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ryan-hanson avatar image
ryan-hanson asked

MPPT 75/15 - Set Up Hourly Data Logging? Smart Shunt?

Hello,

I am an engineering student studying solar energy. I am trying to put together a very simple solar system which use a 50W panel to charge a 100Ah lead acid battery, and support a small DC load (e.g. a 5w light bulb). I am very new to this and I am not sure how to put together this system together. Here is a rough circuit diagram of my intended system:

diagram-1.png


I am looking into using a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 70 | 15 Charge Controller to manage the PV panel, Battery, and the DC load of the system. I chose the "SmartSolar" controller because I wanted to use it's Bluetooth capability to download and analyze the solar system data.


Using the VictronConnect app, I accessed a demo of the MPPT 75 | 15 controller and downloaded the sample data as a .csv format. This data, however, was only data collected on a daily basis. Is there anyway to get this data on an hourly, or even better, a minute-by-minute basis?


From the info I found online, it looks like you may need to connect your device to a GX Device and use the VRM Portal to have access to data at an hourly or minute-by-minute basis. Is this true? If I want to collect high frequency data from my MPPT, do I need to use the VRM portal? Or is there some way to access this more-frequent data from the VictronConnect app?

If so, can I use the VE.Direct LoRaWAN Module to connect my MPPT to VRM? (See diagram, blue wire is VE.Direct cable). If so, do I use the "Load" positive terminal to power this device?

Thank you!

MPPT ControllersVRMSolar Panel
diagram-1.png (211.6 KiB)
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1 Answer
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wkirby answered ·

The LoRa module sends data hourly, so this resolution may not be good for you either.

A GX Device with an internet connection is the best solution and send data every minute. It also sends more parameters than the LoRa module does.
A CerboGX for example would not be cost effective for your project. You'd be better off using a RaspberryPi and installing the VenusOS onto it. Information and links are available here: https://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2017/09/06/raspberry-pi-running-victrons-venus-firmware/

You would need a VE.Direct - USB cable to connect your MPPT to the RaspberryPi.

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