Do I need to log my solar data?

[GUMPY]

Can anyone point me to an advantage to be gained by adding a logger to my Epever/MT50 set up.

I am not at the boat more than I am there, just trying to justify the £22 cost of the ELOG01 Data Logger

 

[DaveP]

Hours of geeky fun to be had!

 

 

[GUMPY]

25 minutes ago, DaveP said:

Hours of geeky fun to be had!

 

 

Yes I know

If I was really geeky and had a permanent internet connection from the boat I would get someway of transmitting data over the interweb.........

[MarkH2159]

My cheapo MPPTContoller can handle 100 amps and tells me all I need to know.

Battery status, volts, charge amperage and total AH produced.

It cost only a little more than the Eperver Logger but for that I have to look at the display and press buttons, which is almost as much fun as reading it over the internet.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

If you put logs on your solar panels, they won't generate any electric. ?

If you are even asking the question, you know you're going to give in eventually and buy one! Bow to the inevitable...

Edited April 16, 2021 by Jen-in-Wellies

[GUMPY]

55 minutes ago, MarkH2159 said:

My cheapo MPPTContoller can handle 100 amps and tells me all I need to know.

Battery status, volts, charge amperage and total AH produced.

It cost only a little more than the Eperver Logger but for that I have to look at the display and press buttons, which is almost as much fun as reading it over the internet.

I have mppt controller with an MT50 which already does all that, however I cant read it from 250 miles away, my eyesight just isn't that good.

 

 

43 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

If you are even asking the question, you know you're going to give in eventually and buy one! Bow to the inevitable..

I need to justify it to myself

 

[Tracy D'arth]

Over egging the technology, KISS.

[Col_T]

We have solar panels on the roof at home, together with a data logger, installed in 2012. When new, I looked at the data multiple times a day, and even wrote a program that extracted the highest output and lowest output days, and went through each day of data calculating the lowest , and highest, possible outputs.

 

The program, and associated data files, didn't survive the last computer upgrade and I look at the box maybe once a month.

 

Probably not worth getting, and I didn't get the data logger for the MT50 on the boat!

 

[GUMPY]

9 hours ago, Col_T said:

We have solar panels on the roof at home, together with a data logger, installed in 2012. When new, I looked at the data multiple times a day, and even wrote a program that extracted the highest output and lowest output days, and went through each day of data calculating the lowest , and highest, possible outputs.

 

The program, and associated data files, didn't survive the last computer upgrade and I look at the box maybe once a month.

 

Probably not worth getting, and I didn't get the data logger for the MT50 on the boat!

 

This is what I am thinking will happen, a loss of interest will prevail and the logger will become like some kitchen gadget that lives in the back of the cupboard ?

[Feeby100]

For 22 pound whats the loss 

[Idle Days]

It will tell you when the system has failed! 

 

[Col_T]

Not if it's been relegated to the back of a kitchen cupboard!! ?

[GUMPY]

1 hour ago, Feeby100 said:

For 22 pound whats the loss 

£22 or 7 pints of beer at my local brewhouse.

[cuthound]

A pig doesn't get any fatter if you keep measuring it.

 

The readings from the controller will tell you all you need to know.

[GUMPY]

5 minutes ago, cuthound said:

A pig doesn't get any fatter if you keep measuring it.

 

The readings from the controller will tell you all you need to know.

Only if I am there to read them.

[Just Heaven]

On 16/04/2021 at 16:37, Loddon said:

Yes I know

If I was really geeky and had a permanent internet connection from the boat I would get someway of transmitting data over the interweb.........

That's what I do. A home brew Raspberry pi device monitors the battery, solar and inside & outside temperatures every 5 mins and sends to another Rpi here at home. 

I can also use it to turn the Eber on and off.

 

 

[GUMPY]

3 minutes ago, Just Heaven said:

That's what I do. A home brew Raspberry pi device monitors the battery, solar and inside & outside temperatures every 5 mins and sends to another Rpi here at home. 

I can also use it to turn the Eber on and off.

 

 

Why am I not surprised ?

 

My SMS based system tells me if the batteries drop below 75%, the shore power has dropped out and the inside temperature is below 6degC. I have also added whether the charger is on or off since it refused to come back on after a power cut.

 

[DaveP]

23 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Why am I not surprised ?

 

My SMS based system tells me if the batteries drop below 75%, the shore power has dropped out and the inside temperature is below 6degC. I have also added whether the charger is on or off since it refused to come back on after a power cut.

 

Similarly - RPi monitors the batteries to a database and sends sms on alerts (low charge, temp) and will also reply with status to a specific sms message from my phone.

[GUMPY]

4 minutes ago, DaveP said:

Similarly - RPi monitors the batteries to a database and sends sms on alerts (low charge, temp) and will also reply with status to a specific sms message from my phone.

Programming was never my strong point.

Mine is effectively electromechanical?

A relay in the smart gauge switches on at 74% and off at 95%, a NC mains relay drops out when power goes, a thermostat switches on when temp is below set value and finally the Victron combi has a relay that is on when the charger is off (I had to program that bit) it all runs back  to a box with a phone in it  that I bought with four sense inputs and a relay to switch the heating on and off.

 

As regards logging solar data I think I will as I am not seeing the solar get above about 13.9v so at least if I do I will know if it does when I am not here.