Owen Brothers Meters UK interfacing to PVoutpout

Energy Monitors
#1

Hi All picking the collective brains, so to speak.

I have been given 2 OB115-mod meters with CT transformers. and am keen to get my inverter on PVoutput. AS i understand, one unit must measures the mains power input/output to and from the grid. While the other unit measures the output from the inverter. and this enables you to record when you used, what you sent to the grid, and what you took from the grid. Am I correct?

Whats stopping me is the code and the math, to make it all happen.

Has anybody used these meters before and if so any help, information or suggestions, would be most helpfull, and very welcome.

#2

hi,so the first thing is what is the inverter you have, as some of the info may be able to be pushed straight from the inverter to pvo jim

#3

Sorry the inverter is an Alpha Brand Solatec 3000.
it has no WiFi or Bluetooth, or serial ports, of any kind.
so there is no way of getting any data out of the inverter.

I was wondering if the data could be produced externally.
The Meters have modbus outputs, so they can measure, output of the inverter.
And the mains, one connected to each. Or is this a complete misunderstanding of whats required?

#4

Can you provide an online link to these meters, or the specs?

#5

no They don’t seam to exist on the net.
This is whats on the plastic plate on the back.
And some Chinese writing.
and the words made in china.
It came installed in the house when we bought it.

Input Data(DC)
Max. DC Power
3.16 kW
Max. DC Voltage
500 V
Min. DC Voltage to Start Feed In
150 V
Max. DC Current
13 A
MPP(T) Voltage Range
110~480 V
No of MPP Trackers
1
DC Inputs
2
Connectors
MC4
Output Data (AC)
Max. AC Power
3 kW
Nominal AC Power
2.8 kW
Nominal AC Voltage
220, 230, 240 V
Max. AC Current
16 A
Frequency
50 Hz

Sorry all i know about the unit

#6

HI The specs above would seem to b from a inverter and not a measuring meter,
please try WWW.Owen-Brothers.co.uk ,they supply meters for your electric company, not the sort you need to record your solar output, looks like you may have a label from your inverter stuck on a meter, possible Jim

#7

SORRY. for the stuff up.

Wires crossed, doing this on my mobile phone while i wait for my ship to be loaded.

The two meters are OB115’s one has a current transformer the other not.
The ships electricion gave them to me a few trips back. but he now on the china run.

the specs are.
Meter specification:

Voltage(v)

120/ 230

Operational voltage

(70%-130%)Un

CT

100A/0.33V

Power consumption of current circuits(VA)

< 0.01

Power consumption of voltage circuits(W)

< 1.3W

General data

Frequency (Hz)

50/60

Accuracy

Current

±0.5%

Voltage

±0.5%

Frequency

±0.1Hz

Active power

±1%

Reactive power

±2%

LED

Red led,1000imp/kWh

Output specification

Pulse duration

≥100ms < 120msec (ON),

≥120ms (OFF)

Insulation

4000 VRMS output to

measuring inputs

Memory back-up
Modbus RTU Interface available through RS485 interface

EEprom

Don’t know if the link will post, from my phone.

#8

I’d be tempted to ignore the meters, and go with a clamp monitor that can upload into PVOutput.


This clamps around the AC power from your inverter, as well as your mains leads, uploads to an Efergy account that can be read directly by PVO.
Otherwise, you could look for something that counts the little red LED flashes on your meters (“LED: Red led,1000imp/kWh”) like this
https://reductionrevolution.com.au/products/watts-clever-smart-digital-energy-monitor-ew4500
however this particular unit can’t upload to an online account or be interfaced to PVO that I know of.

#9

I used an Efergy Monitor with three clamps [ I have 3 phase power ] and three transmitters to track my electricity usage for the twelve ( 12 ) months prior to installing a P.V. system. I wanted to individually track each of the three phases - This cannot be done with a single transmitter.

In comparing the Efergy data with my actual electricity meter over that 12 month period I found that the consumption reported by Efergy system was around 12% greater than that reported by the supply meter.

The only adjustable parameter with the Efergy Engage Hub is the supply voltage. The clamps were correctly installed. I tried to compensate the apparent over-read by deliberately understating the supply voltage; this just confused things as all subsequent readings need to be "adjusted: for comparative purposes.

Not withstanding the discrepancy between the two I found it very helpful in tracking my time-of-day usage in order to see what benefit I would get by installing a P.V. system.

When my P.V. system was installed I had a Fronius Smart Meter installed too. This negated the need for the Efergy monitor.

1 Like
#10

Agreed - the Efergy is not outstandingly accurate, but its much better than nothing at all.
I also used an Efergy on my 3-phase mains for many months before installing the solar system, which was brilliant at showing the daily pattern of usage, and nail down how individual high-use appliances were acting - e.g. airconditioner(s), kettle, hot water. This allowed me to size the solar panels & inverter for a good fit. Now I get the stats out of the Tesla battery, the Efergy transmitters are a handy backup