HH kWh data logging for Solar PV system design. in rural Ghana, no remote monitoring required

Getting Started
1

I am responsible for designing a solar PV and Solar Thermal system for a Rural Guest House in Ghana.

We need to understand what the electricity usage profile is so we can design the correct system, and unfortunately, the existing fiscal electricity meter seems to have been tampered with as the usage is tiny - 700kWh per month for a 15-bed hotel, with a large bar, restaurant area and small library.

So really what I need is simply a single-phase CT clamp data logger, 100A should do. no remote monitoring is required. however, the dataloggers that I find online are very £££. so preferable i would like to use a open energy monitor type solution.

there is no Wifi, or 3g connection at the site.

all suggestions appreciated.

best

2

Is there a LAN?

How would you intend to retrieve the data - presumably back to the UK?

The emonPi would appear to suit your needs - although the ‘standard’ c.t. is 100 A (check the aperture size (13 mm diameter) against the incoming cables on site, it’s good for a standard UK 100 A tail but nothing bigger), you can have a larger c.t. if necessary, but a small hardware modification might be needed.

The core is a Raspberry Pi, the operating system and data is all on the SD card, so at the worst you’d have to visit site and copy the data from it, or have it posted.

I think it needs a minimal LAN to set up and see the data - that could comprise the emonPi, a simple router and a computer connected by Ethernet. Or if the router had WiFi, then a mobile phone or tablet could substitute for the computer.