Current Cost TREC Current Cost ENVI Current Cost EnviR SmartNow Solar Monitoring Kit

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1 Installation Guidelines Products Covered: Current Cost TREC Current Cost ENVI Current Cost EnviR SmartNow Solar Monitoring Kit This document is for the use of Qualified Electricians and Electrical Contractors Only. No responsibility is taken for any inaccurate or misleading information or any omissions or errors. No responsibility is taken for an loss, damage or injury incurred in any way with respect to this or any other document or product. Page 1 of 7

2 1. Single- phase, Non- Solar Installation This section describes the theory of installation (not the practice) for a conventional single- phase dwelling without grid- connect solar or any other form of grid- connect micro- generation. The CT Clamp can be connected in the following positions: On the active wire between the meter and the main switch on the switch board On the active wire immediately after the main switch on the switch board but before it splits to feed individual circuit breakers The CT Clamp should not be placed in the following positions: On the active wire on the grid side of the meter Around both an active and a neutral wire - the magnetic fields will cancel one another out and the CT Clamp will not produce a reading Page 2 of 7

3 2. Single- phase Supply, Single- phase Solar Installation This section describes the theory of installation (not the practice) for a conventional single- phase dwelling with grid- connect solar or other form of grid- connect micro- generation. Please note the directions (as indicated in the diagram) are very important. 1) Take the active cable running FROM the meter INTO the main switch. 2) Place this cable in the CT Clamp. 3) Take the active cable running FROM the inverter INTO the solar circuit breaker. 4) Place this cable into THE SAME CT Clamp. An Explanation: A CT Clamp cannot determine which way power is flowing. Scenario 1: Solar producing 2000W, house consuming 500W, 1500W being fed back to grid. The 1500W is flowing in the opposite direction to the 2000W. Hence they cancel out. Power detected = 2000W 1500W = 500W. Scenario 2: Solar producing 2000W, house consuming 3000W, 1000W being drawn from grid. The 1000W is flowing in the same direction as the 2000W. Hence they add up. Page 3 of 7

4 Power detected = 2000W W = 3000W. Scenario 3: Solar producing 0W, house consuming 1000W, 1000W being drawn from grid. The 1000W is flowing from the grid. 0W is flowing from the solar. Power detected = 1000W + 0W = 1000W. Page 4 of 7

5 3. Three- phase Supply, Single- phase Solar Installation This section describes the theory of installation (not the practice) for a conventional three- phase dwelling with grid- connect solar or other form of grid- connect micro- generation. Important Points: The solar feed is usually only connected to ONE phase of the house power supply. On this phase power can either be drawn from the grid or sent back to the grid. Phases 2 and 3 only ever supply power from the grid to the house. Installation: Attach the CT Clamp around the solar feed, and the mains phase that the solar is connected to, as per the diagram in section 2. Attach a second CT Clamp to Phase 2 of the mains supply as it feeds into the main switch. Attach a third CT Clamp to Phase 3 of the mains supply as it feeds into the main switch. Plug all three CT Clamps into the transmitter. Page 5 of 7

6 4. Three- phase Supply, Three- phase Solar Installation (rare) This section describes the theory of installation (not the practice) for a conventional three- phase dwelling with three- phase grid- connect solar or other form of grid- connect micro- generation. Important Points: The three phases of the solar feed are connected to the three phases of the house power supply. On all phases power can either be drawn from the grid or sent back to the grid. Installation: Attach the CT Clamp around the solar feed phase 1, and the mains phase that the solar phase 1 is connected to, as per the diagram in section 2. Attach the second CT Clamp around the solar feed phase 2, and the mains phase that the solar phase 2 is connected to, as per the diagram in section 2. Attach the CT Clamp around the solar feed phase 3, and the mains phase that the solar phase 3 is connected to, as per the diagram in section 2. Plug all three CT Clamps into the transmitter. Page 6 of 7

7 Annex 1 Installation of a second transmitter If a second transmitter and CT Clamp is being used to monitor the solar generation, this needs to be installed on the active wire between the AC output of the solar inverter and the circuit breaker on the switchboard. This optional second transmitter is tuned into Channel 1 on the display(s) by: Pushing the tuning button on the front of the transmitter using a ball- point pen until the LED flashes. The LED should start flashing rapidly. Pushing the <UP> arrow on the display until Appliance 1 appears in the bottom right- hand corner of the display. Push and hold the <DOWN> arrow on the display until the LED on the display flashes. The display screen should now change and show a tuning screen, and the display and the transmitter will pair. After a minute, the display should return to normal and start to receive the data from the second transmitter on Channel 1. Annex 2 - Frequently Asked Questions Can you provide a wiring diagram to assist with installation? No - we can only provide an overview of the concepts as wiring and installations and switchboards vary extensively across Australia. Can you get a net import/export report from the Current Cost displays? Due to the limitations of CT Clamp technology to determine the direction of power flow as described above, this cannot be achieved. You can in theory set your unit up to see net import or export, but due to the absence of information about the direction of power flow (i.e W or 2000W ) the user would have to determine this information themselves, which can be very confusing, We do not recommend this unless you have a very good fix on your power usage. Why is my Current Cost energy monitor showing that my solar inverter is generating 75W at night? A small number of solar inverters draw a small amount of non- sine wave current at night. This shows up on the Current Cost CT Clamp (and other, far more expensive equipment including Fluke meters) as a 0.3 Amp current which equates to approximately 75W. Can I post both my power consumption and my solar generation to my.currentcost.com using the Current Cost Bridge? Yes you can. The Current Cost Bridge comes in two types: 1) Single Channel, which can upload a single channel of data (i.e. home power consumption OR solar generation) to 2) 10 Channel, which can upload all ten channels to Page 7 of 7