Solar Assistant Wish list, Bugs and Issues.

[robby]

Just thought I would start a thread that can be useful to the guys at Solar Assistant to let them know what new features we would like and any problems people are experiencing.

 

[WYtreasure]

It would be nice if all software worked:

1) Without the internet
2) With old stuff, like Windows XP
3) Without requiring a wireless device

Thanks for asking.

 

[robby]

My first wish list item is that when they put in the power outage feature that they include a setting to turn on a constant Audible Alarm for users like myself who use wall mounted Tablet in the house to monitor the Inverter. That way even if I am not in the room, when I do pass it I will hear the alarm and know the Grid has gone down. It would also be nice if the sound can be muted by just pressing the Power Icon.

The main Bug I have found is that sometimes the graphs load very very slowly. I am talking like 5 minutes to get the graph page up.
I have 100dn/10up Mbs Internet connection so I know its not that. If I reboot the Pi 3B it starts to work perfectly again for a day or two and then slows down again.

 

[robby]

It would be nice if all software worked:

1) Without the internet
2) With old stuff, like Windows XP
3) Without requiring a wireless device

Thanks for asking.

You can use Solar Assistant without the Internet but you do need a Wifi Router. It won't work under XP, only Win7 and above, Macs, phones and tablets.

 

[Bigblockcutlass123]

You can use Solar Assistant without the Internet but you do need a Wifi hub. It won't work under XP, only Win7 and above, Macs, phones and tablets.

some things do not work right without Wifi. Totals don't work, Time does not work(this totally f's the charts up). These two things are suppose to be corrected next update. So Pierr says.

 

[XO4001]

I would like to have more detail on multiple batteries with seplos BMS.
Very happy with SA as is.

 

[wattmatters]

The main Bug I have found is that sometimes the graphs load very very slowly. I am talking like 5 minutes to get the graph page up.

Mine is instant. I'm impressed as the speed of the real time display as well.

You can use Solar Assistant without the Internet but you do need a Wifi hub. It won't work under XP, only Win7 and above, Macs, phones and tablets.

I think it is unreasonable to expect any software to support a version for an operating system which is itself no longer supported. XP hasn't been supported by Microsoft since April 2014 and Win7 since Jan 2020. In any case, Windows is not required, just a browser and Wifi.

 

[wattmatters]

In no specific order of importance:

1. I'd like better documentation on how the Home Assistant inverter controls work. I have SA integrated in HA but see nothing about being able to control anything from HA.
   
   
2. I'd like to be able to export data from the totals tab, and for some control on what the total tab shows. At the moment it is fixed.
   
   
3. Output integration with PVOutput.org
   
   
4. On the dashboard I'd like to option of displaying battery power on the primary chart along with PV, load and grid power.
   
   
5. I'd also like the battery icon to show the voltage.

 

[robby]

Mine is instant. I'm impressed as the speed of the real time display as well.

How long have you been running it? Mine was instant for the first two weeks and then it started to slow down. I am wondering if it has to do with the amount of data that I am sampling.

I think it is unreasonable to expect any software to support a version for an operating system which is itself no longer supported. XP hasn't been supported by Microsoft since April 2014 and Win7 since Jan 2020. In any case, Windows is not required, just a browser and Wifi.

That was not my post, I was just answering his question.

 

[robby]

It would be nice if I could look at today's usage on the Graph. From 00 to 24hr. The closet thing is 24 hour period but then I see stuff from the day before. Also I would love if I could see the totals based on Date A to B. My billing cycle is not the first of the month but the 18th of the month. Lastly the main Graph need a fourth line for battery usage.

 

[wattmatters]

How long have you been running it? Mine was instant for the first two weeks and then it started to slow down. I am wondering if it has to do with the amount of data that I am sampling.

Since August 2021. Are you looking at it via local network or via the SA server?
For me local response time is effectively instant. Via the server adds a couple of seconds.

As as example on the graph tab if I select it to show 6 months of data (instead of the 24 hour default) it's rendered inside of 2 seconds.

That was not my post, I was just answering his question.

I know, I was just continuing the conversation on that point.

 

[robby]

Since August 2021. Are you looking at it via local network or via the SA server?
For me local response time is effectively instant. Via the server adds a couple of seconds.

As as example on the graph tab if I select it to show 6 months of data (instead of the 24 hour default) it's rendered inside of 2 seconds.

Either direct or throught the net it takes a long time and is sometime unresponsive.
Since yours is working properly I am starting to wonder if my RJ45 cable connector is crimped properly. It may be that one of the wires is just not making proper contact and I am getting tons of CRC errors.
I am going to see if I can redo the end tomorrow and will let you know.

 

[wattmatters]

Others to add to my list:

6. Add a link to SA help site / webpage from within SA.
7. Documentation on how SA integrates with the Home Assistant Energy module (I can find nothing on this despite running latest firmware)
8. Provide an opt out option of the voltage settings used with the Emulated BMS so it can just use coulomb count for SOC estimate.

 

[WYtreasure]

I think it is unreasonable to expect any software to support a version for an operating system which is itself no longer supported. XP hasn't been supported by Microsoft since April 2014 and Win7 since Jan 2020. In any case, Windows is not required, just a browser and Wifi.

? It's a wish list Sunshine. In the "Solar Forum" the sky's the limit.

 

[Ted Katsouras]

Either direct or throught the net it takes a long time and is sometime unresponsive.
Since yours is working properly I am starting to wonder if my RJ45 cable connector is crimped properly. It may be that one of the wires is just not making proper contact and I am getting tons of CRC errors.
I am going to see if I can redo the end tomorrow and will let you know.

For me the local network thru Rj45 is instant. I noticed the values on the Dashboard are updated at about every second where in the Charts are every 10 seconds which is a huge improvent over Sol-Arks 5 min update, still within 10 seconds several events or peak values happen and I like to see them on Charts.

 

[elvis_asaftei]

1) I would add support for EaSun Inverters with cable at least . I have this model and it is not working to connect USB cable. The Inverter has WIFI dongle and works with wifi on all apps like SmartESS or WatchPower and I want to be able to use the same Wifi network as all the other 6
or 9 inverters without having 9 cables, right ?

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2) I would want support for JK BMS that has 2A active balancing and is very popular and it is not supported by the software and is a major feature that is needed.

3) I would want Bluetooth connection to JK BMS (as i connect with JK BMS application with Bluetooth) and WIFI connection to Inverters because all apps use the wifi and apps work with the inverter.

 

[TomC4306]

I love the detailed vision into my system that Solar Assistant provides. I can literally see what's going on.
I agree with the suggestion to add voltage to the battery icon.
I would also like to see support for jbd bms's. I believe this may already be in beta.

 

[robby]

Either direct or throught the net it takes a long time and is sometime unresponsive.
Since yours is working properly I am starting to wonder if my RJ45 cable connector is crimped properly. It may be that one of the wires is just not making proper contact and I am getting tons of CRC errors.
I am going to see if I can redo the end tomorrow and will let you know.

Well I re made the RJ45 connector and everything worked great for 24 hours and then it slowed down and stopped again.
I rebooted the unit and had no luck, I rebooted it a second and then third time and it starter working again for another 18 hours and then stopped.
This time I did not mess with the Pi or the cables but I simply went into the settings menu on the Sol-Ark front panel and looked at the battery settings and the pressed cancel. Within 20 seconds the data started to flow again! The unit stopped again the next day and I did the same thing and it started up again for another 18-24 hours.

It looks like my Sol-Ark 12K is putting the RS485 port to sleep after 18-24 hours and it can only be woken back up by going into a menu item on the display.

 

[wattmatters]

It looks like my Sol-Ark 12K is putting the RS485 port to sleep after 18-24 hours and it can only be woken back up by going into a menu item on the display.

Well that sucks! Sounds like a question to Sol-Ark about why it would do that?

 

[Ted Katsouras]

Well I re made the RJ45 connector and everything worked great for 24 hours and then it slowed down and stopped again.
I rebooted the unit and had no luck, I rebooted it a second and then third time and it starter working again for another 18 hours and then stopped.
This time I did not mess with the Pi or the cables but I simply went into the settings menu on the Sol-Ark front panel and looked at the battery settings and the pressed cancel. Within 20 seconds the data started to flow again! The unit stopped again the next day and I did the same thing and it started up again for another 18-24 hours.

It looks like my Sol-Ark 12K is putting the RS485 port to sleep after 18-24 hours and it can only be woken back up by going into a menu item on the display.

Yours might need some coffee, mine is the outdoor model running ver6982 and well behaved.