Solar Dashboard Project

Projects related to Solar Power
boffin
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:29 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by boffin »

Just received the Solar Dashboard kit and got it working with very little fuss. I decided to mount both the Node MCU and RS485 via header pins/socket for a little versatility. If you use low profile solder sockets there’s plenty of headroom for the lid to go on easily. Soldering the pins to the RS485 is slightly tricky in that they need to be right at the edge of the board to line up with the socket. Steady hands help. I left off the three LEDs to save a bit of power. It’s a brilliant bit of software and hardware combo.
All worked perfectly well straight up but there’s a minor issue.
After sunset and when I thought the battery was a bit low (around 13.4v) I turned the inverter off. So then only the Tracer4210 and the SolarDashbiard were being powered by the battery. Overnight sometime the web page decided to remove all data, it was still accessible. The gauges are there (but blank) along with the chart axis and labels but none of the data gathered and displayed during the day is there. The blue led on the NodeMCU and the RS485 were blinking (but they looked rather dull, maybe). The battery had gone down to 13v by the time I looked at this. Disconnecting the RS485 interface and plugging back in brought it all back to life with the gauges now showing activity and a few hours now in the morning sun is showing data again and all seems well.
Any tips on where to start poking about to see what may have caused this hiccup??
jonathan
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:12 am

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by jonathan »

Hi Boffin,

I have noticed similar issue with my test unit. It seems to happen overnight. Although this didn't happen previously. I am going to work on a software update to address this problem.

Jon.
rosspeel
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:24 pm
Location: Peel, NSW, Australia
Contact:

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by rosspeel »

I have received my solar dashboard which is to be incorporated into a solar powered wireless relay stations upgrade running ubiquiti gear, as this setup uses 24v battery (2x 12v batteries in series) setup I am unable to show the battery voltage that only peaks at 16v on the web interface, is there anyway of getting the code to show up to 32v in the battery graph and dial

https://youtu.be/6ZA1O2FoXEE

https://youtu.be/M8tYr6S6kqg
Attachments
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jonathan
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:12 am

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by jonathan »

rosspeel wrote:
Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:39 pm
I have received my solar dashboard which is to be incorporated into a solar powered wireless relay stations upgrade running ubiquiti gear, as this setup uses 24v battery (2x 12v batteries in series) setup I am unable to show the battery voltage that only peaks at 16v on the web interface, is there anyway of getting the code to show up to 32v in the battery graph and dial

https://youtu.be/6ZA1O2FoXEE

https://youtu.be/M8tYr6S6kqg
Hi Ross, Amazing setup, thanks for sharing.

I had some time today to work on the software and I attached a modified software for your use in your sweet relay.
rosspeel_custom_HW_V2_FW_0_9_2.zip
(421.16 KiB) Downloaded 4817 times
Edit* Updated to latest 0.9.2 firmware *Edit

Anyone else who needs a 24V compatible firmware can of course use this one too, until I release the configurable firmware which is under development.

Ross, please let me know how the firmware works for you, because I am trying to track done some strange bugs that boffin and others are experiencing.

Jon.
jonathan
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:12 am

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by jonathan »

Software Version 0.9.1 is released with a few fixes:

- Wifi LED behaviour is changed: Off indicates WiFiis not connected or setup. On indicates Wifi is connected. Flashing indicates WiFi activity

- COM LED behavior is changed: Flashing indicates successful communication with EPEVER controller

- Software Version and links added to HTML

- Web update and RS485 query slowed to every 2 seconds from every 0.5 seconds.

See the downloads page for the firmware (Latest Master):
https://bitbucket.org/jonathangoldnauvo ... downloads/

See the readme for flashing instructions.
https://bitbucket.org/jonathangoldnauvo ... /README.md
jonathan
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:12 am

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by jonathan »

Software Version 0.9.2 is released with a major fix, recommended all users download and install:

- Added Modbus reset procedure to allow resume if communication to EPEVER controller fails momentarily. This momentary failure seems to happen often at night or in the evening.

See the downloads page for the firmware (latest master):
https://bitbucket.org/jonathangoldnauvo ... downloads/

See the readme for flashing instructions.
https://bitbucket.org/jonathangoldnauvo ... /README.md
rosspeel
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:24 pm
Location: Peel, NSW, Australia
Contact:

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by rosspeel »

This may be a dumb question, but have been around in circles for last 5 hours trying to find how to Put ESP into bootloader mode with a windows machine, lots on a Linux machines and use terminal commands and lots of confusion.
Ross
rosspeel
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2019 7:24 pm
Location: Peel, NSW, Australia
Contact:

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by rosspeel »

I have used a different program to flash, it seemed to go ahead and flash, but i am not getting a 24v battery reading, still showing 12v system (16v), I now have my LEDs flashing in a orderly way now instead a 3 constantly on

Also the links on your update Software Version 0.9.2come back with a reply "That link has no power here Return to the previous page or go back to your dashboard"

"Software Version and links added to HTML", the "rosspeel_custom_HW_V2_FW_0_9_2" i flashed seemed to not show any Software Version number on the web page
Attachments
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2019-10-16 (6).png
Last edited by rosspeel on Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
boffin
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2019 8:29 pm
Location: Australia

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by boffin »

jonathan wrote:
Tue Oct 15, 2019 2:52 pm
Software Version 0.9.2 is released with a major fix, recommended all users download and install:

- Added Modbus reset procedure to allow resume if communication to EPEVER controller fails momentarily. This momentary failure seems to happen often at night or in the evening.

See the downloads page for the firmware (latest master):
https://bitbucket.org/jonathangoldnauvo ... downloads/

See the readme for flashing instructions.
https://bitbucket.org/jonathangoldnauvo ... /README.md
Hello Jonathan,
The links provided only take me to "https://bitbucket.org/jonathangoldnauvo/" with a 404. I presume it's not just me; t I was able to get to the repository from an older link I had saved.
Regards, Emanuel
jonathan
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:12 am

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by jonathan »

Thanks for letting me know, I think the link is fixed now
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