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Free solar monitoring device - Voltronic inverters


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First I connected the inverter to my laptop using the cable supplied with the inverter (RCT 5KVA) ... opened watchpower and connected ... the inverter links to the laptop and I can setup parameters and view setting etc. 

Then I removed the cable from the laptop and plugged it into the Pi3 ... I then plugged in the network cable and the power cable into the Pi and powered it up.

My iphone has the app loaded and ready to test ... tried to connect using WIFI ... nothing.

Opened  solar assistant on my laptop which is on the same network ... logged in and went to sites ... and that is where it ends ... the site doesnt load ... the magnifying glass just flashes.

So I sent Pierre an email ... he replied with his contact details and we tried to set it up ... I took a few steps back and tried a few things ... but I have a feeling it might be the Pi ... so I am going to get the Pi tested in the mean time and ordered a complete setup (device and software).

Ordered and paid this morning ... Lets see how long it takes to deliver ... at least with a complete unit ... we know the setup is done right (preloaded) ... the Pi is working and already tested by solar assistant. 

 

Edited by isetech
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Before I started I purchased a new 32 GB scandisk ultra and flashed the ISO file to the card.

At the same time I flashed home assistant to another card and labeled them SA and HA.

The device and software has already been dispatched and on route.

I have a whole lot of these old Meccer/RCT units on site ... I am looking forward to getting 1 setup so I can compare to other products.

I am still deciding which route to go ... so I have been following the ICC threads ... after reading threads posted on this platform ... I contacted ICC to find out more about their product ... I was a little concerned about the monthly fee ... that call got interesting  ... my advice to you if you are considering ICC deal directly with ICC ... it seems someone is pulling the pi$$ out of ICC and should verify facts before making a decision on a subscription ... there was talk about a license for installers for a product which ICC will be launching soon.  

https://iccsoftware.co.za/about/shop/

I am just here to learn and share my experience as I go ... the ICC V4 kit with advanced power management is something I am definitely going to try out ... it ticks all the boxes for what I am trying to achieve with managing the load during  power outages. 

Lets see how it goes with the solar assistant ... my kit should arrive tomorrow. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by isetech
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This is going to get interesting ... looking at the price comparison between solar assistant and ICC ... apples for apples ... ICC is actually cheaper than solar assistant  at the moment ... I am paying for both so I can give an honest review ;) ... one the biggest problem with reviews on the internet people being sponsored product for free or a little extra cash to say nice things about products. 

R2400  (what I paid for solar assistant today ) and R3200 (what I am hoping to pay for the ICC product once they have stock) ... you get a Pi 4 not a Pi 3 with a faster processor and power management  software.

If this power management software can do what they tell me ... this could be just what I have been looking for ... no more having to switch off circuit breakers every time there is a power failure or load shedding.

I have been looking at the Schneider  range of home automation ... the one thing they are lacking in SA ... the most important feature of any product  ... support ... I have tried magnet who are suppose to be the biggest schneider distributor ... and a few other distributors ... nobody can assist ... so I am hoping ICC have a solution with support for their product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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21 minutes ago, isetech said:

This is going to get interesting ... looking at the price comparison between solar assistant and ICC ... apples for apples ... ICC is actually cheaper than solar assistant  at the moment ... I am paying for both so I can give an honest review ;) ... one the biggest problem with reviews on the internet people being sponsored product for free or a little extra cash to say nice things about products. 

R2400  (what I paid for solar assistant today ) and R3200 (what I am hoping to pay for the ICC product once they have stock) ... you get a Pi 4 not a Pi 3 with a faster processor and power management  software.

If this power management software can do what they tell me ... this could be just what I have been looking for ... no more having to switch off circuit breakers every time there is a power failure or load shedding.

I have been looking at the Schneider  range of home automation ... the one thing they are lacking in SA ... the most important feature of any product  ... support ... I have tried magnet who are suppose to be the biggest schneider distributor ... and a few other distributors ... nobody can assist ... so I am hoping ICC have a solution with support for their product.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you using sonoff devices alongside ICC power management? And if so, what sort of circuits do you intend controlling with those?

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I have already prepared a few installations for customers using 3 phase DB's to accommodate a system like this ... the problem is trying to find a system which will be insurance approved. 

Right now I dont have a solution ... but I am tinkering with various ideas .. I have even considered using an IDS X64 system with multiple output modules and xwave 2 hubs. 

I have ASC units (because of the 30 amp load capacity) and sonoff units with relays and contactors and even thinking about using solid state relays (because they are so quiet ...  considering its a domestic dwelling and the last thing you want is a noise buzzing contactor) on the test rig. I am running out of space with all the test rigs. 

When I saw the power management system offered with the ICC software ... I thought I had hit the jackpot ... then did some research and found the software video ( in some strange language) and realised its not developed here in SA

 

This is basically what I am looking for in SA (an SA approved system just like this)

 

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Just imagine ... no more bullshyte with essential and non essential DB's which restrict you to only using certain appliances during a power outage.

or my favorite one ... installers telling customers to switch off all the breakers in the DB because the system can only handle 15 amps ... not including the start up fridge motors pool pumps ... aircons etc ... the customer forgets or is not home at the time of the outage or load shedding and all hell breaks loose and the wife or family is left stranded in the dark.  

its 2021 we should be able to manage our power using an app or at least a switch on the wall with a power meter to view the load in amps. 

I have a Siemens logo on the test rig ... I am thinking about doing it like we do with the control panels for water treatment and waste works. If we can build a fully automatic system which can be monitored and control literally every component from the pumps to the valves to the level ... surely it cant be that difficult to control a aircon or 5 ... or a pool pump or coffee machine. 

10 years ago it would have cost a kidney for a smart home  ... the companies which got smart back then made a ton of cash and still trying to milk customer ... charging ridiculous fees like R1200- 1500 an hour .  

 

 

 

 

 

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My parcel just arrived ... all nicely bubble wrapped ... lets see how long it takes to hookup and test.

Wifi router setup.

Inverter powered.

stepped resistive load ... which can be switched 1 kw at a time.

FLuke 435 connected and recording ... nice clean sinewave generated by the RCT inverter.

Just a note ... the RCT inverter has been stadning in idle mode with no power connected ... it has already dropped 1 bar on the battery display ... eeeeish.

 

 

 

 

 

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And that was a fail ... I dont have time to sit and fiddle with it any longer ... its not solar  assistant fault ... I must be doing something wrong ... I am missing a step somewhere ... will try again tonight when I have time to sit down and go through each step. 

 

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5 hours ago, isetech said:

Thanks to Pierre ... system is live. 

It seems there was a small issue using the IPhone ... so we moved to the laptop and within a couple minutes it was working. 

All systems go 🙂 

So far is good i think, i am also used IOS to monitoring my system

98AF50B0-8643-4842-BEE4-5169340D4CF4.png

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I got back to the workshop a little while ago ... put a 1 kw load on the inverter ... switched off the grip power and went on line to see what was happening ... was hoping to see it live on the phone ... nothing changed ... logged onto my laptop ... thinking maybe it was a iphone issue again ... nothing.

It looks like the system went off line at 12.08 ... the line is straight from then until 17.44 in comes back online.

Something I must mention about my business ... I started it in Feb. 1991 ... I dont sell a customer a product unless I am 100% sure I can trust the product.

This is why I was hoping to run this system in the workshop until the end of the month on a trial version ... unfortunately Pi and trial version is still not running ... so I spent the money and bought the full kit ... I am going to run it until the end of the month and see how it works before take it to site.

 

 

 

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A few tips ...

Make sure your SD card reader works or you have a USB card reader as a backup.

If you decide to go the software route ... make sure you understand how to flash a file to a SD card know how to get around in your PC ... it sounds silly ... but when things go wrong trust me you going to waste a lot of time ... make sure you have a contact number for a friend with IT knowledge.

As in my case it seems ... not only did I have a problem with the laptop card reader .. there is something else wrong it still will not load ... so is it the Pi I got from a friend or is the file I flashed to the card.

Make sure you have a screen with an HDMI port or an HDMI to VGA adaptor ... to test the Pi.

Make sure you have a spare Pi which you know works 100 % to check the file flashed to the SD card works.

Dont use an iphone to setup a system ... the setup will not allow you to apply the settings ... and if you have the Meccer mk3 it doesnt have an app for an iphone :(

The bottom line is if you have to time to fiddle and play around with stuff and your time is not valuable ... I would say download the software ... other wise just pay the money ... save yourself the frustration and buy the kit.

I will keep you up to date with the progress on the unit which is on test in the workshop.

 

 

 

 

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Ran a few tests this morning ... the good news ... no flat lining during the night ... I bumped up the load to 3 kw this morning and you can hear the fans speed up.

A note - Check your fan blades and vents ... the test unit is caked with dust ... which results in additional weight ... I have noticed the fan on the left is running warmer ( I will check it with the thermal camera) ... I tried to clean the blade with a paint brush ... not so easy ... looks like I am going to have to scrape it off.

I also spent a bit of time going through the dashboard and  charts to get a better understanding of the software and what adjustments can be made.

 

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The setup  a test rig in my workshop  - a 5 KVA RCT inverter with 4 x 100 amp/hr deep enertec batteries ... using solar asssitant to monitor ... no solar panels.

The load is a 1 kw per step (6 steps in total) and a fan for cooling.

The most significant thing to note - the stable output voltage (being measured using a fluke 435 PQA) and clean sine wave compared to grip power.

My thoughts ... rather than running a generator connected directly to the mains ... it would be far better to use an inverter to clean up that hectic distorted wave form created by generators ... the only catch is I noticed the RCT is in bypass while on grid power and only when the grid power is switched ... something to consider when installing an inverter with a backup generator. 

People talk about pure and modified sines waves for inverters ... I do understand that when connecting motors etc it is better to use a pure sine wave ... but when you look at the wave form of a generator ... you will know what people talk about they refer to a distorted sine ... and what really destroys electronic equipment. 

Even the inverter which produces a clean pure sine wave ... create some hectic glitches with in the wave form when I switch on and off the restive load. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not sure how accurate this info is right now ... will verify result with the 435 when I download the data in a couple days time.

I switched off the mains power and switched on a 900 w load with a fan for just under 2 hours ... the battery indicated 100 % at the time ... 67 % when I switched off the load.

I then switched on the power ... it took longer using more power (1.1 kw) to charge the battery back up to 100 % ... what that tells me ... it is not economical to use the battery unless you need to and installing solar is a no brainer.

 

 

 

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It has been very frustrating ... but the good news ... the unit which I originally started with is now live using the demo software and the original SD card which I flashed.

It seems the Pi which was given to me has a faulty WiFi module or not setup ... It is a Pi 3 B v1.2/ 2015 ... I have installed a network cable from my office to my workshop ... so the demo unit will run in the workshop connected to the inverter I am using to try out the software ... once I am happy with the software ... the demo unit will be switched off and the software disabled or I will get a new Pi and pay to license and used as a demo unit to show customers 

The purchased kit will go to site tomorrow ...  where it will be connected to a full solar system to see how it works with solar panels connected.

We live and learn ... make sure all your devices work and dont use an old faulty Pi :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So what do I think about the software.

Make sure you setup the system during  a week day ... in case you run into issues with connecting ... Pierre has been very helpful. 

I wouldnt advise you use an iphone to setup.

I attempted to do a demo on site for a customer  today ... the iphone wouldnt display what I can see on my laptop ... I tried connecting to the site Wifi ... unfortunately the bouncing loading grafana was the only entertainment I could offer the customer.

Personally I think it might be great software for the DIY type installer ... who has time to tinker.

Unless I see progress (no flat lining and improved iphone viewing) in the next 2 weeks while the paid kit is on site ... I cant see myself promoting this product to customers. 

Is it worth paying more (R799) for this product over the  ICC PI software (R500) ... we will only know once I have purchased (so that I can give and honest review as we set it up) the ICC software. 

 

Edited by isetech
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The good news ... no glitches last night.

The change over from the new to Pi (kit) to the old Pi went well.

Then later I did a change from my home router to a  WiFi 4 G router ... it was a simple swop with no issues.

Now to see how easy it is to setup the Pi with a Meccer king 5 kva unit.

 

 

 

 

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I can confirm that it seems this software is not fully compatible with the IOS platform. 

I have tried connecting to the site with various apple devices and android devices ... the android devices work ... but not apple devices ... it only loads parts of the application. 

 

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Thanks for that info ... I downloaded firefox and bingo ... working 100 % ... no more bouncing grafana's on the newer devices.

The devices using the latest IOS are working  ... the older apple devices using the older versions of IOS only display the "front page"

I spent some time today looking into other options and also reflected on my experience downloading and using this software.

To be fair to Pierre ... non of the challenges I have experienced up to and including the bouncing Grafana's has been due to bad design of the solar assistant ... it has all been either hardware fail or software issues on the devices.

The only thing I can think of that might or might not have been a software issue was the flat line during the first night. 

I have just reviewed the data in the past 24 hours ... I see there is another flat line ... I need to find out what is causing it ... from 6.17 am till 7.28 am ... its just a straight line ... any ideas what could be causing this?

Swopping out the Pi ... there were no issues.

Changing the network cable from one router to another last night also happened without a glitch.

Lets give it a chance and see how it goes.

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Does the RS 232 to serial come with the inverter?

What do you think about installing a smart shunt and would I need a smart shunt if I have a pie connected to the system? 

Under configuration there is a tab MQTT ... status disabled ... are they still working on it? 

 

MQTT

Port:
1883
Status:
Disabled
HomeAssistant discovery:
 
Time to go find some more Pi3's ... tips on where ... so far RS components is the best price. 

 

 

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