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Monitoring software for Growatt-MPP Solar inverters

Is anyone interested in data extraction from a Growatt spf3000tl 24?

I am using an RPi 3 B with the USB cable that came with the GW to produce simple graphs and charts. No proprietary software. All free and open source software from github or written myself.
 
Dhowe003 said:
That is correct, but when I have it set to LI it tries to communicate with BMS and fails. After I get the fault code 20 which is BMS Communication failed, I switch to USE I set the voltages and it charges, but I have no way to set other values for the batteries and they never seem to fully charge in that setting. The inverter display shows batteries as full but the most I've seen on the battery display is 4 of 6 lights. On the PVKeeper it always shows the batteries at 100% also. I am really stumped on the connection for BMS.
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I sorted out all of that , search for my last post " agmills"
 
journeyman846 said:
Anyone have any luck getting communications working with a the Growatt 5000 US version from Signature Solar? I have tried connecting to PC and a RaspberryPi but don't seem to get any communication from the USB port. When connected it is recognized as a COM port, but using a serial monitor I don't get any input or output.
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If you are using a USB CABLE from the growatt to the RPi you may have to set the serial port to 9600baud. I seem to remember that being stated in the manual for my SPF-3000TL inverter. Probably the same for other growatt products.

Might also just be the serial port speed for their rs485 implementation.
 
corporate.joe said:
If you are using a USB CABLE from the growatt to the RPi you may have to set the serial port to 9600baud. I seem to remember that being stated in the manual for my SPF-3000TL inverter. Probably the same for other growatt products.

Might also just be the serial port speed for their rs485 implementation.
Click to expand...
I don't think baud rate is the issue here, I have tried 9600 as it is the default for most applications. Also, I know normally you would still get communications for a device even with an incorrect rate, but it would just be garbage characters and I get no output on the terminal at all.
 
gelmjw said:
Is anyone interested in data extraction from a Growatt spf3000tl 24?

I am using an RPi 3 B with the USB cable that came with the GW to produce simple graphs and charts. No proprietary software. All free and open source software from github or written myself.
Click to expand...
I would love to try this out. The GW software crashes on my PC after 1 minute. I have been using Modbus Poll to log data, but it is pretty limited.
 
tasrock said:
I would love to try this out. The GW software crashes on my PC after 1 minute. I have been using Modbus Poll to log data, but it is pretty limited.
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Welcome to a new member!

This is a DIY project, not a pre-packaged commercial software with a free-to-try clause attached. It needs a good level of programming experience to install and use.

Do you have the MODBUS document for your GW?

Would you be comfortable installing this free as in freedom software? This is a library that communicates via USB with the GW from my RPi. This is a necessary first step.
 
gelmjw said:
Welcome to a new member!

This is a DIY project, not a pre-packaged commercial software with a free-to-try clause attached. It needs a good level of programming experience to install and use.

Do you have the MODBUS document for your GW?

Would you be comfortable installing this free as in freedom software? This is a library that communicates via USB with the GW from my RPi. This is a necessary first step.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately I don't have a raspberry pi. I am using old Windows laptop and planned to write either a VB6 or VB.net program. Part of the problem is that I haven't found a Modbus document specifically for the SPF3000TL. I found something at https://watts247.com/manuals/gw/GrowattModBusProtocol.pdf that is supposed to be for SPF500 and seems to be pretty close, but wasn't sure how close.
 
tasrock said:
Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately I don't have a raspberry pi. I am using old Windows laptop and planned to write either a VB6 or VB.net program. Part of the problem is that I haven't found a Modbus document specifically for the SPF3000TL. I found something at https://watts247.com/manuals/gw/GrowattModBusProtocol.pdf that is supposed to be for SPF500 and seems to be pretty close, but wasn't sure how close.
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The correct document is V0.12 dtd 2020-06-16. I got the file from Growatt.
Growatt OffGrid SPF Modbus RS485&RS232 RTU Protocol V0.12 20200724A.pdf
 

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gelmjw said:
Welcome to a new member!

This is a DIY project, not a pre-packaged commercial software with a free-to-try clause attached. It needs a good level of programming experience to install and use.

Do you have the MODBUS document for your GW?

Would you be comfortable installing this free as in freedom software? This is a library that communicates via USB with the GW from my RPi. This is a necessary first step.
Click to expand...
Good day, I am really keen on trying out your software. Please may you share with me. Thank you so much
 
Joe BoyKey said:
Just pay $58 one time fee and buy a Pi4b, load Solar Assistant, best bank for your buck and awesome control, Joe. https://solar-assistant.io/shop
View attachment 86397
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Joe has it right. I have been using Solar Assistant for almost a year now and it works great. They keep improving it too, one of the latest updates allows it to connect to some brands of BMS to directly monitor battery conditions. Being able to access it by either computer (locally or remotely) or phone app is another plus.
 
No need for Rpi4. Wasted money and ressources.

I had the memory card 32GB, I bought one RpiZero2W + case (smaller, cheaper) and SolarAssistant software.

It consumes only 0.2... 0.25A so that an old phone charger 5V/1A would be enough.
 
CompMan2020 said:
Yes Sir that was it, thanks!



I was able to load the software and use it without any issues. Did you download the right 1? I noticed they had 2 versions, 32 and 64bit.

PV keeper is basically the Inverter settings screen on your PC with a basic data logger that can be ported to excel for your records.

It's easier to change the settings and look at real time stats thru the software than scrolling thru the settings on the small screen. I might look into the WIFI Dongle to see what else it offers.

Thanks for the help guys!
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apctjb said:
I had the exact same problem and could not find the software for download on the Growatt website. I contacted the US distributor and he directed me to https://www.watts247.com/manuals/gw/SoftwareCD/PV Keeper/where I was able to download a version which did not work. Luckily I was able to borrow a portable CD drive to download the software from the mini CD.

The program crashes frequently for me and limited in functionality but maybe that is just my lack of expertise. Hopefully works for you. Keep us posted.
Click to expand...
I tried your link today but I got a

Oops! That page can’t be found.​

404 error. How would you feel about uploading the package somewhere else?
 
gelmjw said:
The correct document is V0.12 dtd 2020-06-16. I got the file from Growatt.
Growatt OffGrid SPF Modbus RS485&RS232 RTU Protocol V0.12 20200724A.pdf
Click to expand...
Hi there,
Many thanks for sharing this document, I am trying to read BMS parameter from inverter from addresses mentioned in the document, I could read cell's voltages but I found there is an offset by +7 of there address.
So if you have an updated version it will be great.
 
I have been happily using the Growatt PV keeper for over a year and it works great.
I had the same problems with the software at first until I right clicked the icon and selected "run as administrator"
It never crashes now. It can also be used to change your growatt settings from the computer. The next question then is what is the password for the settings menu. Mine was 123456 or 12345678 and then you can get the screen to change the growatt settings. once you successfully put in the pw you have to click on settings again and it wont ask for the pw. I cant remember if i used 32bit or 64bit program. I found my solution deep down in a past DIYsolar forum discussion somewhere.
 
Sparky_SC said:
Joe has it right. I have been using Solar Assistant for almost a year now and it works great. They keep improving it too, one of the latest updates allows it to connect to some brands of BMS to directly monitor battery conditions. Being able to access it by either computer (locally or remotely) or phone app is another plus.
Click to expand...

I also cannot recommend Solar Assistant enough. It is a fantastic piece of software and just keeps getting better.

I currently run 2 Growatt inverters in parallel, with a Daly BMS, and also run Home Assistant. The software virtually seamlessly works with all 4 'things' (2 inverters, 1 BMS, and HA). I am able to not only change the settings over wifi/via the software but with the recent updates of HA/MQTT control, I am able to run automations through HA that alter the functioning of the system. It essentially gives me the ability to peak save/shave/load share with my system now. It's a game changer if you ask me.
 
apctjb said:
Growatt has monitoring software ; called PV Keeper, MPP Solar also provides software which goes by a different name WatchPower.

So far I am not having much success with getting either software to connect to my Growatt SPF 3000TL LVM inverters. I can occasionally get PV Keeper to connect s but it crashes frequently; no luck getting WatchPower to connect. Anyone know if WatchPower works with Growatt?

Are there any other options available for these inverters or any words of advise on getting the software to work? So far very happy with the Growatt , but no so much the software...

My goal is to be able to remotely monitor my system when away.

Along similar lines has anyone have a program to communicate with Chargery BMS? From the manual I understand that you can access data via RS232 via a Hex dump, but that is beyond my skill set.
Click to expand...
I tried watchPower and PV Keeper and wasn't really happy with either. I decided the free software was worth every penny I paid for it. I have ended up with something from solar-assistant. Software runs on a Raspberry PI. and initially looks kind of geeky and difficult to configure .. To keep it simple, they have a preinstalled package with both hardware and software preloaded for $150. https://solar-assistant.io/shop/products/device_rpi_zero ..
With this package I can connect wireless to my home and view anywhere. I can also have basic controls of the inverter.
 

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neither Growatt or MPPSolar have remote monitoring systems.
Actually the web version of the Shine software https://server.growatt.com/selectPlant
will let you remotely monitor and change settings.
Same applies to the iOS ShinePhone app.
You do need to plug in the WiFi-USB-dongle that is referred to as a Datalogger.
My gripe about this software is that it has very inaccurate SoC 'estimates'. With data collected every 5 minutes it should be simple to calculate Watt-hours in and out of the battery. I do not have the Daly BMS sending digital signals to the Growatt (yet) and I suspect that Growatt expect people to do this routinely.
 
If you have the WiFi data-logger plugged into the USB port of the Growatt (SPF 5000ES in my case) you can set up a cloud account using the SHINE phone app. (you need to set up a username and password). see https://server.growatt.com/login
To make adjustments to the Inverter's settings using the phone you have to provide a different password. "growatt20220827" is today's password. Tomorrow it will be "growatt20220828" in other words it's growattYYYYMMDD
It is an annoying procedure, but that's their system to reduce the number of people making changes to parameters like charging-cut-off voltage.
The data is updated every 5 minutes. You can see the logs, but so far I have not discovered how to download these logs to my PC. Has anyone found a method?
If you have two of these inverters, each with a data-logger, then the SHINE software will show separate logs and graphs for the two inverters, and also a combined dashboard with the totals for the two inverters added together.
If you use a PC web browser to log into the same account you have access to more graphs.
Also, battery voltages are expressed with a decimal point! (unlike the phone app that shows integer values e.g. 50v could mean 50.499v or could mean 49.500.
 
Sofian said:
Hi there,
Many thanks for sharing this document, I am trying to read BMS parameter from inverter from addresses mentioned in the document, I could read cell's voltages but I found there is an offset by +7 of there address.
So if you have an updated version it will be great.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I have no newer document.
 
SandyMcC said:
...You can see the logs, but so far I have not discovered how to download these logs to my PC. Has anyone found a method?...
Click to expand...
Log on to shine server from PC browser or phone (select "desktop site" from settings)
Switch from Dashboard to Energy section.
> Parameter comparison
Choose Time/date/month/year, on the right side upper corner there is "Export" option.

You also can set up weekly report to be sent to your email.
Main page > switch to Settings section > tab 3 Email Set
Add your email and check which reports you wish to be sent.
 
Lost connection this morning on dongle (and have flashing green light on wifi dongle so wifi connection is good) - not sure if a full reset is needed - will try to disconnect from usb port and power back up and see if that works.
 
SandyMcC said:
neither Growatt or MPPSolar have remote monitoring systems.
Actually the web version of the Shine software https://server.growatt.com/selectPlant
will let you remotely monitor and change settings.
Same applies to the iOS ShinePhone app.
You do need to plug in the WiFi-USB-dongle that is referred to as a Datalogger.
My gripe about this software is that it has very inaccurate SoC 'estimates'. With data collected every 5 minutes it should be simple to calculate Watt-hours in and out of the battery. I do not have the Daly BMS sending digital signals to the Growatt (yet) and I suspect that Growatt expect people to do this routinely.
Click to expand...
you're being very kind. their software is PAINFUL. i have yet to make any sense of the load consumption numbers. PV appears to be correct. SoC is flat out completely incorrect.
 
x98myers7 said:
you're being very kind. their software is PAINFUL. i have yet to make any sense of the load consumption numbers. PV appears to be correct. SoC is flat out completely incorrect.
Click to expand...
After trying for 2 weeks just to get it to work, I gave up. That's why I have Solar Assistant, and I'm much happier now.
 
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