Real-time Monitoring of Solar PV System

Seanp92

Hi All,

I have a Solis hybrid system with batteries , the Ginlong monitoring is ok but does anyone know of a way of real-time monitoring of the system via software / app etc ?

Thanks

Gumbo

Should be possible.
I have it on my system running a tranenergy investor. Which would be classed as old nowadays even though it’s only fitted 2 years. When I open the app I can see what the current generation is.

Seanp92

kceire wrote: »

Should be possible.
I have it on my system running a tranenergy investor. Which would be classed as old nowadays even though it’s only fitted 2 years. When I open the app I can see what the current generation is.

Thanks, can you tell me more about the type of monitoring you are using ? Cheers

Gumbo

Seanp92 wrote: »

Thanks, can you tell me more about the type of monitoring you are using ? Cheers

Trannergy-Log App

reklamos

Seanp92 wrote: »

Hi All,

I have a Solis hybrid system with batteries , the Ginlong monitoring is ok but does anyone know of a way of real-time monitoring of the system via software / app etc ?

Thanks

I'm in the same boat, looking for real time monitoring.

Solis aggregates and sends all the info to cloud every 5-6 minutes. The data is processed and becomes available for user to view, this takes another 3-5 minutes. The only way to get real time data is from Solis directly over modbus but this port is used, as this is what the meter is connected to. So that is the current problem that I'm facing. I've looked for solution to this as I cannot disconnect meter but nothing so far.
So at this point I only created and app that scrapes raw data from website and dumps it to local DB and I have a nice looking dashboard.

This is only half of it.I still prefer to get real time data and have not given up on it though

air

Openenergymonitor is probably the best option for real time monitoring

Seanp92

reklamos wrote: »

I'm in the same boat, looking for real time monitoring.

Solis aggregates and sends all the info to cloud every 5-6 minutes. The data is processed and becomes available for user to view, this takes another 3-5 minutes. The only way to get real time data is from Solis directly over modbus but this port is used, as this is what the meter is connected to. So that is the current problem that I'm facing. I've looked for solution to this as I cannot disconnect meter but nothing so far.
So at this point I only created and app that scrapes raw data from website and dumps it to local DB and I have a nice looking dashboard.

This is only half of it.I still prefer to get real time data and have not given up on it though

Looks very nice , is it possible to give me the info for doing this myself, I’ve a spare PI3 I can use.

Thanks

reklamos

Seanp92 wrote: »

Looks very nice , is it possible to give me the info for doing this myself, I’ve a spare PI3 I can use.

Thanks

Drop me PM and I'll try to help you out.
Have not tested it on rpi. I've move away from it a while ago as it was slow and was chewing SD cards.
Also I started digging more for realtime data polling and might have a possible solution, just need for snail mail to arrive from China

rolion

No offence... but what is the advantage of having access to realtime PV solar generation !?

mike_2009

I used an eco eye energy monitor before I got my PV Panels. I've just sent it back for an upgrade so it can incorporate the PV side of things. Real time view of current house usage. Battery powered so I had the monitor in front my my workstation and got to know most loads in my house over time! Not sure how the PV side will operate - it does provide real time stats on generation they tell me. It logs to an SD card so keeps all data local, no cloud subscription charges. Also very easy to setup! CT Clamp, batteries and away you go!
https://www.eco-eye.com/

Baybay

Seanp92 wrote: »

Hi All,

I have a Solis hybrid system with batteries , the Ginlong monitoring is ok

Did you find the Ginlong app had the information in an easy to read / understand format? Or is it very techy?

Effects

I use it, and it's fairly straight forward. I don't use the app much these days and prefer to look at it on a web browser.

rolion

I really dont see the benefit of realtime monitoring... the Sun is moving across the sky and the clouds as well.
Whats the advantage !? How do you deal with the harvestign drops ?
See here a photo with production scattered across day with many peaks high and many peaks ... low !




How do you manage that invariable production when you need a constant line,maybe lets say around 2-3Kwh output.
You can do it with i'll say 10Kw installed power PV array that in bad situations may be outputting that level of constant power( 50wh per panel x 40 PV panels). Even better,on a positioner.

I could see myself implementing some sort of "monitoring" but reporting of individual panels production per a time period,so that i can work on shadowing or dealing on faulty cells or panels.

See below a link to a live system that has this type of global per inverter production reporting but also,very smart,production per panel,i guess done with optimisers.Dont know who owns it but i love a simillar setup for my ABB.Click below energy on 12MTD (MonthToDate) to see output performance per panel.

https://easyview.auroravision.net/easyview/?entityId=10278567

Quintis

Has anyone used the PV Master App with a Goodwe Solar Panel?

Winterman1234

A slightly off topic question, currently have a Solis mini 4G inverter that updates generation values to a website/app every 5 minutes. Yesterday our internet was down for most of the day(this happens every few weeks) and during the down period all readings are blank on app/website.

Does anyone know if the inverter stores the readings in memory and can auto sync again. Been going over 30 minutes this morning, but yesterday is still blank. Maybe if its not sent at the time then the information is gone.

reklamos

Winterman1234 wrote: »

A slightly off topic question, currently have a Solis mini 4G inverter that updates generation values to a website/app every 5 minutes. Yesterday our internet was down for most of the day(this happens every few weeks) and during the down period all readings are blank on app/website.

Does anyone know if the inverter stores the readings in memory and can auto sync again. Been going over 30 minutes this morning, but yesterday is still blank. Maybe if its not sent at the time then the information is gone.

From what I've seen inverter does not back fill the data that it was not able to send.

garo

Thought his thread would be more appropriate than starting a new one. We got a night meter a couple of days ago and since then the monitoring app has gone a bit funny. Of course power was switched off while the meter was changed.
I have a Growatt inverter with the shinelink app. Since the meter change the battery charging real-time (snapshot taken every 5 mins really) is always zero. When the battery is discharging I see the correct power reading but when it is charging the charging power is always zero even though the battery is charging and state of charge is correctly updated. On the inverter LED display both battery charge and discharge power is displayed correctly. Any idea what’s going on? Should I reset the entire system? Or should I unplug and plug the communication fob?

KCross

Does the system use a CT clamp? Did it get disturbed during meter swap out?

As you suggest a reset is always a good starting point too.

garo

Yes there is a CT clamp at the fuse box but the meter swap was at a different location so CT clamp couldn’t possibly be disturbed. The battery charging and discharging rates should come from the inverter itself or the CAN cable and the grid side power - which the CT clamp measures is still correct. Also battery discharge is shown correctly in the app but charge is not. Finally the inverter display has the correct instantaneous readings even for the battery so my guess is something going wrong in the communication to the Growatt sever via the shinelink. So do I just switch off and on :eek:
I think I know the right sequence. AC isolator, battery, DC switch and inverter and then switch back on in the reverse order. Plan to do it at night when there is no PV generation.