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PaulF007

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Everything posted by PaulF007

  1. Evening Gents I am looking for some panels , hopefully some stock that is not sold yet. Here is the Specks - Solar Srontier CIS Thin Film SF -165 - S 110 Volt / 2.2 amp. Not for my self but for a buddy that bought some of these a couple of years ago and want to add more. The frame and every thing else are build for these so he doesn't want to change the rest. Regards Paul
  2. See here I even indicate that I am at the labels myself
  3. O genade @Mark and company, this blew out my backside I still have three sets we just need to make a plan to ship where ever. If you or anyone else can arrange to pick up at my office it will be the only cost for the set/sets. I don't want anything for it. Just for fun here is the proof that it is on my table
  4. @Elbow , I have done something similar and it has been running for quite a while now. I used one of those small solar LED lights that almost always only last three months. While I was at it I also added a Temp sensor and a LDR for fun. I am currently measuring the voltage output from the small panel. As the max output volts is 5 v I could have used it directly but decided to use a Voltage divider just for in case. It tracks the output quite well but I still want to put a small fan on it and measure the current output to check if it will make a difference. The LDR is not that accurate as it does not measure the radiation. Then there is an App running in NODE RED that is very accurate in forecasting what Solar you should get but will need to tweak the settings to match up it with your array. https://flows.nodered.org/node/node-red-contrib-solar-power-forecast
  5. It depends on the quality of the geysers. I suspect that QC in SA is almost nonexistent compared to OZ.
  6. If you are going ESS route then it won't be much use to go bigger than 3 kw - The Victron is set up to invert up to 85% ( if I remember correctly @plonkster?) and then get the rest from the grid so you won't get more from your panels than the max of your inverter.
  7. It is possible but switching DC on or Off is quite expensive compared to AC as you get a problem with the ARC on DC. Would there be an option to switch the inverter on or off on the AC side? Then the inverter would not have any load on it and should be running ok'ish?
  8. Duh . The thing is there is no way that you will be able to build it at that price range. Also, you get a 220v integrated circuit if you want to DIY it, you will need to get a 3.3v psu or a 5v and then reduce it to 3.3v. The Wemos boards are then much better contenders without the 220v ( I use a couple of those as well as you get 10 IO ports to play with) Here is a simple circuit that I made just to get an ESP 01 going:
  9. No you can still flash with tasmota , the article hinted that with the new version you won't need to flash with tasmota.
  10. I noticed but it is a pity that they will not support MQTT , in my world, it is the core of everything I do. One other thing that Tasmota brings to the mix is Sensor support. I have a few Sonoff with Temp sensors integrated that I working nicely. Then Again I am maxed out on Sonoff devices. Can't remember when was the last time I flashed one.
  11. That is a command that is sent to the Victron Color Controle. Victron "grid tie" works through ESS and there is a lot of options there ( more than what I can handle) but one option is that you can limit the inverter power. So the small script monitors the battery watts and if it falls below -350 w then I set the max inverter power to 15% below the current solar output, I found that that value is about the conversion loss of the panels, the rest of the load will be carried by the grid. At night, no solar, that value will be set to 250 w so my batteries get discharged slowly during the night. Ps. Forgot to mention that you can change your Victron's settings via MQTT , if it was not obvious.
  12. Morning @Elbow sure no problem, attached is the PSD file just check there was a spelling mistake somewhere but plonkster can help with that. As he mentioned it AFTER we did the prints. I also had a quick look I still have 2x packets left from the first print just pay the shipping and they are yours. A4 layout.rar
  13. @georgelza Just watch out, some DB's aren't deep enough to mount the Pi on its side. The attached files work quite nice but instead of mounting them vertical mount the pi horizontal ( That is if you don't have enough space). I can't find the other file but I just printed a small adapter that would fit into the side of the case and convert it to a horizontal mount. While you at it , get a small 5v transistor so that you can use the PWM function of Node red and run the fan at optimal speed. Here is the flow. [{"id":"523795e0.efe38c","type":"rpi-gpio out","z":"da672b25.aefb78","name":"LED 2 on BCM7","pin":"8","set":"","level":"0","freq":"","out":"pwm","x":840,"y":100,"wires":[]},{"id":"29be23da.a3ebbc","type":"exec","z":"da672b25.aefb78","command":"vcgencmd measure_temp","addpay":false,"append":"","useSpawn":"false","timer":"","oldrc":false,"name":"CPU Temp","x":310,"y":100,"wires":[["44c00f51.2ace8","d57a67eb.6addb8"],[],[]]},{"id":"1398eb6e.435135","type":"inject","z":"da672b25.aefb78","name":"","topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","repeat":"40","crontab":"","once":true,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":130,"y":100,"wires":[["29be23da.a3ebbc"]]},{"id":"42ec1c2c.26bb34","type":"delay","z":"da672b25.aefb78","name":"","pauseType":"delay","timeout":"90","timeoutUnits":"milliseconds","rate":"1","nbRateUnits":"1","rateUnits":"second","randomFirst":"1","randomLast":"5","randomUnits":"seconds","drop":false,"x":650,"y":100,"wires":[["523795e0.efe38c"]]},{"id":"3c85d876.170a38","type":"change","z":"da672b25.aefb78","name":"23 %","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"23","tot":"num"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":650,"y":60,"wires":[["523795e0.efe38c"]]},{"id":"26e102b1.eb129e","type":"comment","z":"da672b25.aefb78","name":"Fan Controle","info":"","x":130,"y":60,"wires":[]},{"id":"d28e7992.02ce58","type":"debug","z":"da672b25.aefb78","name":"","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","x":650,"y":140,"wires":[]},{"id":"d57a67eb.6addb8","type":"function","z":"da672b25.aefb78","name":"","func":"str = msg.payload;\nvar temp = (str.substring(5,9))*1;\nvar speed = ((temp*8)-300).toFixed(1) ;\n\n\nif(temp <= 38){\n var dat0 = {payload:0};\n var dat1 = {payload:\"Temp=\"+temp+\" 'C\"};\n}else if(temp > 38) { \n var dat0 = {payload:speed};\n var dat1 = {payload:\"Temp=\"+temp+\" 'C\"};\n} \nreturn [dat0,dat1];","outputs":2,"noerr":0,"x":470,"y":100,"wires":[["3c85d876.170a38","42ec1c2c.26bb34"],["d28e7992.02ce58"]]}] rpi3-top-din-30mm-fan.stl rpi3-bottom-din.stl
  14. @The Terrible Triplett can confirm this but to my understanding, the Venus GX has all the same functionalities as the Color Control except for the screen.
  15. Strait from their MQTT server , the Color Controle has its own MQTT broker so you just need to subscribe to the broker and you have all the data available. I once logged all the topics from the Victron and there were over 1000 topics!! I also wrote/adapted a pyhon script that upload the Victron data to an Emon site that I have. I would assume so as the Sonoffs own firmware does not contain MQTT. As I said the Tasmota FW is the way to go. Not sure if it is Mosquito but all the MQTT brokers are the same. But yes on a Rpi .. That would be a bit of an overkill rather look at a WEMOS D1 its got 10 GPIO ports so you could have a LED for every occasion or even better add a Cheap Nokia Screen to it and you could have something like this. Just add a buzzer that will not go off until the high batt discharge is stopped. People always feat any type of alarm.
  16. I suspect that they would have been flashed, most likely with some closed firmware that is proprietary to the system. If you want to do your own thing you will need to flash TASMOTA - there is a lot of info available to do it but alternatively, if you are willing to fork out some cash on shipping, we can try and make a plan. If that is the case have a look here on the forum, I posted a link to a python program that I modified to work with the Axper inverter and upload data to EmonCms. it served me well for a couple of years. Victron also has MQTT as a protocol so it is quite simple to get the info from the inverter to node red. You can even make changes to the settings on the inverter via MQTT. Not sure on custom FW but the TASMOTA does have that. In fact, it should be standard as most of us use the WIFI-Manager library in ESP8266. Don't we all. My system is now three or four years old and I was off Grid for one of those years. So I had to add enough panels so that I would be able to run on cloudy days. Have a look at your histogram in EMONCMS - it will show where you are using the bulk of your energy. In my case, a 1000 w system, now would almost cover 90 % of my needs so bigger isn't always better.
  17. Here is the picks. Main Screen House . Living room Solar My Sonoff devices ( Not all of them are currently active) . Some of the Node red rules that are running :
  18. I see I have been summoned by Mr TTT . @georgelza - I am going to answer your pm - sort off - here as well. If you are going to use the Sonoffs then the TASMOTA firmware is one off the best out there and it gets updated by the day. Once you have that going then you need to get familiar with MQTT as this will form the backbone of your system. To set up rules to control the Sonoffs you will need a platform whereby you can dynamically alter your rules as you find the sweet spot for your system.So far I haven't find anything better than NODE RED. - It is available for Windows and Linux ( RPI included ). It is Java Scrip base but in a UI form this Chanel gives a massive amount of information as to how to use node red and once you get the hang of it , there is not much you can't do with it. At one stage I even wrote a network scanner to list all my devices on my network and log them in a MySql DB. Now to "optimize" your solar usage by using relays does work but there is a few things to consider. As mentioned earlier the Sonoffs relays are rated at 15a but I won't trust that number they are good for <10a, the last thing you would want is a Relay's contacts getting welded on a cloudy day and your batteries getting drained. On higher amps rather power a contactor with the Sonoff as they are built for high loads. Remember that you are working with WiFi and if stays a bit of a dark art. Personally, I don't put critical loads through Wifi devices. One problem is that the Sonoff's does not have very good Wifi receivers so you can easily get to the edge of the range. If the SonOff loose connection it will restart and try to reconnect, this can easily get into a loop. Your router can only handle so many devices. In today's day and age, everything is connected. The Sonoff devises are quite cheap and you can easily find your self adding a lot of them on your network. With your Mobile phones, tablets, Pc, Laptops, TV etcrt for can easily overload the router and then that will become unstable so keep this in mind. Remember that your system is STUPID and will do WHATEVER you tell it to do. One of the first thing that I wanted to control was my Geyser during winter. So I have three variables. Solar output, Battery watts, House loads and expected solar output (there is a node in Node Read that can accurately predict what you should get form your panels during the day). So the Idea was that if there was enough surplus between the battery charging and the house load then switch the geyser on. and if the battery watts goes in a negative switch off the Geyser. It sounded simple enough. Luckily I was at home when I ran the script for the first time. I got to a threshold where the system was on the edge of the switching and the relay started to flicker as the battery watts spiked and dipped.(It was a slightly overcast day so the panels would vary in their output.) If I wasn't there it would not have been a good thing for the inverter,,, Some other thoughts on controlling your loads. All costs are tied to ease of use and or time to set up ( Just take 3d printers nowadays - you pay almost double for a ready to print unit than one that you still need to build up yourself, this can take up to 8 hours to do). Same with inverters - the Axperts works well and they are good value for money but you need to fiddle with them to get the max out of them, that is if you want to use the grid with it. You constantly need to make sure that you don't kill your batts with loads that is too high. (I even had an audio alarm in the Kitchen that will remind the wife that we are on Solar and the batteries are discharging above 1000w) With grid-tie inverters, you can manage that quite a bit easier and you do not have to have so much user intervention. The less you pay the more time you will need to spend with the system. Just for fun I will post some Picks in the next post. .
  19. OMW this is a Very OLD post - apologies I didn't look at the dates! Admin - if this does not add value please remove ......
  20. If the Broker is receiving data you could try and connect to the Broker with # as the topic. If there is any info coming through to the broker you will catch it in the payload. You will need to Broker IP and User / Password , if it has one, and a client to connect to the broker. I prefer Node red as you can then follow the data but mqtt lens (Chrome) should also do the trick. This should show if the broker is working there else follow erbsa's advice...
  21. @GVC well done! You should consider loading your work to GitHub. People can then also assist and send "bug" reports,.
  22. Evening Gents If anyone is interested, I am selling my Vitron Color Control. Installed it in September so it should be under Victron warranty. I am upgrading and need to clean house. Offers welcome. - Oh sorry it's on Gumtree for R 5500.00, fellow forumites here R 5000.00.
  23. Evening Gents If anyone is interested, I am selling my Vitron Color Control. Installed it in September so it should be under Victron warranty. I am upgrading and need to clean house. Offers welcome.
  24. I was looking at my system this morning and for a household of 5 were are not doing too bad consumption wise.
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