Intro

My sectional title apartment block recently installed solar panels, batteries and an inverter. Currently it's a backup that supplies the outdoor lights, the security gate and the private garages during power failures. Due to fragile municipal infrastructure, we're not subject to load shedding right now.

When load shedding or prolonged outages inevitably returns, I'm worried that a few residents may overload the system by operating power hungry appliances in their garages. 

Requirement

I'm cautiously optimistic that we can prevent abuse of the system if we can limit each garage to a daily quota (together with a simple over current circuit breaker). Ideally it should be possible to adjust the quotas wirelessly.

Are there power monitors on the market that can do it ?

I'd like to avoid building a WiFi network that covers all the garages.

Edited February 20, 20241 yr by Nic Roets

2 hours ago, Nic Roets said:

Intro

My sectional title apartment block recently installed solar panels, batteries and an inverter. Currently it's a backup that supplies the outdoor lights, the security gate and the private garages during power failures. Due to fragile municipal infrastructure, we're not subject to load shedding right now.

When load shedding or prolonged outages inevitably returns, I'm worried that a few residents may overload the system by operating power hungry appliances in their garages. 

Requirement

I'm cautiously optimistic that we can prevent abuse of the system if we can limit each garage to a daily quota (together with a simple over current circuit breaker). Ideally it should be possible to adjust the quotas wirelessly.

Are there power monitors on the market that can do it ?

I'd like to avoid building a WiFi network that covers all the garages.

Just a question. Is it not possible to exclude all garages. 

21 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

Just a question. Is it not possible to exclude all garages. 

Yes, that was my first thought.

We've had a few multi day outages in the past. All kinds of bad things would happen: Residents would charge their devices in their cars. Then the car would go flat requiring friends to help jumpstart. Or residents would idle their vehicles.

Freezers would defrost and food would be lost. One resident ran a generator creating noise and pollution.

Right now, the solar system is too small to run all the freezers. But if we have a proven quota system, we may just expand the solar system...

 

 

33 minutes ago, Nic Roets said:

Yes, that was my first thought.

We've had a few multi day outages in the past. All kinds of bad things would happen: Residents would charge their devices in their cars. Then the car would go flat requiring friends to help jumpstart. Or residents would idle their vehicles.

Freezers would defrost and food would be lost. One resident ran a generator creating noise and pollution.

Right now, the solar system is too small to run all the freezers. But if we have a proven quota system, we may just expand the solar system...

Not experienced in systems but a router fed from the inverter housed at a central place you can fit a Sonoff Pow smart switch for each unit. On the switch you can at least monitor the use per day for the power used from the inverter and grid. No need to cover the whole complex with wifi. After the smart switch fit a 3A breaker to each unit. This is enough for tenants/owners to run a freezer and they can use a multiplug to charge phones etc. Then have the buy in from all to pay for the power used when there is grid as well as when on backup as per Sonoff. 

Address the problem tenants/owners that abuse the system. For these you can via the APP switch off this dedicated socket powering the freezer in each unit. 

Not the best way but a starting point to get to a good solution. 

Edited February 20, 20241 yr by Scorp007

On 2024/02/20 at 6:25 PM, Nic Roets said:

Are there power monitors on the market that can do it ?

https://www.major-tech.com/product/smart-energy-meter-and-timer/

This might do the trick

10 hours ago, SYC said:

https://www.major-tech.com/product/smart-energy-meter-and-timer/

This might do the trick

Actually a good spec due to the different forms of power measurement but quite a bit high in price if one just needs the smart switch side. 

7 hours ago, Scorp007 said:

smart switch side

it can be set to cut after set usage like a prepaid meter

5 hours ago, SYC said:

it can be set to cut after set usage like a prepaid meter

Thanks. That's a great feature that I did not see in the specs.