MPPT Solar Charge Controller with RJ45 to Home Assistant advice needed

alexbell · October 17, 2020, 9:13am

Hi,
i wonder if someone could help with some ideas about the follwoing:
Ive got MPPT Solar Charge Controller with rj45 port in it that suppose to transfer battery data.
I wonder how can i connect that rj45 rwead the data (particularly voltage and battery charge level) and transfer it to home assistant?
I was wondering if esp8266 or something similar can be used? Can i read and decode the rj45 signal and then send it to home assistant via mqtt?

If so and you ever came across a similar project or have some advice or ideas please could you share?

Just need some direction and ideas where to start from…

The mptt controller i have is:
Y&H 30A MPPT Solar Charge Controller with LCD Display Tracer AN Series 12V

Cheers,
Alex

cristi2005 · October 21, 2020, 6:17pm

Hi,

I have the same problem, my MPPT controller is MUST PC18-8015F have port RJ45 (RS485) and USB. On USB port receive info on my PC with dedicated APP.
But i want to connect to HA.

Can anyone help us in any direction ?

Thank you.
Cristi

rgoodworth.home · October 25, 2020, 10:19pm

Hi There,
The method I use for now (untill something HA direct comes along) is commercial. ICC Software has a solution that does all the hard work and not to expensive, the good thing for HA is builtin MQTT (two way) for integration into HA.

Cheers
Rob

alexbell · October 26, 2020, 7:08am

Hi Cristi2005,I found this:

that is along with this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V21DxV9H6vE&lc=UgwzbJhOWjAa2Uzqo154AaABAg.9FCR4jOz53M9FCb7ZJp6dq

will make it possible to have the data in home assistant or elsewhere.
The only problem they are sold out here: https://www.tindie.com/products/plop211/epever-rs485-to-wifi-adaptor-v15/

If you are interested perhaps adding yourself to a list or dropping a message to the guy who makes it will make it available sooner?

Cheers,
Alex

cristi2005 · October 26, 2020, 9:00am

Hi Alex,

Thank you for this info, i verify if this kit works with my controller and i will say here all info.

BR. Cristi

abouelric · November 21, 2021, 7:39pm

Hello,
Did anyone succeed to integrate MUST PC18-8015F with Hassio?

I tried with Esphome and ttl rs485 adaptor but with no luck. I think it is a code issue.

Any suggestions?

Regards
Ricardo

chukaonline · March 30, 2022, 4:38pm

Why not use Elfin-EW11 or eperver ebox-01. I have used both of them to connect my charge controller to HA over wifi and they both work.

mikysci · April 20, 2023, 2:54pm

HI,
the conversation is very old and so I hope to be read.

how did you connect eperver ebox-01a home assistant? I didn’t find any epever integration.
Sorry for the dumb question, but I’m a beginner…

Thank you

xtremeideaz · April 5, 2024, 2:36pm

Hello Chukaonline, would the ebox-01a work with any charge controller?

Mine is a Felicity mppt charge controller and it has an RJ45 port with no instruction on the manual.

Please let me know. Thanks

chukaonline · April 5, 2024, 6:36pm

It looks similar to the SRNE hybrid inverter series just like mine. Try this document which is what I used to set up mine. The pin config for the RJ45 is on the lat page.

xtremeideaz · April 6, 2024, 4:08pm

Thank you. will check it out.

Alf_Tupper · July 31, 2024, 7:46pm

If anyone is looking for a solution to the above, I have added a modbus protocol to my configuration.yaml, and I now have my controller integrated into HA

modbus:
  - name: Solar Array
    type: rtuovertcp
    host: [add in IP address of device]
    port: 8080
    sensors:
      - name: "Solar Charging Mode"
        slave: 1
        address: 0
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "Mode"
        unique_id: solar_charging_mode
        # Possible Values: 0 (Standby), 1 (CC Mode), 2 (CV Mode), 3 (CF Mode)

      - name: "Solar PV Voltage"
        slave: 1
        address: 1
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 0.1
        precision: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "V"
        device_class: "voltage"
        unique_id: solar_pv_voltage

      - name: "Solar Power Generation"
        slave: 1
        address: 1031
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 0.1
        precision: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "Wh"
        device_class: "energy"
        unique_id: solar_power_generation

      - name: "Solar Battery Voltage"
        slave: 1
        address: 2
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 0.1
        precision: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "V"
        device_class: "voltage"
        unique_id: solar_battery_voltage

      - name: "Solar Charging Current"
        slave: 1
        address: 3
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 0.1
        precision: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "A"
        device_class: "current"
        unique_id: solar_charging_current

      - name: "Solar Charging Power"
        slave: 1
        address: 7
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "W"
        device_class: "power"
        unique_id: solar_charging_power

      - name: "Solar Battery Level"
        slave: 1
        address: 11
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "%"
        device_class: "battery"
        unique_id: solar_battery_level

      - name: "Solar CO2 Emission Reduction"
        slave: 1
        address: 12
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int32
        scale: 0.001
        unit_of_measurement: "kg"
        device_class: "carbon_dioxide"
        unique_id: solar_co2_emission_reduction

      - name: "Solar Fault Code"
        slave: 1
        address: 14
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "Code"
        unique_id: solar_fault_code
        # Fault Code Definitions:
        # Bit 0: Battery Overvoltage
        # Bit 1: PV Overvoltage
        # Bit 2: Charging Overcurrent
        # Bit 3: Discharging Overcurrent
        # Bit 4: Battery Undervoltage
        # Bit 5: PV Undervoltage
        # Bit 6: Charging Overtemperature
        # Bit 7: Discharging Overtemperature
        # Bit 8: System Overtemperature
        # Bit 9: PV Reverse Polarity
        # Bit 10: Battery Reverse Polarity
        # Bit 11: Battery Overdischarge
        # Bit 12: Communication Fault
        # Bit 13: Internal Fault
        # Bit 14: Relay Fault
        # Bit 15: Reserved

      - name: "Solar System Prompt"
        slave: 1
        address: 15
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "Prompt"
        unique_id: solar_system_prompt

      - name: "Solar Battery Temperature"
        slave: 1
        address: 9
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "°C"
        device_class: "temperature"
        unique_id: solar_battery_temperature

      - name: "Solar Internal Temperature"
        slave: 1
        address: 10
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "°C"
        device_class: "temperature"
        unique_id: solar_internal_temperature

      - name: "Daily Power Generation"
        slave: 1
        address: 0x0206
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int32
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "Wh"
        device_class: "energy"
        unique_id: daily_power_generation

      - name: "Solar Panel Current"
        slave: 1
        address: 6
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 0.1
        precision: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "A"
        device_class: "current"
        unique_id: solar_panel_current

      - name: "Total Energy Produced"
        slave: 1
        address: 0x020E
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int32
        scale: 1
        unit_of_measurement: "Wh"
        device_class: "energy"
        unique_id: total_energy_produced

      - name: "Solar Running Time"
        slave: 1
        address: 513 # 0x0201 in decimal
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int32 # Assuming 32-bit integer to cover the full range
        scale: 1
        precision: 0
        unit_of_measurement: "minutes"
        device_class: "duration"
        unique_id: total_running_time

      - name: "Solar Running Days"
        slave: 1
        address: 516 # 0x0204 in decimal
        input_type: holding
        data_type: int16
        scale: 1
        precision: 0
        unit_of_measurement: "days"
        device_class: "duration"
        unique_id: total_running_days
# Explanation of CRC Calculation (Appendix)
# The CRC-16 calculation is used to ensure data integrity. For example:
# - Given Data: [0x01, 0x03, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02]
# - CRC-16 Result: 0xC40B (The checksum appended to the data)

# Configuration Examples:
# - Battery Type Configuration:
#   Address: 0x0101, Value: 0x0004 (Lithium Battery)
# - Battery System Voltage Configuration:
#   Address: 0x0102, Value: 0x0018 (24V System)
# - CV Voltage Configuration:
#   Address: 0x0103, Value: 0x0C80 (32.00V)

# Error Codes and Troubleshooting:
# - Fault Code 0x000E - System Fault Codes (e.g., Bit 0: Battery Overvoltage)
#   Recommended actions for each fault code.

# Advanced Features:
# - Remote control parameters and applications.
# - Example use cases and command sequences for advanced features.

# Use tables and charts to summarize complex information, making it easier to understand.
# Add a glossary of terms used in the document for quick reference.