Advanced data logging and displaying it on the living room wall

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  • copymepls
    Junior Member
    • Nov 2014
    • 45
    #1

    Advanced data logging and displaying it on the living room wall

    I recently built a solar system for my friends family. I want to add meters out the wazoo so that people who don't understand solar can look at a screen full of numbers and get curious, I want to make the system as educational as possible, so anyone who looks at this system can learn how solar energy capture and expenditure works.

    First I will tell you the specs.
    6x Chaori 280watt voltage max power 36v current max power 7.77a
    40 amp output mppt, max input voltage 100v
    8x AcDelco 845a electric vehicle batteries, 6v 230ah
    48v 2500w full sine wave non-grid tie
    15a breakers between each pair of panels and the mppt
    70a breaker between mppt and batteries
    60a breaker between batteries and inverter

    I want to put current shunts between the panels and mppt input, between mppt and batteries, and between the batteries and the loads.

    I have looked around the internet for a nice display that reads the current shunts and haven't found much. There is the Trimetric but that does the math for you and tells you your batteries remaining capacity, I want data so people can see everything. Not a screen telling everything is ok and they shouldnt worry.

    What I want is a device or multiple devices that read voltage from the shunts and voltage between the terminals, that way it knows current and voltage, and then records in a line graph fashion and displays it on a high resolution screen.

    Best way I can imagine this device is a box with terminals for connecting to the shunt to read current and terminals for connecting to the + & - to read voltage, with an RJ-45 port to connect to a router so it can be networked and displayed on any computer. We could then hang a tablet computer on a wall so it could display voltage, max voltage, mean voltage, current, amp hours today, max current today, watt hours today, max watts today. For 3 seperate junctions pv-mppt mppt-batteries batteries-loads.
    Tags: None
    • sdold
      Moderator
      • Jun 2014
      • 1430
      #2
      That's cool, it sounds like a little science exhibit. One thing that would really be educational is something showing the real bottom line of the whole thing, like a table showing the cost of the system, and the calculated amount of life left in the batteries and expected cost of replacement, and maybe a meter factoring all of that in showing the cost per kWh compared with the cost they would have had to to pay the power company.

        Comment

        • sensij
          Solar Fanatic
          • Sep 2014
          • 5074
          #3
          You didn't indicate a budget, but there are engineered devices that do something like what you would like. The linked device is intended for use in 3 phase systems, and has three voltage inputs and three current inputs, which may be enough for your system. The current inputs would work best with current transducers or pulse meters, not with shunts. You might have to manipulate the data presentation a bit since you would be using it to monitor three independent channels instead of three phase power.

          If you want to do more programming, there are any number of PLC-like devices which accept voltage and/or current inputs, and would allow you to build your own display screen. I am partial to the vendor linked and use them in the systems I build, but many others exist.

          Hopefully the moderators don't interpret this as an advertisement, but I will send a PM if the link ends up getting stripped. Since you asked for a specific suggestion, I don't know how to communicate a response without referencing a specific device, and I'm posting publicly in case others are interested in the responses you get.
          Last edited by sensij; 11-20-2014, 12:22 PM. Reason: grammar - yikes
          CS6P-260P/SE3000 - http://tiny.cc/ed5ozx

            Comment

            • Mike90250
              Moderator
              • May 2009
              • 16020
              #4
              It's an answer to a specific question, by an established member. not spam. Thanks for being aware though. Mike


              Originally posted by sensij
              You don't indicated a budget, but there are engineered devices that do something what you would like. The linked device in intended for use in 3 phase systems, and has three voltage inputs and three current inputs, which may be enough for your system. The current inputs would work best with current transducers or pulse meters, not with shunts. You might have to manipulate the data presentation a bit since you would be using it to monitor three independent channels instead of three phase power.

              If you want to do more programming, there are any number of PLC-like devices which accept voltage and/or current inputs, and would allow you to build your own display screen. I am partial to the vendor linked and use them in the systems I build, but many others exists.

              Hopefully the moderators don't interpret this as an advertisement, but I will send a PM if the link ends up getting stripped. Since you asked for a specific suggestion, I don't know how to communicate a response without referencing a specific device, and I'm posting in publicly in case others are interested in the responses you get.
              Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
              || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
              || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

              solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
              gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

                Comment

                • copymepls
                  Junior Member
                  • Nov 2014
                  • 45
                  #5
                  $450 on Amazon for the Optoemu 3v, more than my friend wants to spend.

                  What kind of monitoring instrument would they use in electrical engineering college or a professional environment for monitoring a single DC channel?

                    Comment

                    • pleppik
                      Solar Fanatic
                      • Feb 2014
                      • 508
                      #6
                      This isn't quite what you're describing, but here's what I built to display my solar generation and household use:

                      Power_Meter_preview_featured.jpg

                      I use an Arduino with a WiFi shield to grab the data from our eGauge every few seconds, and a couple of servos to move the hands to indicate current power generation/consumption. Everything (except the electronics and motors) was built on a home 3D printer. For all the gory technical details, you can check out the project page on Thingiverse.
                      16x TenK 410W modules + 14x TenK 500W inverters

                        Comment

                        • SunEagle
                          Super Moderator
                          • Oct 2012
                          • 15126
                          #7
                          Originally posted by pleppik
                          This isn't quite what you're describing, but here's what I built to display my solar generation and household use:

                          [ATTACH=CONFIG]5486[/ATTACH]

                          I use an Arduino with a WiFi shield to grab the data from our eGauge every few seconds, and a couple of servos to move the hands to indicate current power generation/consumption. Everything (except the electronics and motors) was built on a home 3D printer. For all the gory technical details, you can check out the project page on Thingiverse.
                          That "meter" is pretty ingenious. Nice work.

                            Comment

                            • bcroe
                              Solar Fanatic
                              • Jan 2012
                              • 5203
                              #8
                              Originally posted by pleppik
                              This isn't quite what you're describing, but here's what I built to display my solar generation and household use:

                              I use an Arduino with a WiFi shield to grab the data from our eGauge every few seconds, and a couple of servos to move the hands to indicate current power generation/consumption. Everything (except the electronics and motors) was built on a home 3D printer. For all the gory technical details, you can check out the project page on Thingiverse.
                              That is very cool; I've been thinking about a good way to display the info. I'll probably
                              take an easier path and build a couple big LED bar graphs, or maybe a bidirectional
                              one that changes color for gain or loss (like others here). Bruce Roe

                                Comment

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