After doing some research online about solar panels, inverters (or microinverters), and solar batteries, you might discover quite a bit of chatter about something called consumption monitoring.
It’s a process by which you get data from your solar system and apply that data to reduce your energy bills. It saves you money.
You’ll need an app if you’re going to monitor your energy use. But which one should you get?
At Penrith Solar Centre, we’ve got our ear to the ground when it comes to tracking energy production and use. It’s what we do. The following six apps are the best ones for different solar systems and technology.
In this article, you will learn about:
- Features of Consumption Monitoring Apps
- Enphase Enlighten App
- Fronius
- mySolarEdge App
- Solar Analytics
- Sungrow
- Tesla App
By the end of this article, you’ll understand the importance of these apps and how they can help you produce, store, and consume your solar energy.
Features of Consumption Monitoring Apps
While energy monitoring apps all claim to be as unique as your fingerprint, the reality is that they all do the same thing: they monitor your solar production so you can make informed choices about your energy use.
We’ll look at features for our top six apps, but before we do, we’ll look at what they all have in common.
Real-time Monitoring:
Consumption monitoring apps provide you with real-time data on their energy usage. This feature allows homeowners and businesses to track energy usage in real time. This immediate awareness of usage patterns gives you the ability to make instant adjustments to save energy.
Historical Data and Analytics:
These apps store historical data, allowing you to analyse past energy usage trends in your home. This feature helps in understanding long-term energy patterns, making it easier to change your habits. It’s easy to see the impact of changes in energy consumption behaviour over time with any of these apps.
Looking at your historical data is particularly helpful when planning for seasonal changes. How long the sun is up in the winter will affect how much energy you get from solar. The time of year also affects your energy use, whether it’s air conditioning in the summer or heating in the winter.
Alerts and Notifications:
These apps include customisable alerts and notifications that inform you about unusual energy patterns, potential issues with the system, or when energy use exceeds programmed limits. These apps are on your smartphone and notify you there, instantaneously.
This helps you manage your energy use more effectively and avoid unexpected spikes in energy costs. You need to know as soon as possible if your system is misfiring for any reason. After all, you don’t want to revert to expensive grid-supplied electricity.
User-Friendly Interface:
These apps are designed with user-friendly interfaces that are easy to navigate. They provide clear and concise information, making it accessible even for users who are not tech-savvy. The interface usually includes multi-coloured graphs and charts that visually represent energy consumption and production data.
They’re designed to be intuitive to use, simplifying the monitoring process. We also like it when the dashboards are customisable so you can program the metrics that matter the most to you.
Manage System Backup:
Your consumption monitoring app is where you program your solar battery to hold energy in reserve for blackouts. Without a consumption monitoring app, you can’t program the equipment to perform the way it’s supposed to.
Summary:
With any of these apps, it’s easy to see what’s coming from the solar, what’s going to the home, what’s going to the battery, and what’s going to the grid for a time of use tariff.
If you’re interested in a deep dive into the importance of monitoring and programming your energy, you might want to check out the following article titled, What is Consumption Monitoring?
Enphase Enlighten by Enphase
The Enphase Enlighten app is a powerful tool for managing and monitoring your solar energy system. It provides real-time data on energy production, consumption, and system performance.
Unlike its competitors, the Enphase Enlighten App can provide data for each individual panel. That’s something a monitoring app is unable to do for a central inverter system (without DC optimisers; more on those in a bit).
Panel-Level Monitoring:
- Monitors each solar panel individually, providing detailed performance data.
- This identifies underperforming panels for repair or replacement, helping to increase overall system efficiency.
Integration with Enphase Systems:
- Seamless integration with Enphase microinverter systems.
- Supports other Enphase products like IQ Batteries, creating a complete energy management solution for your family’s future.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about how the type of system you choose can affect your family’s safety, you might want to check out the following article titled, Solar Safety: Microinverters vs. String Inverters.
Solarweb by Fronius
We highly recommend test-driving the app yourself at solarweb.com. It’s a wonderful demo. Click on any of the thumbnail solar system examples and you’ll see how each system behaves at different times of day.
The Solarweb app is only available for use with Fronius components. You’ll need a Fronius inverter and a Fronius Smart Meter to use the app if you want consumption monitoring of course. If you just want the app, you don’t need a Smart Meter. We recommend consumption monitoring in every situation.
Premium Membership:
- Fronius offers a premium membership option that upgrades the app with more features.
- From their FAQ, this is what those features are: “a clear overview and evaluation of current and archived data and future forecasts, comprehensive self-consumption analysis, a permanent power consumption overview for cost control, individual reporting, visualisation and analysis of storage systems.”
- There’s a Public Display Mode that offers customers the ability to visualise their system on a large screen.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about shopping for a solar system, you might want to check out the following article titled, 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Solar.
mySolarEdge by SolarEdge
The mySolarEdge app is designed to offer real-time insights into your solar energy system’s production and consumption, ensuring optimal efficiency. It only works with SolarEdge systems.
Monitoring with SolarEdge optimisers offers panel-level monitoring and everything that goes with it.
Panel-Level Monitoring with DC Optimisers:
- Monitors each solar panel individually, providing detailed performance data.
- This identifies underperforming panels, helping to increase overall system efficiency.
Performance Tracking:
- If you have DC optimisers, the app tracks the performance of each individual solar panel.
Integration with Smart Home Devices:
- This one is pretty cool. mySolarEdge can activate and schedule smart devices to automatically direct available solar or battery power to essential appliances in the home. Of course, you need some smart devices to make this one work.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the difference between microinverters and DC optimisers, you might want to check out the following article titled, Microinverters vs. DC Optimisers: Which Is Better?
Solar Analytics
Because central inverter systems cannot be monitored at the panel level, the monitoring app is monitoring the whole string. And as we mentioned above, there’s no way to diagnose malfunctioning panels in a string system.
Solar Analytics gets around this by providing real-time data but also includes how much your solar system should be producing. If you’re not reaching that target, you know there’s something that needs to be checked out.
It’s a simple matter of subtracting your actual output from your estimated output depending on weather conditions. If the math doesn’t add up, your string system needs some attention.
Weather and Solar Forecasting:
- Integrates weather data to predict solar production.
- Helps users plan energy usage and storage for their expected solar output.
Comparative Analytics:
- Provides a comparative analysis with similar systems in the area to benchmark performance.
Energy Savings Calculations:
- Calculates potential savings based on current solar production and energy consumption.
- Uses that calculation to recommend energy retailers or solar batteries.
- Offers other recommendations for optimising energy use.
Integration with Solar Systems:
- Compatible with a wide range of solar energy systems and inverters. It is the only independent monitoring app on our list, so it’s brand-agnostic.
If you’re interested in learning about the rebate for solar, you might want to check out the following article titled, How Does the Solar Rebate Work?
iSolarCloud by Sungrow
The Sungrow iSolarCloud monitoring app is designed to provide users with insights into their solar installations.
One of the standout features of the iSolarCloud app is its data security and compliance with GDPR standards, ensuring that all user data is securely stored on European servers.
This focus on privacy and data protection is a significant advantage if you’re concerned about how your information is handled.
Ultra-fast Commissioning and Configuration:
- The iSolarCloud app features a commissioning wizard that simplifies the initial setup process. You can even download a commissioning report as a PDF for your records.
If you’re interested in learning why other solar companies recommend a system about half that size, you might want to check out the following article titled, Why Do Companies Sell 6.6kW String Systems with 5kW Inverters?
Tesla App
The Tesla Mobile App is designed to manage Powerwalls. It provides real-time monitoring for the power coming and going from your solar battery system.
With the app, you can track energy consumption, control your Powerwall, and receive instant notifications for system performance.
Integration with the Tesla Ecosystem:
- Seamless integration with Tesla Electric Vehicles and Powerwall systems.
- Enhances the efficiency and reliability of Tesla solar energy systems.
- Supports other Tesla products, creating a comprehensive energy management solution.
Control and Customisation:
- Users can control their Tesla Powerwall settings directly from the app.
- Allows customisation, such as setting backup reserves and choosing between self-powered or cost-saving modes.
- Enables remote control of system settings, even when users are away from home.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about how to set up and use the Tesla App, you might want to check out the following article titled, How to Set Up and Use the Tesla Powerwall App.
Power You Going to Monitor Your Solar Without One of These Apps?
Now you know a little bit more about the options available for consumption monitoring apps and software. While they’re all very similar in principle, the interfaces and features of each app are specific to their corresponding products.
At Penrith Solar Centre, we understand how overwhelming it can be to look at different statistics online for various technologies. We’re here to guide you through that process with articles like this one, or in a one-on-one consultation. Helping you get the most out of your system is what we do.
Consumption monitoring goes together beautifully with a smart meter. If you’d like to learn a bit more about smart meters, you might want to check out the following article titled, Smart Meters and Solar.
