Wireless battery and panel monitor

[rin67630]

Hi,
in the frame of an environmental metering project, I have programmed as a by-side product, a WiFi battery monitor function using an ESP8266 and an INA226 power monitor.
It shows the battery values as trends, calculates the energy to/from the battery by hour and day, calculates the internal resistance of the battery and roughly evaluates the DOD. All values are stored fo a year in the cloud and can be exported to a spreadsheet.

The display occurs in the cloud and can be shown on every computer/smartphone worldwide.


I could also consider to network several ESP8266's together to report the voltage/current of every single panel in a multi-panel configuration . That would need an ESP8266, an INA226, a buck converter, a small battery shield and a casing for every panel. The bill of materials would be less than 15$ per panel.

A monitoring of several batteries could also be considered using the same bill of material (excepted the battery shield).

Is that something useful?
What would you want to get?

 

[snoobler]

Cool.

Batteries to panels to batteries?

If you really meant solar panels, that's kinda a waste for series. All panels in series will all have nearly identical voltages, and they will all have exactly the same current. Even if one was shaded, you'd have a hard time telling which one.

Would be more useful for panels only in parallel as they can flow different currents.

 

[rin67630]

Batteries to panels to batteries?

What do you mean with that?

If you really meant solar panels, that's kinda a waste for series.

I meant having panels at different positions/orientations. or possibly have panels shadowed by snow/dust etc...

Even if one was shaded, you'd have a hard time telling which one.

not if I have a separate monitoring for each one.

 

[snoobler]

not if I have a separate monitoring for each one.

I indicated series. All panels in a series string will have negligibly different voltage and identical current. You won't be able to tell them apart.

Parallel, yes. useful. Series, useless.

 

[rin67630]

I indicated series. All panels in a series string will have negligibly different voltage and identical current. You won't be able to tell them apart.

Parallel, yes. useful. Series, useless.

The shaded panel will drop voltage and may even get slightly negative until the reversal protection Schottky diode begins to conduct.