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Solar Assistant - data logger

Thanks. I've never used a Pi before so a bit of experimenting would be in order. Perhaps the developer would consider a data export function, or even a data push function for upload of data to PVOutput. Data redundancy is something I find appealing. Data only being on an SD card is a point of failure I'd rather avoid.


Mine is one of those clone AIO inverters similar to the other brands listed. Uses that same software everyone love to hate. I only used the software during testing phases. Not practical to devote a whole Windows PC to it now that I have it in regular operation.

Still, I'm intrigued by Solar Assistant and am very tempted to get this thing. I'd be going for the full hardware + software pack given I've never used a Pi before.
Pm me you email and i'll send you an invite to browse around my system in view mode, Joe.
You can email Pierre direct to see if your inverter work and how to capture data @ info@solar-assistant.io
 
I have placed an order for the system.

Sent them an email on Saturday with a range of questions and to validate inverter compatibility. It's Tuesday and I haven't heard back as yet. Not sure how long I should expect to get a response. A one man band busy with stuff I can understand. An automated acknowledgement reply would have been nice so I at least know it got there.
 
I have had a weird one going for a while and haven't figured it out. Are you familiar with these Hybrid's. No matter what settings I try I have not been able to keep the Grid from coming on.

I'm starting to think that I miss understood the operation of theses Hybrids and got the wrong thing, or is something broke?

Right now I went back to my separate charge controller like what "Will" had set up, (never got a response why) but it work's for me. Didn't want to waste the sunny day.
View attachment 50486

When I got the inverters #2 had no communication to the software, took months but they sent me a new communication Board, now the past week it seemed #2 bye it self has been the 1 charging the battery to maintain the Float. I was playing with setting from 6-7 even took the float down to 24.7 to get the grid to shut down, but when I did the Battery's dropped down to 26v like the were never at the Float, and that's another question.
will had setup? can u post the link where will did the set up ? thank you
 
will had setup? can u post the link where will did the set up ? thank you
I had noticed in several of his videos a separate charge controller, when I was having problems with trying to get theses to run on inverter output only. So I tried and have found that as long as there is a solar input they act as a UPS would.
2021-08-12 (3)_LI.jpg
1,3,5, are every thing on, and grid voltage seems to pass through to output, 2 is with grid off and inverters are producing, 4 is with solar panels off and inverters are producing. and 5 shows the mppt's of the inverters coming back on line.

Bye eliminating the solar from the grid tie inverter and going to a controller directly to the batteries the LV 2424's stay in the inverter output, and charge the batteries as needed from the grid instead of being in a float state using the grid. This does not change with appliance or UPS mode in settings, that only changes the quality of voltage output.

Right now I'm not using the separate charge controller because of all the great info SolarAssistant provides, I'm just trying to work with the info I can see with this program to make things work. I guess I have a house UPS now instead of a dedicated inverter supplied constant feed for the important loads.
 
@wattmatters Great, now it time to integrate that into Home Assistant, Haha

Home assistant with Solar assistant, Emporia Energy Vue, Windy.com and My Ambient weather station all integrated in, COOL: even looks good on phone, was unable to get Growatt integration to login, but don't need it, Joe

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Home assistant with Solar assistant
Interesting and cool. Not sure I need to go that far though. This is mainly my outage backup system, not my primary system. I do run the pool pump from it and I'll look at other ways to take advantage of the solar PV capacity but it's mostly about being on standby for outage coverage.

Our main system is an 11kW grid tied system using a Fronius 3-phase inverter. No battery on this, too expensive and not financially viable. It was cheaper to just build an off-grid system to provide the backup functionality.

But I hate not having the data!
 
Interesting and cool. Not sure I need to go that far though. This is mainly my outage backup system, not my primary system. I do run the pool pump from it and I'll look at other ways to take advantage of the solar PV capacity but it's mostly about being on standby for outage coverage.

Our main system is an 11kW grid tied system using a Fronius 3-phase inverter. No battery on this, too expensive and not financially viable. It was cheaper to just build an off-grid system to provide the backup functionality.

But I hate not having the data!
@wattmatters - Home Assistant = free, just need another Pi4b 4 or 8g
Home assistant - Hacs inegration = free - Just saying, Joe.1629495659426.png
 
@wattmatters - Home Assistant = free, just need another Pi4b 4 or 8g
Home assistant - Hacs inegration = free - Just saying, Joe.

Thanks. I have all the Fronius data already - it automatically goes to Solarweb of course so I can view it there if I want, plus it also goes to PVOutput and I also download the daily interval data which then goes into my own analysis models.

Just not sure what I'd use Home Assistant for. We have no smart devices of any kind and we are home most of the time so remote management isn't really needed.

In other news did a video (about 15-min) not long after installing Solar Assistant to show it in operation. I posted it in my thread about my project at this post:
 
Compare this to WatchPower.?
If you have an MPP-Solar or Growatt, SolarAssistant works for you.

This is on a pair of LV6548s
View attachment 45770View attachment 45771

This is on a LV2424; (just one day of use)
View attachment 45773View attachment 45772

Sorry, there is no "public site" to view the site.

No, SolarAssistant is not free. When you consider that WatchPower is essentially a negative cost and a total waste of existence, the cost of the working graphics and just a little bit of actual control you can do with SolarAssistant, I think it more than makes up from the complete garbage that WatchPower is.
can one license work on more than one account?
 
No, one setup, one license.
But it will see multiple Invertes
I think it needs more gauges. :LOL:

But very interesting. I've got my second RaspPi coming to set up Home Assistant so I'll be interested to learn more about this.
Here is my 3rd Pi , Pi0 w/V.2 pi camera, can view it in a local web page or through Hassio on Motion Eye, it's the only way I could integrate my Battery status the way I wanted and view it from anywhere. Camera pointed at Wireless battery monitor, live feed from anywhere. Let me know if you need help setting HA, Joe.

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Here is my 3rd Pi , Pi0 w/V.2 pi camera, can view it in a local web page or through Hassio on Motion Eye, it's the only way I could integrate my Battery status the way I wanted and view it from anywhere. Camera pointed at Wireless battery monitor, live feed from anywhere. Let me know if you need help setting HA, Joe.
Thanks. I have that very same monitor on mine. It was loaned to me by another DIYer but not from this forum. I have the display inside the home office just on other side of the wall from where the battery is located. It's a handy visual I can walk past at any time to see a quick status.

I haven't tested its range. It does read a little different to the inverter's data (voltage is close enough about 200mV difference but current seems to vary a fair bit), not that I'm assuming either this or the inverter's own metering are particularly accurate.

Part of the challenge is the current sensor needs to be calibrated (or really I mean have its zero level correctly set), which is tricky when the current rarely is ever zero.
 
I got my Pi today and have Home Assistant running. I managed to connect the off-grid inverter and it's data is displayed in a table on the home page. Other than that, I don't really know where to from here.
 
I got my Pi today and have Home Assistant running. I managed to connect the off-grid inverter and it's data is displayed in a table on the home page. Other than that, I don't really know where to from here.
Look around the hose for smartthings, integrated to my Ambient weather station, Emporia View ac circuit monitor, Growatt, Solar Assistant, a couple of solar prediction enitidy's, Sun indicator, now have small pi0 w/camera pointed at my Battery Monitor, all kinds of stuff to do.
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Does anybody use the Victron Smart Shunt with Solar Assistant? I'm curious if it only uses the SOC info, or if Solar Assistant also refers to it for Charge/Discharge current? Right now, Solar Assistant does not add in the idle consumption of the inverters, giving you sort of a false Load value. I also have a 48v->12v converter that has varying load values and is not reported through solar assistant. In my case, I could have 200-300 watt load that the Smart Shunt reads, but solar assistant is reporting 0w.

I ordered the VE Direct cable, so I'm curious.
 
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