Smart Solar Charging

[skiingj]

I've been able to connect my Emporia charger to an Emporia energy monitor so that it senses when my solar array begins dumping excess energy back to the grid, and turns on the charger.

I have 36 panels and three Tesla Powerwalls, which seem to work fine with the Emporia charger. My only workaround is that when I'm charging EVs at night, I have to switch my Tesla app mode to "Time-based Control" rather than "Self-Powered". If I leave it on Self-Powered, the system will drain my Powerwalls to charge the EVs, at least down to the minimum backup reserve I've set. If I don't want that to happen, I switch the Tesla mode to "Time-based control" so that my EVs can charge from the grid during off-peak hours instead.

Once your Powerwalls have charged to 100%, your Emporia charger and energy monitor should have no problem sensing excess solar energy production and activating the EV charger to send that solar power to your cars rather than to the grid.

I had a Mach-E at the time and now a GV60P. Since the GV60P comes with EA I rarely charge at home. With my setup it just would not work and they knew there was an issue. Earlier in this form another members does get his to work as designed but has a different setup. I think it was something to do with a breaker panel and how the Powerwall's were wired in.

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[JohnFoxeSheets]

To set up my Vue Utility Connect, I had to call PGE and ask them to authorize my Smart Meter for wireless access. They also had to register my Vue before it would connect with the meter.

Once PGE did those things, the Vue began working perfectly. And it connected to my Emporia charger without any problems. Good luck with your system setup!

Hi Michael, quick question:are you able to do solar-only charging with just the Emporia charger and Vue Utility Connect? I ask because Emporia's description for Vue Utility Connect states, "Please note, the Utility Connect does not support Energy Management Features such as: Solar Only Charging, Peak Demand and Load Management. Please purchase an In Panel Energy Monitor if you wish to utilize these features." Can you clarify? Thanks!

 

[markboris]

Hi Michael, quick question:are you able to do solar-only charging with just the Emporia charger and Vue Utility Connect? I ask because Emporia's description for Vue Utility Connect states, "Please note, the Utility Connect does not support Energy Management Features such as: Solar Only Charging, Peak Demand and Load Management. Please purchase an In Panel Energy Monitor if you wish to utilize these features." Can you clarify? Thanks!

If you purchase the Emporia Classic EV Charger, you must also get the Vue Energy Monitor kit. Or you can purchase the Emporia Pro EV charger which includes this kit allowing you to track both solar production and home energy consumption in real-time from your electric panel. That way you have the option to charge on excess solar only.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

If you purchase the Emporia Classic EV Charger, you must also get the Vue Energy Monitor kit. Or you can purchase the Emporia Pro EV charger which includes this kit allowing you to track both solar production and home energy consumption in real-time from your electric panel. That way you have the option to charge on excess solar only.

Thanks. I saw that the Pro includes the Vue Energy Monitor Kit. I am curious about Michael's use of the Vue Utility Connect as it sounded like he may use it for solar-only charging. It would be a nice option if it actually works since it doesn't require any panel mods...

 

[Billyk24]

You're one of the lucky ones. Here we only get a fraction back, have to pay extra fees per month, upgrade to a 320A meter, and have to carry $300k liability insurance to get a grid connection.

WPS is your power suppler?

 

[music_cities]

From May to August I try to only use "Excess Solar" from the Emporia to top up the car. We often arrive home after the weekend at 50-60% and then, depending on how much we drive during the week, the sun can get us back up to 90% within a few days.

Ours is more interesting. We have no time-of-use. We pay $0.10/kwh for electricity but in months where we generate more than we consume (typically May through August) the billing automatically switches to the "solar club" rate and we get $0.30/kwh on the surplus amount. Additional to that is $0.07/kwh for distribution and delivery. So, charging directly from the sun is always $0.07/kwh cheaper than charging from the mains, so:

* in the dead of winter (November through February) the sun doesn't really generate enough to keep the car topped up, we just charge when we want

* in May through August there's plenty of solar, but I don't want to drive, because I can sell the electricity for $0.30/kwh if I don't use it! I just try to rely on Excess Solar alone, so that at least I'm saving the $0.7/kWh distribution fees.

* In the shoulder season (September, October, March, April) it's more interesting. There isn't enough sunlight to keep the car charged up. I've explored a schedule of turning on the EVSE a little after sunrise, and off a little before sunset, at a low amp rate, so that it can at least be sucking up solar. But, I'm more likely to just charge when it gets below 50% or so, an charge to 80%, and leaving a bit of headroom so that the "Excess Solar" algorithm can still kick in.

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