MIDNITE THE ONE Inverter

[goldserve]

Here is an example of the monitoring site mis-reporting the total energy. I already tried deleting the plant from the monitoring page and resetting the inverter data and factory settings but it is obvious when you delete plant from monitoring site, the data is not actually deleted. It says 55 hours because that's my last reset but there is no way I could have used 14.34MWh and energy total.

 

[goldserve]

Update: Will my home assistant automation for OhmHour work? We will see tonight!

I got the internal RS485 port hooked up to home assistant and I and reading all sorts of values from the inverter for my dashboard. There are some bugs in some of the values for sure but it will do for now.

I programed up a simple automation so when Ohm hour events are active, I will program the inverter to sell back at 8kW but ~1.5kW will go to the home loads. Basically I am enabling the time schedule function, program the start and end discharge to 1H and setting the discharge while on grid SOC to ~75% so it will actually sell back to grid.

Here you can see some of my testing when I adjusted values in the MidNite app and seeing which registers are actually changed. No big surprises and it's quite simple to understand from the spec. I then played with automation to write the correct start and end values into the modbus register so you can see all the changes to Discharge_start_time_1.


At 5PM tonight, HASS will see an OhmConnect event at 5pm to 6pm and an automation event will run.

Previous OhmConnect events


Automation:


Example write of both the start and end time (1Hour):


I'll report back tonight if I am successful in this automation!

 

[goldserve]

Yay, happy to report everything seems to be working great. OhmConnect status is detected automatically and the inverter is programmed to invert 8kw worth of power.

Also happy to report the MN15 grid power stats are lined up with Envoy consumption CTs.



The correct modbus values are programmed by HASS

Even though the inverter is programmed to discharge to 75% SOC from the time slot, the Discharge end SOC (on-grid)/Capacity of discharge end of grid needs to also be lowered from 99% to 75% or else the time slot discharge parameter does not take effect. This could be a bug in the firmware because from the manual, it does not make note of this and it implies the time schedule settings override the normal working mode settings.


Now, let's see if the automation will end the discharge when the Ohm Hour event is over.

 

[goldserve]

Update: In the process of installing one Midnite Powerflo16 outdoor battery with the eventual goal to get rid of my three server rack batteries in favor of two outdoor batteries. I have enough space on the concrete slab to fit two and I like how the Powerflo batteries don't need an external trough and I can just use a piece of conduit between two of them. Images here: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/midnite-solar-batteries.86462/post-1292403

 

[Steve777]

Just had my MN AIO up and running for a few days now. Seems to basically work, although have not had a chance yet to test all or even most of its functions. Had some questions and thought the folks here may have some answers (will ask MN support too, but they are fairly slow in getting back to me).

Does anyone know:

1. I am guessing the "Max Feed in Grid power" is the limit for sell back power going to the grid. If so, I would also assume that it is a measure of the power going out past the CTs, not just out the AIO's AC in breaker?

2. Anyone know what the "Max consumption from Grid" setting is for (0-300W)?

3. Anyone know what the "Support Normal Load" setting is for? My guess was that the AIO would feed power back to loads on its side of the CTs (but not past the CTs if sell back was not enabled) as well as the AC out (load panel); but that is just a guess.

4. And what does "Battery Recovery Start/Stop" do?

5. And when I look at the app Energy->Solar, the graph shows pos and neg energy being made/lost between 12AM and sunrise. After sunrise it looks normal, all positive. This nite time PV energy is matched + and - curves so perhaps does not skew the totals, but what is it measuring on the PVs when its dark??? Also it has the neg energy going to the grid even though sell back is disabled? Anyone else see this?

6. I also am seeing MWh of use/production, which is of course absurd in just a few days. It shows up in several places and sometimes goes away and is persistent elsewhere. My guess is they have an extra convert to KW (eg x1000) in some pathways in their code.

7. Is there any help or explanation of the various settings? Does not seem to be any online help in the app.

If anyone has any thoughts or answers for any of these, let me know.

TIA

 

[goldserve]

@Steve777 First, make sure you are updated to the latest firmware #6 as it has fixed some on_grid with grid feed-in use cases.
Based on my own experience, here are my interpretations of the operation of the inverter.

1. Max feed-in is the max power selling back to the utility but i didn't get a chance to test this because when my inverter was installed in october, I need the max power of my AC coupled solar + DC string on the inverter. The One does measure grid-in properly when comparing to the Enphase consumption CT meter as well. The only question is how graceful the power control is. My previously outback skybox did this perfectly. It throttled its own DC PV power to meet max sell-back.


2. If you allow Discharge end SOC (on-grid), the inverter will use battery and try to zero out all the usage at the point of the CT. If you set 300W (default), it is where the algorithm tries to maintain. I'm guessing this is the inverter's way to have some buffer against accidentally feed-in by always trying to consume some power versus trying to really cancel out all power consumed. Weird that 30W is the lowest it can go and not true 0W if I have a NEM agreement with the utility company.

3. I think you are right, this setting should zero out AC side house loads plus the Loads Out if you have set up the CT and associated setting of the CT properly.

4. I am guessing this is the re-bulk setting?

5. Something funny going on with the reporting of the MPPTs. I pull the data directly from the inverter and I can't seem to get individual MPPTx power but there is a "PV Total Input Power" and it's quite noisy when I would expect this to be 0W.


6. Same issue observed. I think there are inverter and app updates to improve the data coming post new years.

7. Unfortunately not. Push midnite to document and TEST more because on-grid use cases are not fully documented, let alone tested. The replies I get are along the lines of "there are over 500 installs of the MN15 inverter...", implying people aren't encountering the issues I am reporting...

Good luck and please post your findings in this thread as well!

 

[Steve777]

Thanks Goldserve. Looks like I do have those latest FW versions installed. So will have to wait for the upcoming new versions of FW and app to see what improves.

Stumbled across a detail page in the app, scroll the main page to the left, and a useful page of settings and readings comes up, including FW numbers. It is NOT kept in sync very well (main page show PV output, verified by my clamp on meter, but this detail page is still showing 0), and sometimes will show output by MPPT, which can be handy. It shows the FW versions and various other things. Anyway, thought I would pass that on...

on 4, trying to understand how this is supposed to work in self consume mode. It may be ok and I just can't tell since I am running with a low amount of PV connected right now, and have not had the extra PV power around to recharge the batt much. But curious what if any details you've discovered about this. I had thought that rebulk was more for separate CC systems, when power had to go to the batt before going out the inverter; which is not really necessary in an AIO.

And curious, has anyone found a way to go into installer mode in the app while connected via wifi? I can do this with a local (BT) connection but have not found a way when using a wifi connection.

In general, my impressions are that the inverter itself seems to be working well, however the documentation is more or less non-existent, and support from MN is spotty at best. Hopefully both of these will improve over time...

Well, may need to revise that. The inverter just shut itself off, for no reason as far as I can see. I happened to be standing in front of it when it happened, and pushed the on button to start it up again. No errors in the logs??? Hmmm.

 

[Banjoman]

Thanks Goldserve. Looks like I do have those latest FW versions installed. So will have to wait for the upcoming new versions of FW and app to see what improves.

Stumbled across a detail page in the app, scroll the main page to the left, and a useful page of settings and readings comes up, including FW numbers. It is NOT kept in sync very well (main page show PV output, verified by my clamp on meter, but this detail page is still showing 0), and sometimes will show output by MPPT, which can be handy. It shows the FW versions and various other things. Anyway, thought I would pass that on...

on 4, trying to understand how this is supposed to work in self consume mode. It may be ok and I just can't tell since I am running with a low amount of PV connected right now, and have not had the extra PV power around to recharge the batt much. But curious what if any details you've discovered about this. I had thought that rebulk was more for separate CC systems, when power had to go to the batt before going out the inverter; which is not really necessary in an AIO.

And curious, has anyone found a way to go into installer mode in the app while connected via wifi? I can do this with a local (BT) connection but have not found a way when using a wifi connection.

In general, my impressions are that the inverter itself seems to be working well, however the documentation is more or less non-existent, and support from MN is spotty at best. Hopefully both of these will improve over time...

Well, may need to revise that. The inverter just shut itself off, for no reason as far as I can see. I happened to be standing in front of it when it happened, and pushed the on button to start it up again. No errors in the logs??? Hmmm.

Potential firmware update push? Also you can request remote access from the distributor that you purchased the inverter from and they can send you the login information (your selected username and password) and you can remotely login and watch your system.

 

[Steve777]

Potential firmware update push? Also you can request remote access from the distributor that you purchased the inverter from and they can send you the login information (your selected username and password) and you can remotely login and watch your system.

Yes, have the remote acct setup. It works on the app (via wifi) and over the internet. But when accessed over the internet and browser, it is view only, no setting are shown nor can be changed. And via the app (on your phone or tablet) it does not appear to allow you to go into installer mode.

Don't know when or how the new FW will be distributed. I assume it will be via NM or your distributor pushing it down, as they did for previous updates. Although I have heard talk about a possible means to d/l/ it and apply it locally (although isn't clear if that is just for installers/distributors or if end users can use it as well).

 

[goldserve]

so I was told if you access the inverter over the internet, advanced settings are not enabled yet for general consumption but in the future, it will be possible to.

 

[Banjoman]

Yes, have the remote acct setup. It works on the app (via wifi) and over the internet. But when accessed over the internet and browser, it is view only, no setting are shown nor can be changed. And via the app (on your phone or tablet) it does not appear to allow you to go into installer mode.

Don't know when or how the new FW will be distributed. I assume it will be via NM or your distributor pushing it down, as they did for previous updates. Although I have heard talk about a possible means to d/l/ it and apply it locally (although isn't clear if that is just for installers/distributors or if end users can use it as well).

FYI you can select the gear icon when you are in Bluetooth local connection on the top right and access advanced features by using password superadmin1 I think? Or superadmin

 

[goldserve]

FYI you can select the gear icon when you are in Bluetooth local connection on the top right and access advanced features by using password superadmin1 I think? Or superadmin

Yes, this works and it is superadmin. The remote administration aspect of using remote and WiFi is not enabled yet in the app.

 

[goldserve]

@Steve777 did you figure out what was shutting down the inverter? I never experienced that before.

 

[Steve777]

@Steve777 did you figure out what was shutting down the inverter? I never experienced that before.

No, nothing definite yet. It just went to "OFF" while I was standing there. Heard the relay click and it displayed OFF on the screen. I checked all the CBs and nothing had popped, rebooted it via the on/off switch. No alerts or anything in the log.

My best guess (and that's all it is for now), is that there was a remnant of the app running on my tablet. Even though I had killed it, I kept getting msgs on the tablet that it was putting some background app into low power mode. There was a flash at one point that seemed like it might be the MN app or part of it. The theory is some interaction between that background process and the latest instance of the app (which I was running at the time). I power cycled the tablet and the inverter has been fine since, and no more background msgs from the tablet either.

 

[ASeaDC86]

No, nothing definite yet. It just went to "OFF" while I was standing there. Heard the relay click and it displayed OFF on the screen. I checked all the CBs and nothing had popped, rebooted it via the on/off switch. No alerts or anything in the log.

My best guess (and that's all it is for now), is that there was a remnant of the app running on my tablet. Even though I had killed it, I kept getting msgs on the tablet that it was putting some background app into low power mode. There was a flash at one point that seemed like it might be the MN app or part of it. The theory is some interaction between that background process and the latest instance of the app (which I was running at the time). I power cycled the tablet and the inverter has been fine since, and no more background msgs from the tablet either.

Steve,

I have had the same issue twice now. I've been in contact with Logan in support. No ideas provided with the cause of the shutdown other than suggesting it was my install. The biggest concern at this point is the lack of errors/logging of the shutdown event. I was told they are currently testing beta firmware to help resolve the logging (or lack thereof) issue.

I also have the incorrect data logging issues mentioned. And the screen glitches. ("known bugs") And the network adapter issues. (they are going to replace hardware in 2025) Nice!

I mentioned to Logan at one point that it sucks to feel like beta testers with a ~$30k price tag (2 AIOs, 5 MF16s). He gave the same response of "500 units in service, rock solid, no hardware issues". I've had my system installed since the end of October and 2 weeks ago had to go back to grid only. Until these bugs are worked out I can't depend on it. Hopefully it'll be resolved by the spring when the Midwest has some sun again. Although it would be nice to know I have battery backup if snow/ice shows up. Fingers crossed.

All in all they have been responsive and seem to want to get the issues resolved. Which I suppose is better than nothing.

 

[goldserve]

What is this network adapter issue and replacing hardware in 2025 about?

I mentioned in some other post regarding 500 units installed and no issues as well. At first, all fingers were pointing towards me not installing exactly per manual but my outback skybox was working perfectly fine as an AOI, aside from not being able to export battery power and 5kw limit. Anyways, Midnite has backed down a bit and the rev 6 firmware mostly works with still bugs to resolve. Seems the unit hasn’t really been tested in the field with different configurations and feeding into the grid. Mostly off grid installs.

 

[ASeaDC86]

My setup is grid-tied, zero export.

The network adapter issues I've had are not being able to disable Wifi or change the SSID. Even with an ethernet cable attached. It seems to prioritize WiFi. I was told they were going to replace the network adapter hardware and provide new ones for previous buyers.

Do you have issues with the display screens glitching?

 

[goldserve]

My setup is grid-tied, zero export.

The network adapter issues I've had are not being able to disable Wifi or change the SSID. Even with an ethernet cable attached. It seems to prioritize WiFi. I was told they were going to replace the network adapter hardware and provide new ones for previous buyers.

Do you have issues with the display screens glitching?

Oh, I definitely want Ethernet to be priority but I have left the WiFi for now. It’s too bad the dongles can’t be software updates.

What issues with the display screen glitching?

 

[ASeaDC86]

I did get a network dongle update and it didn't seem to help. I even tried blocking WiFi access to the inverters, allowing the lan access and they would show offline. Hopefully the updated hardware will allow more local access and maybe even SA down the road.

Both screens for randomly be "glitched" out. Parts not displaying, parts very faded. Almost like pressing on the LCD of an old calculator back in the day. Terrible explanation, I know....

 

[goldserve]

I did get a network dongle update and it didn't seem to help. I even tried blocking WiFi access to the inverters, allowing the lan access and they would show offline. Hopefully the updated hardware will allow more local access and maybe even SA down the road.

Both screens for randomly be "glitched" out. Parts not displaying, parts very faded. Almost like pressing on the LCD of an old calculator back in the day. Terrible explanation, I know....

Oh, I tried plugging in LAN and Wifi at the same time and noticed that both interfaces got an IP address and was reachable. I was half hoping that LAN connection would disable WiFi to give the weak BT signal a little more chance because BT is on the same 2.4G frequency band as WiFi. I didn't try blocking the WiFi connection but good to know,

Ah, I know how the LCD would look but not for mine. Sounds like the LCD polarizer had some damage so hopefully that can be resolved by just replacing the display components because taking off the entire inverter is a PITA.

Another problem I have been monitoring and watching is the poor performance of the DC MPPTs. I was hoping others using the MN15 could collect some data on the MPPT and see if my observations line up.

Green is my AC coupled (via AC coupling breaker) 7.5kW Enphase micros facing the east and Yellow is the total PV production as reported by the MN15 inverter. It looks like the software will add up the AC coupled solar as part of PV production so Yellow - Green should give me the Blue curve which is the DC solar directly attached to the MN15.

Today we pretty cloudy but there are times when the enphase did decently but I can't say the same for the DC solar. Frankly, it's pretty pathetic and I have been monitoring this for weeks, pretty pathetic with lots of periods where there is NO production. I am using two MPPTs with the 8 strings of REC260W panels configured for around 270V so they should be well above minimum MPPT range.

 

[Adam De Lay]

Both screens for randomly be "glitched" out. Parts not displaying, parts very faded. Almost like pressing on the LCD of an old calculator back in the day. Terrible explanation, I know....

I had this happen once on an older firmware version. Can't remember which one but I know it was a while ago. It doesn't have anything to do with the actual hardware. For whatever reason the software is only displaying pieces of the information required for the display. I wana say that I just rebooted the inverter and never saw it happen again, but I honestly can't remember.

 

[ASeaDC86]

I had this happen once on an older firmware version. Can't remember which one but I know it was a while ago. It doesn't have anything to do with the actual hardware. For whatever reason the software is only displaying pieces of the information required for the display. I wana say that I just rebooted the inverter and never saw it happen again, but I honestly can't remember.

Rebooting typically helps but they will still come and go. Logan mentioned it as a known issue with the latest firmware.

 

[ASeaDC86]

Oh, I tried plugging in LAN and Wifi at the same time and noticed that both interfaces got an IP address and was reachable. I was half hoping that LAN connection would disable WiFi to give the weak BT signal a little more chance because BT is on the same 2.4G frequency band as WiFi. I didn't try blocking the WiFi connection but good to know,

Ah, I know how the LCD would look but not for mine. Sounds like the LCD polarizer had some damage so hopefully that can be resolved by just replacing the display components because taking off the entire inverter is a PITA.

Another problem I have been monitoring and watching is the poor performance of the DC MPPTs. I was hoping others using the MN15 could collect some data on the MPPT and see if my observations line up.

Green is my AC coupled (via AC coupling breaker) 7.5kW Enphase micros facing the east and Yellow is the total PV production as reported by the MN15 inverter. It looks like the software will add up the AC coupled solar as part of PV production so Yellow - Green should give me the Blue curve which is the DC solar directly attached to the MN15.

Today we pretty cloudy but there are times when the enphase did decently but I can't say the same for the DC solar. Frankly, it's pretty pathetic and I have been monitoring this for weeks, pretty pathetic with lots of periods where there is NO production. I am using two MPPTs with the 8 strings of REC260W panels configured for around 270V so they should be well above minimum MPPT range.

View attachment 267279

I noticed LAN and WiFI pulling separate IPs as well, concurrently. Like a dummy I was so excited to setup everything I joined my primary SSID instead of my less than trusted one. I tried changing to an SSID on a different VLAN with no luck. I tried entering in the wrong password to get it to disconnect and no luck. Once I went into my wireless management software and blocked the WiFi then it would drop connection even when hardwired. It's just an ESP device, I'm not sure where the difficulty comes from.

I have noticed with the latest firmware that the DC solar production seems lacking. That being said I don't have near the experience or monitoring you have. I kind of just chalked it up to firmware issues based on my reported solar production changing based on load. I've noticed I can be generating very low values on cloudy days, say in the 1-1.2 kw range and then have that reported production amount change drastically when a large load is applied. A 4kw load will "raise" MPPT production from that 1-1.2 kw range to 4-5kw. I'm currently running 2 strings that are each falling in that 250-300v range you speak of.

Side bar. Your stats/monitoring system should be implemented by MN asap!

 

[goldserve]

I noticed LAN and WiFI pulling separate IPs as well, concurrently. Like a dummy I was so excited to setup everything I joined my primary SSID instead of my less than trusted one. I tried changing to an SSID on a different VLAN with no luck. I tried entering in the wrong password to get it to disconnect and no luck. Once I went into my wireless management software and blocked the WiFi then it would drop connection even when hardwired. It's just an ESP device, I'm not sure where the difficulty comes from.

I have noticed with the latest firmware that the DC solar production seems lacking. That being said I don't have near the experience or monitoring you have. I kind of just chalked it up to firmware issues based on my reported solar production changing based on load. I've noticed I can be generating very low values on cloudy days, say in the 1-1.2 kw range and then have that reported production amount change drastically when a large load is applied. A 4kw load will "raise" MPPT production from that 1-1.2 kw range to 4-5kw. I'm currently running 2 strings that are each falling in that 250-300v range you speak of.

Side bar. Your stats/monitoring system should be implemented by MN asap!

I've been talking to Solar Assistant and they recently have added some support for other Midnite inverters but not the AOI. The good thing is that in the latest 12-20 beta release, they support some senergy inverters like the sungold and I told them the MN15 is also based on this platform and they confirmed it. I am waiting for my raspberry orange 3 LTS board and usb to RS485 adapter and I will give Solar Assistant a spin.

Right now, I'm only grabbing some values of interest over the internal RS485 connection and Homeassistant modbus plugin, and then from HA to InfluxDB and then Grafana.

 

[Banjoman]

I’ve heard that there is beta testing on going with solar assistant and the MidNite aio. Hopefully it will come out soon ready for the public