Six months ago, I had solar panels installed at my property. They have been working quite well, however, I noticed I was exporting most of the energy to the grid during the day only consuming the energy when using the washing machine/dishwasher etc. My set up is a bit different from the bog standard solar set up as we have our panels installed on an outbuilding. The building also houses all the necessary equipment for the panels to generate energy. As you will see from the image below (circled in red) there is quite a distance between the main house and the outbuilding (about 60 meters)
We purchased 10kwh of batteries to work alongside the solar, harnessing the energy collected to be used later in the day when the sun doesn’t shine.
This is where the problem begun…
In order for the batteries to discharge the energy to the house when needed, it needs to know how much energy is currently in demand. The main electricity meter in the house needs to be connected to the inverter (in the outbuilding) via a RS485 (modbus) connection. This RS485 connection is secured on the meter side using a CT clamp and a CT meter. At the other end, the cable is screwed in to the Inverter. The CT meter then takes readings from the CT clamp, continuously monitoring energy demands and passing to the Inverter which in turn starts the battery supplying the energy.
The issue I had is that I couldn’t physically connect the RS485 connection from the house to the outbuilding without having to dig a channel and lay a new cable. This would have been a big job as we have concrete standing in the way. I had to find another solution.
I researched a few solutions but there is very little information on the web apart from cabling end to end. Finally, I found a few products that could suit my needs.. WIRELESS!
I finally purchased 2 x RS485 to zigbee boxes which would transmit/receive the signal between the 2 locations.
If you are interested in this set up and think it could benefit you, I had created a few packages on my shop where I source and configure 2 different types of wireless solutions – Zigbee Or Broadband Wifi to RS485. If you wish to hear more or would like to purchase a custom built CT link kit, please get in touch at craig@cajsoft.co.uk.
2 thoughts to “Wireless CT Link to Inverter Solution”
Hi, I can’t seem to access information on your wireless CT device. I cannot progress through the website to the shop.
can you possibly give me some info. I currently have a battery set up in the loft of my house which I wish to relocate to my garage some 60 yards away and need a solution for the CT communication.
Many thanks,
Nick
please see my email response 🙂