Sunny Buddy®

Solar energy monitoring and tracking using your Palm OS handheld

Sunny Buddy conveniently tracks your power generation and performance for you. No more running back before sunset to get your data before your PV systems shut down for the night, Sunny Buddy keeps track of the PV solar data and displays it in an attractive, easy-to-use graphical format. Sunny Buddy also stores the ongoing history of your PV system on a removable memory card that you can view with any spreadsheet program. In addition, you can bring the data anywhere you go since many of the latest mobile phones are equipped with spreadsheet programs. This feature can be handy since you'll never know when you'll bump to a professional and ask for their advice.

"It is working great and I am very happy with it. Can't believe anyone would want to run SunnyBoy on a PC instead of this!" - SD, Los Angeles, CA

"I discovered a power-reducing defect in my PV solar array thanks to Sunny Buddy. I contacted the solar panel manufacturer and they replaced all my panels for free. Sunny Buddy saved me thousands of dollars in lost energy credits!" - GPB, Nevada City, CA

"... this certainly looks like it's just what I wanted -- for me the core is the CSV files, and nothing that SMA offers provides a simple or inexpensive path to getting these. Thanks for publishing this software!" -- B.A., Fairfax, CA

"Piece of cake setting up." - TH, Rough and Ready, CA

"Grand, I love the Sunny Buddy! I set it up just before going on vacation and it worked flawlessly while I was gone." - MH, Anaheim, CA

Purchase Sunny Buddy

Purchase Sunny Buddy at the Sunny Buddy On-Line Store.

You can purchase the Palm PDA for less than $90 from itsnothere on Ebay.

Sunny Buddy and the associated Palm PDA are eligible for rebate in California.
For more information see the Approved for California Rebate section below.

Learn More About Sunny Buddy

Track Solar Output in a Real-Time Graph		Go Wireless
Monitor All the Key Performance Data at a Glance		Enjoy outstanding Ease-of-Use at the Lowest Cost
Keep a Record of Session Performance		Approved for California Rebate
Monitor the Entire Solar Plant		Palm PDA Source
Log Data for Analysis and Backup		Compatibility
Select What Data You Want to View and Track		Installation
Get Started Quickly and Easily		Downloads

Track Solar Output in a Real-Time Graph

Power and PV voltage gauges display current and maximum system output every 10 seconds.

A bar graph displays the power output during the previous and current session. The power output closest to the hour is conveniently marked for you. Tap on the Palm OS touch screent to display the output and time of any line on the graph.

Monitor All the Key Performance Data at a Glance

All the key performance data is displayed for easy monitoring.

You can also select 2 additional performance measurements from any of the available Sunny Boy channels.

Keep a Record of Session Performance

Sunny Buddy displays and saves the system performance for each session (a session is typically 24 hours).

You can review each session for up to a year of sessions with a simple tap of your finger.

The session performance is also saved in a spreadsheet format on the removable memory card.

Monitor the Entire Solar Plant

Sunny Buddy monitors from 1 to 50 inverters.

Select what data you want to view for the entire solar plant.

Sunny Buddy also marks active, inactive, and non-responsive inverters for you automatically.

You can even assign your own convenient nickname for each inverter.

Log Data for Analysis and Backup

Interval and session data are also recorded on the Palm removable SD memory card. They are saved in spreadsheet format for easy analysis and display on your desktop computer.

The memory card may be removed, inserted, or swapped while Sunny Buddy is running. Use a SD card reader or CardExport II software on your Palm PDA to access the data from your desktop computer.

Select What Data You Want to View and Track

You can select two additional channels to view and track in addition to the key performance channels that Sunny Buddy automatically collects.

Get Started Quickly and Easily

Connect Sunny Buddy directly to a Sunny Boy inverter or inverter network and you can begin viewing and tracking data immediately.

Sunny Buddy does not require a Sunny Boy Control or a personal computer.

Sunny Buddy automatically configures itself to the solar plant and immediately starts displaying and recording solar power performance. You can even mix different Sunny Boy inverter models in the same solar plant.

Go Wireless

Use a pair of the inexpensive Maxstream XCite Radio Modems for a wireless connection up to 1,000 feet between your Sunny Boy and Sunny Buddy.

Maxstream has other compatible radio modems for distances up to 40 miles.

Enjoy outstanding Ease-of-Use at the Lowest Cost

No Sunny Boy Control or personal computer is needed for using Sunny Buddy.

What you need to use Sunny Buddy:

	Compatible Palm OS Handheld (PalmOne m130, m500, m505, m515, Zire 71, Tungsten T, T2, T3, and C)
	Sunny Buddy software
	PalmOne Serial Hot-Sync Cradle and Power Supply (Model P10828U)
	Sunny Boy RS-232 module or RS-485/232 converter with null-modem adapter

See the section on Palm PDA Source for places where you can purchase the Palm PDA and serial cradle.

Approved for Rebate in California

Sunny Buddy is an approved System Performance Meter in California's Emerging Renewables Rebate Program. Sunny Buddy also meets the requirements for a Performance Monitoring and Reporting System (PMRS) in the California Solar Initiative.

A portion of the cost of Sunny Buddy, the serial cradle, and the Palm PDA is returned to you as a rebate and Sunny Buddy can be your only energy meter, you don't need to purchase the Sunny Boy LCD display.

To get your rebate:

	Get form NSHP-2 at California's Solar Initiative Rebate Program.
	Enter "Poohbah Industries SB-001" as your System Performance Meter.
	Include a copy of the email receipt you received when you purchased Sunny Buddy and your receipts for the Palm PDA and serial cradle.

Palm PDA Source

You can purchase a Palm PDA for about $100 from itsnothere on Ebay

This trusted vendor has over 2,000 positive reviews and no negative reviews!

The Grand Poohbah recommends that you purchase the m505 or m515 model with the RS-232 serial cradle.

The serial cradle can be purchased from itsnothere or the Sunny Buddy On-Line Store

Note - if you purchase the Palm PDA for use with Sunny Buddy, the Palm PDA is also eligible for the California Rebate.

Compatibility

Sunny Buddy is compatible with

	Palm OS 3.5 to 6.0;
	Palm OS handhelds that can use the PalmOne Serial Hot-Sync Cradle;
	Sunny Boy models SB700U, SB1100U, SB1800U, SB2100, SB2500U, SB3000, SB3300, SB3800, SB4000, SB5000 and SB6000; and
	Windy Boy.

Sunny Buddy model number: SB-001, version 1.0

Palm memory required: 100K plus 5K for each inverter.

Also see Product Specifications.

Installation

Single Inverter Installation

Important safety note - the Sunny Boy inverter contains electrical voltages that are dangerous. Only a qualified solar installer or technician should make changes inside the Sunny Boy.

[PalmOne Serial Cradle connected to SMA RS-232 Module]

[PalmOne Serial Cradle connected to SMA RS-232 Module]

If you have a single Sunny Boy inverter, have your solar installer or technician install a SMA RS-232 Module in the Sunny Boy. The installer should wire the module and cable according to the SMA RS-232 Tech Note. Connect the PalmOne Serial Cradle to the DB9 connector to the end of the RS-232 cable.

Multiple Inverter Installation

[PalmOne Serial Cradle connected to RS-485]

If you have more than one Sunny Boy inverter and want to monitor all of them with Sunny Buddy, have your solar installer or technician install a SMA RS-485 Module in each Sunny Boy and wire them together in a RS-485 network according to the SMA RS-485 Tech Note. Sunny Buddy connects to the RS-485 network using a RS-485/232 converter and RS-232 Null-Modem adapter. Integrity Instruments sells the converter and power supply for under $65.

Here are the components you'll need:

	Integrity Instruments Model 485-9E RS-485/232 Converter
	Integrity Instruments Model PS9CST Power supply
	Radio Shack Catalog #26-264 Null Modem Adapter

These connect to the PalmOne Serial Hot-Sync Cradle (Palm Model P10828U) as shown in the Multiple Inverter Installation drawing above.

Downloads

The following documents can be read with Adobe Reader:


	Sunny Buddy Flyer (2 pages)
	Sunny Buddy User Guide (29 pages)
	SMA RS-232 Installation Tech Note (15 pages)
	SMA RS-485 Installation Tech Note (7 pages)

Return to the Poohbah Industries Home.

Contact The Grand Poohbah if you have any questions or suggestions.

Updated: 100210
©2010 Poohbah Industries
Sunny Buddy® is a registered trademark of Poohbah Industries.