Finally installed 2 SunPower Flexible Solar Panels by my windows to catch more Solar Energy

Announced 2 weeks ago, I finally purchase 2 SunPower flexible solar panels of 100W each, from the UK for 100 GBP only
After watching their prices for the last 2.5 years I finally found a good deal and got them right away



The panels arrived few days later, with again a low shipping cost of 20 GBP for both with DHL (very reasonable)



So these panels are made with the famous SunPower high efficiency cells, made in the USA


36 cells : 9 x 4, with standard MC4 solar connectors


and the idea is to install them right behind the wall, outside, between my windows, vertically to catch the reflection coming from the south oriented wall of the building in front of us


Ordered also a 1m long MC4 extension cable on eBay


I also got some chain and rapid connectors form the local hardware store



Extension cable arrived, just before last week end, now I have everything to install them


So I did that last sunday morning, and it didn't take long, because I already had big screws and chains installed by my windows back in 2010, when I installed my very first solar panels (13W each, but 3 of them), which have been charging AGM batteries, used to charge iPhones, iPad, and power a battery charger for radio, Wii, or other home devices ... This has been working well by the way and they are staying in place
I just had to attach the new connectors to the existing chains (holding 20kg each, way more than enough)



Of course these panels need a micro inverter and I got several used ones for my DIY ESS V2 experiments last year, so I used one of them


I is screwed to a piece of chain using a bolts, washers, and all this is tighten very well


I had to drill a through hole in the lower corner of the window and that was not too difficult ...


The Enphase Engage cable can now go directly inside my apartment


All the cables are fitted so that they don't block the light coming onto the panels


Now, after everything has been connected and installed, there was absolutely no sun, and it has been like during the whole week almost, very frustrating ... :(

I was watching closely on wednesday from work using my DIY ESS Live Cam, and saw clearly that the overall solar generation was more than usual: maybe 60-70W more (we are still in winter and my max generation when the ESS is empty, is 250W or so, maybe 280 now that the sun is a bit higher, still low compared to the 1100W I see in summer)


This morning (saturday), I am home for the week end and as soon as I saw a little sun (half sunny/cloudy, I looked at the wattmeter installed on this specific new line, and it only showed 15W (!! that's not possible, the Enphase M215 can not produce this little power)

BTW the ESS is empty by

So I siwtch off the main solar array DC input on the solar electric panel and there I saw that the 2 SunPower + Enphase M215 were producing 80W :) that's better



DC breakers OFF on Uni-Solar Array on the roof


Enphase M215 is blinking Orange, so it is producing and Orange is normal since there is no Envoy Gateway


This is the reflection light I got when read the generation figure


This small meter gives me wrong figures I guess ...

15W


235V


0.18A

DIY ESS Update : Open Energy Monitor can be used instead of Wattson as an Input

I am thrilled to announce that the famous Open Energy Monitor can used as an input in the build of my DIY Energy Storage System or ESS instead of the original (also famous) Wattson Energy Monitor

From the very beginning back in 2011, I purchased and installed Wattson at home and loved it: I could finally see in real time how much power my appliances use and modify my behaviour to reduce energy consumption at home

Later on I got Solar Panels installed on our building roof and used another feature of Wattson which is Solar Surplus detection: When Usage < Solar, Wattson simply lights up Green to indicate there is free Solar Power to used (and the Net Usage is Negative)

Wattson Solar Surplus (and other color codes): 


Based on these simple lights (Blue, Purple, Red and Green) I built my Energy Storage System back in 2013, had it running for over 2.5 years now with Solar (july 2013), and saved over 650 EUR on my Electricity bills

Last friday, inquiring on the Open Energy Monitor and their interesting open source work over the last years, I realized that their emonGLCD, the equivalent to Wattson Display, is actually using the same Color Codes, in a simplified version:
- Green: Solar Generation > Usage
- Red: Usage > Solar Generation

OpenEnergyMonitor emonGLCD Solar Surplus :


Simply wiring the pins of one of the bi-color LED pins to the input terminal block of my DIY ESS, it will get the color codes and perform exactly like if it was a Wattson display :)

OpenEnergyMonior solution is open source, meaning it will be improved over time (and you can participate too)

It is also now possible to get a ready to use emonPi, meaning there is nothing to solder and build, just clip your CT Sensors (or clamps) on usage and generation wires, plug them in the device, power it up, and you're good to go !




But there's one more thing ...

Connected to you home internet router, OpenEnergyMonitor will post data to Emoncms.org, allowing you to see great graphs of your usage, generation, temperature, etc ... All this for free, so I think it's just perfect :)

Links:

OpenEnergyMonitor : http://openenergymonitor.org
OEM Graphical Display emonGLCD : http://openenergymonitor.org/emon/emonglcd
Solar with the OEM : http://openenergymonitor.org/emon/applications/solarpv

DIY ESS Kit : http://www.diyesskit.com or http://www.StoreYourEnergy.com
Real Time DIY ESS Cam : http://www.ustream.tv/channel/chris75sf
DIY ESS Real Time Graphs on EnergyHive : http://wattson.energyhive.com/dashboard/diyesskit

Elon Musk invited by German Minister of Economy & Energy after VW Gate

Elon Musk was invited yesterday by the German Minister of Economy & Energy, right after VW Gate ...

- "What will you say to your kids or grand kids ?" ... they will say: "Nobody told you ?"  ... :(

- Germany is a huge leader for Solar Power Generation, but not for Sustainable Power Consumption

- Put a Price on CO2 & Incentives for Renewables won't be necessary

- Sun => 1GW/km2 & Solar Panels => 200 MW/km2, so, combined with Energy Storage, the Power is here to supply heating, transportation, etc,  and replace fossil fuels completely , no problem :)

- Tesla Model III : Elon says it will come out ASAP: they will build GigaFactory & Assembly at the same time, expect 2 to 2.5 years

- Says Airbus and its Electric Plane is a great move for them

DIY ESS - Already 2 Years of 24/7 Service with Solar at Home !

Yes, it's been 2 years yesterday, since I started producing & storing my Solar surplus at home for re-use whenever necessary, during the day, or in the evening when the sun goes down
http://www.myelifenow.com/2013/07/starting-first-full-day-of-solar.html



My Energy Storage System was actually working several months before that, and my Solar Panels where installed on the roof almost 9 months before too, but I was waiting for my solar contractor to complete the install with his own special inverter, which was too delayed in the end, so I asked him to installa regular one, and we agreed on an 3kW SMA unit

Once installed, I could finally generate my own solar electricity, and my ESS being ready and tested, it worked right away seamlessly :)
http://www.myelifenow.com/2013/07/uni-solar-pvl-sma-inverter-finished.html



That was two years ago, and it has been doing great over time: No breakdown, no Battery problem (I read so many things about sceptick folks on this), it has been working like a charm



With less solar generation during winter, I used the Forced Charge function to charge from low cost electricity at night, to help push low cost energy back into my home grid to help heating, lighting and cooking



As we can see on the Wattson / EnergyHive portal where my generation & usage data are collected in real time, it is saving around 250 EUR per year (over the last year), and since the price per kWh goes up all the time, it will save evne more in the future
http://wattson.energyhive.com/dashboard/diyesskit



My ESS has been registered on the DOE - Department Of Energy - Global Energy Storage Database back in July 2013, few days after, under PRojet Reference 720
http://www.energystorageexchange.org/projects/720


But wait, there's more ...

A second unit, called Mini ESS, based on 3 Nissan LEAF battery modules, installed in october, has helped store and save even more, at night during winter, and now from 11AM to 4PM, harvesting during the peak production period of sunny days



Also I am in the process of building and testing a second version of this DIY ESS, called DIY ESS V2 with Enphase, because it will use the famous Enphase Micro Inverters - M215 or M250 - for more efficiency
It's design & build should be simpler, but it is not ready yet ...



With the new Tesla PowerWall, Enphase AC Battery coming, it really shows everyone that Energy Storage is a serious business and a perfect complement to solar and/or wind installs, at the residential level !

To Celebrate this 2 years milestone, I decided tho slash the DIY ESS Kit price and remove 100 EUR from it, dropping from 249 to 149 EUR ! (Kit #2 is also reduced by the same amount of course)

Also the Kit Building Documentations are now available to anyone FOR FREE on the DIY ESS Kit website ! "All our Patents are belong to you" ;)
http://www.diyesskit.com/p/documentation.html   (look for the "=> Get the PDF File" links)



To have more info about the Kit and why not build your own, go to:

http://www.diyesskit.com
or
http://www.storeyourenergy.com


Now, you can start building your own DIY Energy Storage System for your Home !