In times of lower feed-in tariffs, self-consumption of solar energy is the be-all and end-all. The new multi-phase 6-channel catch control hardware and software is designed to give you the crown.
Maximizing self-consumption essentially means running appliances when the sun is shining. An inexpensive way to do this without having to manually turn things on and off is to use a timer. While the switch may “know” what time it is, it is unaware of the prevailing weather conditions.
There are other options, but coordinating a number of gizmos and gadgets, including hard-wired devices, to do your bidding can get quite complicated and frustrating with some of the solutions available, especially if you don’t like spending a lot of time fiddling around.
A smart, flexible and more user-friendly way to control your devices is Catch Power’s Australian designed and manufactured Catch Control. This small device, formerly known as a Catch Solar Relay, is installed in a home’s electrical panel. SQ founder Finn reviewed Catch Control at the beginning of the year and considers it to be the “Swiss Army Knife of the solar industry” – this article is well worth reading.
New 6-channel fishing controller and software available
Not one to rest on their laurels, the Catch Power team recently took the device to a new level with the release of the new multi-phase1 6-channel catch control hardware that can act as a central orchestration device across multiple brands. As the name suggests, it offers six independent channels that provide precise control of inverters, batteries, electric vehicle chargers and individual circuit control.
The device can control loads via contactors, EV chargers via OCPP, air conditioners via DRED and everything else via TCP and RTU. The installer interface is via Bluetooth and all communication is via WiFi.
After acquiring Solar Analytics, the company also expanded and updated its software services. There’s a configuration app, a new version of the owner app called Monocle, and a variety of available features; including load control, schedule optimizer, battery calculator and actual performance monitoring.
Here are a few quick examples of some of the many uses of the 6-channel catch control and software:
- It can be configured to send excess solar energy to an electric hot water system instead of sending it to the grid for a pittance.
- Solar households with electric vehicles can use their low-cost solar energy for charging – ensuring they only use solar energy.
- You can also set up a scheduler to turn on a charger when the price of grid electricity is low and manually trigger charging remotely.
- Save the capacity of a home battery for overnight use and do not allow it to be used to charge electric vehicles.
- Manage regulatory dynamic control rules for solar, battery and electric vehicles.
- Participate in wholesale (e.g. Amber Energy). It can do the buying and selling of energy for you (for the really brave), or you can control it yourself if you want (still requires some courage).
- The Plan Optimiser tool compares your actual production and consumption data with all available electricity tariffs and calculates how much you could save by switching.
- Voltage, frequency and demand control.
The company says it will soon release a white paper showing the maximum average *additional* savings for a solar owner of more than $1,000 per year, based on an analysis of its 50,000-strong customer base.
“Catch Power’s software allows users to ensure they are getting the most solar power possible, taking advantage of the best energy deals and automatically scheduling loads.”
How much does 6 channel catch control cost?
The original Catch Control hardware (formerly Relay) is still available and costs $447.00 + whatever installation costs (installation must be performed by a licensed electrician). The 6 channel version is much more expensive at $955.50 + installation. However, if the savings described in the white paper can be achieved, this would represent a hardware payback of approximately one year.
Solar Analytics is integrated into both devices and access to it is free. The “Inverter” version of Solar Analytics (which I use) costs $6/month, $60/year, $250 for 5 years, or $450 for 10 years. I use the annual plan and think it’s money well spent – so it’s a really nice inclusion that it’s free with Catch Control.
Catch Power states that the company is “100% focused exclusively on the residential segment as we believe that is where the greatest need lies, particularly for solar, electric and demand response.”
You can find out more about Catch Control here. The user manual for the Catch Control and Monocle app can be found here.
Footnotes
- Can be used in single phase, two phase and three phase houses. ↩
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