Solar Assistant - data logger

[wayne530]

That is actually a bit disturbing because he was claiming that he was soon releasing a backup feature in SA and now he is willing to help people create their own, couple that with the fact that I also see that he has removed that promise from the wish list and it does not look good.
I am happy for you but I was really hoping that he would create a scheduler for backups and a restore function in the software itself.

The PAM issue is something broken in the installation of Solar Assistant. It doesn't break any user-facing functionality, but it prevents scheduled cleanup tasks from running, like log rotation and the like. In my view, although you need a working cron system to implement scheduled backups, fixing the PAM issue is very unrelated.

 

[HarryE]

Nope, but he did warn to be careful with adding more stuff to the system and having the SD card write more than it should possibly breaking the card.

Now that I opened up a somewhat informal channel with him, I hope to persuade him more to update the shipped version of Grafana to a newer one and maybe allow people to make their own charts. The original one is not in the database, it's in a hard coded JSON so there is no chance of messing that one up even if he granted grafana use access. The problem is that you can't log into Grafana when you're accessing it via Solar Assistant, you have to do it on the native/direct port which is locked down to only allow access on localhost by default.

I also mentioned the logs on ramdisk not logrotating

Use ssh port forwarding for 127.0.0.1:3000 and admin/admin for grafana.

 

[jasonhc73]

Solar Assistant updated
2022-10-30

SolarAssistant changelog

Changes introduced with each SolarAssistant release.

solar-assistant.io

 

[wattmatters]

Oohh nice - I just updated and the MQTT controls for many other settings are now working.

Up to now I've only been able to control from HA (and Node Red) the Load Source Priority and the Charger Source Priority but nothing else.

Now I can adjust all these:



The one I'm most interested in is the Max Grid Charge Current setting.

I tested it and it works.

I have automations to change the Load Source Priority and also to turn on supplemental charging using energy from my grid tied PV array but I haven't been able to automate the rate of supplemental charging, be it 2 A, 10 A, 20 A etc.

 

[Sleeper85]

Hello,

I'm not posting here for a problem with Solar Assistant but as you use Solar Assistant I would like to have your opinion on the behavior of my MPPT tracker at low light.

If you think I'm straying too far from the topic, I'll delete my post.

I'm new to this forum and this is also the first time I've put up a system with solar panels.

I have an EAsun SMX II 5.6kW AIO ( SRNE HF4850S80-H rebranded ) connected to Solar Assistant (more info in my signature).
The behavior I will describe below is visible on the EAsun screen and also in Solar Assistant.

I have a string of 8 Jinko 415WC panels (STC values) :

• Voc = 8 x 37.92 = 303.36V
• Vmp = 8 x 31,32 = 250,48V
• Imp = 13.25A

MPPT input voltage range 120~450 VDC.

As this is my first experience I wonder if the behavior of my MPPT tracker is normal ?

In low light the MPPT tracker scans the voltage from high to low (90V) continuously and stabilizes only when it receives 0.9A from the PV string.

During this scan the low power coming from the PV is not lost but the production is in sawtooth...

Is this normal behavior ?

Thanks for your feedback

 

[Kornbread]

Not quite as dramatic but this is with a max solar charger Voc of 150v and pv panel Vmp of ~90v, not max 500Voc and Vmp of 31v(8)=~248v.
It looks like once your system gets some sun, it stabilizes around 250v, which is right around where it should be for max yield.

 

[Sleeper85]

Thank you for your reply.

So you have a similar behavior at home, just a different voltage range. From how many amps does your tracker stabilize on a point ?

 

[Kornbread]

xx
It is always looking for the best balance for yield. When the batteries are full and the sun still shining, it throttles back; mppt voltage climbs above Vmp.

 

[Sleeper85]

At home right now.

Stabilization is always done from 0.9A coming from the PV.

 

[marbella]

The difference between Watchpower and Solar assistant is huge, its like between a Diesel-Polo and a Tesla!

Both bring you from A to B but at a different cost!
The advantage you get from Solar assistant is that all the enthusiasts enjoy controlling the output very hour and that makes them feel good, they practically imagine they save the planet with some hundred kWh they produce.'

Unfortunately Solar assistant does not support any load regulation or demandsidemanagement.

That makes Solar assistant a blinky pseudo tool that just produces graphics, but no energy conservation and storage optimisation.

I need to switch and regulate my boilers, air cons, pool filter, floor heating etc.
That only works with IO-Broker and it is mainly German!
So if anybody has experience in improvements pls tell me!

 

[Sleeper85]

This function is not yet available for all inverters but Solar Assistant has a power management function.

Automatic power management for Axpert inverters

SolarAssistant allows you to change inverter modes based on Pylontech, Narada, Revov, etc. battery state of charge. It can also protect your battery from shutting down by shutting down the inverter before the battery shuts down.

solar-assistant.io

My AIO does not work with WatchPower but iPower and Solar Assistant is really better than iPower.

What I also like about Solar Assistant is that it supports multiple battery models and BMS.
He can communicate with Home Assistant in MQTT in order to set up automations.

 

[marbella]

Solar Assistant has a power management function?

Interesting, I have AXpert 4

But it only changes the priority, what I want is control multiple SSR switches

 

[Jazzmonger]

We hit 12F here last nite and my battery bank went below 0 for the first time. I manually disabled the SA power mgmt feature and set my inverters to utility only, but it would be nice to have a sub-zero protection feature if you have a bms that reports battery temps...

For now, I guess I'll have to write some automations in home assistant...

 

[wattmatters]

Unfortunately Solar assistant does not support any load regulation or demandsidemanagement.

Two points:
i. just because you are not aware of what's possible with Solar Assistant data and integrations doesn't mean it's not possible (e.g. I use SA data for demand side management)
ii. even if it were not possible, so what? It's not sold as providing that capability.

The advantage you get from Solar assistant is that all the enthusiasts enjoy controlling the output very hour and that makes them feel good, they practically imagine they save the planet with some hundred kWh they produce.'

Sorry you feel that way.

Solar Assistant is a like a power meter on a bicycle - it's doesn't pedal the bike for you.
It's just a tool. Like all tools it's only as useful as the person using it.

And if you know how to turn data into actionable intelligence, all the better.

As for "feel good", sure, why not?

SA has enabled me to reduce our fossil heavy grid imports by quite a lot though better use of our PV production and storage. I fail to see why that is not a good outcome.

 

[Kornbread]

The difference between Watchpower and Solar assistant is huge, its like between a Diesel-Polo and a Tesla!

Both bring you from A to B but at a different cost!
The advantage you get from Solar assistant is that all the enthusiasts enjoy controlling the output very hour and that makes them feel good, they practically imagine they save the planet with some hundred kWh they produce.'

Unfortunately Solar assistant does not support any load regulation or demandsidemanagement.

That makes Solar assistant a blinky pseudo tool that just produces graphics, but no energy conservation and storage optimisation.

I need to switch and regulate my boilers, air cons, pool filter, floor heating etc.
That only works with IO-Broker and it is mainly German!
So if anybody has experience in improvements pls tell me!

Home Assistant is often paired with Solar Assistant to control loads. Through HA and SA, you may control those mentioned items. It is also compatible with most of the more popular bms modules.

 

[Kornbread]

At home right now.

Stabilization is always done from 0.9A coming from the PV.

View attachment 125176

View attachment 125175

View attachment 125177

Maybe it's the minimum threshold that the mppt needs to start charging? It's still searching for max yield after that threshold.

You may also find FilterGuy's response interesting in this post https://diysolarforum.com/threads/is-this-normal-or-anything-to-worry-about.52241/

 

[Jazzmonger]

Looks like Pierre agrees about the need to manage charging if the batteries report a freezing temp.
This is good news for those of us who live in cold climates

Hi Jeff

I'll add it to our list of features to consider for implementation. I can see why it's important. If there is comms between inverter and battery, the BMS might already do that.

Regards
Pierre

 

[marbella]

We hit 12F here last nite and my battery bank went below 0 for the first time. I manually disabled the SA power mgmt feature and set my inverters to utility only, but it would be nice to have a sub-zero protection feature if you have a bms that reports battery temps...
View attachment 125178
For now, I guess I'll have to write some automations in home assistant...

Maybe Solar Assistant is not the right software for you
try IO Broker

Home Assistant is often paired with Solar Assistant to control loads. Through HA and SA, you may control those mentioned items. It is also compatible with most of the more popular bms modules.
View attachment 125263

Solar assistant and home assistant as a team solution on a raspberry 4 with 4 Giga?
I am interested to learn how you guys installed that,

Home Assistant is often paired with Solar Assistant to control loads. Through HA and SA, you may control those mentioned items. It is also compatible with most of the more popular bms modules.
View attachment 125263

very interesting, would love to learn that!

 

[wattmatters]

try IO Broker

You are free to start a thread about it but frankly it's off-topic. This is a thread about Solar Assistant.

 

[Kornbread]

Maybe Solar Assistant is not the right software for you
try IO Broker

Solar assistant and home assistant as a team solution on a raspberry 4 with 4 Giga?
I am interested to learn how you guys installed that,

very interesting, would love to learn that!

Never stated that Home Assistant had to run on a Pi.

If you want to learn about Home Assistant/Solar Assistant integration and the possibilities, start by searching this forum.