question

mikedefieslife avatar image
mikedefieslife asked

Smartsolar/victron connect reporting - Can the date and time be changed?

I'm connecting to my 75/15 and 100/20 controllers via the victron connect app.

When connecting to the 75/15, there seems to be a problem in that the reported yield for the day is split over multiple days. Almost as if it is working based on a different time-zone or something.

For example. I cleared all the history a midnight. This morning the yield has been 130w so far, yet when checking via the app (in all it's forms) It is showing a yield of 90w as yesterday and 40w as today.

The reporting on the other controller, is working fine, it's just the 75/15 that seems off.

I've not seen anywhere in the settings where I can tell it what the current date and time is in order to get accurate reports.

VictronConnect
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12 Answers
Johannes Boonstra (Victron Energy Staff) avatar image
Johannes Boonstra (Victron Energy Staff) answered ·

No, there is no real clock in the MPPT charge controllers so according to the time the PV starts in the morning and when it ends in the afternoon the day/night and noon point is calculated. There eis not a setting to change this.


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steve-scott avatar image steve-scott commented ·

I’m having similar issues (with transportable panels, I don’t connect every day- or twice per day if I’m on the move).

Could a future ‘app update’ reference the time/date on the IOS device so the VConnect app ‘history’ report is accurate?

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mikedefieslife avatar image
mikedefieslife answered ·

Is there any explanation then as to the issue (I use that term lightly as it's not a real problem) I'm facing? Both the controllers are controlling panels that are right next each other so both should start at a similar time (say 09:30) yet at least a couple of hours of the morning's solar activity on the 75/15 controller gets shown as yesterday's activity when checking in Victron Connect.


As I mentioned in my previous post. The history for the 75/15 was cleared just after midnight this morning 24th. So all the solar activity I see in the app should be today's yield only, but the instead it's split 90w yesterday, and now 60w today.


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brad-australia avatar image
brad-australia answered ·

When the MPPT loses solar input for a period it "ends" the day then when solar comes back it "begins" a new day. What is your installation set up? Is it on a vehicle or fixed?


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mikedefieslife avatar image
mikedefieslife answered ·

It's fixed. In the morning I see it working charging the batteries, but the yeild counts as yesterday. Then around 11 or 12, it switches to a new day. It's only this controller. The controller managing the panels in the same location works as expected.

As you can see from the image above, the controller has spread out morning over two days. By your answer does that mean I can disconnect the panels to start a new day?

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Mike Stasko avatar image
Mike Stasko answered ·

Seeing the same issue with 250/100 controller. It was logging data to the previous day, 27th and then around 11am it rolled into the correct day, 28th.

I did disconnect the array to perform some maintenance but that was only about 15mins before I flipped the breaker back. Unsure if it was logging to the incorrect day from the beginning or if it moved the captured statistics to the previous day when i flipped the breaker back on.


Hopefully it was a one time event.


Running the latest firmware 1.37 & Bluetooth Interface 2.14

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steve-scott avatar image
steve-scott answered ·


I’m having similar issues (with transportable panels, I don’t connect every day- or twice per day if I’m on the move).

Could a future ‘app update’ reference the time/date on the IOS device so the VConnect app ‘history’ report is accurate?

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mikedefieslife avatar image
mikedefieslife answered ·

Disconnecting them hasn't done much for me. Perhaps there is a set amount of time they need to be disconnected? I have noticed that when I updated the firmware, the yield data etc... for that day was wiped.

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elf avatar image
elf answered ·

Same issue here 75|15 Victron Connect 5.19 Firmware 1.46

The date changes around midnight anywhere from 11pm to 1am but the details of the previous day are allocated. i.e. all data is reset by one day.

In the morning before sunrise and the MPPT gets any voltage to start the deatils are set back a day and the current day is empty of detail.

Sometimes I have noticed the data splt over two days but that sorted itself after a disconnect.

So Johannes Boonstra reply of Dec 24 '18 at 12:43 PM doesn't make sense as the changes happpens before the MPPT starts not :- " according to the time the PV starts in the morning and"

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turbojens avatar image
turbojens answered ·

I have the same issue, although I have it all connected to Color Control and it's always online so it should really be an option to have it follow change of calendar days.


Why try to calculate the time, when it's already present?

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herr-kull avatar image
herr-kull answered ·

Hi, I had the same issue with BlueSolar MPPT 100/50 connected via USB directConnect cable to a Lubuntu laptop.

I solved it by disconnecting the controller for 3 minutes from batteries few minutes before sunrise and then I reconnected it.

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tony-m avatar image
tony-m answered ·

I too, am finding that the time reference points with the Victron Connect app don't seem to make sense.


Is there anyway we can define when a "day" begins? If not, is there a way to make suggestions for the VictronConnect app?


Developers can't fix problems if they don't know they exist.

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kevgermany avatar image kevgermany ♦♦ commented ·
It's not the app, it's the hardware and if that doesn't support time/day reporting, developers can't fix it.

The real answer is to use VRM, this timestamps data as it's received, removing the need for RTC to be installed and coordinated in every piece of equipment.


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ozarkjoe avatar image
ozarkjoe answered ·

Victron has provided some detail for the MPPT 75/10 thru MPPT 100/20 48v, which have a streetlight function. I would expect others may share some of the algorithm. It would be nice if Victron would provide a similar detailed writeup for this general time function in other controllers as it appears this is a common question. I would recommend removing PV power then Battery power to cause a hard reset and potential re-learn.

I posted this on another thread a few days ago:

From the manual for 'MPPT 75/10 thru 100/20' which have a streetlight function. Maybe the others use a similar time algorithm.

MPPT solar charger manual (victronenergy.com)

The charger has no real time clock, and therefore does not know when it is 12 o'clock at night. All references to midnight refer to what we call solar midnight, this is the mid-point between sunset and sunrise.

Midnight and Sunrise synchronization:

The solar charger needs to have its internal clock synchronized with the solar cycle so it can set the solar midnight and sunrise anchor points in the timer program. After the streetlight settings have been programmed and the solar charger is powered up, the solar charger will start unsynchronized. It will first assume that midnight is 6 hours after sunset, and that the full night last for 12 hours. Once in operation, the solar charger will check the time between each detected sunrise. After three full day/night cycles, where the detected time is approximately 24 hours (one hour of deviation is allowed), it will start using its internal clock, instead of the fixed 6 and 12 hour timing.

A loss of power (no battery power together with no PV power) will cause the solar charger to loose its synchronization. It will take 5 days before it is re-synchronized. Note that the streetlight configuration settings and all other settings will never be lost, they are stored in a non-volatile memory.

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