I am running the Pi with a BMV & MPPT - is it possible to use the Victron AC Current Sensors with the Raspberry Pi to measure as "AC Input" and/or "AC Loads" or is this only possible by using something like a Multiplus? I think at a minimum it would require some way of getting AC current to USB or some pin on the Pi?
I've seen posts where people have figured out how to use analog temp/tank sensors, but what about AC Load/Input?
Like nebulight said, you can use Carlo Gavazzi energy meters:
https://www.victronenergy.com/live/energy-meters:start
And a RS485-USB dongle:
https://www.victronenergy.com/accessories/rs485%20to%20usb%20interface
These meters would show up on the device list page and you can view the data but their data is not much use to the system without a MultiPlus / Quattro. I'm not sure if any of their data directly shows up on VRM either, I only see the data on VRM as part of the system.
This is on a travel trailer install...Looking to use it as a grid meter to measure/monitor/log in VRM the Shore Power/Genset 120vac consumption... would like to know how much the Air Con/etc are pulling from the grid. But they are upstream of all the Victron gear I've got. and dont have something like a Multiplus installed.. Think it would work for that?
I have had success getting ac current value into pi using the following components:
CR Magnetics CR9580 series current sensor. 0-5 VDC output proportional to AC current
Adafruit ADS1115 ADC analog - digital good tutorials for getting it setup.
My setup logs solar production and use.
Hope this is of some help.
I don't know of any tutorials to do exactly what you need or what I did.
However, the key components are:
Convert the solar output current (AC) to an analog value
Convert the analog value to a digital value ( A - D converter)
Do what ever you want to with the data.
The first item is handled nicely by the CR Magnetics CR9580 series current sensor. 0-5 VDC output proportional to AC current .
https://www.crmagnetics.com/current-sensors/cr9580
The maximum current for this series is 50 A. If your solar output is greater or significantly less than this you will need an additional Current Transformer. I used CR2Rl-500
The goal is to have the input current range close to the full 50A range. That way you get the full range output ( 0 - 5V) At the end of the process you scale the output appropriately in the Pi to represent the correct current value.
These application note are useful for the scaling adjustments
https://www.crmagnetics.com/Assets/ProductPDFs/Field%20Adjustment%20of%20Current%20Transformer%20Ratio.pdf
The result at this point is a 0 - 5 V DC signal proportional to Solar Output AC Current
Adafruit has this: ADS 1115 A-D converter for the Pi.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1085
Adafruit has good tutorials about how to use it with the Pi.
I wrote a Python Script for the data collection.
It gets the value from the AD Converter every minute and writes it ( along with a lot of other data) to a Text file.
I'm not good enough with Python and Pi to be able to offer any help with this part. ( I fortunately had a lot of help)
Most commonly the solar inverter output is 220V single phase.
One of the wires ( L1 or L2 , doesn't matter which) carrying the solar output current goes through the Current transformer.
Experienced Electrician advised!
Note:
I looked at the Victron AC Current sensor: It does measure what you want , however they expect it to connect to Victron devices and give no information about the format or scale of the output. This makes it difficult to use with the Pi ( but real easy to use with Victron products!)
Hope this helps a bit.
@petert thank you for the reply and information. Based on your first post I did pick up a CR9580 and an ADS1115. The ADS1115 requires i2c and followed this thread to successfully get it going: https://community.victronenergy.com/idea/41860/getting-i2c-running-for-humidity-and-temperature-s.html
Luckily the CR9580 has pin-outs to change the scale from 10A,20A or 50A. This is an RV application and at 230v so do not expect to go over 10A. To save tripping breakers when I plug into domestic mains outlets, I have limited my inverter to 10A anyway. Its plenty to charge my batteries.
This is really just to remote monitor that there is power going into the system if I am away from it.
@petert - So you used a python script to datalog but never got anything to be displayed on the Remote Console? There are some analog inputs and was hoping to use those to register AC current.
I'm not familiar with the Remote Console.
I write data to the terminal screen and to a file.
The output from the CR9580 is a 0 - 5V analog signal representing the AC current.
It should be compatible with most analog inputs. and you may not need the Pi.
Or, I suspect that adafruit or some other similar vendor would have an analog output for the PI. This would be useful if you need to scale the CR9580 output to match what the Remote Console expects.
