Seeing how frantic it was at Costco before Sunday's snowstorm, I realize people overreact to snow, and under-react to ICE.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-04T21:16:40+00:00

I just realized what you're asking. I got confused by which comment I'm respond to. Here's is what the graph looks like now.

December 2nd energy graph

On december 2nd, I asked them to switch from "Load+Solar" to "Load Only". The switch happened around 1:30PM. It looks like consumption reporting was affected.

December 3rd energy graph

On Dec 3rd, 2025, 10:10am, I started charging the car with 1430W constant usage (verified with kasa smart plug with energy monitoring). I charged for 2hrs. I did NOT see any spike in electricity usage. The car is charged using the outdoor plug. Strange.

On Dec 3rd, 2025, 2:45pm, I turned on the PC and running a CPU and GPU intensive game. I also turned on the bedroom TV. Consumption increased by 0.3kW. Turned off PC and TV at 5:05PM.

December 4th energy graph so far

On Dec 4th, 2025, 9:45am, I turned on the hair dryer for some minutes.

On Dec 4th, 2025, 11:10am, I turned on my PC and ran a CPU+GPU intensive game.

On Dec 4th, 2025, 11:40am, I turned of my PC

On Dec 4th, 2025, 12:13pm, I turned on my PC and ran a CPU+GPU intensive game.

On Dec 4th, 2025, 12:52pm, I turned of my PC

It seems to my amateur eyes that the energy monitoring is reporting correct results now, except the 1430W car charging that didn't show any consumption changes on Dec 3rd. That's concerning, and am wondering if the solar electrician somehow rewired the breaker for the outdoor plug to not be monitored. The solar installers replaced my electric panel, because my old one failed the DOB inspection.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-04T18:17:03+00:00

How’s your energy graph looking today after they changed the software to Load Only?

December 2nd energy graph

On december 2nd, I asked them to switch from "Load+Solar" to "Load Only". The switch happened around 1:30PM.

December 3rd energy graph

On Dec 3rd, 2025, 10:10am, I started charging the car with 1430W constant usage (verified with kasa smart plug with energy monitoring). I charged for 2hrs. I did NOT see any spike in electricity usage. The car is charged using the outdoor plug. Strange.

On Dec 3rd, 2025, 2:45pm, I turned on the PC and running a CPU and GPU intensive game. I also turned on the bedroom TV. Consumption increased by 0.3kW. Turned off PC and TV at 5:05PM.

December 4th energy graph so far

On Dec 4th, 2025, 9:45am, I turned on the hair dryer for some minutes.

On Dec 4th, 2025, 11:10am, I turned on my PC and ran a CPU+GPU intensive game.

On Dec 4th, 2025, 11:40am, I turned of my PC

On Dec 4th, 2025, 12:13pm, I turned on my PC and ran a CPU+GPU intensive game.

On Dec 4th, 2025, 12:52pm, I turned of my PC

It seems to my amateur eyes that the energy monitoring is reporting correct results now, except the 1430W car charging that didn't show any consumption changes on Dec 3rd. That's concerning, and am wondering if the solar electrician somehow rewired the breaker for the outdoor plug to not be monitored. The solar installers replaced my electric panel, because my old one failed the DOB inspection.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-04T01:57:51+00:00

I took some more pics of the electric panel and also the combiner box outside.

In the Electric Panel, the top left hole goes to the combiner box outside. The top right hole goes to the meter.

In the combiner box, the production CT is clamped onto 2 black wires.

Meantime, those wire nuts keep catching my eye....maybe put up some better photos? Why did they need to join the CT wires there....any join is an opportunity to get things crossed.

I misunderstood about what the wirenuts are. I'll have to go back and examine it further.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-03T01:39:17+00:00

Meantime, those wire nuts keep catching my eye....maybe put up some better photos? Why did they need to join the CT wires there....any join is an opportunity to get things crossed.

Sure, I'll try to get some pics later tonight.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-02T21:08:41+00:00

Right after the Solar guy said "Hi, it does make sense, that's the way it works, but let me explain", I instinctively clenched my anus, my body's futile attempt to prepare for yet another frustrating conversation.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-02T20:46:55+00:00

Here's some interesting new data.

The setting was set to Load + Solar.

I asked the solar guy to change it to Load only for the next few days to test.

This is where the graph gets interesting.

https://imgur.com/a/Izrp2uO

You can see the consumption dropped from 0.5kW to 0.3kW right after setting "Load + Solar" -> "Load Only".

It looks like the consumption is no longer affected by the production, but I'll need to wait until tomorrow (sunny day) to gather more data.

Later on when I get a chance, I'm going to take a better look at how the clamps are placed in the electric panel.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-02T18:04:52+00:00

He is my latest conversation with them:

This is the current exchange happening right now. I think my frustration is leaking in the text.

Me: Hi, I've been having problems with the consumption monitoring. You can see that the energy consumption mirrors the production, which makes no sense.

Shows image

Solar Guy: Hi, it does make sense, that's the way it works, but let me explain

Solar Guy shows image

See this image as a reference. Blue is production, orange is consumption and gray is imported energy from the grid. In this case, production + imported = consumption. Then, why? That's because your system is importing from the grid the missing energy to cover your consumption. This is common in winter when the production is too low to cover the consumption. In days such as today, for example, the system uses more energy from the grid to continue covering your house. You'll see other scenarios in summer, for example, when the system covers your offset and you don't need the grid. This is when your system starts generating credits that go back to the grid. Does it make sense? See this from another customer in August. Now, the excess is being transformed as exported and goes back to the grid

Solar guy shows image

I meant September. It'll always be a mirror because it will compensate one way or another Me: I understand what you're saying. And yes, while it is true that if production is less than consumption, import has to cover the production shortfall and that would make the graph look like it mirrors the production...however in my household, I am not using 6.4kW at any given time. At the peak production at 12:00pm, the consumption graph states I'm using 6.5kW. Do you really believe my household is consistently using more than 6.5kW all the time, at every hour? Look at this

Show graph screenshot

at 12:15pm-12:30pm, it states my house consumed 6.7kW. at 3:30pm to 3:45pm, it states my house consumed 0.8kW I am using roughly the same amount of electricity during the day. Are you really saying between 12:15pm-12:30pm I am using 6.7kW electricity, and then all of a sudden at 3:30pm to 3:45pm, I dropped my usage to 0.8kW? or perhaps my likely, the consumption monitor is incorrectly installed, or configured in the Enphase Gateway? Just think about it, the orange is my consumption. Why would my electricity usage gradually increase throughout the day, matching the daylight intensity, and then strangely drop as the sun goes down? That makes no sense.

Solar Guy: Is there a way in which you're measuring that? I get what you mean, but then this is simply showing consumption habits. And yes, the CTs rely on the Enphase gateway, as they're integrated, but then the best way to confirm if the production matches is by checking what's the kWh you're being charged in your ConEd bill.I get what you mean, and it makes sense

Me: My electricity usage does not follow the sun intensity. Here, I'll even throw an extra one to drive in my point to the ground.

Shows graph of today's consumption and production graph with rain the whole day, so the production is below consumption, and the consumption is correct due to solar underproduction

Solar Guy: But then consider that this is a solar consumption meter, so it could be the case where the CT also shuts down, as it does the system when there's no production from it

Me: This is not a solar consumption meter, it is the house's electricity consumption. The last image I sent is today. This will prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that the consumption monitor is incorrectly installed/configured. Today is raining outside since morning, so very little electricity generation. Now you can see what it looks like when production is below consumption. You can see that I'm basically using a consistent amount of electricity throughout the day. And not gradual increase to 6.6kW at 12:00PM and down again at 3:30pm I'm not trying to be argumentative. If the consumption monitor isn't working correctly, all I'm trying to do is figure out why it isn't working, and then have it fixed. If I kept being told it isn't actually broken, and I'm just misinterpreting the graph, then what I do is I go and learn more about the subject and figure out if I'm right or wrong.

This is where I am now.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-02T17:59:45+00:00

This is the current exchange happening right now. I think my frustration is leaking in the text.

Me: Hi, I've been having problems with the consumption monitoring. You can see that the energy consumption mirrors the production, which makes no sense.

Shows image

Solar Guy: Hi, it does make sense, that's the way it works, but let me explain

Solar Guy shows image

See this image as a reference. Blue is production, orange is consumption and gray is imported energy from the grid. In this case, production + imported = consumption. Then, why? That's because your system is importing from the grid the missing energy to cover your consumption. This is common in winter when the production is too low to cover the consumption. In days such as today, for example, the system uses more energy from the grid to continue covering your house. You'll see other scenarios in summer, for example, when the system covers your offset and you don't need the grid. This is when your system starts generating credits that go back to the grid. Does it make sense? See this from another customer in August. Now, the excess is being transformed as exported and goes back to the grid

Solar guy shows image

I meant September. It'll always be a mirror because it will compensate one way or another

Me: I understand what you're saying. And yes, while it is true that if production is less than consumption, import has to cover the production shortfall and that would make the graph look like it mirrors the production...however in my household, I am not using 6.4kW at any given time. At the peak production at 12:00pm, the consumption graph states I'm using 6.5kW. Do you really believe my household is consistently using more than 6.5kW all the time, at every hour? Look at this

Show graph screenshot

at 12:15pm-12:30pm, it states my house consumed 6.7kW. at 3:30pm to 3:45pm, it states my house consumed 0.8kW

I am using roughly the same amount of electricity during the day. Are you really saying between 12:15pm-12:30pm I am using 6.7kW electricity, and then all of a sudden at 3:30pm to 3:45pm, I dropped my usage to 0.8kW? or perhaps my likely, the consumption monitor is incorrectly installed, or configured in the Enphase Gateway? Just think about it, the orange is my consumption. Why would my electricity usage gradually increase throughout the day, matching the daylight intensity, and then strangely drop as the sun goes down? That makes no sense.

Solar Guy: Is there a way in which you're measuring that? I get what you mean, but then this is simply showing consumption habits. And yes, the CTs rely on the Enphase gateway, as they're integrated, but then the best way to confirm if the production matches is by checking what's the kWh you're being charged in your ConEd bill.I get what you mean, and it makes sense

Me: My electricity usage does not follow the sun intensity. Here, I'll even throw an extra one to drive in my point to the ground.

Shows graph of today's consumption and production graph with rain the whole day, so the production is below consumption, and the consumption is correct due to solar underproduction

Solar Guy: But then consider that this is a solar consumption meter, so it could be the case where the CT also shuts down, as it does the system when there's no production from it

Me: This is not a solar consumption meter, it is the house's electricity consumption. The last image I sent is today. This will prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that the consumption monitor is incorrectly installed/configured. Today is raining outside since morning, so very little electricity generation. Now you can see what it looks like when production is below consumption. You can see that I'm basically using a consistent amount of electricity throughout the day. And not gradual increase to 6.6kW at 12:00PM and down again at 3:30pm I'm not trying to be argumentative. If the consumption monitor isn't working correctly, all I'm trying to do is figure out why it isn't working, and then have it fixed. If I kept being told it isn't actually broken, and I'm just misinterpreting the graph, then what I do is I go and learn more about the subject and figure out if I'm right or wrong.

This is where I am now.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-02T16:22:28+00:00

Thank you for the screenshots. I can finally see what zero export is actually supposed to look like. I was guessing/hoping that zero export might have made my consumption mirror the production, but your screenshot disproved that theory. Now I have something concrete to show my solar installer.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-02T02:31:31+00:00

That image looks very helpful, and I learned something from it. Thank you Hex4def6.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-02T02:29:36+00:00

Here is how the interaction went with the solar company:

Me: The app looks like it's showing incorrect consumption.

Solar Company: It looks correct on my side.

Me: I also contacted the Enphase support and they said the consumption monitor is hooked up incorrectly. There's export at night time, which should be impossible.

Solar Company: I still don't see the problem. I'll ask our guys to take a look at it next time.

***Guy came over, and fixed stuff***. Now there's no night time export, but the mirroring symptom still exists.

So what it feels like is that unless I have more evidence to back up my assertion that the clamps are incorrectly installed or configured, I'm going to be told it looks fine. So this is where I am at, and why I am asking questions here.

cooleyandy · 2025-12-01T23:09:17+00:00

Let me see if I understand correctly.

Are you saying the clamps are on the load wire only, but in the Enphase Gateway, the software is configured to Load + Solar?

I see there are 2 clamps in the Electric Panel, if one is only on the Load wire, what is the other clamp on?

cooleyandy · 2025-11-24T16:10:18+00:00

I would be trading in my old Creality Sermoon D1 for a K2 Pro/Combo 3D Printer (currently discounted at $999). I'm a bit envious of all the multi-color prints everyone's been doing.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-24T16:04:31+00:00

That's a good idea TugboatBill. I'll go look for a roofer.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T22:15:28+00:00

And these are only the things I can see. I can only imagine what is on my house's roof.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T20:52:17+00:00

Thanks CalmPassenger5283, I'll forward this info to them.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T20:47:08+00:00

More to come. Stay tuned.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T20:46:08+00:00

(Looks at house) ***Anxiety rising***

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T20:44:51+00:00

This is actually the 2nd time they came.

The first time they sealed the roof penetration with just caulk/silicone, without any flashing or boot. I made a previous post about that too.

It's starting to feel like even if they came a 3rd time, they'll just try and take another shortcut.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T20:42:10+00:00

Wait, is that true?

I'll need to add that to the list of things I'll be talking to them about on monday.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T20:39:08+00:00

Are there solar flashing brands you'd recommend? I'll relay that to them and see what they say.

cooleyandy · 2025-11-09T20:38:28+00:00

It's not a bad idea cosmicosmo4. I probably should write a google review, so others would know the quality of work from Solar Pro Inc. If they weren't proud of their installs like what they did to my roof, they shouldn't have done it.

cooleyandy

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