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Free solar monitoring device - Voltronic inverters

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I have a site with 4 x AGM batteries ( all 4 to be replaced under warranty ) ...  I want to monitor the system before and after the batteries are replaced ... why i am thinking a shunt would be a good idea and the first question asked when enquiring a about a warranty claim ... do you have temp monitoring ... so I am thinking it might be a good idea to install a temp probe in the battery compartment.

Another site has 8 enertec deep cycle batteries ... been in operation for the past 3 years ... I am expecting them to them be close to the end of their life span. 

Another site has 12 enertec deep cycle ... boiled after 4.5 years ... caused quite a mess ... so I want to add better monitoring ... both SOC and temp. 

 

 

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  • Currently it's the only monitoring software to show all MPPTs on more than 1 Max (using 2 USB cables or more as needed) that I'm aware of which I really like! Some of the other benefits I like:

  • It depends on the application you are wanting it for right now and possibly how long you can wait for changes. If it's just monitoring and recording plus remote viewing I would say go solar assis

  • SolarAssistant
    SolarAssistant

    Hi @vylint, the beta testing ended last year already.  There are now 100+ users on SolarAssistant.

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Took the unit to site and connected ... the unit was no longer on my network ... went to WiFI settings on my phone ... found the solar assistant ... setup the password for the site ... waited a few seconds and the unit connected to the site WiFi ... the solar assist was no longer displayed in WiFI settings ... which indicates it is connected.

I thought bonus seamless transfer ... nothing could be that simple for me.

Now we wait for Monday for the solar assistant team to get back to work ... to see why non of charts are displayed (not even on my laptop).

 

WOW ... finished dinner ... ping on the phone ... email response from Pierre and site live. 

Sent the customer an invite to view what his inverter is doing and everyone is happy :) 

  • 3 months later...

Hello. I purchased the SolarAssistant software yesterday to use it with my two MPP Solar inverters. While the setup was smooth and I had my inverters showing up and populating graphs nicely, I've started finding some issues.

  • I run two inverters with two batteries (one is 24V, other is 48V) so all battery related data is pretty much useless at the moment. It tries to combine both batteries into one so the voltage and power readings fluctuate between those of the values of two different systems. (Design choice and not so much a bug)
  • I have been unable to find any means to control my inverters using MQTT. I can only read data but what I really need is means to controlling output and battery charging priorities via MQTT. (Design choice and not so much a bug)
  • One of my inverters is a PIP8048MAX with two PV inputs. In SolarAssistant only data for one string is showing up, so only half of my solar production is recorded. (Bug?)

Actually Pierre got back to me and explained the issue. While controlling the inverters via MQTT is not yet possible, the other two issues were caused by the fact that I had two different inverters connected to the SolarAssistant. The only scenario that the SA supports with multiple inverters at this time is with inverters connected in parallel.

After disconnecting one of my inverters, all the anomalies mentioned above disappeared. 

Kudos to Pierre for nice software and good support.

  • 2 months later...
On 2021/10/23 at 9:47 AM, Thucar said:

While controlling the inverters via MQTT is not yet possible

Hi

are you using homeassistant ? does solar assist pull into the build in energy integration or do you need to build your own dashboards to view info and graphs in HA ?

will wait for them to enable control of inverter via MQTT and then will consider to buy myself a license

3 hours ago, Otter said:

Hi

are you using homeassistant ? does solar assist pull into the build in energy integration or do you need to build your own dashboards to view info and graphs in HA ?

will wait for them to enable control of inverter via MQTT and then will consider to buy myself a license

Native Homeassistant energy dash works I've set it up via mqtt broker that I also use for my paradox alarm

  • 2 months later...
On 2020/11/04 at 12:24 PM, SolarAssistant said:

Hi Everyone

I work for a company that is developing a modern, next generation solar monitoring device and need to make sure customers have a good experience with all the various inverter models and brands.  We have a beta program where you get a free device couriered to you if you have an inverter that is listed in our beta program.  We have now started to engage users running Voltronic inverters (Kodak, Mecer, InfiniSolar, RCT, Full Circle Solar, etc).  If you would like to receive a free device by joining the beta program and adhere to the requirements below, please send me a private message with a brief description of your solar setup and which country/state you are located.  Note that the beta program is on a first come first serve basis per inverter model.  The inverters that are still available are:

Some information regarding the new monitoring device:

  • There is a web and mobile app that is significantly better than anything that is currently available for Voltronic inverters.
  • It will read your entire inverter cluster if you have multiple in parallel.
  • You can access it remotely via the internet or locally via your home network.  It will still work if your internet is down.
  • For hobbyist it's open in terms of reading data and has automatic device detection/integration for home assistant.
  • If you are currently using the typical hobbyist Raspberry PI setup that is connected to the inverter via USB with your own custom scripts or software this will be a drop in replacement.

Requirements:

  • You like spending time exploring the latest and greatest tech and wouldn't mind giving us some feedback on your experience.
  • Your powerforum user/profile has existed for a few months or years to prove you are a legitimate community member.  If you have made posts it's a bonus.
  • You will connect the device to your home network which has internet so that you can explore the remote monitoring capabilities.
  • You have an inverter listed above.
  • You have solar PV connected to the inverter.
  • You still have your inverter cable to connect it via USB.

Not required but bonus if:

  • you are a solar installer
  • you have a battery with an RS232/console port.
  • you already have a USB to RS232/console port cable.

Unrelated: Congratulations to everyone on powerforum.co.za!  I did quite a bit of research and found this to be the most active community of users with Voltronic inverters.

Hi

Am busy installing Kodak 7.2Kw inverters for a client and am finding the WatchPower App completely inadequate and came across your post can you give me some more information please

  • 1 month later...

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