Monitoring software for Growatt-MPP Solar inverters

[jaydenkor]

Are y'all using PV Keeper 2.0 from Ian @ watts247, it's much more stable, Joe.
View attachment 41742

Cant access my live data, only the faults... grr

 

[timselectric]

I wasn't able to get the PV Keeper working.
I'm sure that it was more user error than the program.
Technology and myself, never work well together.
I just want a simple way to monitor my system, remotely. Preferably on my phone. I can build anything with my hands. But, I can't even play Tic-tac-toe, on a computer. lol

 

[Joe BoyKey]

I wasn't able to get the PV Keeper working.
I'm sure that it was more user error than the program.
Technology and myself, never work well together.
I just want a simple way to monitor my system, remotely. Preferably on my phone. I can build anything with my hands. But, I can't even play Tic-tac-toe, on a computer. lol

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

 

[journeyman846]

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.

 

[timselectric]

Zero luck for me, so far. I'm probably just going to spend the money on this Solar Assistant system.
And, cross my fingers.

 

[gelmjw]

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.

 

[Agmills]

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.

I sorted out all of that , search for my last post " agmills"

 

[corporate.joe]

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.

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.

 

[journeyman846]

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.

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.

 

[tasrock]

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.

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.

 

[gelmjw]

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.

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.

 

[tasrock]

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.

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.

 

[gelmjw]

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.

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

 

[tasrock]

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

Thank you very much for sharing.

 

[dashing]

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.

Good day, I am really keen on trying out your software. Please may you share with me. Thank you so much

 

[Sparky_SC]

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

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.

 

[radurus]

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.

 

[SandyMcC]

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!

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.

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?

 

[Joe BoyKey]

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?

https://watts247.com/manuals/gw/SoftwareCD/PVKeeperV2.0/

 

[Sofian]

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

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.