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Forum Index : Solar : updated inverters sunny boy SMA
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| michael Regular Member  Joined: 06/12/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 40 |
I see all sunny boy inverters are to be upgraded this year (2009)to include bluetooth as standard. this means you can watch output etc on your latop comuter for no extra cost. the inverters are also being re designed to include a larger lcd screen, and more slimline casing among other changers.the 3000w grid model is already out and the other models are all being completed by end 2009. I cant put the photo i have here but will try to find the link. It will save some money for people who added the wireless card onto their model. |
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| michael Regular Member Joined: 06/12/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 40 |
http://www.solarsolutions.com.mt/news.php click on the photo of the red sunny boy to enlarge it, much larger LCD screen there is another press release re the other models etc but just thought I would post this so anyone thinking of buying wireless features to watch out. 97 percent efficiency on new models as well. great to see bluetooth is the standard put on, as it makes it so easy to log on this way. it leaves the australian latronics further behind again, which it already was. cheers |
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| petanque don Senior Member  Joined: 02/08/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 212 |
While I haven’t seen the latronics inverter. As long as they are reliable I would think the lower price would attract people. While the capacity to monitor all sorts of things is interesting. It is not something I would pay extra for. I would imagine after the initial novelty wears off many people would become indifferent about their solar panels. Certainly my sunny boy inverter is quite noisy. |
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GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
Hi Don, the logging aspect is good for conversation initially, and has merit long term if a problem develops. There are legal requirements for kWhr recording and these are being met with even the basic units now. The SMA inverters originally had no display, and were an extra cost option. I would still prefer to buy a unit with fancy display and logging. I am biased this way being retired, but others with less free time may not be as interested in the day to day aspects. I have the serial comm port option on my SunnyBoy1100. This allows a logging aspect, but I prefer to just record the kWhs. The new LCDs gives more info with a cumulative graph, but I would be reluctant to buy blootooth enabled and still need to have a PC for logging as well. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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| petanque don Senior Member Joined: 02/08/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 212 |
I must admit that the watts output is a useful function. And the output for the day is interesting. But I am a bit of a “tech head” my wife probably wouldn’t know what the display means. And will be more interested in the reduction in the power bill. But knowing there was a cloud that went past at 2:23 pm last Thursday that reduced output by 27.62% for 23.46 seconds would only be of interest to people who perhaps need to expand their social network. |
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sPuDd Senior Member Joined: 10/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 251 |
Whats a 'social network'? Does it have bluetooth? Everything is better with bluetooth... 
sPuDd.. It should work ...in theory |
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| michael Regular Member Joined: 06/12/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 40 |
all grid inverters by law now must have LCD displays etc in America. Hence the reason they come standard on most foreign units. |
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Dingdoc Regular Member Joined: 23/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 76 |
Reading back through some of the older posts and came across this one and thought I might contribute some of my experiences with the Sunny Bluetooth communications in the hope that it helps others. I had an SB1700 inverter & 1kW mono panels installed by Zen in Dec '09. The system also came with the new bluetooth Sunny Beam and a piggy-back module installed in the inverter for monitoring production and it proved a simple and reliable way to keep an eye on what was happening. The Sunny Beam also has a USB port to enable stored data to be transferred to a computer for record keeping and display in a spreadsheet/database as CSV files. This worked well with no problems connecting to Ubuntu, but, being a techno geek and accustomed to upload/download to alarm systems, I decided to try some of the software freely available on the SMA website and the supplied CD. This is where things became a little difficult because it seems that much of the literature available has suffered in the translation from German and can be confusing. There are at least 3 programs available and trying to find a suitable one proved quite a time waster, especially since the Owners Manual supplied by Zen seemed to be out of date and vague about the newer Bluetooth system and still recommended the Sunny Data Control programs. Eventually, after much fumbling with SDC and a couple of cheap Bluetooth dongles purchased online I gave up and loaded the Sunny Explorer program. This started to yield results but I soon realized that the Type2 dongle did not have the range and the Type 1 and required difficult to use drivers so I bought a Type 1 which was XP compatible. Even so, the signal strength was too weak to establish a link - the inverter is on the Western outside double brick wall and the computer 15m away on the Eastern end of the house - so I packed it all up and moved it onto the kitchen table which was much closer. I was now able to get a useable signal but it still took quite a few tries to get the link established and start getting live data, which included graphs, string voltages, line voltages and frequencies - all good if you like to know what is going on!! There is also an installer section which enables changes to be made to some of the inverter parameters, although I would not recommend this unless you really know what you are doing and am not really sure if it is operative yet with the BT piggy-back unit. Once I returned the computer to the 'play room' the signal disappeared so I resorted to an array of USB cables and a port to drape the dongle over the open drawer of my filing cabinet. Here it could could get enough signal for a reliable link! Well, I hope this helps others find their way through the SMA maze - I would like to hear if anyone else has had similar problems with the Bluetooth Trev PS Got my first quarterly electricity bill this week - still the same as pre-solar. They estimated it!!! Another problem to sort out !!! |
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KarlJ Guru  Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178 |
ahh bluetooth, was old technology before it was even released, surpassed by many other forms of wireless comms somehow it lives on and makes it easy to use a wireless mouse. I think thats its limit. bluetooth OBD readers are much the same as commented above, unreliable and tempremental was my experience. i think the novelty of logging / data is just that and at the end of the day the KWHRS into the grid as monitored by the smartmeter are AOK for 99% of people. MY PVE just has the KWHRS to the grid and you need a magnifying glass to read it (in daylight only!) but thats fine, just mounted one infront of the display for dad to read. Karl Luck favours the well prepared |
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Steve9R Regular Member Joined: 24/01/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 72 |
I too have the SB1700 which came with optional bluetooth.. waste of space.. my inverter is under the house with PC located directly above through the floor.. still too much interference.. useless.. so i swapped it for a serial board and ran a cat 5 cable to my pc and used their software from their website.. now works perfectly.. just my 2c.. Steve |
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| neil0mac Senior Member Joined: 26/12/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 210 |
There was a time some years ago (still current?) when NSW (Country Energy) meters were read annually, and householders could phone their readings if they wanted an accurate quarterly account. Worth enquiring if you can? |
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| Dingdoc Regular Member Joined: 23/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 76 |
Steve Glad to hear it was not just me who had problems with the BT. Did you use the Type 1 (100m) or Type 2 (10m) USB BT? At least I got it to work enough to satisfy my curiosity - the Sunny Beam is OK for range in most of the house and it is easy enough to transfer basic data from it so I am satisfied with that and I can use the Explorer if I ever have any problems and want details. The inverter display is easy to read and gives quite a bit of useful power and voltage data and I often glance at it and the display on the import/export meter just to keep my finger on the pulse of what it's all doing. The best thing is it makes you conscious of your power useage during the day. neil0mac I rang my supplier regarding the bill and their first excuse was that the meter reader possibly couldn't find the meter - funny that no-one has had a problem with it for the last 20 years!! Then, when I quoted the meter readings and info from my previous bills , she decided that maybe I knew what I was talking about and figured that ETSA hadn't updated its database yet for the new meter so they couldn't get any figures. Her final suggestion was that I pay this bill and it would all be sorted out with the next one - it could be interesting!! Trev |
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| GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
Hi Trev, The GTI can give an indication of solar harvest through the day, but not usage. The import/export Meter gives accumulated totals. This graph shows what is happening all through the day and night. 
Unfortunately SMA equipment cannot do this. There is so much oportunity for SMA and other manufacturers of this sort of equipment to make a product that has a few more sensing inputs, and it would be a really useful tool. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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| KarlJ Guru Joined: 19/05/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1178 |
Trev A reduction in your bill is how you justified the system in the first place, this is how your investment is repayed. I have heard of retailers doing all of the following things 1 allow you to not pay the bill until the meter is read 2 read the meter yourself 3 re-estimate the bill based on solar irradiation/output as advised on the clean energy council govt website. EG 7.2KW/day 1.5KW system Perth. 4 pay a fair portion of the bill not all of it based on the dispute dont forget to get your FEED IN TARRIF rate if applicable on and if you havent got your new meter, pretty much forget everything above. BTW the power companies had the option of a CANBUS type of thing that could be pinged over the line but most chose one that didnt have it Luck favours the well prepared |
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| Dingdoc Regular Member Joined: 23/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 76 |
Gordon I probably should have explained more carefully what I meant in my statement. I tend to use the readings from the inverter and the import/export meter in conjunction with each other. On the power meter, being able to compare what you are paying for with what you are being paid for tends to motivate you to maximise your profit. But, as I think someone commented in another post, there is no point in becoming obsessive about this just to make a few extra dollars. Without letting it rule my life, I will try to put off using continuous heavier loads at times when the inverter output is above the normal house base load of perhaps a couple of hundred watts. This is where a quick glance at the instantaneous inverter output and daily production graph helps you get a feel for the time of day when you can use the heavier loads without impacting greatly on your power export. Currently I am only guestimating my base load but plan to work it out more accurately one day when I get more time - till then I'll just be happy with the approximate data I have to hand. The Sunny Beam display is a good example of where the equipment could be made much more useful with some extra sensing as you suggested. It can be programmed with the unit cost of the power produced, but anything calculated by it is completely meaningless because it can not take into account the effect of peak and off-peak rates and the export tariff. Karl It certainly doesn't hurt to publicise the traps so others are aware. And yes, I have had the new meter for most of the last billing period - wish I could charge at the same rate they do to install it -I'd be so rich I wouldn't have to worry about feed in tariffs !! Trev |
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| GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
The house base load is relatively easy to measure, with these new digital import/export meters. The instantanous power, is accessed from the alt menu. If the red LED is flaching, this indicates import. If the LED is steady, then it indicates export. I have the added benefit of being able to walk around and turn items OFF and see the change in the readings. Sustainable habits come reasonably quickly. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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| BjBlaster Regular Member Joined: 04/04/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 55 |
There is nothing quite like a graph. Here is mine. I don't use any of the inverter info (because it doesn't have any on a PVE1200) so I built my own using PICAXE's and a PC. 
see it live here logger if you *need* to :) Check out my projects here in: Bj's Shed |
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| Adrian@Brisbane Newbie  Joined: 04/12/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3 |
Hi All, Long time reader, First time poster. I have just installed a 3.5Kw system, 19 X 185W with a SMA Sunny Boy 4000TL-20 with Bluetooth. Thanks to eco-Kinetics. They did a great job. I am using the Sunny Explorer to keep an eye on it all. As of 3.30pm today i have generated 10.75Kwh. All I need is some sunshine  This rain is a bummer.
Adrian |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hi Adrian ,, yep the overcast /wet weather is a bummer . I have 1Kw and I think these overcast days I might get 2-2.5 Kwh if I'm lucky . I'm up at Mt. Tamborine , and will be shifting the 6 panels off my roof onto a frame and tracker soon.. ECO did my install ,,happy with them ,even though waited nearly 10 months ,,but for $355 who's worried.. Bruce Bushboy |
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| Britta Newbie Joined: 16/07/2011 Location: Posts: 1 |
the logging aspect is good for conversation initially, and has merit long term if a problem develops. There are legal requirements for kWhr recording and these are being met with even the basic units now. The SMA inverters originally had no display, and were an extra cost option. _____________________________ wireless charger wireless charger Wireless Mobile Mouse |
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