Solar PV Monitoring/Automation Thread

connesha · 09-06-2022 10:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119177666#Comment_119177666

To get any real automation, you would need some "computer" that's running all the time. That could be a Raspberry Pi, a NUC, an old Laptop that you leave plugged in/running permanently, or similar.

You would then need to install some Home Automation software on that. Home Assistant is the more common one that's used (NodeRed is also used by some on here)

If you can get to the point that you have this running, and are comfortable (and interested in) playing with some basic configuration, then you should be good to go. There are any number of people here that can get you to the next step after that. I'll happily walk you through the stuff I setup with IrishChris for doing remote inverter configuration from HomeAssistant (writing registers to the Inverter)

There are loads of really good videos / guides / tutorials online about setting up an RPI / NUC with Home Assistant.

The only warning I'd have is that it all takes time; its a big rabbit hole you can't get out of. Most people enjoy it, especially when they have an interest in this kind of stuff. Somebody "could" set it all up for you, but I don't think I'd recommend going this route, as it does require some maintenance/tweeking, even after setup, so its better to have a reasonable understanding of whats happening when something inevitably goes wrong.

Overall, it shouldn't be beyond anyone semi-technically minded, that can install/update software, and are not afraid to tinker with configuration. They just need to say goodbye to their evenings ;-) We can get you to the point where you don't have to actually write any code yourself; instead you'd be "configuring" Home Assistant/automations. You could start with something basic, like turning a switch on at sunset, and then build on that.

reklamos · 09-06-2022 11:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119177666#Comment_119177666

It can be as easy or as complicated as you want. This is not of the shelf solution and does require tweaking to adjust to your needs as it is not universal. I have done my automation for charging batteries based on forecast and also heating water based on generation, SOC, water temperature. I've wrote my own code for most of this as this is what suited me. There is plnety of good code/integrations arround. Yuo will need PC/RPi/Laptop to run this 24x7. I have done this for others in the family and simplified to couple buttons on the phone app for them. I have created my own cloud where all the data from multiple setup comes in and me and other can check detailed statistics. Each setup took a month to dial in as everybody is diferent and have diferent use patterns but now I do not touch it unless I want to upgrade.
A simplest approach that I had in my early days is just to get a computer fans with thermal sensor. Some of them come with ambient sensor and others with probe. I used with probe. Stick probe on the radiator of inverter and it will automatically adjust speed based on temperature.

SD_DRACULA · 09-06-2022 12:52pm

For an easy off the shelf solution (if you have power in the attic ) is this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08GP622YS/ref%3Dewc_pr_img_2?smid=A3NZ6AYGZT0ZJ6&psc=1

Just plug it in set it to whatever speed you want and forget about it.

Don't see a reason to adjust the fan speed since it will be in the attic anyway.

irishchris · 09-06-2022 2:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119177666#Comment_119177666

Would definitely recommend going the automation route as what seems confusing can start to come more natural after being run through the basics by anyone here. @connesha had great patience guiding me through and now have a lot better understanding of it thanks to him and now looking to add to it by watching videos online which now make a lot more sense.

If you decide it's not for you there are items like this for the fan part to keep it cool. Just pop the probe in near heatsink of the inverter and set the temperature you want it to come on and off at and it will work away.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B085Q2NDP9/ref%3Dcm_sw_r_apan_i_XPCE2WNNMBTBCW4J9W3Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

For remote operating or configuring charge to come on etc you would need to go the automation route or its back up and down the ladder to the attic in the winter 😃

Metric Tensor · 10-06-2022 12:25pm

How do you guys find the Solis customer service? I opened a ticket last Saturday requesting API access but it has not been responded to and the online tracker says it is still "unassigned".

Is there some different way of contacting them that I am missing?

SD_DRACULA · 10-06-2022 2:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119183294#Comment_119183294

Very hit and miss, sometimes rude AF over emails other times super helpful over the phone. Mixed bag.

Metric Tensor · 14-06-2022 1:05pm

Solis have completely ignored me. It's a week and a half later and nothing.

Interestingly Solarman emailed me back to say that they did not manufacturer the model of datalogger stick that I have. Looks like I'll have to try and do some sort of modbus hack instead.

Jonathan · 14-06-2022 9:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119200828#Comment_119200828

That certainly explains the totally different setup anyway. Rather than going down custom modbus master route, it might be cheaper to buy a gen 2 data logger.

silver_sky · 14-06-2022 9:25pm

'scuse the noob. I've a Solis hybrid+battery and SolisCloud account. I was pulling myenergi data into homeassistant but that's now a mess due to the new hybrid inverter. Who do I need to contact for the key and secret?

Jonathan · 14-06-2022 9:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203626#Comment_119203626

If you have a Solarman-based data logger, use the Solarman integration from HACS for local polling.

silver_sky · 14-06-2022 9:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203677#Comment_119203677

How do I know if it's a Solarman-based logger? Model is S3-WIFI-ST. Looks kinda like this

Jonathan · 14-06-2022 10:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203746#Comment_119203746

You're in same boat as @Metric Tensor then unfortunately. No data logger Modbus passthrough methods identified yet.

Geeyfds53573 · 14-06-2022 10:49pm

Question I got a look at HA the weekend set up on a Hyper-V and using the StephanJoubert /home-assistant-solarman I got the Sensor to appear in the Overview section. I was impressed but why does the SOC not appear, it is there in the solis-hybrid.yaml file?

Jonathan · 14-06-2022 11:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119204152#Comment_119204152

It should be there. The default sensor entity ID is sensor.<PREFIX>_battery_soc

Geeyfds53573 · 15-06-2022 7:44am

I saw it there but it is not appearing on the Overview screen - not hidden. All the other battery ones appeared fine.

silver_sky · 15-06-2022 10:35am

Fair enough. Do I just send the solis customer service an email for the api access or is there some website to log it?

Metric Tensor · 15-06-2022 10:55am

@silver_sky You need to email them or create a ticket on their support website to ask for API access. I did so a week and a half ago and it has not been responded to yet.

However there is now an agent assigned to the ticket so I'm hoping that's progress!

@Jonathan I am currently trying to sweet talk an older gen one from my installer! They're pretty good so I'd say if they have one they'll give it to me.

SD_DRACULA · 15-06-2022 11:11am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119205434#Comment_119205434

I got this a while back and they make you sign an NDA for it (overkill much?) but they use a very weird auth method and I never got it working.

This is for polling soliscloud directly, not the old system m.ginglong.com

Would be interesting to see if someone can get that to work.

Geeyfds53573 · 15-06-2022 11:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119204296#Comment_119204296

Thanks Jonathan - I can manually add to a new page so that will work - HA nice piece of kit.

mag · 17-06-2022 2:08pm

Hi all, thanks to @Jonathan for pointing me here to (hopefully) resolve my PV monitoring/automation needs!

Firstly im a PV newbie and so if im saying anything obvously dopey then have mercy :)

My setup is a 8.1kw array, 6kw Solis hybrid inverter, 5kw Puredrive battery, Eddi, Zappi, Harvi & Hub. The battery was installed way after all the MyEnergi kit and so doesnt have a CT or the Solis doesnt have comms/wifi dongle.

Im having issues around battery drain. I want to employ a simple logic such as - If power from panels is less than current demand (Home, Zappi Eco+, Eddi) = Pull from battery, If power from panels is greater than current demand (Home, Zappi Eco+, Eddi) = Put excess in battery. And also on top of that be able to see and control the energy usage and best utilise the battery.

The MyEnergi kit is all nicely trackable in the app but the Solis/Puredrive is not seperately viewable and controlable within that enviornment, so i understand the only way around this is through building my own solution. Something like Raspberry PI hosting Home Assistant with MyEnergi/Solarman integration?

Im reading in the thread about different versions of Pi, loggers, etc.. Im not particularly techy, would appreciate if someone could lay me out exactly what it seems I would best need to achieve what I want. Cheers!

mag · 17-06-2022 7:59pm

For example -

Will Raspberry Pi 3 B work well enough with HA or do i need Pi 4?

Do i need another CT on the battery?

The Solis has no comms/dongle, what is best here in terms of api, etc..

Sorry if this stuff is obvious but its not clear to me, despite reading through this thread + googling goodo

championc · 17-06-2022 8:08pm

Hi @mag

You possibly need to look at this from a different perspective, which will actually be simpler to control.

The thing to do is to let the inverter do it's own thing (leave it in Auto mode from 09:00 till midnight).

The trick is to control your Eddi and Zappi based on your generation and / battery SOC%.

So with a https post, you can use the MyEnergi API to turn an Eddi On or Stop. With the Zappi, you can set it to Fast, Eco, Eco+ or Stop.

So in my case, I turn the Eddi on at SOC 98%. The Zappi is also generally turned on to ECO at 98% but it has priority over the Eddi. The Eddi is stopped at 97% while the Zappi stops at it's trigger -3. I have my Node-Red Dashboard giving me the ability change the starting trigger point.

mag · 17-06-2022 10:22pm

@championc thanks.

so in order for me to be able to implement logic such as yours im going to need a CT on the puredrive + comms/dongle on the solis?

sorry if thats is a really basic question but i need to go 101 on the setup before getting into the intricacies of the apps/programming

championc · 17-06-2022 10:42pm

The Solis should already have a CT reading the grid. But I don't read generation at all.

Read my reply again. I adjust CONSUMPTION ultimately based on battery SOC% to ensure I don't discharge the battery.

If you want to allow a battery to charge, you make sure that the Zappi and Eddi or on STOP. I never use ECO+ on the Zappi - only ECO. But reading the battery SOC from the inverter means that it can draw a bit from battery if clouds roll by, but stay charging.

Jonathan · 17-06-2022 11:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119217254#Comment_119217254

If the Solis has no wifi dongle/data logging stick, then it makes it a bit more difficult. How are you currently monitoring the inverter as it stands? Is it all through MyEnergi app? How do you know when battery is empty? Just assume that its empty if it pulls from grid when PV not generating?

You can still poll the inverter directly using Modbus/RS485, but the Gen 2 data logging sticks are just easier because you can poll them remotely via wifi.

reklamos · 18-06-2022 10:36am

@mag If wifi stick is not available or needed then pulling modbus directly is the way. You can use modbus RTU to TCP device and this will give you WiFi access. Actually this is even better compared to Solis wifi stick because you can set higher baud rate. Here is the code that I used with elfin devices https://github.com/NosIreland/solismon2 you may need to modify it to suit your needs.

mag · 18-06-2022 3:12pm

As i understand it there is a CT on the Solis as (before the battery went in) i could see the panel generation and the import/export to the grid. Since the battery was installed, on the Myenergi app the panels/battery i/o is seen as one on the ME app.

@championc I did read your reply, but unfortunatley im several levels below it in terms of understanding the steps to achive what you describe :)

@Jonathan Im currently monitoring using the MyEnergi app + also by just looking at the Solis screen (as its in the utility room) to see what the battery and panels are actually doing.

@reklamos I dont mind really what I use as long as its somewhat user friendly to setup and obv affordable. Would a "modbus RTU to TCP" device be best here, any you would recommend?

reklamos · 18-06-2022 5:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119219876#Comment_119219876

If you see your import/export than you have meter. It most likely is in your CU. You do not need Myenergy to see all the data as all of it is in inverter already. It is upto you what you want to use. Having solis stick gives you access to Solis cloud and app. You can also pull data from it. If you go modbus route you will not have access to Solis cloud. You will need to build your own 'cloud' in both cases if you want to pull data and automate stuff. Cost wise Solis wifi stick is ~60, elfin modbus to tcp is ~30. But on top of that you'll need RPi or PC/laptop where you will run everything. Use old laptop instead of RPi if you have one. 5-6 years laptop will still be better compared to RPi. The only advatage RPi has is power consumption.

championc · 18-06-2022 5:53pm

@mag You have to remember that your battery is now integrated as part of the Inverter, and so the battery power is now "mixed" in with your Solar generation.

So using modbus to get info from the inverter is bar far the best solution, since it will be instantaneous data which should reflect the display panel on the inverter.

It's absolutely worth getting this data. It may seem like double dutch and a minefield, but there are plenty of folks here that than guide you.

So you, nothing outside of the Solis can ever differenciate between solar and battery originating power

mag · 19-06-2022 5:16pm

Thanks lads, really appreciate the help here.

Just to be sure I have the right picture of what I need -

Hardware wise, Im good if i grab a Pi 3, sd card and an elfin modbus to tcp unit? (like this? - https://irl.grandado.com/products/elfin-ew11-elfin-ew11-0-rs485-to-wifi-module-smart-home-serial-server-modbus-tcp-ip-homekit-rj45-tcp-protocol?variant=UHJvZHVjdFZhcmlhbnQ6Njk0MDY4Mjc&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkruVBhCHARIsACVIiOyl2ZYCy9QU-hYNqGPie_xUVcgAqNB-0Ud3HOfrTmqQii-X0ch9CFoaApeCEALw_wcB)

Then install home assistant on the Pi and add in Solis and Myenergi integration + connect the elfin directly to the Solis?

Solar PV Monitoring/Automation Thread

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