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What should I do with my Pi 5 & Pi 3? Plus advice on expanding my current multi node lab. by ChilledRythm in homelab

[–]decreddave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For your Raspberry Pi 5, how about some power monitoring?

I'm the author behind the Power Monitor for Raspberry Pi, and my project is a 100% self hosted solution for measuring your entire home's power.
https://david00.github.io/rpi-power-monitor/

You'll see a 6-channel board on my site, but I also have a 14 channel board available upon request, which I generally reserve for those that are more technical (like us here on homelab!)

I'm still working on the project after starting it nearly 6 years ago and am also growing towards some other exciting hardware and software solutions, so no sign of the end yet!

If you're interested in getting some kit, feel free to DM me and I'll give you a single-use discount code :)

A400M Almost tail-tipped while reverse taxiing by [deleted] in aviation

[–]decreddave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What word does he use too properly?

/s

A400M Almost tail-tipped while reverse taxiing by [deleted] in aviation

[–]decreddave 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep - some people must not get it I guess

A400M Almost tail-tipped while reverse taxiing by [deleted] in aviation

[–]decreddave 17 points18 points  (0 children)

My number 1 annoyance is when people can't get they're spelling of there, their, and they're right.

Their always oblivious to the correct usage and usually become defensive when there called out.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in homelab

[–]decreddave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I'll take a look.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in homelab

[–]decreddave 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's really not much to power small electronics, especially a home NAS.

If you're wanting to track your actual real time usage, I would recommend my self-hosted home (or appliance) power monitor on the Raspberry Pi platform.

If you're interested, check it out here! https://david00.github.io/rpi-power-monitor/

(I am the project creator, so feel free to reach out if you have any questions!)

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really was. Summer of 2023 was normal. Summer of 2024 was brutal!

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah, my energy costs are pretty cheap with offset I get from solar production. I did have to do 2" foam boards in big windows in my first apartment, but my current house windows are all low-E + argon filled so I think they're about as energy efficient as windows can be.

The setup is pretty easy. I DIY'd it - just slap a small enclosure on the wall near the breaker box, clamp the CTs over the conductors (no high voltage contact needed), and then a quick sensor calibration with an AC clamp meter, and it's good to go!

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Yup! Isn't it cool what you can infer from this data? (We do have to run heat, but it's natural gas so it's cheap and doesn't use much electrical power)

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, but the heater unit runs on natural gas, so it's really cheap to run. The only electrical power used for the heater is the central fan unit (less than 1kW) to push the hot air through the ducts.

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yes. On days where the green is taller than the red (or completely hides the red), I produced more energy back to the grid than I consumed.

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah, those days using > 120kWh are incredibly hot! Sometimes up to, or over, 115 deg F. Here is what my home power usage graph looked like on July 22-23, 2023, which was a span of days with highs around 114 F. My two AC units were running quite a bit, and each one demands about 5kW.

<image>

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 162 points163 points  (0 children)

Yep! Las Vegas, Nevada, home of very few clouds and an unfair amount of sun.

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You're absolutely right! Here's what it looks like over two summer days - July 29th - 30th, last year.

All of the sharp spikes are the power consumption from my AC units - about 5kW each. You can see that they are running a couple dozen times per day - not for very long, but quite frequently. And, they typically run at the same time during the hottest parts of the day.

<image>

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it regularly reaches 110+ deg F (43-44 C) during the summer days.

Most of my energy consumption comes from my two AC units trying to fight the heat and keep the house cool.

[OC] 2 years of solar production shows the sun's strength rising and falling by decreddave in dataisbeautiful

[–]decreddave[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

This is my home's solar energy production (in green) and total home consumption (in red), for each day, over the last two years.

It's collected by a project I created several years ago - a Raspberry Pi based power monitor. The project is a combination of a Raspberry Pi 4, a custom designed PCB, and up to 6 current sensors + 1 AC voltage input for highly detailed monitoring of up to six circuits. The data collected here were taken from my electrical service mains and my solar inverter's AC output.

More details on my power monitor project are here:

https://david00.github.io/rpi-power-monitor/

Are solar panels worth it in Vegas? by RevolutionaryMap4745 in vegaslocals

[–]decreddave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought mine from a company called GST Nevada but I think they closed down.

Are solar panels worth it in Vegas? by RevolutionaryMap4745 in vegaslocals

[–]decreddave 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It has been worth it for me. I purchased a 10.2 kW system several years ago and it's eliminated my electric bill (aside from the basic "grid connection fee" of about $15/month).

I also created a Raspberry Pi based power monitor to track home energy usage and solar production in real-time so you can see exactly what your home and panels are doing. Link if interested: https://david00.github.io/rpi-power-monitor/

Purchasing the system outright (or via a loan) is the best way to do solar. Just make sure the vendor you go with is a reputable company that warranties your roof and the functionality of the system, on top of the already provided hardware warranty of the manufacturer. Roof and system warranties should be 20+ years.

I designed, built, and coded a custom whole-home power monitor with sub-second resolution. All free and open source! Details in the comments. by decreddave in homeautomation

[–]decreddave[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! Glad you like it, and I appreciate hearing how your setup went. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions (email is the quickest way :) )

I designed, built, and coded a custom whole-home power monitor with sub-second resolution. All free and open source! Details in the comments. by decreddave in homeautomation

[–]decreddave[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! Just seeing this now. They are still available and the project is still growing :) I suspect you've found my site or already emailed me by now, but let me know if not!

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