Although electricity is an indispensable part of our everyday lives, most people know very little about how much electricity they use, where it comes from, or what the environmental consequences are. Part of the problem is that electricity is invisible—it just does its job in the background. But some grid-tie inverter manufacturers now offer convenient, wireless system performance displays that allow system owners to “see” the results of their investment in solar energy.
Once our system was installed, we were excited to try out the new wireless display available for Fronius inverters, especially since it was a piece of PV gear that I had not installed before. The Fronius IG Personal Display shows instantaneous data such as power, voltage, and current, and daily and cumulative energy (KWH) production values. You can also view CO2 offset and the amount of money your PV system is saving.
The wireless display works great anywhere in our house or out in the yard (the manual says the range is 150 feet indoors or up to 450 feet outdoors). We tend to leave it on our kitchen counter so we can check our system’s performance over a cup of coffee in the morning or before we sit down for dinner.
Fronius Wireless Display Values*
Max. Watts Today: 1,461 W
KWH Today: 8 KWH
KWH Total: 642 KWH
CO2 Offset: 1,251 lbs
$ Saved: $89
*Reading from 12/23/2006; system installation completed 8/31/2006
