Enphase Enlighten system controls home heating, cooling, solar production in the same web app
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 15th 2010 12:04PM
posted July 15th 2010 12:04PM
Enphase Energy has some pretty interesting tech for you to consider if you're thinking about going the Larry Hagman-esque solar power route (as opposed to the Barbara Eden veil-and-pantaloons route). The Microinverter System, for instance, converts DC power to AC household current at the solar panel, instead of sending the power accumulated at all the panels to one central inverter. And the microinverters aren't merely, well, "inverting." Nope, they also send stats to a gateway that, working with the Environ Smart Thermostat, allows you to keep tabs on your heating and cooling system as well as track solar panel performance all in the same web app. Pretty sweet, right? Or did we lose you at "Barbara Eden"? Hit the source link for more info.
Thats not a Web App.
@KGB I think they meant this. Quoted from the source - "Environ wirelessly connects to the Envoy Communications Gateway using the Zigbee communications protocol. The Envoy connects the Environ to the internet, allowing it to transmit and receive information from the Enlighten website."
Lost me at Barbara Eden....
@CoyM
Dido! And, why not like for her?
@StraightUp
Oh no. I'm clearly over worked today. That was supposed to say:
"Why no link for her?"
speakin of ac, its hot out here!!!!
@Mr Hett
No $h*t... It's Hot as Balls in TX!!!
Now where's the webapp for this product?
Company name Environ sounds too much like Enron.
Irrelevant and probably uninteresting comment, but a comment none the less.
This could actually be a real way for the average person to monitor and adjust their daily usage. I've seen many solar setups and almost all of them are horribly complex to figure out. Here's to hoping that more products like this are released soon
why is the heat on if its target is 71 degrees and it is currently at 72.5?
I have a system with Enphase microinverters and an older version of the Enlighten gateway.
It sits on my LAN and gets performance and status information from each microinverter over the AC wiring. I can monitor it directly using telnet to the web-services port, or they have a fancy web site that converts it into graphical information. It's kind of slick -- you can watch timelapse of individual panel power output, or overall system performance.
(Checking the site: currently generating 1.7kW, with today's total production 4.4kWh)
Microinverters are a little controversial in the solar world. They are more expensive, and it's not certain how long their MTBF is. Still, on a small system like mine, having microinverters works great when there's no way to avoid occasional occlusion of one or two modules (the panels themselves). In a monolithic inverter system, that would kill the power generation of the whole string of modules. With a microinverter system, you only lose the power from the occluded modules.
I don't have any air-conditioning, so I'm not in the market for this new stuff.
But I'm definitely a happy customer.
@libelle I'm looking at getting photovalics, could you recomend anything or anybody to talk to?
@10nisman94 depends a lot on your situation. If you have a nice, big roof facing south or southwest, it's an easier problem than if you have varying sky exposure or a strangely shaped roof (like I do).
I'd talk to professionals. Definitely find out how many installs they've done, and get some references. There are a lot of scammers out there! I have personal knowledge of a case where a guy with a reputable-sounding front company was putting home-made panels on houses, and one house nearly burned down (it would have, had it been further from the fire station)!
Get UL-listed panels (Siemens, Kyocera, Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Sharp ... and ironically BP are good brands) and inverters, and make sure the mounting hardware looks industrial rather than tinkertoy-ish.
But seriously, talk to pros. Don't trust information on the internet :)
This sounds similar to my plan for electric-bill domination: get 3KW of solar output; attach thermostat to light sensor next to panels; when there's 3KW of free power, set thermostat to 65F; at night and during rain, live off the charge of cool air put in the house during the day.