported (lastReportWatts) and maximum power ever reported (maxReportWatts) - not sure how far back it goes - since last power up?

[
  {
    "serialNumber": "121XXXXXXXXX",
    "lastReportDate": 1555658860,
    "devType": 1,
    "lastReportWatts": 1,
    "maxReportWatts": 297
  },
  {
    "serialNumber": "121XXXXXXXXX",
    "lastReportDate": 1555658777,
    "devType": 1,
    "lastReportWatts": 0,
    "maxReportWatts": 297
  },
  ...
]

Going Solar - Post-installation

Part VI - Post-installation

My service provider was and is AGL. I had trouble getting them to do anything before the installation. But after, getting on to the account portal, I got a pleasant surprise. Plenty of details on my usage!

Going Solar - Installation

Part IV - Installation day arrives!

After a few delays over the Christmas period and waiting for the panels to be back in stock, installation day finally arrived. The solar company (Space Solar) has its own installers. A van and a pickup truck (piled high with solar panels) pulled up that morning. The crew placed ladders and clambered onto the roof and inspected it for an hour or so. The chief technician then gave me the news. It was going to be hard to place all the cells. He did not see any value in putting cells on the south facing roof (as was in the original design). Instead, he suggested squeezing it into a spot which is under the eaves and be in shadow till about 1 PM. He reckoned it was better than putting it on the south facing roof. He also offered to install fewer panels than the original layout and save a bit of cost but I was not for it. On the whole, I think it was an improvement on the original design.

Going Solar - Enphase Envoy

Part V - Enphase Envoy - the brains of the outfit

The Enphase Envoy, in my case, the Envoy-S Metered, keeps an eye on the IQ7+ micro-inverters. It also communicates back to base somewhere on the cloud. In addition, it can also measure the amount of power your solar array produces and the amount of power you consume. All in all, this is a piece of equipment that deserves its own blog post.

Going Solar - The Financials and comparing Tariff Plans

Part III - The installation is taking for ever! May be a good time to publish the financials behind the whole thing and look at and compare some tariff plans.

I already have my hourly consumption as mentioned in previous blogs. To keep it relatively simple I am looking at it across seasons. The analysis looks like this.

I am comparing my current plan with no solar array, with a 5KW solar array optimally placed and a 10.72KW array in a less than optimum aspect. The last is, of course, the one I am getting installed.

Going Solar - Solar Panel Configuration

Part II - As quotes come in, the design of the Solar Array emerges.

Going Solar - Analysing my energy usage

Part I - Planning to add solar panels to my roof, I started with an initial analysis of my electricity consumption pattern.