Wouldn't you Adam and Eve it. As soon as I leave the webbox alone for a day or so it stops reporting data to the web.
This could take a few days to sort out. Up until the 15th March 2011 it was reporting data every 15mins.
It could be that the small SD card (512mb) is full or the box has lost power or any number of other things.
It will take me a while to sort through that. I hope to get it back up online as soon as possible.
12 Mar 2011
Public display of system output now live
After a bit of frustration and much gnashing of teeth I now have an online presence for The Swamp Electricity Generation Board. The link is here.
The page layout etc. may change as I get more used to the data which is shown. Hopefully these views will be of use to the wider public.
At the moment one of the tabs looks like this -
The page layout etc. may change as I get more used to the data which is shown. Hopefully these views will be of use to the wider public.
At the moment one of the tabs looks like this -
SMA webbox issues
Well what a faff installing the SMA webbox was.
I got the equipment and connected it straight into my router. I then tried to access it via the wireless system from a laptop.
This initially let me in to change various settings, but only the once. Each subsequent time I tried to login, it told me that somebody was already logged in. Not a lot of use that.
I tried all sorts of things including power off and even got a pin to reset the machine. Still no good. As I'm not the most technically savvy fella I thought I'd ask the guys at SMA.de Not impressed with the technical support. After sending what I thought was a fairly technical email all I got for a reply was 'Which country are you'.....
Eventually I resorted to calling round a good friend of mine who is network savvy.
The manual and supplied CD was talking about having to set up a computer with IPv6 before you could access the webbox to set it up. According to the tech savvy dude this type of nextwork was only for big machines costing £1000's. Also this would require 6 sets of numbers for the internet address but the supplied paperwork was only quoting 4 sets, i.e. IPv4.
We decided not to use the CD, but try and setup by directly connecting the webbox to an older laptop and follow the written instructions.
Eventually we got it running and the data is being uploaded.
I got the equipment and connected it straight into my router. I then tried to access it via the wireless system from a laptop.
This initially let me in to change various settings, but only the once. Each subsequent time I tried to login, it told me that somebody was already logged in. Not a lot of use that.
I tried all sorts of things including power off and even got a pin to reset the machine. Still no good. As I'm not the most technically savvy fella I thought I'd ask the guys at SMA.de Not impressed with the technical support. After sending what I thought was a fairly technical email all I got for a reply was 'Which country are you'.....
Eventually I resorted to calling round a good friend of mine who is network savvy.
The manual and supplied CD was talking about having to set up a computer with IPv6 before you could access the webbox to set it up. According to the tech savvy dude this type of nextwork was only for big machines costing £1000's. Also this would require 6 sets of numbers for the internet address but the supplied paperwork was only quoting 4 sets, i.e. IPv4.
We decided not to use the CD, but try and setup by directly connecting the webbox to an older laptop and follow the written instructions.
Eventually we got it running and the data is being uploaded.
11 Mar 2011
Update on the numbers so far.
Today's reading on the generation meter is 589.7kWh.
It is 143 days since installation on 19th October 2010.
The average so far is therefore 4.12kWh/day. This average has dropped a little from the review I did on the 2nd Dec 2010 which was at 4.71kWh/day.
At the current FIT rate of 42.8p/kWh this equates to £1.76/day which over the year is £644.22/year.
This does not take into account the amount of energy I use while I'm generating. I have taken to using my washing machine etc. during the day so that my usage is further reduced.
Further reviews will be done until I get a whole year in the bag.
It is 143 days since installation on 19th October 2010.
The average so far is therefore 4.12kWh/day. This average has dropped a little from the review I did on the 2nd Dec 2010 which was at 4.71kWh/day.
At the current FIT rate of 42.8p/kWh this equates to £1.76/day which over the year is £644.22/year.
This does not take into account the amount of energy I use while I'm generating. I have taken to using my washing machine etc. during the day so that my usage is further reduced.
Further reviews will be done until I get a whole year in the bag.
10 Mar 2011
UK announces Renewable Heat Incentive scheme today
As well as getting paid for generating electricity using solar panels and wind turbines the UK government is now going to include other systems such as solar water heating in its effort to reduce the amount of electricity required from fossil fuelled power stations.
The announcement was made today at the following link - http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/PN2011_023/PN2011_023.aspx
The announcement was made today at the following link - http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/PN2011_023/PN2011_023.aspx
"The tariffs will be paid for 20 years to eligible technologies that have installed since 15th July 2009 with payments being made for each kWh of renewable heat which is produced."
"Once in the scheme the level of support an installation will receive is fixed and adjusted annually with inflation. However, as with feed in tariffs, we expect the levels of support available for new entrants to the RHI scheme will decrease over time as the costs of the equipment and installation reduce through economies of scale."
Review of the UK's FIT system earlier than originally expected
According to the website http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn11_010/pn11_010.aspx there will be a review of the FIT's by the end of 2011.
This is due to the fact that large companies are possibly soaking up all the money that was intended for the smaller scale producers such as myself.
There is a note near the bottom which might affect those people thinking about getting in on the act. If you're waiting for improvements to the solar panels etc and hoping to get in before the tariff's go down it might be worth taking this into account.
This is due to the fact that large companies are possibly soaking up all the money that was intended for the smaller scale producers such as myself.
There is a note near the bottom which might affect those people thinking about getting in on the act. If you're waiting for improvements to the solar panels etc and hoping to get in before the tariff's go down it might be worth taking this into account.
"The Government will not act retrospectively and any changes to generation tariffs implemented as a result of the review will only affect new entrants into the FITs scheme. Installations which are already accredited for FITs at the time will not be affected."
Difficulties with webbox
As per usual it is probably something I've done wrong but I'm having trouble getting the webbox to do what I want.
At present I can't seem to login to check/change the settings. Waiting on reply from SMA for answers hopefully.
At present I can't seem to login to check/change the settings. Waiting on reply from SMA for answers hopefully.
9 Mar 2011
Step closer to getting system live on the web.
I have now received an SMA webbox which should allow me to post the system status on the web.
It is not a cheap piece of kit for the average home user but I am committed to getting my information out there for the wider community to see how well my system is doing.
Currently going through the manual. I have connected the unit to the router and changed the NetID pot switch to enable communication with the inverter in the loft.
Now it should just be a case of setting up the web programs etc.
It is not a cheap piece of kit for the average home user but I am committed to getting my information out there for the wider community to see how well my system is doing.
Currently going through the manual. I have connected the unit to the router and changed the NetID pot switch to enable communication with the inverter in the loft.
Now it should just be a case of setting up the web programs etc.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)