I’ve been working with a VE.Smart network of 3 SmartSolar MPPTs (100|30, 100|50, & 150|70) and a BMV-712, and I recently got a Cerbo GX MK2 to preempt some system upgrades while also building a custom dashboard.
I have all 4 of those devices wired up with VE.Direct cables to the Cerbo, and they all show up via the Cerbo’s remote panel.
I wanted to leverage the new wired connections to properly network the devices through the Cerbo, so I turned on DVCC (shared voltage, current, and temperature) and disabled the VE.Smart network on each of the 4 devices.
However, the SmartSolar MPPTs all seem out of sync now, and are sometimes separately in Bulk, Absorption, and Float, when with VE.Smart, they used to all be in sync, so I feel like DVCC isn’t working correctly. If I look at the SmartSolars on the Cerbo’s interface, I see a “Networked operation” section, but they all say they’re not networked and the status is “Standalone”.
Does this mean they’re not set up correctly, and is there a step I’m missing? Is there any way for me to validate they’re getting the battery info from the BMV using DVCC now?
Hi Travis.
That Standalone status is normal. It usually only comes into play with managed batteries when everything is under BMS control.
DVCC doesn’t sync mppt Charge States. But with SVS and STS enabled they should all reach Absorb together. The time they spend there can be different if Adaptive algorithm is selected, so best to just set a fixed Absorb time (as a maximum). Then use Tail Amps to drop to Float. SCS is supplying a Current from the charging batteries that all can work from. You’ll need to determine that current level for yourself and enter it into all mppts. IMO it’s a far better way to gain consistency with the Abs > Float transition than with the other algorithms.
Ah, good to know seeing “Standalone” is normal without a networked BMS!
It’s also helpful to know I shouldn’t expect charge states to sync up exactly like with the VE.Smart network.
I did already have fixed time and tail current absorption set up, but after a double-check I noticed one of them had a different tail current value set, which I think was overridden when using the VE.Smart network and then resulted in the split behavior when I switched to DVCC.
I’ll keep an eye on things, but I suspect they’ll all charge more similarly now!
As an update, I did fully reboot all three MPPTs, and they still say “No” next to “Networked”, however they do all appear to be charging in sync, and presumably based on the values from DVCC.
It seems like the “Networked” section doesn’t apply to my VE.Direct system without VE.Bus or VE.Can devices.