First post on here, so hope I’ve put it in the right place etc.
I had Foxess solar and battery installed back in July (H1-3.7-E-G2 inverter) and stumbled across Home Assistant looking for better monitoring apps. Anyway I read so many posts online I am more confused than when I started.
I have set up Home Assistant on an old PC via Virtualbox with the Foxcloud integration and various dashboards, but like many of you, now wanting realtime updates
Currently the inverter has a W4 wifi module so the Foxcloud app works fine. I’ve read about various types of modbus I can install to get the realtime data but have a few questions I’m hoping you experts can help with:
What would be the best way for my setup to get realtime data in HA?
My inverter is also linked to the installers as part of the warranty so they can also
monitor / troubleshoot / upgrade firmware as required. If I change the wifi dongle
to some kind of modbus, will it prevent the installers having access?
My inverter is connected to my network via the wifi datalogger with it’s own ip, is
is possible to point HA to that IP in some way to access inverter data?
I apologise if my questions seem a bit stupid, but still trying to understand the various connection methods.
Looks quite simple - what is the black box in the first picture your modbus adaptor is connected to? Just a standard switch which is connected to your router?
How easy is it to access the connecter in your second pic (which I assume is from the inverter)? I noticed the other day that my inverter has seal stickers over the join between the removable outer panel and inner fixed saying warranty void if broken.
This does seem like the way to go though, especially as the installers won’t loose their connection
To actually connect the cable you power everything down. Remove one of the plugs from the bottom of the inverter and insert the cables. Just push the button and push the cable in. No need to break any seals! It’s the same plug that your ct clamp is connected to.
There’s detailed instructions on the modbus integrations wiki.
I was nervous at first but it’s actually quite easy to do
Apologies, for the delayed response, for some reason I’m not getting emails to say I have an update to read.
I’ve seen the info and instructions for the Foxess modbus online, but it’s great to have it confirmed by somoene it definitely works. Luckily enough, on the other side of the wall my inverter and battery is mounted, is where all my home networking kit is and pretty sure there is enough space in the hole that’s already there from other cables to feed a couple of extra through so that bit I’m not too worried about. It’s more turning all the inverter and battery system off properly without messing anything up I’m worried about. Plus, I see from the online tutorials there should be some kind of special tool the disconnect the connecter I need to access which I don’t have. But will figure that out when I get to it
For the G2 inverter you don’t actually need that tool as I found out!
The plug is square and there’s little clips holding the 2 sections together. Can be a little tricky to pull apart. In the end I pushed a small screw driver in the end where the cable enters and pushed it slightly to sepeate the 2 parts. Hopefully yours is a bit loose. All in all only took about 10 mins
Just thought I’d let you know I have live data now coming through via modbus! You were indeed right when you mentioned how easy it was.
Having read a considerable amount on various forums about issues getting the modbus recognised by home assistant I was mentally prepared, but it pretty much integrated itself.
Although on the device page I can clearly see all the sensors etc and the various readings so know data is coming through OK, the one thing that doesn’t seem to work is the charge period card addon through HACS. I added the card fine, but for some reason it doesn’t recognise any inverter. I’ve tried a number of different variables to try get it to pick up the inverter but no luck so far. Nevertheless I’m sure the answer is on the forums.
I am new to this but this forum has helped me a lot in the past. I was wondering if anyone who has connected the modbus interface to an inverter and is willing to make a video of disconnecting the connector from the inverter and then connecting the wire inside the connector?
Have you seen the guide from the integration documentation? It’s pretty decent actually - will paste the link below. I was a bit daunted before setting up mine but it was easy. I’d do you a video if I could but my inverter is quite close to the ground so the position I have to be in to see what I’m doing with the connector, I wouldn’t be able to film at the same time. Plus there are two clips you have to release at the same time to disconnect so need both hands. But if you just print out the guide from the link below and follow it you can’t go wrong.
If you have the Elfin type modbus, all you need is a USB charge cable for power and I used some speaker cable for the data link.
Thanks for the push. I managed to do it this morning. My main worry was in case I had the square connector and no spare pins but it turned out I had the round connector with the screw terminals. I connected to a WiFi dongle and am now getting readings that refresh every 5 seconds.
I can see values on my own dashboard and looks great.
My energy dashboard is not updating , it says it can take up to 2 hours, I can’t understand why.
In any case I’m glad I made the plunge. My Fox app has been reporting my system if offline for the past few days and support say they are having server issues. At least I don’t need to rely on their app anymore.
So glad you got it sorted. It’s easier than you initially think isn’t it?
The energy dashboard can take a while to update - I presume you’ve gone in to the energy dashboard setup and changed the entities to the modbus ones?
I hated the Foxcloud app, the fact it only updates around every 15mins plus it was always a pain trying to force charge the battery when free electricity as I’d set it to force charge but would often revert back to self use. I get free electricity every Sunday so have an automation to turn it on and off automatically.
I had my CCTV showing on a display in my front room. Now I use a touchscreen display showing a Home Assistant dashboard in kiosk mode with both CCTV and my solar info integrated
Looks good. I have used the HACS Sunsynk-Power-Flow-Card to get a better more realistic display similar to the Fox app. In reality you see the power flowing through the lines on the diagram.
