Hi Guys. 

John here. I just bought a new house. 

It comes with the following.

Axpert 5kva inverter (Think Gen1 - No built in Wifi but seems to have Bluetooth Symbol)

12x 335W Panels (Think that's 3900W potential ) After I washed them most I have seen was an increase from 2500w to 3070w) Think you should only loose 10% due to efficiency ?

Gel Batteries

SONOF devices x6

I have an iPhone & Fibre with Wifi.

So far I have been able to use eWeLink and hooked up all the SONOF devices. Seems to work quite well.

What I havn't gotten right yet at all is a way to communicate with the inverter without standing infront of it watching it, pushing buttons and watching PV etc.

 

So, What am I wanting to achievie ?

Automation of loads. Eg. Without load shedding possibly some pumps can be turned off run down the batteries a bit and save on some power till the sun recharges the batteries again.

Then be able to view whats actually happening like Solar Yield etc.

1st prise would be an App. Just nice interfaces generally to mull through the Data is always great. 

I have seen a product called ICC Software running on a Rasberry Pi that seems quite slick. 

 

Are there any recommendations you guys can give that would help with the power control & possibly a bit with home automation ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would look at Solar Assistant to connect to inverter.

34 minutes ago, Jacques Ester said:

look at Solar Assistant

Second that. Have a look here
https://solar-assistant.io/help/general/introduction

Hi @Dry_Reef,

You basically have a few options.

BTW, the reason these apps were developed by Saffers is to not only have real time stats/info, but history (e.g. database) and then functionality, e.g. to control your inverter. Also to better bypass any inherent design flaw, e.g. charging bug, well discussed on this forum.

You route you are going to take is going to depend what you want to achieve with monitoring. Either way, each system has it's own pro's and con's, You need to go and study their respective www to see what is fit for purpose for YOU. (it differs from person to person and IT skill level).

The following is not necessary in order of (my)preference.

1) As mentioned, Solar Assistant https://solar-assistant.io/ - works with HA (Home Assistant). Note, the Pi is dedicated to SA, you can't run anything else on it, except enabling MQTT

2) ICC Software, https://iccsoftware.co.za - if you want to integrate your Sonoff's, then add APM - bit fiddley to setup, but works well (Note, I've used this, but on an older version of software - The current version may have many more or less features/abilities. Hopefully the www will have the latest info/functionality explained. Data is stored locally (on the SD card), so beware of SD card failures after 2 years or so. I would add a small M.2 SSD if I need to go this route. You do need to reflash your Sonoff's with Tasmota to use APM - so you "loose" the cloud functionality.

3) https://centurionsolar.co.za/ data is stored in the cloud, if that's you thing.

4) DIY - develop you own "app", using many of the free opensource subsystems, e.g. HA, Graphana, Node Red, MQTT etc. Not for the faint hearted, but do-able if you have programming skills etc. Similar to a few threads here on the forum that speaks to Sunsynk inverters.

5) There may be others outside SA, so just go search on Github.com. Use terms like "Voltronics", "Axpert".

Hope this helps.

1 hour ago, zsde said:

Second that. Have a look here
https://solar-assistant.io/help/general/introduction

Thanks guys. 
 

had a look. 
 

Great price. Interface looks pretty good. 
 

But does it do power management ?

Can SONOFF devices be Intergrated ?

40 minutes ago, Sidewinder said:

Hi @Dry_Reef,

You basically have a few options.

BTW, the reason these apps were developed by Saffers is to not only have real time stats/info, but history (e.g. database) and then functionality, e.g. to control your inverter. Also to better bypass any inherent design flaw, e.g. charging bug, well discussed on this forum.

You route you are going to take is going to depend what you want to achieve with monitoring. Either way, each system has it's own pro's and con's, You need to go and study their respective www to see what is fit for purpose for YOU. (it differs from person to person and IT skill level).

The following is not necessary in order of (my)preference.

1) As mentioned, Solar Assistant https://solar-assistant.io/ - works with HA (Home Assistant). Note, the Pi is dedicated to SA, you can't run anything else on it, except enabling MQTT

2) ICC Software, https://iccsoftware.co.za - if you want to integrate your Sonoff's, then add APM - bit fiddley to setup, but works well (Note, I've used this, but on an older version of software - The current version may have many more or less features/abilities. Hopefully the www will have the latest info/functionality explained. Data is stored locally (on the SD card), so beware of SD card failures after 2 years or so. I would add a small M.2 SSD if I need to go this route. You do need to reflash your Sonoff's with Tasmota to use APM - so you "loose" the cloud functionality.

3) https://centurionsolar.co.za/ data is stored in the cloud, if that's you thing.

4) DIY - develop you own "app", using many of the free opensource subsystems, e.g. HA, Graphana, Node Red, MQTT etc. Not for the faint hearted, but do-able if you have programming skills etc. Similar to a few threads here on the forum that speaks to Sunsynk inverters.

5) There may be others outside SA, so just go search on Github.com. Use terms like "Voltronics", "Axpert".

Hope this helps.

Thanks. Lots of info. 
 

will read up on centurion Solar next 👍🏻

Ok, So just had a nice long chat with the guys at Centurion Solar. 
 

Seems to tick all the boxes I’m after. 
pity about the monthly subscription. 
but I am a sucker to have a nice interface. 
Can always Vnc etc if wanted like the other apps from the sounds of it. 
 

Anyone using the Centurion Solar solution ?

would be nice to hear some comments good or bad before I go that route. 

Picked up the Centurion Solar solution yesterday.

 

Will try and give it an install over the weekend and see how things go.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys. It was much appreciated.

24 minutes ago, Dry_Reef said:

Picked up the Centurion Solar solution yesterday.

 

Will try and give it an install over the weekend and see how things go.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys. It was much appreciated.

Keen to see and hear your experiences with it

Hello guys. 
 

I have had my Solar Monitoring software for just over a month now. 
 

I ended up going with the Centurion Solar Solution. 
https://centurionsolar.co.za/solar-management-hub/

Its called SMH ( Solar Management Hub )

In short they supply a pre configured Raspberry Pi ready to go. 
 

Literally just plug it in  and away you go. 
 

I can use anydesk if required to jump onto it , reboot or update etc. 

updates come via a notifications and are as easy as clicking update. 

The local web page that is provided has a ton of info to view everything in depth. Or go back and check logs etc. 

I subscribe to the mobile App. R50 bucks a month but we’ll worth it. 

shows all the standard info on one screen. 
 

Live Data such as current solar charge, batter SOC , charging discharging , grid etc. 

Also some history like max charge during the day. 
Actual consumption. 
Total Solar produced for the day. 
Total grid consumed. 

Then there is the option to dive into the logs and check history on a number of items. 
 

On the main screen you can also click into the live consumption and get a more detailed live view on the last 60min worth of info in a graph that you can select or deselect on the fly. PV produced, grid , battery used etc. 

All in I am very happy with the software. 
 

Notifications are done via the app and also can be sent via Telegram. 

Last Note. Support. 
Yes I am a paying subscriber. 
But when ever I have had a query. 
I log a ticket via mail and every time it’s answered and resolved quickly. 

I don’t know any other software or systems. 
All I am familiar with is this system & I am very satisfied 👍🏻