[Video] Solar energy production data logging to the Solarcoin blockchain
Introduction
The raspberry Pi3 full node solar data logger streams SolarCoins based on production data from the Enphase inverter API on a rooftop connected solar system. This can be easily adapted to other LAN or WEB API's or ModBus protocols that are supported by solar system electricity meters.
Why?
Because now production data goes straight to the blockchain to become immutable in the minimum number of steps. This reduces the risk of attack vectors on the distributed IoT from energy hackers and scammers.
Background
We have been working hard on this for nearly 2.5 years and this post is a continuation of the work that @scalextrix has posted about SolarCoin live posting here. Other relevant standards and links can be found here and here.
Other layers can be built on top
The blockchain message space has also been standardized for syntax so that other web scraper apps can be built on top. Contracts can be built in node-red also for trading and many many other applications for the energy internet. It can even do automated posting to twitter.
We want these dataloggers to proliferate all over the planet. And on privately owned and distributed IoT devices. There are 7 million solar installations in the world and this is just the beginning. The transaction is compliant with the ElectriCChain standard syntax protocol. Future developments will allow queries to be run on the blockchain data, which could allow for reporting on global solar PV generation in real time or granting of SolarCoin to claimants based on generation data rather than system size.
Thanks to the open source team
Well done everyone on the telegram channel and @scalextrix for putting this together. It has been a great experience working with you all on this. This is world first, world changing stuff right here. So we made it open source and it is ElectriCChain Tech Project #3.
The relevant links for github can be found here.
About ElectriCChain
ElectriCChain is modelled on the Linux Foundation and has the goal to make standards for solar blockchain syntax in order to bring about the 4th industrial revolution of an energy internet connected society based on renewable energy.
The entire project is very interesting! I have a house and I'd like to possibly generate some solar powered electricity and interface it with my Raspberry Pi 3. Could you point me to info on the actual solar panel hardware? What is the lowest cost to get started? I've seen some solar kits online for just a few hundred dollars. They don't generate much power, but I'm just looking for a way to get started.
@kenny-crane Thanks, we have this also going on a single 260W solar module connected to a standard electricity (kWh) meter. That meter outputs the MODBUS TCP/ RTU protocol. Then that connects to the python program that communicates with the solarcoind full node and sends the transactions. So it is all open source. The first step is to setup your solar system to a battery (if you are off-grid), and /or your inverter (if you are on-grid). Then get a modbus enabled electricity meter. Or better still, work with a solar inverter maker that has their own LAN API like Enphase. You could report back here or join the #electricchain slack if you need more help. There are a number of people working on this in that slack.
Thanks for that information!
You trust the user not to fake the inverter Data?
These SolarCoins haven't been granted yet. This is just the 1st step reporting to the blockchain. Later the SolarCoin Foundation has to check the blockchain, work with the affiliate SolarCoin website that has the registered user, and then check the prediction algorithms for the last/long of that inverter, assign a due-diligence profile to that user and grant SolarCoins from the generator pool. Usually the solar installations have a historical data flow, and, from this we can pickup a lot of scammer/spoofing of fake data. Plus the user runs the risk of spoofing once and then being algorithmically blacklisted.