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    Interference From Neighbor's Solar Panels

    Hi, I've got a system using a PowerLinc Modem, about 15 Insteon devices and run by Indigo on a Mac Mini.

    It's run solid for years but recently my neighbors installed a sizable array of solar panels on their roof. After the install many of the lights in the house now flicker when dimmed to a low setting. When nighttime comes the flickering stops. Daylight arrives, the flickering returns. This did not happen prior to installation of their solar installation so there is at least a strong correllation.

    The inverter for their solar system is mounted on the N side of their house which is about 20 feet away from where our PLM and server are located. My assumption is that their solar inverter is causing interference to our Insteon system during the time it is processing AC energy from the solar panels, then once it is dark the interference stops since the inverter is no longer managing the current from the panels.

    Has anybody else experienced such a problem or know of a possible solution?

    New to this forum and thanks in advance for any help!

    - Keith

    #2
    If the flickering is consistent and reproducible, then your electric utility needs to be made aware by sending a representative to observe and take measurements.
    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
    Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

    Comment


      #3
      Thank you, good advice. The neighbors are dear friends of ours and just installed the system so I am first meeting with their solar contractors to suss it out next week and will report back my findings.

      Comment


        #4
        That's an even better idea ;)
        Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
        Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

        Comment


          #5
          I have an update: I had a Seattle City Light Sr. Electrical engineer come take a look. We verified the inverter is in fact causing interference (because we turned the inverter off for a minute during the day and the flickering stopped, then reappeared the moment we turned the inverter back on). City Light attached a power quality measuring device inside our home on the same circuit as the Insteon dimmer, as well as one at the meter base. The bad news is that the power measures clean -- but he does think the inverter is causing interference and it's just at frequencies that their equipment does not measure. He suggested asking the inverter manufacturer is the carrier frequency of the inverter could be easily changed in the field and that may help.

          Here's the weird part:
          Our dimmers are the dual band PLC/RF versions.
          On one bank of lights that flickers really badly I swapped out the dual-band for an old PLC-only Icon dimmer. No flickering! So, of course I'm thinking this proves the interference is emitted RF as opposed to Powerline interference. BUT - as a test I just installed one of the newer 2 wire RF-only dimmers. No flickering! What the heck? So it seems that PLC-only or RF-only avoids the interference, but not the dual-band dimmers.

          My questions:
          - Any ideas why this would be?!
          - Has anybody had similar problems with a nearby solar installation?
          - ....and if so were you able to solve it with filtering, shielding or some other method?

          I may be able to get around the problem by replacing a bunch of my dimmers, but that would be sub-optimal..

          Thanks in advance for any help and ideas!
          Last edited by Keith7WA; 08-11-2015, 12:09 PM.

          Comment


            #6
            Have you been able to meet with their solar contractors?
            Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
            Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

            Comment


              #7
              I did meet with the installers and talked to the inverter manufacturer directly, both whom thus far seem to take the stance that "Hey, our stuff meets all FCC requirements so....".

              Now that I have my local utility expert as a witness (and solid proof that the system is causing the interface) I will loop back with them and press harder.

              Still -- my main question at this point is [I]why is the interference only coming through DualBand devices but NOT through Powerline-only or RF-Only devices[/I]. That seems odd to me.

              Comment


                #8
                RF can be a strange beast sometimes. When I was a two way radio repairman. I saw some strange things.
                The two wire Switchlinc steals power through the load and has no Neutral power line reference. May act different than the Dual Band modules.
                It does sound like RF interference as the power line only ones do not show this flickering.
                You probably know this but the Insteon RF frequency is 915MHz. Power line 131.65Khz.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thank you BLH for the feedback. I too am guessing it's RF at this point. That probably means that putting a filter on that circuit would have no effect and that I'd actually have to try and shield around their inverter. I might even try a large cardboard box lined with foil to see if I can get at least some effect to prove my theory. I'm also going to try to press the installers to swap in a different inverter to see if maybe the existing one has faulty shielding.

                  Do you happen to know if I can measure 915mhz interference using the AM Radio trick?

                  However, if their eqpt is meeting FCC 15 part B (or whatever) then I'm kind of stuck.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    If you can get the FCC ID number on the panels or inverters.
                    You can find the FCC test results in their database. Some manufacturers like X10 and Insteon also have photos and other goodies for the device.

                    [url]https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm[/url]

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Aha -- good to know and I might be able to. Thanks!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        They may not be there if they don't have an RF transmitter in them. Other FCC certifications are not listed in the search.
                        I have used a portable Scanner to listen to the Insteon RF signals. I can tune 915MHz on mine and some are received better set to 914.9375MHz.

                        I also have had limited success with a low end RF Explorer Spectrum Analyzer.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I would follow through with the shielded card board box and see what happens. If the flickering stops you have pretty much proved its the inverter itself. Since they just installed the device changing it out with a new one would be the logical next step.

                          If this problem was seen with Enphase micro inverters the company has a really expensive filtering box that is supposed to solve power line issues. As they use power line to send the solar energy to their Enlighten monitoring device.

                          But since this is a RF related issue their box would not address this. Added to the fact its not a Enphase micro inverter install.
                          Teken . . .

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Hi Teken, I think that's a good idea. Wouldn't I need to ground the foil lining the cardboard box to something to give the RF somewhere to dissipate to? Any idea if that can safely be the same ground the inverter is using?

                            Also, I did talk to the manufacturer of the inverter and they have begun an RMA process to swap out the inverter since they too feel something is amiss. Now to just get the installers to play along under some kind of warranty for the labor. Should be a big job actually...

                            Comment


                              #15
                              The manufacturer may be at fault and is willing to replace the problem device. People that put in the labor are not at fault and should not be required to work for anything less that a fair wage.
                              Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
                              Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

                              Comment

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