[djwakelee]

With your balance being green (and not blue), that indicates that you have unexpected production of 3.268 kW.  Your net is also green, indicating you have 1.897kW going back to the utility.  So it appears you have some un-monitored solar generation in the system.  Or one or both of your mains clamps are backwards (assuming this is a US 240/120V system).

[djwakelee]

+1.  Still looking for all those things stated to be in the upcoming Spring (then Summer) update.  Everything mentioned above, plus support for multiple Vue 2’s in the same list, a fix for the Amps issue, etc.

I’m similarly disappointed with the useless (for me) new features, and no (apparent) attention to promised fixes.  I’m pretty sure no one will rely on the new load control with the smart plugs until those power outage control glitches are fixed also.

What is the current status on addressing the known faults and usability issues?  Thanks!

[djwakelee]

If your panels are close (or relatively so), in the absence of a software solution, one thing you could do is parallel the CTs going into one of the Vue’s.  Get a 3.5mm Y audio cable, and combine the CT’s from the different panels.  May need some short audio jumper extensions also.  You do need to make sure you combine the same hot phases.  After hooking up this way, your one Vue2 will show you the total utility consumption, without any math.  The balance figure for that Vue 2 will then equal the negative balance total from the 2nd Vue2, which will no longer show any mains power since the mains CTs aren’t connected to it.

The other way to do this is to clamp the main Vue 2’s leads around the 400A feeders.  That is, if the clamps fit, have enough wire length, and are comfortable accessing that area with the high power.

[djwakelee]

Picture came through fine this time.  Turn off those un-monitored breakers and you will surely find what is consuming that extra power.

[djwakelee]

Believe the specs are better than +/- 2%, in the FAQ here and posted also.  That’s my observation also – with the error mostly in the CTs and not the Vue 2.

If you were trying to post a photo, it didn’t come through.  So don’t know what your mains are showing, but unless your total draw is 18.5kW (2% would be 370W), your balance is pretty accurate.  That’s the magic of this system – finding those unexpected draws.

If you don’t have CT’s on certain un-monitored lines, start turning those breakers off and you’ll find the power consumers – which are could be a combination of devices and circuits.

[djwakelee]

The balance is the power consumed by all the circuits not monitored by CT clamps.  For example, if you have the Vue2 bundle with 16  CT clamps and your electrical panel has 24 circuits, the balance would be the power of those unmonitored circuits (24-16=8 circuits in this example).

[djwakelee]

The manual is very detailed and covers multiple install scenarios based on how full your electrical panel is.  If this is a US installation (split phase 120/240V), the best accuracy is achieved by using a 240V dual breaker and connecting the red and black wires to each respective phase.  Blue and White then go to neutral.

[djwakelee]

May want to refer to the install guide – this is covered on the 2nd page…

emporiaenergy.com/installation-guides

But red is the 2nd hot line (for US 120/240V installs), and blue is used for 3 phase monitoring.

[djwakelee]

Sounds like you have Ground Fault or Arc fault breakers.  The Vue2 clamps must only be installed over the black (hot) wires.  If you clamp both the black and white (neutral wires), the positive and negative current flow will cancel and you will see zero power/current.

[djwakelee]

Duplicate question – see below.  Sorry, this is not possible with the Emporia Vue 2 hardware.  If your main breaker is off (due to generator safety interlock), there is no current flow in the Vue2 mains clamps so it cannot detect when grid power is restored.  Need an electrical field sense device to do this.

Notification of Power Restoration After Power Outage

[djwakelee]

Regarding Amazon Alexa, did you install the Emporia skill?  If not, that is required.  Search for the ‘Emporia Energy’ skill, install, and link with your account.

 

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by djwakelee.

[djwakelee]

I had a similar problem.  In my case, I have 2 Vue2’s and  1 had gone offline for no reason.  Even power cycling it would not restore operation.  Ping would work ok, so knew WiFi was fine.  Did try to re-setup WiFi a few times per Emporia support, but it didn’t solve the issue.  After some troubleshooting, I found that I had to power cycle my WiFi router.  After that, everything has been fine.  I don’t know for how long – but it has been working ok for a few weeks now.  Granted it worked for several weeks before going offline.

Perhaps try a full power cycle of your WiFi router (instead of forcing disconnect) and see if you have any different results.  I’m guessing this may be something related to NAT and Emporia not liking some local port numbers that the router assigns, but this is only a guess.

[djwakelee]

There are a few Vue2 kits available, but I assume you are just monitoring the mains and not each circuit.  Looks like you have the mains clamps installed fine.  Yes, the blue and white wires go to the bus bar where all the white (neutral) wires are landed.  As your panel is almost full, you have a few options for powering the Vue2.  The installation manual talks about several ways, such as connecting to existing dual breaker or using only a single breaker to power (it looks like you have 1 spot).

Personally, for a couple of your circuits which aren’t GFCI, I would buy a tandem breaker so you can reclaim a spot in your panel.  After getting a free spot back in the middle left (from the tandem breaker), move the lower left GFCI breaker up over to the freed up position.  Then you should have 2 free spots at the lower left.  Install a 15A or 20A dual breaker for the Emporia in the those lower left two free spots.  See a link below for what the tandem breaker looks like (two breakers that fit in one slot) – but be sure to get the proper type for your style breakers and panel.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lighting-and-electrical/circuit-breakers-fuses-and-panels/circuit-breakers/31486?x429=true&gclid=CjwKCAjwjJmIBhA4EiwAQdCbxkL3EO_xEDKL4E75kHEUodaX6qFt5U_AmQMP3V3flFG0YKvSs3dsTRoCJZIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Of course, only do any of this if you are comfortable working in the breaker panel, and can turn off individual circuits or mains for safety during the circuit changes.

[djwakelee]

I have the same setup, with a large main breaker panel of similar circuit utilization as yours.  Even with two Vues 2 at 32 channels, some balanced 240V loads (AC compressor and EV charger) need to be doubled with one clamp – which is perfectly fine and accurate.  You don’t want to do that for unbalanced loads (those devices which have a neutral connection) or subpanels.  I’m able to just get by with 2 Vue 2’s and some single clamp 240V monitoring, and can catch the whole panel.

I was advised by Emporia to not use any mains clamps with the 2nd Vue 2.  They actually made me a custom order where I was able to substitute them for two large diameter 50A circuit clamps for monitoring larger wires (going off to a subpanel).  Send them a chat if you have questions.

With the setup above, for now you’ll see two Vue 2’s in your list with the respective circuits underneath each one.  At the top will also be the mains draw, as well as any solar production (if you have that).  For the Vue2 with the mains clamps, a balance figure will be shown – this is all the power for the 2nd Vue2 devices.  When you expand the 2nd Vue2, all those individual loads will be shown.  A negative balance (green color) will show also, since it doesn’t know where that power came from (since no mains clamps).  If you were able to catch every circuit, the positive balance for the main Vue2 and a negative balance for the 2nd Vue2 will match – so all the math works properly.  The devices connected on the 2nd Vue2 will not show any % figure (all zero), but they will show proper power.  Everything will log properly, just unfortunately your circuits are segregated by the two lists and not sorted together.

Support for multiple Vue2’s in the same panel is supposed to be done better in a future update, as well as better support for 240V circuits (individual phase roll-up, no multiplier, one/two clamp selection, etc).  ETA unknown – have seen mentions of spring/summer, but now fall is approaching.

[djwakelee]

Once plugged into a vehicle, the EVSE (charger) sends the pilot signal per the J1772 standard.  This PWM signal is present for all connected states – charging or idle.  So the EVSE can adjust this anytime during charging, and the vehicle will adapt to the new rate.  Dynamic adjustment during charging is no problem – the EVs must support it per the standard.

Adjustment of this signal is common, such as in commercial settings where many vehicle chargers share the same power source.  For example, if two vehicles are charging at a shared dual station – the advertised maximum rate will be less, but then will go up when one stops – and the remaining vehicle can consume more power at that time.

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