I just had a PV system installed, and at commissioning, I noticed I wasn't seeing ANY consumption data. Turns out my installer didn't install them. So they had to come back and install them. It's very informative to see how much various electrical items draw when in use, the water heater is the biggest draw, followed by the 3-ton AC. It's also instructive how little consumption there is at night. Granted our system was commissioned in Sept and we have had an early fall here in St Louis so the AC hasn't run at night, but my hourly average from about 9 pm to 6 am is .3 to .4 kWh. But we typically see one maybe two spikes during that time which must be the water heater. This was a great video and it mirrored my installer's process exactly. He cut a small hole, installed a junction box, and used a flexible conduit to run the CT wires to the Combiner Box. The original electrical work was done using conduit piping. but it still looks good in my finished garage.
Thanks for a great video. Would love to install these on my existing system but not enough room in my main panel to place the CTs. Wonder if I can open up the sealed meter box next to my main panel to find some room to install the CTs
The reason you need to connect the wires before securing the current transformers is that CTs can generate very high voltages if there is nothing to drain the current. This creates a *SHOCK HAZARD* and can damage the CTs. CTs work by allowing the current to be measured as a voltage across a resistor on the burden side. This voltage is proportional to the resistor across the leads with more resistance increasing the voltage available to measure. You have an open circuit when the leads are not yet connected which theoretically could generate infinite voltage if current were to pass through the primary coil.
Thanks for the video. Very informative. I have one question. The CT's measure the current going into your main panel from the grid but your power from the solar panels are going directly in the the main panel. Does the power from the solar panels still get measured somehow through the consumption CTs even if they are after the CTs? Thanks
Thank you for the comment and the positive feedback. I appreciate it. The CTs only measure the current value and the direction to and from the main panel (which is also to or from the electric grid). Those CTs have no idea that there is a solar panel array in the system. It is the Enphase Envoy device in the combiner box that keeps track of the production, which is measured by each microinverter in the system. The Envoy device and its software track the production of the solar panels, as well as the electric current and direction from the CTs, and create very nice graphs showing you both production and consumption over time. It is worth noting that the Envoy calculation of consumption at any point in time is really the difference between the production measurements and the current value and direction from the CTs. The current direction is very important. Here are 2 cases: - When production is higher than consumption, the Envoy will see the current direction from the CTs be towards the grid (out of the main panel). If the production measurement is, say, 100 Watts, and the CTs are measuring 0.416 A out of the panel (so P=IV, so Power = 0.417 A* 120 V, which is 50 W), then the Envoy knows that 50 W were being consumed at that given point in time, while 50 W went into the grid. - When Consumption is higher than production, the Envoy will see the current direction from the CTs be from the grid (into the main panel). Let's say production measurement is 100 W, CTs are measuring 1.25 A into the panel (again, P=IV, Power = 1.25 A * 120 V, which is 150 W). In this case, the Envoy calculates consumption to be the sum of the 100 W produced by the solar panels, plus the 150 W from the grid, for a total consumption of 250 W at that given point in time. I hope this answers your question.
Great video clearly shows everything. Once I have installed the CTs will my Enlighten app show the graphs? It only shoes one graph now, power produced. Is there another app I can use?
Thank you for the positive feedback. As part of the setup in the Enlighten app, you set consumption monitoring as well once you have the CTs connected. With consumption monitoring enabled, you will see graphs for both production and consumption.
How do I enable the CT monitoring consumption? If I is nowhere on the app you have to go to the Enphase installer tool kit but you have to be a certified installer to activate it. I’ve called Enphase and they will not do it unless you hire an electrician or an installer or you become an installer yourself through their website it’s free, but that’s the only way I’ve seen there’s no work around.😢
The Envoy is part of the grid-tie system, so it connected to the house electrical system in the same way the microinverters are. It will be powered from the main electrical grid when no power is being produced from the solar panels. As with all electrical devices connected to a grid-tie system, the source of the power will depend on whether the solar panels are producing power at all, enough power, or more power than needed. This is the advantage of grid-tie systems in that they complement the primary electrical grid, while still offsetting power consumption from the grid as part of the net-metering agreement with the electrical utilities.
This video includes chapters for every part of this install. If you click on "show more", you will see those chapters. Connecting the wires is one of those chapters starting at 22:24 "Connecting CTs to Enphase Envoy", and I clearly explain where the blue and white wires connect.
Can you please post in the comments why reading consumption would not work? The video shows a detailed walkthrough of how to connect the CTs and there is no reason this would not work unless the connections are not made exactly as shown which is based on the manufacturer's specs. Thank you.
How do I enable the CT monitoring consumption? If I is nowhere on the app you have to go to the Enphase installer tool kit but you have to be a certified installer to activate it. I’ve called Enphase and they will not do it unless you hire an electrician or an installer or you become an installer yourself through their website it’s free, but that’s the only way I’ve seen there’s no work around.
Flip the CT, I was told the arrows were incorrectly labeled on thousands of controllers. Once that was completed , I was golden. Glad to.send you photos and or screenshots of my configuration.
The AC Disconnect Box must be located on the outside of the house so it can be accessible to turn off the system if needed. The AC Disconnect is not shown in this video, but the output from the Enphase combiner box goes to the AC Disconnect Box. If you jump to minute 22:45 in this video, you will a black electrical wire cable connected to the 2 main lugs of the Enphase combiner box. That is the output from the solar panel circuits and is routed via conduit to the AC combiner box externally. I hope you like this video. If you do, please give it a like and subscribe to the channel. Thanks.
Please Please next time shut the main. I met a guy who's face looked like a Moon coffecake. Scared the hell out of me forever. I can't unsee that face.
This is some ugly work! Unfortunately as an electrician I am, I see a lot of Solar guys act like there professional electricians and they are far from it!
Thanks for the constructive feedback !!! Here is an idea: Why don't you be a "professional electrician" and tell us what makes this "ugly work". A pro like you should easily point out flaws in work that amateurs like me do. Show us how it's done and give us hints and tidbits that others can use and benefit from, Mr. Pro. After all, this ugly work here passed a rigorous inspection by the city and the electric utility and resulted in a fully functional Solar PV system, while "beautiful work" by professional electricians sit unfinished and unusable all over the country because those "pros" have better projects to work on (just google "solar PV scams" and you'll know what I'm talking about).
@DoItAllYourselfGuy I see trolls like this all the time. Just here to hate not to be constructive. They do the same shit to my dad's youtube "turbine guy"
Not a DIY safety comes first also fire hazard. If insurance company finds out you did your own works no claim will be paid out. I just don’t recommend anyone doing this work if you not certified electrician . Not hating good work but not meant for anyone .
Learn how to bend conduit . Liquid tight is an Automatic fail in inspection. If you’re are going to run romex . You should done with in the walls and run in internally. Aesthetically this is ugly. Should’ve used green wire 8awg instead of bare copper in the combiner box
Your statement is incorrect. Liquid tight is NOT an automatic fail, otherwise they wouldn't sell this stuff and approve it in designs prior to inspections, and my inspections would have failed. Also false: bare ground wire is perfectly acceptable (and actually preferred). Please read and look up your information well prior to posting wrong information, or cite references to prove your claims.
I’ve used liquid tight on my outside patio and it passed the building code. It’s also used as conduit from my water heater from the disconnect to the heater and it passed building code and it looks ugly as shit and I don’t care how mine looks as long as this functional and no one sees it
I’ve seen many videos about this. This is the only one that explains clearly with diagrams. Great job 🙌
Thank you for the positive feedback. I'm glad your found this video helpful.
I just had a PV system installed, and at commissioning, I noticed I wasn't seeing ANY consumption data. Turns out my installer didn't install them. So they had to come back and install them. It's very informative to see how much various electrical items draw when in use, the water heater is the biggest draw, followed by the 3-ton AC. It's also instructive how little consumption there is at night. Granted our system was commissioned in Sept and we have had an early fall here in St Louis so the AC hasn't run at night, but my hourly average from about 9 pm to 6 am is .3 to .4 kWh. But we typically see one maybe two spikes during that time which must be the water heater. This was a great video and it mirrored my installer's process exactly. He cut a small hole, installed a junction box, and used a flexible conduit to run the CT wires to the Combiner Box. The original electrical work was done using conduit piping. but it still looks good in my finished garage.
Thank you for taking the time to write this positive feedback. Congratulations on your new PV system.
Thanks for a great video. Would love to install these on my existing system but not enough room in my main panel to place the CTs. Wonder if I can open up the sealed meter box next to my main panel to find some room to install the CTs
I appreciate the positive feedback. Thank you.
Excellent start to finish tutorial.
Thank you for the positive feedback. I'm glad you found this helpful. Good luck with your project!
Great video sir.
Thank you for the positive feedback. I appreciate that.
The reason you need to connect the wires before securing the current transformers is that CTs can generate very high voltages if there is nothing to drain the current. This creates a *SHOCK HAZARD* and can damage the CTs. CTs work by allowing the current to be measured as a voltage across a resistor on the burden side. This voltage is proportional to the resistor across the leads with more resistance increasing the voltage available to measure. You have an open circuit when the leads are not yet connected which theoretically could generate infinite voltage if current were to pass through the primary coil.
Excellent point! Makes perfect sense. Thank you for the comment.
Well that's gonna be an accident
I installed them and shorted the wires
Nice explanation.
Thanks for the feedback. I hope you found this helpful.
Thanks for the video. Very informative. I have one question. The CT's measure the current going into your main panel from the grid but your power from the solar panels are going directly in the the main panel. Does the power from the solar panels still get measured somehow through the consumption CTs even if they are after the CTs? Thanks
Thank you for the comment and the positive feedback. I appreciate it.
The CTs only measure the current value and the direction to and from the main panel (which is also to or from the electric grid). Those CTs have no idea that there is a solar panel array in the system. It is the Enphase Envoy device in the combiner box that keeps track of the production, which is measured by each microinverter in the system. The Envoy device and its software track the production of the solar panels, as well as the electric current and direction from the CTs, and create very nice graphs showing you both production and consumption over time.
It is worth noting that the Envoy calculation of consumption at any point in time is really the difference between the production measurements and the current value and direction from the CTs. The current direction is very important. Here are 2 cases:
- When production is higher than consumption, the Envoy will see the current direction from the CTs be towards the grid (out of the main panel). If the production measurement is, say, 100 Watts, and the CTs are measuring 0.416 A out of the panel (so P=IV, so Power = 0.417 A* 120 V, which is 50 W), then the Envoy knows that 50 W were being consumed at that given point in time, while 50 W went into the grid.
- When Consumption is higher than production, the Envoy will see the current direction from the CTs be from the grid (into the main panel). Let's say production measurement is 100 W, CTs are measuring 1.25 A into the panel (again, P=IV, Power = 1.25 A * 120 V, which is 150 W). In this case, the Envoy calculates consumption to be the sum of the 100 W produced by the solar panels, plus the 150 W from the grid, for a total consumption of 250 W at that given point in time.
I hope this answers your question.
There's always production CT
Great video clearly shows everything. Once I have installed the CTs will my Enlighten app show the graphs? It only shoes one graph now, power produced. Is there another app I can use?
Thank you for the positive feedback. As part of the setup in the Enlighten app, you set consumption monitoring as well once you have the CTs connected. With consumption monitoring enabled, you will see graphs for both production and consumption.
How do I enable the CT monitoring consumption? If I is nowhere on the app you have to go to the Enphase installer tool kit but you have to be a certified installer to activate it. I’ve called Enphase and they will not do it unless you hire an electrician or an installer or you become an installer yourself through their website it’s free, but that’s the only way I’ve seen there’s no work around.😢
Where does the Envoy get its power to run the box? I think you mentioned it comes from the panels, but where does it come from @night?
The Envoy is part of the grid-tie system, so it connected to the house electrical system in the same way the microinverters are. It will be powered from the main electrical grid when no power is being produced from the solar panels. As with all electrical devices connected to a grid-tie system, the source of the power will depend on whether the solar panels are producing power at all, enough power, or more power than needed. This is the advantage of grid-tie systems in that they complement the primary electrical grid, while still offsetting power consumption from the grid as part of the net-metering agreement with the electrical utilities.
The whole time I'm looking to see where you hooked up the blue and white wires, but no... Sadness!
This video includes chapters for every part of this install. If you click on "show more", you will see those chapters.
Connecting the wires is one of those chapters starting at 22:24 "Connecting CTs to Enphase Envoy", and I clearly explain where the blue and white wires connect.
@@DIAYG Thanks. I figured it out using the diagram on the lid.
For eveyone who says it's still not reading consumption, let me know , i have your fix
Can you please post in the comments why reading consumption would not work? The video shows a detailed walkthrough of how to connect the CTs and there is no reason this would not work unless the connections are not made exactly as shown which is based on the manufacturer's specs. Thank you.
How do I enable the CT monitoring consumption? If I is nowhere on the app you have to go to the Enphase installer tool kit but you have to be a certified installer to activate it. I’ve called Enphase and they will not do it unless you hire an electrician or an installer or you become an installer yourself through their website it’s free, but that’s the only way I’ve seen there’s no work around.
Flip the CT, I was told the arrows were incorrectly labeled on thousands of controllers. Once that was completed , I was golden. Glad to.send you photos and or screenshots of my configuration.
I utilize this video on how not to hook up enphase products.
Where is the AC Disconnect?
The AC Disconnect Box must be located on the outside of the house so it can be accessible to turn off the system if needed. The AC Disconnect is not shown in this video, but the output from the Enphase combiner box goes to the AC Disconnect Box.
If you jump to minute 22:45 in this video, you will a black electrical wire cable connected to the 2 main lugs of the Enphase combiner box. That is the output from the solar panel circuits and is routed via conduit to the AC combiner box externally.
I hope you like this video. If you do, please give it a like and subscribe to the channel. Thanks.
Please Please next time shut the main. I met a guy who's face looked like a Moon coffecake. Scared the hell out of me forever. I can't unsee that face.
This is some ugly work! Unfortunately as an electrician I am, I see a lot of Solar guys act like there professional electricians and they are far from it!
Thanks for the constructive feedback !!!
Here is an idea:
Why don't you be a "professional electrician" and tell us what makes this "ugly work". A pro like you should easily point out flaws in work that amateurs like me do. Show us how it's done and give us hints and tidbits that others can use and benefit from, Mr. Pro.
After all, this ugly work here passed a rigorous inspection by the city and the electric utility and resulted in a fully functional Solar PV system, while "beautiful work" by professional electricians sit unfinished and unusable all over the country because those "pros" have better projects to work on (just google "solar PV scams" and you'll know what I'm talking about).
@DoItAllYourselfGuy I see trolls like this all the time. Just here to hate not to be constructive. They do the same shit to my dad's youtube "turbine guy"
The Combiner box could be dressed nicer and the romex gotta be stripped from the connector.
Not a DIY safety comes first also fire hazard. If insurance company finds out you did your own works no claim will be paid out. I just don’t recommend anyone doing this work if you not certified electrician . Not hating good work but not meant for anyone .
Learn how to bend conduit . Liquid tight is an Automatic fail in inspection. If you’re are going to run romex . You should done with in the walls and run in internally. Aesthetically this is ugly. Should’ve used green wire 8awg instead of bare copper in the combiner box
Your statement is incorrect. Liquid tight is NOT an automatic fail, otherwise they wouldn't sell this stuff and approve it in designs prior to inspections, and my inspections would have failed.
Also false: bare ground wire is perfectly acceptable (and actually preferred).
Please read and look up your information well prior to posting wrong information, or cite references to prove your claims.
I’ve used liquid tight on my outside patio and it passed the building code. It’s also used as conduit from my water heater from the disconnect to the heater and it passed building code and it looks ugly as shit and I don’t care how mine looks as long as this functional and no one sees it
@@DIAYG here in my state . Would’ve failed that already . Maybe in your state but over here . Seen it many times and always fails