Microcontrollers > Data Logging

Data from my home

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DamonHD:
@SparWeb I have more numbers to add to the set yet!

But for example, the exports have been dropping in winter more than we've been using because of the increased standing load from the Enphase batteries.  (I would have stopped at 2 units rather than 4 had I not been made a nice offer!)

However, changing storage sizes and covid, and now the Thermal battery, do make changes harder to track.

With the thermal battery it should be possible to see exports drop, imports rise significantly during winter, and gas import drop most visibly during summer.

Overall I have two goals:

  * Reduce carbon footprint.
  * Reduce flows of energy into (and out of) the house that "someone else" has to deal with.

Those are happening, I think, but are sometimes in conflict, especially around the solar PV diversion for heat.

Rgds

Damon

MattM:
Damon,

I think your goal is admirable but counter-intuitive.  Energy is life.  Everything in nature feeds off external energy.  Are you proposing the approach to zero energy in your home?  That's really simple.  That literally means the opposite of living life.  Nature appreciates your waste energy.

We all want a clean environment.  And we have access to the cleanest energy in our locations, the stuff coming off the grid.  If you're trying to have the least impact on your location then never fill the valleys in your local utility, basically use energy without any hint of storage when everybody else is using it and go without usage when the utility is running peak 'lows' in demand.  This will be more efficient than anything you can do with a battery.

The public electricity runs at a much higher power rating than a person can do at home.  Storing energy is always at considerable loss, so it wouldn't be wise to store it to ever reach your stated goals.  Electricity at peak energy demand is made at a better power rating than energy generated at the lowest public energy periods, but running at peak means higher energy costs and a smaller piece of the public pie.  Money is ultimately your best gauge of efficiency.  Energy generated at the highest power rating is the most expensive.  You'd be splitting hairs to find improvements otherwise.  By using energy at peak demand you're doing all of us a favor and burning a hole in your pocket at the same time.  So philosophically speaking, you would best serve your stated pair of goals by using all of your energy at peak demand. 

I personally would rather seek load balancing across the public grid.  I'd be saving money and feeding nature when it needs the waste energy the most.  If generating my own electricity its more expensive than the public electricity in every case, then doing so never reaches those goals you outlined.  But that independence from the grid will only cost me less over time especially if inflation grows.  And eventually I'd hope to have more jingle in my pocket over the life of the project.  But that independence will never reduce my carbon footprint and I'm fine with that.  Just my two cents.

DamonHD:
@MattM thanks for your response: I'm too tired to respond properly this evening but I'll get back to you!

MattM:
When I say power rating I mean power factor.  I was typing that before my coffee kicked in.

JW:
Hi Bruce thanks for the feedback Im not sure where I heard that. I think was from plastic lens type.

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