solar assistant and rasberry pi

[Solar388]

The SA Pi has to come from South Africa if you order direct from manufacture. DHL is the only reliable way of shipping international right now with all the covid and other wartime things affecting planes. You do not want it shipped EMS ( postal service ) . That can take one month and chance of lost package is very high.

I just brought it from 24/7 for the $199 and paid overnight shipping so I could use it ASAP to help me with my 12K Growatt issues.

 

[hotrod]

The SA Pi has to come from South Africa if you order direct from manufacture. DHL is the only reliable way of shipping international right now with all the covid and other wartime things affecting planes. You do not want it shipped EMS ( postal service ) . That can take one month and chance of lost package is very high.

I just brought it from 24/7 for the $199 and paid overnight shipping so I could use it ASAP to help me with my 12K Growatt issues.

What kind of issues were you having with your 12kw Growatt, I was losing data on my computer Growatt dashboard mine would not show any storage production anymore it use too but it stopped about 6 months ago, so my system would only show discharge which means mine was counting backwards on my lifetime solar production I called signature solar and Growatt in California and was not able to get this issue resolved. That's why I purchased the solar assistant software, and I'm very happy with it so far. See how the green storage production tab is missing in the energy trend section and also the battery storage section it only shows discharge no charging its been like this for at least 6 months

 

[wattmatters]

Does someone have a link to another 9-60v usb power supply similar to that that SolarAssistand offers for the Pi? Nothing wrong with ordering from the SolarAssistant website ... other than the $52 DHL shipping fee on a $19 item.

Raspberry Pi usually will likely have a local webstore with power supplies suitable for your country. Look that up, it's where I got mine from.

For instance, this is a US store:

Raspberry Pi Power Supplies in US

One stop for ALL Pi needs. Add-ons, HATs, UPS, cases, SD cards, accessories, projects and ideas.

www.pishop.us

Australia:

Raspberry Pi Australia - Express Delivery

Raspberry Pi in Australia. All the latest models ready to dispatch today including the Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi Zero. Express delivery Australia wide

core-electronics.com.au

UK:

Buy a Raspberry Pi – Raspberry Pi

From industries large and small, to the kitchen table tinkerer, to the classroom coder, we make computing accessible and affordable for everybody.

www.raspberrypi.com

and so on, you get the idea. A quick Google will get you there.

 

[Kornbread]

What about a dc-dc step down converter like this 48v to 5v3amp Buck Converter ?

 

[adobopr]

Solar Assistant seems to me a product of the Complicating Simple Things Department (of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation), a spawn of the well-known 19th century Circumlocution Office. You have to have a totally useless (aptly named in this case ;·) Raspberry. Instead of compiling the software for useful OSs (like Linux - for which it's already written, but compiled for ARM), or even mildly annoying ones like OSX, or really annoying ones like MS Windows, we have to have a dedicated computer to run... just that? View attachment 88545

Pardon the rant, but absurdity is really getting to me lately View attachment 88544
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TBH I think you're the one complicating a simple thing. This system is just acting as a Standalone part of the Solar Setup that doesn't consume much power or physical space. Supporting more OSes is an unnecessary complication. Supporting more CPU architectures is an unnecessary complication.

At the end of the day it's like what...$60 to get a pi, SD card, power adapter and case? That's such a low cost for the benefit of separation of concerns that it is absolutely a no-brainer to primarily support RPi over any other platform.

 

[houseofancients]

Does someone have a link to another 9-60v usb power supply similar to that that SolarAssistand offers for the Pi? Nothing wrong with ordering from the SolarAssistant website ... other than the $52 DHL shipping fee on a $19 item.

if you have a POE switch, you can simply add a POE hat to you pi

 

[Don B. Cilly]

At the end of the day it's like what...$60 to get a pi, SD card, power adapter and case?

Well, they want $123 for it without the power supply. Plus $52 for shipping. The recommended 3B here sells for some $150 - and I'll bet you my laptop would have better performance :·)

But whatever, they don't want to cross-compile it, I'm not buying it, not a big deal. I just don't think it's very clever :·/
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[robby]

I thought I saw a notice on SA website that they will no longer be selling the PI as they are just focusing on the software.

 

[ChrisFullPower]

In a normal timeline a Pi is $35. So it makes sense to develop specifically for it; One OS, one set of hardware, one image. Especially since Solar Assistant is a 1 man show.

If your really that dead set on using an existing PC you could try emulating a Pi with a virtual machine.

 

[timselectric]

This person really needs to partner with someone in the US. To sell a plug and play device, at a reasonable price. I believe that sales would go up, drastically.

 

[JAS]

This person really needs to partner with someone in the US. To sell a plug and play device, at a reasonable price. I believe that sales would go up, drastically.

It looks like Watts247 is doing that now. However, the price is still keeping me hesitant. (Due to the crazy pricing of the Pi right now, I assume). But, it is slightly less than ordering direct from SA because of shipping.

 

[timselectric]

It looks like Watts247 is doing that now. However, the price is still keeping me hesitant. (Due to the crazy pricing of the Pi right now, I assume). But, it is slightly less than ordering direct from SA because of shipping.

Well, we can hope that it gets worked out.

 

[Kornbread]

It looks like Watts247 is doing that now. However, the price is still keeping me hesitant. (Due to the crazy pricing of the Pi right now, I assume). But, it is slightly less than ordering direct from SA because of shipping.

Boy is somewhat of a nerd and when asked about a pi, he said $40. Then I showed him current prices of ~$100 ... just for the pi.

 

[timselectric]

Currently I have two of these. One for solar and one for batteries. And one of my security cameras (that I can remotely view), pointing at them.
My home made remote monitoring. lol

 

[radurus]

I just bought these days one Pi Zero 2 W + OTG cable and case (Romania, local online store) ~28 USD.
I had to set an email alarm because it was out of stock

 

[Kornbread]

Woot! Had a buddy on one of the car forums with a 3b+ and power supply. I'm set and waiting for boy to get home ... it's nice having a computer nerd in the household.

 

[Kornbread]

Solar Assistant is up and running, at least on the lan. Getting it up and running wasn't that hard of a job @timselectric and I'm just about computer illiterate. What about viewing SA when not at home? Doesn't SA allow that?

Couple things; 1)the GW display and SA do not agree on amps going to the battery, 2)with SA connected to the Growatt and the GW communicating with the EG4 batteries, SolarAssistant only shows the battery as one pack, no details on individual batteries or cells, 3)cannot make changes to the GW from SA. Maybe SA needs updating?

 

[Solar388]

You just login to the website and it pulls the data for your Pi to your web browser. So as long as you have browser access to internet, you will see your data.

your URL would look something like this

Sign in | SolarAssistant

KornBread.us.solar-assistant.io

I dont know much about EG4 batteries, but the protocol needs to work with SA for detailed data. I have DIY 3.2 CATL so I am investing in the JBM BMS and putting on those so SA can communicate with that BMS.

My thought is to message SA customer service on your EG4 battery communication and then you can send data if they request it.

 

[Bigblockcutlass123]

I went on a week's vacation. When I got home I was looking to see all my data I collected. The pie must have froze the day after I left. No data. Never has done that before.

 

[wattmatters]

What about viewing SA when not at home? Doesn't SA allow that?

Yes, it does, just have it registered on your account and you can view it from anywhere with a web browser/internet.

Accessing SolarAssistant remotely

How to enable and use the remote access function of SolarAssistant.

solar-assistant.io

Indeed you can invite guests to be able to view your data.

2)with SA connected to the Growatt and the GW communicating with the EG4 batteries, SolarAssistant only shows the battery as one pack, no details on individual batteries or cells,

I believe each individual battery would need to be connected directly to the RPi for that. Else all SA can do is report what the GW provides.

EG4 battery setup in SolarAssistant

How to connect an EG4 battery to SolarAssistant.

solar-assistant.io