Smart Shunt vs. VE. Bus Smart Dongle

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brooke-giddens asked Mar 22, '24

Smart Shunt vs. VE. Bus Smart Dongle

Hi -

Maybe this will be obvious to some people, but I cannot find any resource that just explains the difference between the Smart Shunt and the Smart Dongle.

I'm having the Multiplus installed in my Airstream and I'd like to be able to use the Victron Remote app to monitoring both state of charge percentage for my batteries, and also see solar wattage coming in. Can this be accomplished with the VE. Bus Smart Dongle or do I need a Smart Shunt to be able to see both or neither?

I've looked into the Cerbo GX, but I honestly think it's features are more/deeper than I really need. I just want basic monitoring on my phone. The Airstream dealership doesn't seem to have any idea on this stuff.

Thanks in advance!

SmartShunt VE.Bus Smart Dongle

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Answer 1 · 2024-03-22T18:38:42Z

Alexandra answered · Mar 22 at 06:38 PM

@Brooke Giddens

If you want to monitor over the VRM (remotely) a GX is the only way.

Over Bluetooth the ve bus smart dongle is neat, I have one. It does basic in and out monitoring of the inverter only.

The smart shunt is really to see what is coming into or going out of the battery.

To see the solar the real question is the mppt you have is it not smart? If it does not have Bluetooth then you can add a ve direct to Bluetooth adaptor for that.

But again the GX is the only one that brings it together in one place.

You would have to connect separately over Bluetooth, to each device or use the broadcast feature to see a basic overview with Victron Connect.

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Alexandra ♦ commented · Mar 22 at 06:41 PM

An overview if you just use BT will look like this. That is the smart shunt, mppt and Venus smart dongle. Ps not on the same system hence the difference in battery voltages.

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brooke-giddens commented · Mar 22 at 07:01 PM

Right. So this is what I've started to piece together. Am I correct in saying I need the following:

VE.Direct Smart Dongle - This will plug into my not smart MPPT controller and allow me to see Solar input via bluetooth in the Victron app.

Smart Shunt - This will connect to my Multiplus Inverter/Charger and allow me to see battery status and state of charge via bluetooth in the Victron app.

However, both of these options only allow visibility in the app while within Bluetooth range. Is this correct?

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