Hello,
if you charge a battery directly from a solar panel is there any possibility
to monitor the input?
Sorry, the AC500 system cannot do that. This requires purchasing an additional solar charging monitor.
Does anyone have suggestions for an inline device that monitors Volts/Amps (e.g. via Bluetooth app) that would go between the B300s and the solar panel. A nice feature would be that it already has MC4 connectors on it ( I found a few that have anderson connectors and no monitoring via an app about $15). Also, I don’t feel they are as secure as the MC4 connector. (Yes, I know, I can add the MC4 connectors to the device’s bare wire, just checking this way first).
It would be nice if @BLUETTI MADE something that could monitor that information inline between a battery and the panel and allow that information to be transmitted to their app and stored and analyzed.
I would pay for that and I think a lot of solar enthusiasts would invest in that tool. It would still be useful for others not even using Bluetti items.
Just a thought,
Will
I’m interested to see them.
Can you give the links please.
Watt Meter, Digital Power Analyzer 50A continuous
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Bare wire 150A
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2 Pcs High Precision Watt Meter Power Analyzer with Anderson Connectors
.
Just some examples
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Edited to add the Pigtail adapters Anderson to MC4
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You could go expensive route with Victron, but I don’t like that I would have the power ends exposed (which is why I went with an all in one system.) It would need mounted/encased using this item. Unsure if this item would work for my purpose.
Well, you can get a close enough indication from the APP by tapping on the PV input. It gives you wattage and voltage for DC1 and DC2 inputs for the AC500.
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I’ve used it to measure power output from individual solar panels where they are all supposed to have the same output. (There’s always some difference between panels from the same company). For example, I have 4 bifacial 550 watt panels that were only sold in pairs, but I can only use 3 in series to keep the Voc within spec. I noted the wattage and voltage of each and chose the 3 highest output panels for DC2 input to the AC500, and wired the 4th panel directly to one of the B300s batteries.
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And of course, you’re getting real time power inputs to DC1 and DC2 (with maybe a 2-3 second delay if clouds are rolling by). This is how I found out that on very cloudy and overcast days, I eek out more power by aiming the arrays straight up to the sky. On clear sky days, it really makes a difference if you can aim the panels during the day, from morning to noon, and noon to afternoon positions.