Integrate external solar strings output

[AG7GN]

Thanks for a great dashboard!

Last week, I had a PowerWall 3 and Gateway 2 system installed (firmware 24.28.201), as well as a new solar string connected directly to the PW3. I already had 2 PV strings with built-in APS Systems DS3-S microinverters. These 2 legacy strings feed power into my main load panel and over production is sent to my provider. The PW installers installed a CT on the 2 AC outputs from my legacy strings. This CT is plugged in to port CT1 on the gateway. The Tesla app correctly reports the aggregate solar output from my legacy strings and the new dedicated PW string. However, the dashboard only reports output from the new dedicated string. As a result, when the sun shines my home power consumption shows negative:

while the app correctly shows all solar output:

Is there a way to extract the CT1 output to account for the legacy arrays output and integrate that into the dashboard? I'm new to Grafana and Influx.db, but I'm very familiar with Linux.

Thanks again for a great dashboard.

[jasonacox]

Thanks, @AG7GN !

Which method are you using to pull the PW data (e.g. cloud, local, tedapi)? You can run verify.sh to see that under the pypowerwall section. I assume not the cloud since that is what feeds the Tesla app, but has limited data.

I would like to see what data we are getting from some of the APIs to see if the CT1 data shows up anywhere (where localhost is the host address running PWD):

• http://localhost:8675/vitals
• http://localhost:8675/aggregates
• http://localhost:8675/api/system_status
• http://localhost:8675/api/solars
• http://localhost:8675/api/meters
• http://localhost:8675/tedapi/status
• http://localhost:8675/tedapi/components
• http://localhost:8675/tedapi/config

[AG7GN]

Great tip on installing the Tesla One app, thank you. That app shows your original hunch about METER_Y_CTA_InstRealPower was correct. The Tesla One app clearly shows that is the CT1 power output. However, the output it's showing is much too low (by a factor of 5 or so), plus it appears to be installed backwards. I'll be calling my installer on Monday to get to the bottom of it.

Even doubling the power, as indicated by the 1CT x2 switch the output power is too low. When I made this screenshot, my legacy PV string APsystems ECU app was showing that it was producing 3.2kW.

I'll report back once I hear from the installer.

[jasonacox]

Great find! However, didn't you say that the Tesla app (not Tesla One) show the correct data? If so, it may be that they fix that (do the math) on the Tesla server instead of using the gateway. Anyway, it will be interesting to hear what the installer has to say.

[AG7GN]

Indeed I did! When my solar strings overproduce and feeding power back to my utility, Meter X shows negative power, so the solar production is in that measurement and the Tesla app shows that. Bottom line is that I think the power is accounted for in the app, but not depicted correctly.

[AG7GN]

Success! The installer agreed that something was not right so they dispatched one of their electricians this afternoon. He found that found that the L1 (red) and L2 (black) wires for one of my legacy strings was wired opposite of the other into the breakers on the sub panel. So, going strictly by wire color when they installed the CT the other day, the result was that L1 from PV string 1 and L2 from PV string 2 were run through the CT. These are out of phase, so the current from one string was cancelled by the current from the other string, resulting in power measurements that were way too low and negative as much as positive. The electrician swapped the miswired L1 and L2 wires into the breaker and I'm now seeing what I should see.

I made no changes to the dashboard, and now the solar output depicted is the aggregate of the new DC coupled PV string and the 2 legacy AC coupled PV strings. The Tesla app shows the same. I'll think about this some more, but for now I see no compelling reason to separately identify the power from AC and DC coupled strings in the animation or in the data collected.

[jasonacox]

That's great news!!! I think that demonstrates the power of data visibility and why projects like this one can help.