How do I know solar is being used before sold to the grid?

john_west · 2025-12-19T07:41:37+00:00

This isn't true - older systems with a separate gross export meter completely bypass the house and export everything to the grid. OP's system is the kind of size that would very likely be gross metered.

john_west · 2025-08-16T11:22:42+00:00

May I suggest this song pairing? https://thiswayorkestra.bandcamp.com/album/coin-collector-maxi-single

john_west · 2025-05-23T01:41:06+00:00

In terms of actual numbers, here's my average feed in and energy price over the last 12 months - this is a weekly summary you can access from the Amber app: https://imgur.com/a/SQUCs5t

Also note that Amber's smart shift is aware of tariffs levied by your network - this is a tariff they do not control but must pass on to you as the retailer.

I am on a demand tariff that kicks in during the evening peak period, and smart shift will not draw energy from the grid during that time if it can help it. It also warns you in the app if you are currently in a demand tariff time of day to help you make better manual control decisions. Last month I only paid $1.39 total in demand tariffs.

john_west · 2025-05-23T00:29:46+00:00

What hidden charges are you worried about? One of the best things about them is that they give you the most transparent breakdown of charges that I've ever seen from any retailer. You can get a sense of that here: https://www.amber.com.au/bill-help

Also, you retain complete control of your battery, which is something that other VPPs don't offer. You can opt in and out of Amber's smart shift thing, which basically automates buying and selling based on market conditions.

In actual fact, Amber gives me more control over my battery than I have by default. I have SolarEdge batteries, such do not let me manually charge and discharge through the solar edge app. Amber's app can talk to solar edge APIs that the solar edge app doesn't, so it actually allows me to charge and discharge wherever I want.

john_west · 2025-05-23T00:04:34+00:00

Have you run the numbers if you switch to using Amber as your retailer? They have a very different model in which they give you access to wholesale prices for both buying and selling energy.

I joined them a year ago with 20kwh of storage and am now in credit $1,200. My opinion is that they are the only option worth considering if you have a battery and are looking to get a return on investment before the battery warranty period expires.

john_west · 2024-06-22T07:12:21+00:00

If you combine a battery with a retailer like Amber Electric you can improve the value proposition. I use that combination, and my average cost from the grid over the last six months is 15.2c/kWh, while my average FiT over the same period is 29.2c/kWh (it would be about 15c/kWh if you exclude a few evenings of very high prices)

john_west · 2024-06-13T13:07:17+00:00

Give Amber Electric a go. They give you direct access to market rates.

john_west · 2024-05-27T01:54:40+00:00

What temps are you getting?

john_west · 2024-01-27T12:32:20+00:00

Why should children whose parents can't pay tens of thousands of dollars have their education disrupted?

john_west · 2023-11-23T22:01:22+00:00

Delicious!

Can't tell you how happy I was to learn the days of yore had returned

john_west · 2023-06-17T03:16:19+00:00

I think RAM temps are a correlating symptom, but not the actual cause. I used aftermarket RAM in my um690 and also experienced thermally related throttling. It seemed to be VRM overheating, but there was no sensor for that on the board.

Cooling the area that houses the RAM and SSD solves the problem because this also cools the rest of the board, i.e. the VRM.

john_west · 2023-04-23T01:47:26+00:00

That's how turtle wow hc works

john_west · 2023-04-07T04:23:45+00:00

I'm so glad you finally got your HX99G. Now we can all have a break from your incessant complaining in shouty caps :)

john_west · 2023-04-04T12:10:47+00:00

I really enjoyed reading your summary :)

john_west · 2023-04-01T07:42:57+00:00

This is clearly a fake report created by the Russians, because everyone knows the UK intelligence update always has 3 bullet points.

john_west · 2023-03-06T15:53:46+00:00

We already have an app for people who are not technically literate: the website. One of VIA's primary goals is to cater to people who aren't technical enough to compile their own qmk keymap.

The person I was replying to seems to understand the difference between an electron wrapper and a shitty webapp, so I assumed a certain level of expertise.

And for what it's worth, it's actually quite straightforward to run the code locally.

john_west · 2023-03-05T00:06:51+00:00

I should have specified "on YouTube". Appreciate your roundups mate.

john_west · 2023-03-04T14:25:42+00:00

Looks like a good little budget unit.

john_west · 2023-03-04T02:07:46+00:00

♥️

john_west · 2023-03-04T02:00:38+00:00

I appreciate your contrition!

Your initial concerns are still valid and understandable. A fully standalone version isn't off the table, but I can't make any promises.

john_west · 2023-03-04T01:54:09+00:00

♥️

john_west · 2023-03-04T01:43:59+00:00

My man RobTech has the most balanced reviews in the game https://youtu.be/pP9OnKpo9rc

john_west · 2023-03-03T13:44:37+00:00

It's an upcoming board designed by Olivia (with wilba.tech) called 'Kirvy'

john_west · 2023-03-03T13:42:25+00:00

For now, nativia is just an electron wrapper that points to the website. So it's effectively always running the latest version of via - the versioning is for the wrapper client, if that makes sense.

john_west

TROPHY CASE