DIY solar project and real-time internet monitor using Raspberry Pi and EpSolar Tracer
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- A demonstration of my small-scale solar power project and real-time monitor. Here I talk you through the basic features of my system. 4 x 100w solar panels charge 2 x 110ah batteries via a Tracer 2210A MPPT charge controller. The Mercury 300w pure sine inverter powers all the LED bulbs inside the house. The energy production/consumption data is sent to my web server and displayed in real-time at www.SolarPoweredHome.co.uk
An excellent addition to the website. I need to dust off my pi and follow your guide and throw together my own little mini site. Cheers.
Adam I have been watching and learning as much as possible. I thought I saw that the 2210A is a + ground is that true? My first lessons came from your videos and I like this one as well, he mentions a - grounding setup? I am just curious thank you and thank you Matthew as well! Peace
I know Avasva has the best online plans ever
P.S. I don't think you should have your video listed as Comedy :)
That is an excellent example of just what can be done with the application of some imagination and ingenuity. I am impressed that you have taken the time to ensure that everything is protected aside from a few minor issues that I hope will be received as constructive criticism :-)
You need to take some time to ground the PV panels frames, charge controller and the returning supply to the home. If budget can stretch to it I suggest a 3 meter ground rod be driven down to provide a good low impedance path to dissipate any charge that can accumulate on the metal structures. Keeping a good ground will reduce the chance of a damaging lightning strike as it is a negative charge that starts a strike of. This is why lightning actually strikes up initially and the ionisation of the air allows the massive energy discharge down to ground. Ensure that you ground the equipment in a star configuration. I suggest the largest diameter cable you have, run a single feed from the earth rod to an earth terminal block and then a cable from the block to each individual item.
You can also obtain a varistor based din rail mounted varistor based surge protector that will protect the twisted pair from the charge controller (good choice on the controller, I have just purchased one of the new TRIRON1206N with the RS485 card) There are also mains based varistor protection modules that are very inexpensive. Both of these will need a feed back to earth.
I like the use of the timer relay to prevent rapid switching back and forth. It may be an idea to check the contacts on the relay for current rating. Your maximum current draw is in theory only about 1.3 Amps but with the power supplies LED lamps use ( capacitive droppers and switch mode ) you may have a very poor power factor. This can cause the current draw to be higher than expected. A mains power meter that will show you current draw and power factor is very cheap. I use this one to monitor the house supply - Ebay item number 223170175412
. This reports back via RS485 modbus so I am sure you will find that useful ;-)
There is also a DC version of this meter that uses a hall effect sensor similar to the module you are currently using I think. It is an active sensor that has been calibrated properly.
As for your concern about UV it is well placed. You can easily apply UV blocking/resistant paint to the ribbon cable for protection and a simple small single piece of glass in front of the camera will give you full uv protection. The only other comment I would make is to check current carrying capabilities of the battery cables and inverter feed. It may be a trick of the light with the camera but to me they did look a little thin.
Safety wise I would personally fit an RCD to the output going to the house. Just a plug in type like you would use for a lawn mower would be fine. You may however have false trips until you have a good common ground to the chassis of all your equipment. NB Check the technical notes on the invertor about earthing as some of them have strange requirements.
You have yourself a nice setup and your script is neat and tidy. I hope the above observations will be of help. I am not trying to criticise just assist. I have seen some very nice solar inverters and PV panels blown into the next century by just a nearby strike. Keep innovating and enjoying yourself. I am a retired Royal Navy electrical engineer and then went into IT security and secure telecoms such as Redcare so if there is anything I can do to help or you have any questions just ask. I have nothing but time on my hands as I am currently completely bedbound waiting for my third operation on my spine. I have been like this for two years now and if it wasn't for my PC, servers and electronics projects I would be sitting in the corner rocking back and forth with my underpants on head, pencils up my nose and singing the Mr Blobby song :-D
All the best.
Stuart.
yyy S
Thanks for this great video, I just wanna say that I use your code snipe on your website to read my Solar data over a virtual Comport(I use Epever Wifi Module Connected as STA to my WIFI) is doing a great Job. I am very happy thanks a lot ;)
Thanks Matthew - that was very good! Can you give us links you used to get more info for the pi /epever modbus project? I'm currently building a camper and will be setting up a very similar system, so that would be handy.
Hi pal, can you tell me the how you got the pi to communicate with the mppt charger, I have a system similar to yours, I have tried to get on your Web page but it seems to be down pal, thanks, oh and I sent you a message on Facebook
Very dangerous installation! too less cable diameters on DC-side
Sorry I wish you nothing bad happen in this installation, but it´s a sleeping bomb.
Haha, it's long gone now, the panels are now on my van! But it was a fun experiment 👍
Wrong batteries. Wrong size cables for the inverter. Thats 10A cable resistance. Its thin and long witch loose power. I am not an electrician, but I do lots of projects better than professional qualified electricians. You need to keep the inverter near the battery with the shorter cable possible for lower power consuming. Also, lead acid leisure batteries are not designed for inside the properties. They are for motorhomes, outdoor boxes, as they emanating sulfation gas. You must change to photovaltaic batteries, AGM deep cycle or Gel deep cycle. You need MT-50 remote controller to protect the discharge at max 12.2 per battery. So you batteries are healthy up to 1200 cycles. Not diyng at less than 500 cycles. Or even on single big mistake of discharging just a night at 10.2v. Battery will be end life. Keep in mind MT-50 REMOTE AND AGM BATTERIES. £150 FOR REAL 100AH FROM PHOTONIC UNIVERSE.
He culd just add a cap near the inverter ..
But the power he draw's in minimal.. so loss ... Naaaa not so mutch
I Will give you that the leads shut be 25mm² instead of this THIN leads ..
But Then again .. he has No consumption .. so the gain is minimal
You don't need to the mt50 to set the voltage if you can do it through the web server he made
Also you can use that kind of battery for solar as long as it is well ventilated in the room
mppt requires ground on +batt? thanks
If you go to the EpEver website, they have a user interface where you can adjust all the parameters of the system from the comfort of your PC/laptop etc. I have a 4210A linked to my PC via an RS485 to usb converter (99p - ish), using cat5E over 25 metres from my workshop.
have a look at Adam Welch's set-up: ua-cam.com/video/r3LrWeYYtnQ/v-deo.html
nlo114 I've played with their monitor software. Unfortunately it was a bit limiting for my project as 1) it only ran on Windows and 2) I couldn't extract the data to upload to the web
For the purpose of the exercise, it may be worth getting hold of an old laptop or tablet, and dedicating it's use to your PV system. I only started my system this year, so being able to frequently monitor it, helps me distribute loads or shed them back to the grid automatically as the generated power fades in and out. If the laptop runs from solar power...
Can you make this project including the website available for download?
How much amper load can be attach with this change controller.
Great vid, found it very helpful setting up my Trace 3210AN controller
However, could a Pi Zero be used to send the data from the controller to Grafana?
How difficult would altering your code be? (I'm a complete novice)..
I guess I'm kinda randomly asking but does anyone know a good website to stream new tv shows online?
@Leandro Gage i watch on Flixzone. Just google for it =)
Thank you, Matthew - this is a really great video and contained exactly the information I wanted before buying a similar charge controller. I plan to use an Arduino to record the output and was worried that you needed to use the proprietary application to get at the data. Seeing this, I am about to embark on my own similar project, hopefully to make a mobile app that will allow me to control and monitor everything from afar. Really great video and an inspiration - it IS possible!
Hi Matthew,
This is an awesome work. I am actually looking into the same with my controller that way there is a way for me to monitor everything. Powering up a desktop just to keep monitoring doesnt seem practical to me.
Anyways, I see you had an issue with the AMP monitor. Was this the ACS712? Also, how much off are the data coming from the controller itself? Also, is your inverter coming from the controller or directly from the battery?
Thanks!
Hi Jonas. Yes I think it was an ACS712 sensor. They always seem to be working great but eventually need fine-tuning again. Probably an issue with the Pi, or the way I'm powering it. The load current displayed by the controller jumps up and down all the time, sometimes off the scale amps that aren't even possible, so I had to add a bit of code to ignore high values. The inverter comes from the controller, as I have set it up to shut off at 12.2v just to preserve battery life.
I have similar system but i use a grid tie inverter connected to 24V battery bank at night. Yes a battery isted of solar panels.It works cause 24V is very close to solar panels 21V open voltage. And grid tie inverter thinks that its connected to a solar panel i guess. Battery itself is charged by tracer 40A controller. THat way i can use the power from my battery bank anywhehe in the house using existing wiring.
Hmmmm look more like a peptual solar setup.. nop i don't buy IT
And you always drive series on MPPT .. newer ever paralell ..
( In my case 12 250watt ..4 in series = 150v in 3 Banks paralell in to the 6415 EPever = 3000Watt@48v60A)
I am looking at setting up something very similar to this with some 250w panels. I was thinking about an arduino based mppt controller, but this seems like an easier way to go. I actually have my old pi getting power usage data from a clamp meter via serial connected to my house supply and posting it to domoticz (my home automation stuff).
Great site and info there! Thanks for sharing.
Look Up EPever MPPT
And EPever inverters
Top notch !!!
Thanks for the mention of the modbus protocol connection to this mppt controller. That's what I've been looking for. I'll check out your web site!, thanks again.
Any thoughts?
I think a cheap android phone with EpSolar app & TeamViewer Host installed.
Then linked via an OTG USB cable linked to USB to RS485 cable connected to the EpSolar Tracer will work perfectly.
You can anytime log in remotely via TeamViewer from your PC, phone or laptop and read data and set settings etc.
You can also export the log files then send to wherever you are.
Hey @Matthew
The program for rasberry π is that avalibel
I AM building a 4x 12x 250watt (48 250+5watt PV)
Do you hawe any BMS or similar to π so i can load my 20 SONNESHINE 512/200Ah AGM BATTERIES
48V IN 5 Banks of 4 bat
IT's a small system ..
I Soon her 2 x SH500Watt wind turbines .. to make .. backup power .. in All the houres son not Shine ..
4 EPeve 6415
A very good project. It gave me a lot of inspiration. The part of reading the COM to the Raspberry helped me a lot. Thanks for publishing it!
nice.. i want to study this do you have any tut or guide? my SCC is SRNE 30a mppt..
Do you have a guide on how you built the Rasberry Pi monitoring system?
Four ZeroFour agreed! I have this charge controller and a PI3, I'd love to use it for monitoring even on a local intranet website
Polish the box lit with Waxpolish ... On both sides
Use a Waterhouse to the Ribbon cabel !!!
Excellent solar energy monitoring project.
Congratulations on the excellent result.
I tried using the code I created to communicate with my Tracer 2210A MPPT, but I did not succeed.
Could you help me make this communication?
Just a question. Am I right in thinking that 3 pin plug on the line going to the house is live when running on the grid? If so, potentially a danger point. On a similar point, is the system isolated from the grid when running on the inverter so it cannot backfeed to the grid in the event of a power outage. If not isolated this might produce lethally high voltages through local transformers just when people are working on it. Just saying.
The socket is always live, never the pins of the plug, power goes to the house, not from. The relay separates the power sources, it can never feed back. :)
Hi, i bought an epever 30A and it can handle 100v, so i can coonnect it with my 1800w panels ?
No you cant you will burn it. even 40A version of this controller cant handle 1800W of solar (960W at 24V, half at 12V)
@@ahah1785 he culd use 48v ..??
Depending of you EPever model
And if you drive 48v
Come si imposta per far accendere le luci al tramonto quando il pannello non riceve più? How do you set it to turn on the lights at sunset when the panel is no longer receiving?
Interesting set up. I was wondering if the solar output is provided during the day all the time and just the excess going to storage or is it storage or Inverted output but not both?
Great setup and running all your house lights the setup of the raspberry pi is interesting would like to learn more about that side of things.
What did you use to interface the inverter with raspi usb?
Excellent overview ! A nice project, well done !
You need to make some changes. Check Avasva Solutions if you want to make it right.
Fuck you and fuck your SCAM.
How can i read out the load Current ?
What a excellent setup
Good luck
If you want to make it too just use InpliX handbooks.
Fuck you and fuck your SCAM.