Hall Effect Sensor Split Clamp to Monitor Output of Each Individual Solar Panel???

[WattAboutThat]

I have been searching for a product, or doy project, that can function similar to the emporia ac power monitor, such that you can just put a split clamp around each solar panel output wire and remotely monitor the output of each solar panel.

What I have learned so far, is that the Emporia type devices use an inductive current transformer to measure current. These type of sensors can only work on AC alternating current.

But there is a different sensor called a Hall Effect Sensor that uses magnetic field (instead of inductive), and can measure DC current.

I am trying to locate a purchasable device, like the Emporia, that uses Hall Effect Split Clamps, that can monitor 8, or 16, or 32, channels, so I can clamp each sensor around the output of each Solar Panel, to remotely monitor and log the output of each panel.

If such a product does not exist, then possibly there is an open source project, or diy directions of how to cobble together components, to create such a device.

Please advise if anyone has any recommendations, ideas, or links
on how to accomplish this goal.

thx

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I have been searching for a product, or doy project, that can function similar to the emporia ac power monitor, such that you can just put a split clamp around each solar panel output wire and remotely monitor the output of each solar panel.

What I have learned so far, is that the Emporia type devices use an inductive current transformer to measure current. These type of sensors can only work on AC alternating current.

But there is a different sensor called a Hall Effect Sensor that uses magnetic field (instead of inductive), and can measure DC current.

I am trying to locate a purchasable device, like the Emporia, that uses Hall Effect Split Clamps, that can monitor 8, or 16, or 32, channels, so I can clamp each sensor around the output of each Solar Panel, to remotely monitor and log the output of each panel.

If such a product does not exist, then possibly there is an open source project, or diy directions of how to cobble together components, to create such a device.

Please advise if anyone has any recommendations, ideas, or links
on how to accomplish this goal.

thx

If the panels are in series, all series panels will always output the same current. You only need one sensor per series string, e.g., a 3S3P array would only need 3 sensors - one per string.

 

[FilterGuy]

I have been searching for a product, or doy project, that can function similar to the emporia ac power monitor, such that you can just put a split clamp around each solar panel output wire and remotely monitor the output of each solar panel.

What I have learned so far, is that the Emporia type devices use an inductive current transformer to measure current. These type of sensors can only work on AC alternating current.

But there is a different sensor called a Hall Effect Sensor that uses magnetic field (instead of inductive), and can measure DC current.

I am trying to locate a purchasable device, like the Emporia, that uses Hall Effect Split Clamps, that can monitor 8, or 16, or 32, channels, so I can clamp each sensor around the output of each Solar Panel, to remotely monitor and log the output of each panel.

If such a product does not exist, then possibly there is an open source project, or diy directions of how to cobble together components, to create such a device.

Please advise if anyone has any recommendations, ideas, or links
on how to accomplish this goal.

thx

Be aware of a few things:
* Current is interesting but without voltage, it does not provide much info about power.
* It would only be able to monitor a STRING of panels. It is able to monitor current but would not be able to differentiate one panel from the next.
* In order to determine what is going on with each panel in a string, it would need to be able to measure the voltage on each panel as well as the current through the string.

There is a product from Fronrich that is designed to look for arc faults and Leakage/ground faults at each panel as well as to do a rapid shutdown. As a side benefit, they have all the data needed to do panel-level analysis as you want. (See attached files)

A few forum members said they purchased them but we have yet to hear back on their results.

One forum member very recently got a quote of $667 USD (Shipped to the US) for a system that would handle 16 panels. (He has not yet purchased them)

 

[FilterGuy]

I just added this file to the previous post.

 

[FilterGuy]

This is the detail of a recent quote for a system from Fonrich to manage 16 panels.


Note that each additional panel would cost $18.00 USD


I have no affiliation with the company and I do not know how well they work because I have seen no reports from users.

 

[WattAboutThat]

here is their website
https://www.fonrich.com/

 

[OffGridForGood]

It would be interesting to have a way to add DC monitoring (volts and Amps) of each PV String into the data collection system in IotaWatt...anyone have a solution for this worked out?

 

[Roger Rosthwaite]

I have been searching for a product, or doy project, that can function similar to the emporia ac power monitor, such that you can just put a split clamp around each solar panel output wire and remotely monitor the output of each solar panel.

What I have learned so far, is that the Emporia type devices use an inductive current transformer to measure current. These type of sensors can only work on AC alternating current.

But there is a different sensor called a Hall Effect Sensor that uses magnetic field (instead of inductive), and can measure DC current.

I am trying to locate a purchasable device, like the Emporia, that uses Hall Effect Split Clamps, that can monitor 8, or 16, or 32, channels, so I can clamp each sensor around the output of each Solar Panel, to remotely monitor and log the output of each panel.

If such a product does not exist, then possibly there is an open source project, or diy directions of how to cobble together components, to create such a device.

Please advise if anyone has any recommendations, ideas, or links
on how to accomplish this goal.

thx

I've been searching for this too. I have an emporia AC smart plug that cost $15 and connects to wifi and logs power usage to an account that can be accessed through their app or their website (see picture).

I want this for DC!

I've played around with wifi connected arduinos that collect data and send it to a database like influxDB, but that is such a pain and I'm constantly troubleshooting issues with it, not to mention the fact that I have to maintain a local server to host the data.

It's frustrating because the technology is there, Emporia would just need to have it monitor DC instead of AC and give it some screw terminals or something. I guess there isn't a big enough demand for it.

 

[Spanish Flyer]

Funny I was about to start that same question OffGridForGood just mentioned, so thaks for saving me all the time to forward that same question; also thank FilterGuy for forwarding all that interesting data from Fonrich.
What I was looking for was the same OffGridForGood has mentioned; in my case Voltage and Amps for each of my seven strings... The other day I was told by SeaGal rightly so to wear gloves when dealing with electricity and much more so when it was DC voltage from the panels.
The annoying thing is that all the needed items already exist in the form of two testers as I did, but surely there must be something you connect to each string with a Hall Effect sensor clamp and a screen also plugged to both + and - of each string, added to a small power line (12, 24 DC or 120 - 230 V AC) That way it would be a permanent installation with big enough screens, to be able to read them all at the same time from certain distance. (NOT WHAT I DID to try and explain my ongoing problem..).
Best regards