What I want to do sounds simple, but seems to be surprizingly complicated when it comes to the software:
I have two PV systems (in separate buildings, not the same LAN/WLAN) with Qcells (Solax) inverters - which also write their data into a cloud system of the maker.
Now I want to control electric devices (e.g. an electric heating rod in the warm water reservoir) based on the availability of excess solar power. In other words, something I believe many PV owners need.
For that purpose, I bought some smart plugs (which say “Matter” and can be switched with the maker’s app - that works well).
I have no IT knowledge (and little inclination for experimenting with software). A friend helped me to install HA on a Mini-PC, which is now located at one of the two buildings. I have nobody to help me with the rest.
Is there an easy method or a step-by-step guide to achieve my goal?
I prefer simple, self-explanatory clicking without technical jargon, but quickly shut down when it becomes more complex - that’s why googling didn’t help (I don’t understand a word!).
Or, if Home Assistant is simply not meant for people like me, is there maybe an easier, more mature and user-friendly system that does this?
(Qcells sells one, for 700-800€, which is way to much for my limited intentions.)
My first answer would be “no.”
When someone says that, I assume they’re looking for a pre-built, product-specific, one-size-fits-all solution which is developed and maintained by the vendor, probably using the vendor’s cloud server infrastructure.
That’s kinda the opposite of HA.
Still, if you have any interest at all in learning to develop and manage your own custom solution, and not having to purchase vendor solutions, not being subject to their decisions and limitations, and not having to worry about subscription fees or discontinued services, then HA is probably the easiest solution for you.
There are a lot of helpful people here to ask, and of course there is always AI to turn to.
HA assumes a DIY mindset, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.
Well, I already failed with the first steps: What is a Modbus? An API? How do I find my inverter’s IP address (I cannot access the router)? Which of the serial numbers do I need (each of my systems has three, but none seems to work)? And why do the things AI told me look so different in my HA, that many I cannot even carry out? As there seems to be nothing pre-built for Qcells, are the Solax ones compatible (none of them worked so far)?
I am willing to learn, but I already spent two days, installed a text editor, ssh (Why?), HACS (some kind of App store?) - and achieved next to nothing (other than being more confused than before). That’s too much effort (and frustration) for such a simple intention.
I now have tens of devices listed in my HA, which I already removed because they didn’t work (or so I thought) but they don’t go away. Since the names I gave are very similar, I can’t tell any more which is still in use and which not. It’s a mess, but I find no way to clean it up …
Ok, you have home assistant. It is a hub. It is like any other hub, you know that weird looking device that say tuya hub, or some other hub but this one knows a lot of foreign languages.
Basically hub is device on which you can connect other devices and that hub device can communicate with those devices using their own language. You know if you don’t speak french you can’t communicate with a guy that speaks only french. You need someone who speaks your language and speaks french at the same time to understand french guy… That is what hub does.
For using your devices inside ha you have integrations and sometimes addons. Addons are basically services that are need for integration to work properly.
If your device is not on the integration list, you can check hacs unofficial ha repository that have integration for other stuff that are not officialy in ha, but generally does work.
Thanks, at least I understand what you wrote. But what do I do now?
Nothing.
I don’t know what instalation you have, but probably haos.
Maybe it has option to reset to default settings.
if you are brave enough you can reset it back to default settings and start again.
No rush.
Starting again with the same lack of understanding will lead to the same result.
So basically you are saying it will not work?
Then, are there better, easier to understand, more mature and user-friendly systems? (I am also buying a car from a known maker, not building one myself from scratch.)
(And since I don’t know what “haos” is: I though I have a Home Automation installation …)
Well this is a building car from the scratch.
If you want your car to be build by someone else then you are on the wrong place.
There are property solutions for that and you should be using that.
Every solution has it pros and cons. You have to decide which one suit you best.
Was Your Friend in a “hurry”, out of your home, or could you “consult/ask” him , to get you “started”
Another tip is Read the Documentations which there are a bunch of, would have been appropriate if your friend had Spend an hour or so, get you started instead of just install HA, and leave you there.
Nobody can help you read i.e Documentations , asking AI is not the right way to learn, if you have no clues
Below you can read of the various Integrations, And as a starter in top you find Links to the various Documentations
Sure a text editor can come in handy “eventually” when you know what to use it for
Start by getting Your Devices working, in right integration, i.e following the suggestions and reading the text, on the screen, most people learn this way, reading and following , Step By Step, one Device at a time
Integrations - Home Assistant.
Modbus is a Communication protocol, I am not 100% sure but it seems that it is usually working through a cable connection (Ethernet port on the inverter), API = Application Programming Interface, itr is a set of commands that applications can receive to perform some actions, e.g. “send the inverter production data”.
To find the IP address of your inverter, coneect to tyour modem’s adminstration page (usually at http://192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, the credentials may vary by brand, it may be admin/admin, admin/password - if that doesn’t work, search teh web for the admin password for your modem brand). From there, go to Connected Devices and look for the entrey that relates to Solax.
SSH is a way to open a Linux terminal , i.e. a command prompt where you can run some commands that are not available through the HA interface. e… “find / -iname myFileName.conf” will search for that filename anywhere in the accessible directory tree
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Gaetano