Hi

I want to measure household energy consumption to determine energy consumption min and maximums. I want a meter that can provide a minimum of the following on an easy to read graphic:

1. Day consumption

2. Night consumption

3. Weekdays vs weekends

It would be ideal if it has built in wifi so that I can view the information on my laptop or phone via an app. I found a few Chinese meters that does the trick, but would be better to have an SABS approved one that is reasonably priced. It must also fit into the DB din rail.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_B156Fp

then there is this but not sure if it will give me the information I want:

https://www.voltex.co.za/product/hellermanntyton-twstm-wifi-smart-timer-electricity-meter/

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Edited March 21, 20205 yr by SchyffS
Spelling fix

Me too! Specifically the total consumption at any given time or even per day. I can't get this reliably from the Goodwe portal, and when I asked them about trying to write my own software to query the inverter RE the spare RS485 port they were diplomatic but gave no information.

So I might go to the trouble of installing (or having installed) the sort of device you're talking about. But where? I want to track the total that the inverter supplies and anything DRAWN from the grid (preferably not including any exports the other way).

An ET112 meter, R485 cable and a Raspberry Pi running VenusOS. Then all the data you want is on vrm.victronenergy.com.

Of course a Carlo Gavazzi ET112 is double the cost of the meters you linked, plus you need the cable, but it remains the cheapest "smart meter" I know of. Commercial options are 4k and up...

This is a bit more advanced D.I.Y. option.
There are many people here on the forum that could guide you or advise further :)

If you can find your way around using Raspberrypi and some FREE opensource software then you should have a look at:

http://lechacal.com/wiki/index.php/RPIZ_CT3V1

Total cost would be about R1200.00 for a basic version and about R2800 for bigger version with a lot more sensors.
You can then gather all the data you need and run it through grafana (free data visualisation software) to visualize the data as you need in whatever format you need.

See my 1st post here of a basic setup:
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/5507-energy-and-solar-monitoring-diy

That is just the basics I have setup, but you can expand on that as much as your budget allows to measure everything you need to without having to rely on vendor software and limitations.

I use this https://www.manicaa.com/efergy-technologies-elite-classic-4-0-in-home-energy-monitor.html?sfdr_ptcid=31333_617_521902795&sfdr_hash=5986518790ad54007853ebc18af8d111&gclid=CjwKCAjwvOHzBRBoEiwA48i6AjjXTpyFV9AIOyOf9L5EbrDrFW8UM8oblJZeKbElIXHE8VjBX8lGoBoCO84QAvD_BwE

Very easy to install, you can carry the remote viewing box with you. You can set it as to when it should update, mine is every 6 seconds. You can see total KW used, even program what it cost per unit. I love this thing and keep it next to me. Once you use this, you actually can see what everything draws and see where you are wasting power. I think I bought mine from Builders or some online shop in SA, just an search on the web.

This is actually what the Smappee devices are good for. I see Takealot selling them, but it starts at an eye-watering 4k.

5 hours ago, WannabeSolarSparky said:

http://lechacal.com/wiki/index.php/RPIZ_CT3V1

How does this unit measure the voltage? If it uses a AC to AC adaptor, what type do they use and how accurate is it?

20 hours ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

How does this unit measure the voltage? If it uses a AC to AC adaptor, what type do they use and how accurate is it?

Hi Jaco, it indeed does use an ac/ac adapter to measure voltage.
pizero w + RPIZ_CT3V1 + sct-013-000 + 77DE-06-09 9VAC/10W Euro plug-in linear AC to AC Power Supply - 230 VAC to 9 VAC
After calibration of the code (software side) and calibrated with my fluke meter the accuracy is pretty good compared to the retail devices that are available.
I had the Efergy Engage hub kit but the accuracy on that was questionable (fluctuated terribly) and I did not like that my data was going out to the www

On 2020/03/21 at 7:49 PM, SchyffS said:

then there is this but not sure if it will give me the information I want:

https://www.voltex.co.za/product/hellermanntyton-twstm-wifi-smart-timer-electricity-meter/

Does anyone have information about this product? How does it work, what software it uses. I cant find anything on google.

TWSTM Datasheet.pdf

Edited March 25, 20205 yr by SchyffS
Added product datasheet

On 2020/03/23 at 2:02 PM, WannabeSolarSparky said:

This is a bit more advanced D.I.Y. option.
There are many people here on the forum that could guide you or advise further

If you can find your way around using Raspberrypi and some FREE opensource software then you should have a look at:

http://lechacal.com/wiki/index.php/RPIZ_CT3V1

Total cost would be about R1200.00 for a basic version and about R2800 for bigger version with a lot more sensors.
You can then gather all the data you need and run it through grafana (free data visualisation software) to visualize the data as you need in whatever format you need.

See my 1st post here of a basic setup:
https://powerforum.co.za/topic/5507-energy-and-solar-monitoring-diy

That is just the basics I have setup, but you can expand on that as much as your budget allows to measure everything you need to without having to rely on vendor software and limitations.

HI

Can you post a pic of the complete setup? Where does the pieces get fitted to, how is it connected to a Rassberry and with what, what software is used. More specific information.

Edited March 25, 20205 yr by SchyffS

On 2020/03/23 at 1:44 PM, plonkster said:

An ET112 meter, R485 cable and a Raspberry Pi running VenusOS. Then all the data you want is on vrm.victronenergy.com.

Of course a Carlo Gavazzi ET112 is double the cost of the meters you linked, plus you need the cable, but it remains the cheapest "smart meter" I know of. Commercial options are 4k and up...

Hi

Can you show a complete setup without it being connected to a Victron. I want to measure energy before I decide on inverter size.

I used a sonoff pow2. Yes i know it cant take all the load. But what i did was to put a plug one end and a janus other end. Then went about recording power usage at every plug in the house. Must say... the information gathered was very useful in determining what to do inverter wise and cabling wise. R309 solution...

On 2020/03/25 at 5:05 PM, SchyffS said:

Hi

Can you show a complete setup without it being connected to a Victron. I want to measure energy before I decide on inverter size.

Also want to see. Perhaps i can ise my carlo eventually for what i want to