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Inverter Control Center USER MANUAL We are the only author of ICC. Buy only at ICCSoftware.co.za. Only Clients from ICC website will be supported !

Inverter Control Center - ICC Software · Inverter Control Center USER MANUAL We are the only author of ICC. Buy only at ICCSoftware.co.za. Only Clients from ICC website will be supported

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Inverter Control Center

USER MANUAL

We are the only author of ICC. Buy only at ICCSoftware.co.za. Only Clients from ICC website will be supported !

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Table  of  Contents  ABOUT  THIS  MANUAL  .......................................................................................................................................................  3  

Purpose  ......................................................................................................................................  3  SAFETY  INSTRUCTIONS  ......................................................................................................................................................  3  INTRODUCTION  .................................................................................................................................................................  5  

Features  .....................................................................................................................................  5  BASIC  METHOD  OF  OPERATION  ........................................................................................................................................  6  INSTALLATION  ...................................................................................................................................................................  7  

Unpacking  and  Inspection  ..........................................................................................................  7  Preparation  .................................................................................................................................  7  First  Things  First  .........................................................................................................................  8  Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Battery  Settings  ..............................................................................  9  Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Cloud  Posting  ...............................................................................  10  Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Email  Settings  ..............................................................................  12  Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Updates  ........................................................................................  12  Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Setup  ............................................................................................  14  

OPERATION  .....................................................................................................................................................................  17  Operation  -­  Dashboard  Tab  .....................................................................................................  17  Operation  -­  Dashboard2  Tab  ...................................................................................................  19  Operation  -­  Inverter/Battery  Values  Tab  ..................................................................................  20  Operation  -­  Grid  Trends  Tab  ....................................................................................................  23  Operation  -­  Load  Trends  Tab  ...................................................................................................  24  Operation  -­  PV  Trends  Tab  ......................................................................................................  25  Operation  -­  Battery  Trends  Tab  ...............................................................................................  26  Operation  -­  Hour  Totals  Tab  ....................................................................................................  27  Operation  -­  Threads  Info  Tab  ...................................................................................................  28  Operation  -­  Totals  Tab  .............................................................................................................  29  Operation  -­  Error  Logs  Tab  ......................................................................................................  31  Operation  -­  Cluster  Info  Tab  .....................................................................................................  32  

REPORTING  -­‐  EMONCMS  .................................................................................................................................................  33  Overview  ..................................................................................................................................  33  Reporting  -­  Understanding  Emoncms  Inputs  ...........................................................................  33  Reporting  -­  Understanding  Emoncms  Feeds  ...........................................................................  40  

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REPORTING  -­‐  EMONCMS  DASHBOARDS  .........................................................................................................................  41  Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Single)  .............................................................................  41  Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Grid  Consumption)  ..........................................................  42  Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Power  Generated)  ..........................................................  42  Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Battery  Consumption)  .....................................................  43  Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Battery  Health)  ................................................................  43  Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Overview  Of  The  Different  Power  Sources)  ....................  44  Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (General)  ..........................................................................  45  IMPORTANT  CUSTOMIZATION  NOTE:  .................................................................................  45  Accessing  ICC  remotely  ...........................................................................................................  47  

WARRANTY  INFORMATION  .............................................................................................................................................  48  TROUBLESHOOTING  ........................................................................................................................................................  49  DOCUMENT  CONTROL  ....................................................................................................................................................  50    

ABOUT  THIS  MANUAL  Purpose  

This  manual  describes  the  installation,  operation  and  troubleshooting  of  the  Inverter  Control  Center  based  on  Raspberry  PI  technology.    Please  read  this  manual  carefully  before  installation  and  operation.  Keep  this  manual  for  reference.    

SAFETY  INSTRUCTIONS    WARNING:  This  chapter  contains  important  safety  and  operating  instructions.  Please  

read  this  section  carefully  before  proceeding.  

•   To  reduce  risk  of  electric  shock,  ensure  that  all  electrical  connections  are  made  by  qualified  personnel.  

•   For  optimum  operation,  ensure  that  the  power  supply  to  the  Raspberry  PI  is  connected  to  an  uninterruptable  source.  

•   Be  very  cautious  when  working  with  metal  tools  on  or  around  batteries.    A  potential  risk  exists  to  drop  a  tool  to  spark  or  short  circuit  batteries  or  other  electrical  parts  and  could  cause  an  explosion.    

•   Ensure  that  the  inverter  used  is  connected  to  a  permanent  grounded  wiring  system.    Be  sure  that  your  installation  complies  with  local  requirements  and  regulation  before  installing  or  connecting  the  Raspberry  Pi  to  your  system.  

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•   The  Raspberry  PI  contains  no  serviceable  parts  and  as  such  should  be  disposed  of  properly.      

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INTRODUCTION  Inverter  Control  Center  software  was  designed  to  monitor  a  wide  variety  of  popular  inverters  available  on  the  market  today.    It  runs  on  a  Raspberry  PI  model  3B,  and  consumes  very  little  power.    It  is  small  enough  to  be  installed  with  the  solar  system  of  your  choice,  and  once  configured  it  can  run  headless  (without  screen,  keyboard  or  mouse).    Its  comprehensive  dashboard  for  both  single  and  multiple  inverter  setups  give  the  end  user  a  true  reflection  of  how  the  system  is  performing  in  real  time  and  allows  for  tracking  the  performance  of  the  system  over  time.    

Features  •   Monitor  all  power  sources  together  with  what  is  used  when  in  real  time.  •   Calculate  total  amount  of  power  produced  and  consumed  from  both  solar  panels,  batteries  and/or  grid.    

•   Determine  the  maximum  load  per  hour  /  per  day.  •   Determine  the  maximum  PV  produced  per  hour  /  per  day.  •   Monitor  a  host  of  different  variables  from  the  attached  inverter(s)  in  real  time.  •   Comprehensive  monitoring  of  the  batteries  attached  to  a  system  including  state  of  charge  

(SOC),  voltage,  wattage  used,  amps  used.  •   Can  optionally  be  connected  to  a  Victron  BMV-­702  battery  monitor  for  precise  battery  

monitoring.    •   Switch  between  grid  and  battery  power  at  specific  times  or  based  on  certain  state  of  charge  

(SOC)  values.    •   Ability  to  email  end  user  with  any  errors  the  system  may  experience  like  overload,  

overheating,  low  battery  warnings,  etc.    •   Built-­in  dashboard  for  viewing  everything  happening  in  the  solar  system  in  an  easy  to  use  

and  understand  manner.    •   Support  for  both  USB  and  serial  (RS232)  connection  to  the  inverter  of  your  choice.  

   

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BASIC  METHOD  OF  OPERATION  The  following  illustration  depicts  the  basic  method  of  operation  of  the  system:  

 

 

The  Raspberry  PI  is  in  constant  communication  with  the  inverter  and  gathers  all  the  performance  and  operating  data  exposed  by  the  system,  which  is  then  logged  to  a  database  while  being  displayed  on  an  interactive  dashboard  in  real  time.      

   

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     INSTALLATION  Unpacking  and  Inspection  Before  installation,  please  inspect  the  package  to  ensure  that  nothing  is  damaged.    You  should  have  received  the  following  items:  

•   1  x  Raspberry  PI  in  a  casing  •   1  x  16GB  Micro  SD  Memory  card  (pre-­installed  in  unit)    •   1  x  Raspberry  PI  Power  supply  

Preparation  Before  connecting  the  system  to  your  inverter,  please  ensure  that  you  have  the  following  items  available  for  first-­time  use.  These  items  may  not  be  necessary  after  the  initial  configuration:  

•   Monitor  with  HDMI  interface  and  cable.  •   USB  keyboard.  •   USB  mouse.  •   Wi-­Fi  network  with  internet  access    •   USB  Communication  cable  for  your  inverter  

Lastly,  please  make  sure  that  the  power  supply  for  the  Raspberry  PI  is  powered  by  your  inverter,  so  that  it  gets  clean  constant  power.    Connect  the  one  end  of  your  USB  communication  cable  to  the  respective  communications  port  on  your  inverter,  and  the  other  end  of  the  cable  into  any  one  of  the  4  USB  ports  on  the  Raspberry  PI.    Connect  the  USB  keyboard  and  mouse  to  the  remaining  USB  ports  and  plug  in  the  HDMI  cable.    Once  done,  you  may  connect  the  power  supply  to  the  unit.    It  will  run  through  the  startup  sequence  and  load  the  operating  system.    The  ICC  software  will  start  automatically  once  the  operating  system  is  loaded.    

   

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First  Things  First  The  first  thing  to  configure  is  to  join  the  Raspberry  Pi  to  a  Wi-­Fi  network  with  Internet  access.    This  is  required  for  updates,  as  well  as  viewing  the  dashboard  remotely.  Wireless  connections  can  be  made  via  the  network  icon  at  the  right  hand  side  of  the  menu  bar.    

 

The  icons  on  the  right  show  whether  a  network  is  secured  or  not,  and  its  signal  strength.  Click  the  network  that  you  want  to  connect  to.  If  it  is  secured,  a  dialogue  box  is  will  prompt  you  to  enter  the  network  key:  

Enter  the  key  and  press  OK,  then  wait  a  couple  of  seconds.  The  network  icon  will  flash  briefly  to  show  that  a  connection  is  being  made.  When  it  is  ready,  the  icon  will  stop  flashing  and  show  the  signal  strength.  At  this  point  ICC  is  ready  to  be  configured.    

   

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Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Battery  Settings  On  the  ICC  console,  click  on  the  "Settings"  Tab  and  then  on  "Battery"  and  configure  the  following  settings:  

 

The  software  can  be  configured  to  use  the  State  of  Charge  (SOC)  of  the  batteries  to  control  whether  the  system  is  running  on  grid  power  or  battery  power.    To  enable  it,  tick  "Use  SOC  for  Control",  and  then  configure  the  percentage  at  which  the  batteries  will  fail  over  to  grid  power,  as  well  as  when  they  will  automatically  go  back  to  batteries.    In  the  example  above,  the  batteries  can  discharge  until  20%  has  been  drained  from  them  (so  they  still  have  80%  left  in  them),  at  which  point  the  system  will  tell  the  inverter  to  fail  over  to  grid  power.    It  will  then  stay  on  grid  power  until  the  batteries  are  100%  charged  again,  and  only  then  will  it  go  back  to  solar/battery  mode.      

CAUTION:    Different  batteries  will  have  different  settings.    If  this  setting  is  used,  please  ensure  that  the  correct  SOC  is  chosen,  as  the  wrong  settings  can  harm  your  batteries  and/or  substantially  reduce  their  performance  and  expected  lifetime.      

Another  way  of  changing  the  system  between  grid  and  solar  power  is  to  let  it  run  on  grid  power  and  solar  power  at  different  times  of  the  day.    To  use  this  setting,  tick  "Use  Time  for  Control",  and  configure  the  time  of  the  day  that  the  system  will  start  using  batteries,  as  well  as  the  time  that  it  will  change  back  over  to  grid  power.    

CAUTION:    Different  batteries  will  have  different  settings.    If  this  setting  is  used,  please  ensure  that  the  correct  SOC  is  chosen,  as  the  wrong  settings  can  harm  your  batteries  and/or  substantially  reduce  their  performance  and  expected  lifetime.      

If  you  have  a  Victron  BMW-­702  Battery  Monitor,  you  can  optionally  connect  it  to  the  Raspberry  Pi  as  well  and  tick  the  box  to  enable  the  system  to  use  it.    This  will  instruct  the  system  to  rather  look  at  the  values  received  from  the  BMW-­702  for  precise  battery  monitoring  and  SOC  control,  and  ultimately  ensure  the  best  possible  lifetime  for  the  connected  battery  stack.    

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Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Cloud  Posting  

 

A  key  feature  of  ICC  is  the  ability  to  push  all  the  data  collected  from  the  inverter(s)  to  Emoncms,  where  it  is  stored  in  a  database  and  presented  as  a  series  of  graphs  that  make  it  easy  to  understand  what's  going  on  in  the  solar  system  as  a  whole.    As  of  version  2.2.0,  ICC  can  push  data  both  to  the  local  instance  of  Emoncms  running  directly  on  the  Raspberry  Pi  as  well  as  to  Emoncms.org  which  is  hosted  in  the  internet  at  the  same  time.    This  allows  for  the  end  user  to  see  what's  happening  in  the  solar  system,  and  also  push  the  same  data  to  the  installer.  

The  result  is  that  the  installer  can  monitor  all  of  the  systems  they  built  in  a  single  dashboard,  and  also  have  the  ability  to  drill  down  to  the  respective  client's  system  if  they  need  to  see  more  information  about  the  system.    

The  locally  configured  instance  of  Emoncms  running  directly  on  the  Raspberry  Pi  has  been  pre-­configured  with  dashboards  for  both  single  and  parallel  inverter  setups,  and  can  be  edited  easily  to  match  the  setup  of  the  installed  system.    

To  have  data  posted  to  Emoncms  hosted  in  the  cloud,  go  to  www.emoncms.org  and  register  a  new  account  free  of  charge.    Once  logged  in,  click  on  "Setup"  in  the  top  right,  and  select  "My  Account".    In  the  page  that  opens  up,  note  the  "Write  API  Key".    Back  in  ICC  on  the  Raspberry  Pi,  under  "Emoncms  Server  2",  enter  https://emoncms.org/  and  paste  the  API  key  copied  form  the  "My  Account"  page.    Tick  the  box  that  says  "Post  Emoncms  2"  to  complete  the  configuration.      

   

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ICC will now post to both the localost (the Pi itself), as well as to Emoncms.org hosted in the cloud.An example of what this configuration looks like can be seen below:

A great new feature introduced in version 2 and higher is the ability to monitor up to 100 completelyseparate solar systems in one single dashboard, even if one system is built with Apxert inverter(s)and the next with InifiniSolar inverter(s) for instance. This is accomplished by specifying the NODEof the system. Each system simply gets a different node, which means that in Emoncms you willend up with as much as 30 nodes, where each node will be an entire solar system, uploading theperformance data of that system every couple of seconds. The configuration of such a dashboardhowever is something that takes a fair amount of time to implement, but it works fantastically oncedone.

Further to Emoncms, there is also the option to showcase the performance of the system onPVOutput. Unlike Emoncms, the PVOutput server cannot be installed locally, so the end user onlyhas the option to enter the respective API key together with their system ID if chosen. This willupload all the power generated to PVOutput.org and can also be viewed in real time on any smartphone/tablet or pc. To register an account on PVPutput.org, simply visit the website(www.pvoutput.org), click on register and follow the prompts. Once done, copy the System ID gienby the site and past it in the ICC client and click save.

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Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Email  Settings  

 

In  the  Email  Settings  dialog  box,  configure  the  SMTP  server  address  and  port  of  your  ISP.    If  SSL  is  required,  tick  the  SSL  box.    Remember  that  the  "Send  From"  address  will  always  be  the  account  you  are  configuring,  otherwise  the  server  will  not  allow  you  to  relay.    The  "Send  Faults"  tick  box  is  very  useful  for  getting  informed  about  what  happens  in  the  system,  and  will  send  alerts  like  overload,  over  temperature,  under  voltage  and  more  to  your  email  address  the  moment  they  occur.    Once  done,  click  the  "Email  Test"  button  to  test  the  setup  and  ensure  it  works  properly.  Click  the  "Save"  button  in  the  bottom  right  hand  corner  to  save  the  settings.    

Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Updates  

 

As  new  features,  bug  fixes,  etc  become  available,  they  are  pushed  to  the  internet.    Click  on  "Check  Version"  to  let  the  system  compare  its  current  version  to  that  of  the  latest  version  available.    A  dialog  box  displaying  the  change  logs  will  pop  up  and  also  indicate  if  there  is  a  new  available  for  download.  If  there  is  a  new  version,  the  "Download"  button  will  become  available,  and  you  can  update  the  software  from  there.  Once  downloaded,  the  software  will  quit  automatically  and  replace  the  current  version  with  the  latest  version.    If  your  operating  system  was  updated  recently,  it  may  be  required  to  manually  set  the  permission  to  run  the  software  after  upgrading.  To  do  this,  open  the  file  explorer  (the  yellow  button  on  the  bottom  left  of  the  screen),  and  click  on  the  ICC  folder  on  the  left  hand  side.  Look  for  the  file  called  ICC,  right  click  on  it,  and  select  "properties":  

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On  the  properties  page,  select  the  "Permissions"  tab  and  ensure  that  all  three  drop-­down  boxes  display  "Anyone"  as  per  the  below  picture:  

 

Click  OK  and  your  upgrade  will  be  complete.    

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Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Setup  

 

The  most  important  step  in  setting  up  the  ICC  software  is  to  select  the  correct  inverter(s)  for  the  system  in  question.    Firstly,  select  the  type  of  connection  used  in  your  system.    For  most  users  USB  will  be  used,  but  serial  (RS232)  is  also  supported  for  inverters  that  only  have  a  serial  communications  port.    If  serial  is  selected,  ensure  that  the  correct  port  is  selected  where  the  USB  to  RS232  converter  is  connected.    

The  next  step  is  to  specify  the  inverter(s)  that  the  system  need  to  monitor.    All  inverters  talk  to  the  software  using  different  protocols,  so  it  is  imperative  that  the  right  selection  be  made  under  "Inverter  Selection".    

As  of  version  2.2.0  the  following  inverters  are  supported:  

 

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Select  the  correct  inverter  for  your  system.    If  the  system  is  in  parallel,  select  the  5kva  Parallel  for  instance,  and  then  specify  the  "Number  of  Inverters"  to  let  the  software  know  how  many  inverters  to  look  for.      

Specify  how  much  PV  panels  are  used  in  the  connected  system.    For  instance,  if  12  x  300W  panels  are  used  the  "PV  Size"  will  3600.    

Fill  out  the  "Capital  Cost"  of  the  system,  as  well  as  the  Utility  Tariff  per  kWh.  This  will  be  used  to  calculate  cost  savings  over  time,  and  is  very  useful  for  determining  the  return  on  investment  of  the  system.        

If  the  system  will  run  without  a  monitor,  keyboard  or  mouse  attached,  it  is  recommended  that  the  "Auto  Start"  option  be  ticked,  to  ensure  that  the  software  automatically  starts  the  communication  with  the  server  in  the  event  of  a  reboot.      

MQTT  support  is  also  included  for  advanced  users,  and  may  be  turned  on  by  ticking  the  "Publish  MQTT"  option.    This  allows  the  system  to  be  monitored  remotely  with  any  MQTT  capable  client.    At  the  time  of  writing  MQTT  Dash  is  available  free  of  charge  for  Android.    The  pre-­configured  details  for  MQTT  is:  

UN:  icc  

PW:  raspberry  

Follow  the  procedure  below  to  change  the  username  and  password  if  required:  

1.    Open  the  Terminal  application  on  the  Raspberry  Pi.      Once  open,  enter  the  following  command,  replacing  <user_name>  with  the  new  username  of  your  choice.    

sudo mosquitto_passwd -c /etc/mosquitto/passwd <user_name>

Press  enter,  and  the  system  will  ask  for  the  new  password  to  be  used  and  also  ask  to  confirm  it.    Enter  the  password  you  would  like  to  use  and  confirm  it.    Once  one,  restart  the  system  by  typing  sudo restart now

2.    Once  restarted,  go  to  the  Settings  tab  and  enter  the  new  username  and  password  for  MQTT  and  click  save.    Remember  to  configure  the  corresponding  details  in  the  MQTT  client  of  your  choice.    

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MQTT  is  now  ready  for  authentication  with  the  new  username  and  password.    

 

Looking  at  the  Gauge  Color  Settings  section,  the  minimum  and  maximum  values  for  each  of  the  gauges  on  Dashboard  2  can  be  configured  as  follow:  

 

Ensure  that  the  maximum  output  capability  of  the  system  is  captured  at  the  "Inverter  system  total  watts"  section.      In  this  example  the  connected  system  is  a  single  Axpert  5kva,  which  is  capable  of  delivering  4000W  of  power.      

 

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IMPORTANT:  Please  make  a  note  of  the  ICC  ID,  click  on  "Enter  License  Key",  and  write  down  the  license  key.    Store  this  in  a  safe  location,  as  this  information  is  unique  to  every  Raspberry  Pi  and  will  be  required  in  the  event  of  data  loss  to  identify  the  Pi,  purchase  date,  etc.    

Click  "Save"  to  save  all  the  settings.    The  Pi  is  now  ready  to  start  monitoring  your  system.    

OPERATION  Operation  -­  Dashboard  Tab  

 

Click  on  the  "Dashboard"  tab  and  click  on  "Start"  at  the  top  left  corner.  If  the  correct  inverter  type  and  number  of  inverters  were  selected  on  the  "Settings"  tab,  the  software  will  connect  to  the  inverter,  and  will  start  to  update  the  power  being  produced  and  consumed  in  real  time.  To  zoom  in  on  a  specific  portion  of  the  graph,  click  on  the  graph  and  drag  the  mouse  to  the  right,  then  release  the  mouse  button.    The  graph  can  be  zoomed  in  multiple  times  until  the  detail  in  question  is  clearly  visible.    To  reset  the  view,  click  and  drag  the  mouse  to  the  left,  which  will  reset  the  view  upon  releasing  the  mouse  button.      

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Below  is  a  list  of  the  detail  displayed  on  the  "Dashboard"  tab:  

•   RunTime:  The  total  amount  of  hours  the  system  has  been  running  for.    •   Update  Trends:  If  ticked  the  graph  will  update  in  real  time  to  show  the  respective  power  sources  in  use  on  the  system.  

•   Load  Watts:  The  load  on  the  system  at  any  given  point  in  time,  regardless  of  what  source  is  used  to  power  that  load.  

•   PV  Watts:  The  amount  of  power  generated  by  the  solar  panels  connected  to  the  system.  •   Grid  Watts:  The  amount  of  power  used  from  the  utility  grid.  •   Battery  Watts:  The  amount  of  power  used  from  the  batteries.      •   Grid  kWh  Used:  The  total  amount  of  power  consumed  from  the  utility  Grid  during  the  past  

24  hours.    This  counter  resets  at  midnight  every  day.    •   Total  kWh  Used:  The  total  amount  of  power  used  from  all  available  sources  for  the  past  24  

hours.  This  counter  resets  at  midnight  every  day.  •   PV  kWh  Produced:  The  total  amount  of  power  produced  by  the  solar  panels  attached  to  

the  system  during  the  past  24  hours.    This  counter  resets  at  midnight  every  day.  •   Efficiency:  The  efficiency  of  the  system,  calculated  by  taking  the  "PV  Size"  of  all  the  solar  

panels  (specified  on  the  "Settings"  tab),  and  dividing  that  by  the  total  daily  power  yield.    The  higher  the  number,  the  more  efficient  the  system.    

•   Max  Load  Day:  The  maximum  load  the  system  had  to  supply  during  the  past  24  hours.  This  counter  resets  at  midnight  every  day.    

•   Max  Load  Hour:  The  maximum  load  the  system  had  to  supply  during  the  past  hour.    This  counter  resets  every  hour.    

•   Max  PV  Day:  The  maximum  amount  of  power  generated  by  the  system  during  the  past  24  hours.    This  counter  resets  at  midnight  every  day.    

•   Max  PV  Hour:  The  maximum  amount  of  power  generated  by  the  system  during  the  past  hour.    This  counter  resets  every  hour.    

NOTE:  If  the  Battery  Watts  display  is  below  the  zero  line,  it  means  that  the  system  is  drawing  power  from  the  batteries  to  power  the  load.    Likewise,  as  per  the  above  example,  if  the  Battery  Watts  display  is  above  zero,  it  means  that  power  is  going  into  the  batteries  and  they  are  being  charged.    In  an  off-­grid  system  with  sufficient  solar  panels  and  batteries,  there  should  be  enough  energy  generated  that  the  green  line  (PV  Watts)  is  the  highest  visible  line  during  the  day,  followed  by  the  line  for  the  load  and  then  the  line  for  the  batteries.    The  Grid  Watts  line  should  be  at  zero  during  the  day  (or  below  zero  in  a  grid-­tied  system),  and  if  there  are  enough  batteries  in  the  system,  should  remain  at  zero  during  the  night,  but  this  will  differ  from  system  to  system.    

 

   

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Operation  -­  Dashboard2  Tab  

 

A  great  new  feature  introduced  in  version  2.2.0  and  up  is  the  ability  to  see  all  the  data  captured  from  a  system  in  an  easy  to  understand  graphical  interface  with  gauges,  giving  the  end  user  a  quick  overview  of  what's  happening  in  the  system  at  a  single  glance.    This  is  especially  useful  if  the  system  will  have  a  dedicated  monitor  connected  to  it,  where  all  the  values  can  be  displayed  in  real-­time.  To  configure  when  each  gauge  will  be  green,  yellow  or  red  based,  please  see  the  "Configuring  ICC  Software  -­  Setup"  portion  of  this  manual.    

 

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Operation  -­  Inverter/Battery  Values  Tab  

 

Click  on  the  "Inverter  /  Battery  Values"  tab.  This  is  where  all  the  detail  from  a  single  inverter  can  be  seen  in  real  time.      If  a  cluster  is  selected,  a  new  tab  "Cluster  Info"  will  become  available  and  will  be  discussed  later  in  this  manual.    

All  the  values  from  the  inverter  is  displayed  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  page,  while  all  the  detail  from  the  attached  battery  bank  is  displayed  on  the  right  hand  side.    

NOTE:  Some  of  the  statistics  displayed  on  this  page  will  only  be  populated  if  a  Victron  BMV-­702  Battery  Monitor  is  used.    

   

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Below  is  a  list  of  all  the  detail  displayed  on  the  "Inverter  /  Battery  Values"  tab.  

Inverter  Stats  

•   Grid  Voltage:  The  voltage  of  the  Utility  grid  connected  to  the  system.  •   Grid  Frequency:  The  frequency  of  the  Utility  grid  connected  to  the  system.  •   Grid  Watts:  The  amount  of  power  consumed  from  the  Utility  grid  by  the  system.  •   Inverter  Voltage:  The  voltage  being  produced  by  the  inverter.  •   Inverter  Frequency:  The  frequency  that  the  voltage  generated  by  the  inverter  is  running  at.  •   Load  Watts:  The  load  in  watts  on  the  system.  •   Inverter  Load  %:  The  percentage  load  on  the  system.  •   Battery  Volt:  The  voltage  of  the  connected  battery  stack.  •   Battery  Input  Amps:  The  amount  of  amps  going  into  the  battery  bank.  •   Battery  Output  Amps:  The  amount  of  amps  being  drawn  form  the  attached  battery  bank.  •   Battery  Capacity:  The  percentage  of  power  left  in  the  battery  bank.  •   PV  Watts  Total:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  generated  by  all  the  panels  connected  to  

the  system.  •   PV  Amps  Total:  The  total  amount  of  amps  being  generated  by  all  the  panels  connected  to  

the  system.  •   PV  Volts  Total:  The  voltage  of  the  solar  panels  connected  to  the  system.  •   MPPT  1  Watts:    The  amount  of  power  from  MPPT1  (In  systems  with  more  than  1  MPPT  controller).  

•   MPPT  2  Watts:  The  amount  of  power  from  MPPT2  (in  systems  with  more  than  1  MPPT  controller).  

•   MPPT  1  Voltage:  The  voltage  from  MPPT  1  (in  systems  with  more  than  1  MPPT  controller)  •   MPPT  2  Voltage:  The  voltage  from  MPPT  2  (in  systems  with  more  than  1  MPPT  controller)  •   MPPT  1  Amps:  The  amperage  from  MPPT  1  (in  systems  with  more  than  1  MPPT  controller)  •   MPPT  2  Amps:  The  amperage  from  MPPT  2  (in  systems  with  more  than  1  MPPT  controller)  •   Temperature:  The  temperature  of  the  inverter.  •   Inverter  Count:  The  amount  of  inverter(s)  in  the  system.  

Battery  Info  

•   State  Of  Charge  (SOC):  The  current  state  of  charge  of  the  attached  battery  bank.  •   State  Of  Last  Discharge  (SOC):  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  how  deep  the  battery  bank  was  discharged  before  it  started  charging  again.  

•   Battery  AH  Consumed:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  amount  of  power  consumed  from  the  battery  bank  during  the  last  discharge  cycle.  

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•   Time  To  Go:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  amount  of  time  to  go  at  the  current  load  until  a  certain  discharge  level  is  reached.    

•   Time  to  100%:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  amount  of  time  left  at  the  current  charge  level  before  the  battery  bank  will  be  charged  to  100%.  

•   Battery  Watts:  The  amount  of  power  being  drawn  or  put  into  the  battery  bank.    If  this  figure  is  positive,  it  means  the  battery  bank  is  being  charged.    If  this  figure  is  negative,  it  means  that  the  battery  is  being  discharged  at  the  wattage  shown.  

•   Battery  Amps:  This  amount  of  amps  being  drawn  from  the  attached  battery  bank.  •   Battery  Voltage:  The  current  voltage  of  the  attached  battery  bank.  •   Max  Main  Battery  Voltage:  The  maximum  voltage  that  the  connected  battery  bank  reached  during  the  last  charge  cycle.    Only  available  on  some  inverters  or  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor.  

•   Min  Main  Battery  Voltage:  The  minimum  voltage  that  the  connected  battery  bank  reached  during  the  last  charge  cycle.    Only  available  on  some  inverters  or  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor.  

•   Battery  Midpoint  Voltage:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  midpoint  voltage  determined  by  the  BMV-­702  battery  monitor.  

•   Battery  Midpoint:  Some  inverters  calculate  the  battery  midpoint  and  will  be  displayed  in  this  variable  if  supported.  

•   Battery  Midpoint  Deviation:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  midpoint  deviation  if  configured.    

•   Battery  Charge  Energy:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  same  value  as  "Battery  Watts",  but  it  will  be  the  value  calculated  by  the  BMV-­702.  

•   Battery  Discharge  Energy:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  same  value  as  "Battery  Watts"  when  in  negative,  but  it  will  be  the  value  calculated  by  the  BMV-­702.    

•   Depth  Deepest  Discharge:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  highest  percentage  that  the  connected  battery  bank  was  discharged.    

•   Depth  Of  Average  Discharge:  This  figure  is  only  available  when  using  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor,  and  will  show  the  average  percentage  that  the  connected  battery  bank  is  discharged  per  cycle.    

•   Number  Of  Charge  Cycles:  This  figure  shows  the  amount  of  times  the  connected  battery  bank  was  charged  and  discharged.  

•   Number  Of  Full  Discharges:  This  figure  shows  the  amount  of  times  the  connected  battery  bank  was  discharged  to  it's  maximum  level,  and  is  useful  in  off-­grid  systems  to  determine  how  hard  the  batteries  have  worked.  

•   Time  Since  Last  Full  Charge:  The  amount  of  time  that  have  passed  since  the  connected  battery  stack  was  last  charged  to  100%.  

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Operation  -­  Grid  Trends  Tab    

 

Click  on  the  "Grid  Trends"  tab.  This  is  where  all  the  detail  regarding  the  grid  power  connected  to  the  system  is  shown,  including  the  wattage  drawn  from  the  grid,  the  frequency  of  the  grid  as  well  as  the  voltage  of  the  incoming  grid  supply.      

To  zoom  in  on  any  graph,  click  and  drag  the  mouse,  then  release  the  mouse  button.    Zoom  in  as  many  times  as  required  to  see  the  data  needed  clearly.    To  reset  the  view,  click  and  drag  the  mouse  to  the  left  and  release  the  mouse  button.  

   

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   Operation  -­  Load  Trends  Tab    

 

Click  on  the  "Load  Trends"  tab.  This  is  where  all  the  detail  regarding  the  loads  attached  to  the  system  is  shown,  including  the  maximum  load,  the  frequency  of  the  inverter  as  well  as  the  voltage  of  the  inverter.      

To  zoom  in  on  any  graph,  click  and  drag  the  mouse,  then  release  the  mouse  button.    Zoom  in  as  many  times  as  required  to  see  the  data  needed  clearly.    To  reset  the  view,  click  and  drag  the  mouse  to  the  left  and  release  the  mouse  button.  

 

 

   

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Operation  -­  PV  Trends  Tab    

 

Click  on  the  "PV  Trends"  tab.  This  is  where  all  the  detail  regarding  the  solar  panels  attached  to  the  system  is  shown,  including  the  maximum  wattage  generated,  the  voltage  of  the  attached  solar  panels,  as  well  as  the  amperage  of  the  panels  attached  to  the  system.      

To  zoom  in  on  any  graph,  click  and  drag  the  mouse,  then  release  the  mouse  button.    Zoom  in  as  many  times  as  required  to  see  the  data  needed  clearly.    To  reset  the  view,  click  and  drag  the  mouse  to  the  left  and  release  the  mouse  button.  

   

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Operation  -­  Battery  Trends  Tab    

 

Click  on  the  "Battery  Trends"  tab.  This  is  where  all  the  detail  regarding  the  battery  bank  attached  to  the  system  is  shown,  including  the  state  of  charge  (SOC),  the  voltage  of  the  attached  battery  bank,  as  well  as  the  amperage  to/from  the  attached  battery  bank.  If  the  Battery  Amps  is  below  the  0  line,  it  means  that  the  system  is  pulling  energy  out  of  the  connected  battery  bank.    If  the  figure  is  above  the  0  line,  it  means  that  the  connected  battery  bank  is  being  charged,  as  energy  is  being  put  back  into  the  battery  bank.    The  example  above  shows  and  off-­grid  system  where  the  battery  amps  are  below  the  0  line  during  the  night,  and  then  starts  charging  again  in  the  morning.  

To  zoom  in  on  any  graph,  click  and  drag  the  mouse,  then  release  the  mouse  button.    Zoom  in  as  many  times  as  required  to  see  the  data  needed  clearly.    To  reset  the  view,  click  and  drag  the  mouse  to  the  left  and  release  the  mouse  button.  

   

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Operation  -­  Hour  Totals  Tab  

 

A  new  feature  introduced  in  version  2.2.0  and  up  is  the  ability  to  what  the  solar  system  did  for  the  past  24  hours  on  an  hourly  basis.    The  hourly  grid  usage,  incoming  PV  power,  as  well  as  the  total  load  on  the  system  are  all  displayed,  making  it  easy  to  see  when  the  system  performed  at  its  best  of  worst  during  the  past  day.    

To  zoom  in  on  any  graph,  click  and  drag  the  mouse,  then  release  the  mouse  button.    Zoom  in  as  many  times  as  required  to  see  the  data  needed  clearly.    To  reset  the  view,  click  and  drag  the  mouse  to  the  left  and  release  the  mouse  button.  

   

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Operation  -­  Threads  Info  Tab  

 

The  info  on  this  tab  has  nothing  to  configure,  and  is  used  purely  for  troubleshooting  and/or  verification  during  and  after  upgrades.  As  such  it  can  be  ignored  during  normal  operation.  

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Operation  -­  Totals  Tab  

 

Click  on  the  "Totals"  tab.  This  view  will  present  an  overview  of  how  the  system  performed  for  a  specific  time  period.    The  information  found  is  broken  up  into  the  following  columns:  

•   TOTAL  kWh  LOAD:  The  total  amount  of  power  that  the  inverter  had  to  supply  for  the  period  specified.  

•   SOLAR  KWH  PRODUCED:  The  total  amount  of  power  produced  by  the  system  for  the  period  specified.    

•   GRID  KWH  USED:  The  total  amount  of  power  consumed  from  the  utility  grid  for  the  period  specified.  

•   COST  SAVING:  The  total  amount  of  money  saved  by  the  system.    This  is  useful  for  calculating  the  return  on  investment  for  the  period  specified.  

•   EFFICIENCY:  The  efficiency  of  the  system,  calculated  by  taking  the  "PV  Size"  of  all  the  solar  panels  (specified  on  the  "Settings"  tab),  and  dividing  that  by  the  total  daily  power  yield.    The  higher  the  number,  the  more  efficient  the  system.    

   

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There  are  also  four  date  range  blocks:  

The  top  block  displays  the  data  above,  calculated  on  a  daily  basis.      

The  second  block  displays  the  data  above,  calculated  on  a  weekly  basis.  

The  third  block  displays  the  data  above,  calculated  on  a  monthly  basis.  

The  last  block  at  the  bottom  displays  the  overall  information  since  the  system  was  commissioned.    

   

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Operation  -­  Error  Logs  Tab    

 

The  "Error  Logs"  tab  displays  any  possible  errors  that  might  occur,  and  will  only  be  used  for  informational  or  troubleshooting  purposes,  should  any  error  occur.  

As  such  this  tab  can  be  ignored  during  normal  operation.    

   

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Operation  -­  Cluster  Info  Tab    

 

If  your  system  comprises  of  two  or  more  inverters  configured  in  cluster  mode  and  they  are  specified  like  that  on  the  "Settings"  tab,  the  "Cluster  Info"  tab  will  become  visible.  

Here  we  can  see  all  the  information  available  for  every  individual  inverter  in  the  cluster.    Please  see  "Operation  -­  Inverter/Battery  Values  Tab"  for  a  detailed  explanation  of  each  of  these  values.    

 

   

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REPORTING -­ EMONCMSOverviewThe ICC software has been designed to interface with Emoncms, a free reporting portal thatenables the collection of various data sources into an easily understandable dashboard. ThisRaspberry Pi comes pre-­installed with a locally hosted version of Emoncms that can be accessedby visiting the IP address of the Raspberry Pi, eg. http://192.168.0.18/emoncms. The manual willfocus on the locally installed version of Emoncms, as the required counters are already created,together with sample dashboards for both single and parallel inverter setups.

If chosen though, the user can also send all the data collected to the Emoncms site hosted on theinternet, however, the dashboard and performance counters will have to be configured manually,and is recommended for advanced users. The configuration of Emoncms is covered in great detailat the following website: https://github.com/emoncms/emoncms, however, the cloud based setup isnot required or recommended for the average home user. If you are an installer that want tomonitor multiple clients on a custom dashboard where all your clients are displayed.

Reporting -­ Understanding Emoncms InputsAccess the Emoncms login page by clicking on the icon on the bottom left of the Raspberry Pi,or from another browser on the same network by entering the IP address of the Raspberry Pi, eghttp://192.168.0.18/emoncms.

Login with the following detail:

Username: ICC

Password: raspberry

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In  the  top  right  corner,  click  on  "Setup"  and  select  "Inputs".      

 

 

Emoncms  works  by  getting  a  host  of  different  inputs  that  are  updated  in  near  real  time,  and  then  doing  something  with  those  inputs.    For  instance,  some  values  are  already  calculated  by  the  ICC  software  before  being  sent  to  Emoncms,  and  as  such,  they  can  just  be  logged  to  a  feed.    A  feed  is  something  that  contains  all  the  values  of  a  specific  input  over  time,  allowing  us  to  track  and  plot  the  change  of  that  value  and  also  refer  back  to  its  value  at  a  specific  point  in  time.    Some  values  however  need  conversion,  especially  those  that  deal  with  power.    Emoncms  provides  that  conversion  out  of  the  box,  and  as  such  a  certain  wattage  of  power  can  easily  be  converted  into  a  kilowatt-­hour  (kWh)  or  kilowatt-­hour  per  day  (kWh/d)  figure.      

   

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Depending  on  the  inverter  your  setup  uses,  some  of  the  inputs  may  have  zero  values.  The  list  below  shows  the  inputs  that  are  captured  from  all  the  different  inverters.      

•   LoadWatts:  The  total  load  being  pulled  from  the  system  in  Watts.  •   GridVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  the  system.  •   PVWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  produced  by  the  system  in  Watts.  •   LoadPercentage:  The  total  load  on  the  system  measured  as  a  percentage.  •   Inverter_Temp:  The  temperature  of  the  inverter  in  degrees  Celsius.  •   GridWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  drawn  from  the  utility  grid.  •   BatteryVolts:  The  voltage  of  the  connected  battery  stack.  •   SOC:  The  state  of  charge  (SOC)  of  the  connected  battery  stack.  •   BatteryAmps:  The  total  amount  of  amps  being  drawn  from  the  battery  stack.  •   Grid_Frequency:  The  frequency  of  the  incoming  utility  power  measured  in  hertz.  •   Inverter_Frequency:  The  frequency  of  the  power  going  out  form  the  inverter  in  hertz.  •   BatteryWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  drawn  from  the  battery  bank  in  watts.  •   Battery_Amps_Use:  The  total  amount  of  amps  being  drawn  from  the  battery  bank.  •   Efficiency:  The  efficiency  of  the  system  calculated  by  ICC.  •   Battery_TimeTo100:  The  time  left  before  the  battery  bank  is  100%  charged.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used  on  the  system.    

•   SolarMode:  The  mode  the  inverter  is  running  on.    Will  be  1  if  running  on  batteries/solar,  otherwise  it  will  be  0.  

•   GridMode:  The  mode  the  inverter  is  running  on.    Will  be  1  if  running  on  utility  power,  otherwise  it  will  be  0.  

•   BatteryTTG:  How  long  can  the  batteries  drain  at  the  current  consumption  until  it  reaches  a  certain  point.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used  on  the  system.    

•   Battery_TimeToHour:  The  predicted  hour  at  which  the  battery  stack  will  reach  a  pre-­programmed  level  while  being  drained  at  the  current  load.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used  on  the  system.  

•   Battery_TimeToMinute:  The  predicted  minute  at  which  the  battery  stack  will  reach  a  pre-­programmed  level  while  being  drained  at  the  current  load.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used  on  the  system.  

•   SolarWatts:    The  total  amount  of  power  that  the  system  delivered  from  renewable  energy  sources  like  batteries/solar  panels.    

•   Inverter_Voltage:  The  output  voltage  from  the  inverter.    •   PVWatts1:  The  wattage  being  produced  from  the  1st  MPPT  controller.    This  value  is  only  

populated  if  using  an  inverter  with  multiple  MPPT  Controllers  •   PVWatts2:  The  wattage  being  produced  from  the  2nd  MPPT  controller.    This  value  is  only  

populated  if  using  an  inverter  with  multiple  MPPT  Controllers  •   PVVolts1:  The  input  voltage  from  the  panels  on  the  1st  MPPT  controller.    This  value  is  only  

populated  if  using  an  inverter  with  multiple  MPPT  Controllers  

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•   PVVolts2:  The  input  voltage  from  the  panels  on  the  2nd  MPPT  controller.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  using  an  inverter  with  multiple  MPPT  Controllers  

•   PVAmps1:  The  amps  coming  from  the  panels  on  the  1st  MPPT  controller.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  using  an  inverter  with  multiple  MPPT  Controllers  

•   PVAmps2:  The  amps  coming  from  the  panels  on  the  2nd  MPPT  controller.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  using  an  inverter  with  multiple  MPPT  Controllers  

•   Battery_DischargeEnergy:  The  amount  of  power  coming  out  of  the  batteries  as  measured  by  the  Victron  Battery  Monitor  in  Watts.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Battery_ChargeEnergy:  The  amount  of  power  going  into  the  batteries  as  measured  by  the  Victron  Battery  Monitor  in  Watts.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   PI_Temperature:  The  temperature  the  Raspberry  Pi  is  running  at.    •   Inverter1_GridVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  1.  •   Inverter2_GridVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  2.  •   Inverter3_GridVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  3.  •   Inverter4_GridVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  4.  •   Inverter5_GridVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  5.  •   Inverter6_GridVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  6.  •   Inverter1_GridFreq:  The  frequency  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  1  in  hertz.  •   Inverter2_GridFreq:  The  frequency  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  2  in  hertz.  •   Inverter3_GridFreq:  The  frequency  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  3  in  hertz.  •   Inverter4_GridFreq:  The  frequency  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  4  in  hertz.  •   Inverter5_GridFreq:  The  frequency  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  5  in  hertz.  •   Inverter6_GridFreq:  The  frequency  of  the  utility  grid  being  fed  to  inverter  6  in  hertz.  •   Inverter1_InverterVoltage:  The  voltage  coming  out  of  inverter  1.  •   Inverter2_InverterVoltage:  The  voltage  coming  out  of  inverter  2.  •   Inverter3_InverterVoltage:  The  voltage  coming  out  of  inverter  3.  •   Inverter4_InverterVoltage:  The  voltage  coming  out  of  inverter  4.  •   Inverter5_InverterVoltage:  The  voltage  coming  out  of  inverter  5.  •   Inverter6_InverterVoltage:  The  voltage  coming  out  of  inverter  6.  •   Inverter1_OutputFreq:  The  output  frequency  coming  from  inverter  1  in  hertz.  •   Inverter2_OutputFreq:  The  output  frequency  coming  from  inverter  2  in  hertz.  •   Inverter3_OutputFreq:  The  output  frequency  coming  from  inverter  3  in  hertz.  •   Inverter4_OutputFreq:  The  output  frequency  coming  from  inverter  4  in  hertz.  •   Inverter5_OutputFreq:  The  output  frequency  coming  from  inverter  5  in  hertz.  •   Inverter6_OutputFreq:  The  output  frequency  coming  from  inverter  6  in  hertz.  •   Inverter1_Load:  The  load  on  inverter  1  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter2_Load:  The  load  on  inverter  2  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter3_Load:  The  load  on  inverter  3  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter4_Load:  The  load  on  inverter  4  measured  in  Watts.  

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•   Inverter5_Load:  The  load  on  inverter  5  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter6_Load:  The  load  on  inverter  6  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter1_BatteryCapacity:  The  state  of  charge  (SOC)  measured  on  inverter  1.  •   Inverter2_BatteryCapacity:  The  state  of  charge  (SOC)  measured  on  inverter  2.  •   Inverter3_BatteryCapacity:  The  state  of  charge  (SOC)  measured  on  inverter  3.  •   Inverter4_BatteryCapacity:  The  state  of  charge  (SOC)  measured  on  inverter  4.  •   Inverter5_BatteryCapacity:  The  state  of  charge  (SOC)  measured  on  inverter  5.  •   Inverter6_BatteryCapacity:  The  state  of  charge  (SOC)  measured  on  inverter  6.  •   Inverter1_BatteryVolt:  The  voltage  of  the  battery  bank  measured  on  inverter  1.  •   Inverter2_BatteryVolt:  The  voltage  of  the  battery  bank  measured  on  inverter  2.  •   Inverter3_BatteryVolt:  The  voltage  of  the  battery  bank  measured  on  inverter  3.  •   Inverter4_BatteryVolt:  The  voltage  of  the  battery  bank  measured  on  inverter  4.  •   Inverter5_BatteryVolt:  The  voltage  of  the  battery  bank  measured  on  inverter  5.  •   Inverter6_BatteryVolt:  The  voltage  of  the  battery  bank  measured  on  inverter  6.  •   Inverter1_PVVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  1.  •   Inverter2_PVVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  2.  •   Inverter3_PVVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  3.  •   Inverter4_PVVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  4.  •   Inverter5_PVVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  5.  •   Inverter6_PVVoltage:  The  voltage  of  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  6.  •   Inverter1_PVAmps:  The  amperage  coming  from  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  1.  •   Inverter2_PVAmps:  The  amperage  coming  from  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  2.  •   Inverter3_PVAmps:  The  amperage  coming  from  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  3.  •   Inverter4_PVAmps:  The  amperage  coming  from  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  4.  •   Inverter5_PVAmps:  The  amperage  coming  from  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  5.  •   Inverter6_PVAmps:  The  amperage  coming  from  the  PV  panels  connected  to  inverter  6.  •   Inverter1_PVWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  produced  by  inverter  1.  •   Inverter2_PVWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  produced  by  inverter  2.  •   Inverter3_PVWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  produced  by  inverter  3.  •   Inverter4_PVWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  produced  by  inverter  4.  •   Inverter5_PVWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  produced  by  inverter  5.  •   Inverter6_PVWatts:  The  total  amount  of  power  being  produced  by  inverter  6.  •   Inverter1_LoadWatts:  The  load  on  inverter  1  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter2_LoadWatts:  The  load  on  inverter  2  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter3_LoadWatts:  The  load  on  inverter  3  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter4_LoadWatts:  The  load  on  inverter  4  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter5_LoadWatts:  The  load  on  inverter  5  measured  in  Watts.  •   Inverter6_LoadWatts:  The  load  on  inverter  6  measured  in  Watts.  •   DaysLast_Full_Charge:  The  amount  of  days  since  the  system  has  been  recharged  fully.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

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•   HourLast_Full_Charge:  The  amount  of  hours  since  the  system  has  been  recharged  fully.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   MinuteLast_Full_Charge:  The  amount  of  minutes  since  the  system  has  been  recharged  fully.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   SecondsLast_Full_Charge:  The  amount  of  seconds  since  the  system  has  been  recharged  fully.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   TotalSecondsLast_Full_Charge:  The  amount  of  days  since  the  system  has  been  recharged  fully.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Battery_Efficiency:  The  efficiency  of  the  attached  battery  stack.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Number_of_charge_cycles:  The  amount  of  times  the  attached  battery  stack  has  been  recharged.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   BMVMidvoltage:  The  midvoltage  setting  of  the  attached  battery  stack.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Cumulative_Amp_Hours_drawn:  The  total  amount  of  Amp  Hours  drawn  from  the  connected  battery  stack.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Depth_of_the_average_discharge:  The  average  depth  of  discharge  of  the  connected  battery  stack.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Depth_of_the_deepest_discharge:  The  deepest  depth  of  discharge  of  the  connected  battery  stack.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Minimum_main_Battery_voltage:  The  lowest  voltage  that  the  connected  battery  stack  has  been  drained  to.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Max_main_Battery_voltage:  The  maxmimum  voltage  that  the  connected  battery  stack  has  been  charged  to.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Number_of_automatic_synchronizations:    The  number  of  automatic  synchornizations  that  has  been  performed  on  the  connected  battery  stack.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Number_of_Low_voltage_alarms:  How  many  low  voltage  alarms  have  been  generated  for  the  connected  battery  stack.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Number_of_High_voltage_alarms:  How  many  high  voltage  alarms  have  been  generated  for  the  connected  battery  stack.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Depth_of_the_last_discharge:  The  depth  of  discharge  reached  during  the  last  discharge  cycle.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Days_TimeTo_100:  Displays  the  amount  of  days  until  the  connected  battery  stack  is  charged  at  the  current  input  power.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Hour_TimeTo_100:  Displays  the  amount  of  hours  until  the  connected  battery  stack  is  charged  at  the  current  input  power.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Minute_TimeTo_100:  Displays  the  amount  of  minutes  until  the  connected  battery  stack  is  charged  at  the  current  input  power.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

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•   Seconds_TimeTo100:  Displays  the  amount  of  seconds  until  the  connected  battery  stack  is  charged  at  the  current  input  power.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Days_Off_Grid:  Displays  the  amount  of  days  the  connected  system  has  operated  without  any  grid  usage.  This  counter  resets  as  soon  as  grid  mode  is  enabled,  or  if  the  ICC  client  is  restarted.  

•   Hour_Off_Grid:  Displays  the  amount  of  hours  the  connected  system  has  operated  without  any  grid  usage.  This  counter  resets  as  soon  as  grid  mode  is  enabled,  or  if  the  ICC  client  is  restarted.  

•   Minute_Off_Grid:  Displays  the  amount  of  minutes  the  connected  system  has  operated  without  any  grid  usage.  This  counter  resets  as  soon  as  grid  mode  is  enabled,  or  if  the  ICC  client  is  restarted.  

•   Seconds_Off_Grid:  Displays  the  amount  of  seconds  the  connected  system  has  operated  without  any  grid  usage.  This  counter  resets  as  soon  as  grid  mode  is  enabled,  or  if  the  ICC  client  is  restarted.  

•   BMVMidPoint:  The  midpoint  configured  on  the  BMV  battery  monitor.  This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   BMVMidpoint_Deviate_Voltage:    The  deviate  voltage  of  the  connected  battery  stack.    This  value  is  only  populated  if  a  Victron  Battery  Monitor  is  used.  

•   Max_Load_Day:  Displays  the  maximum  load  that  the  system  had  to  handle  during  the  past  day.    

•   Max_Load_Hour:  Displays  the  maximum  load  that  the  system  had  to  handle  during  the  past  hour.  

•   Max_PV_Day:    Displays  the  maximum  wattage  of  solar  power  that  was  generated  by  the  panels  during  the  past  day.    

•   Max_PV_Hour:  Displays  the  maximum  amount  of  solar  power  that  was  generated  by  the  panels  during  the  past  hour.  

•   Grid_KWh_Used:  Displays  the  amount  of  energy  used  from  the  utility  grid  during  the  past  day  in  kWh.  

•   Total_KWh_Used:  Displays  the  total  amount  of  energy  used  from  all  available  sources  during  the  past  day  in  kWh.  

•   PV_KWh_Produced:  Displays  the  total  amount  of  energy  produced  by  the  solar  panels  for  the  day.      

•   Grid_Amps:  The  amount  of  amps  pulled  from  the  utility  grid  by  the  system  (if  in  grid  mode).  •   Inverter_Amps:  The  amount  of  amps  being  pulled  by  the  load  from  the  inverter.    

   

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Reporting  -­  Understanding  Emoncms  Feeds  In  the  top  right  corner,  click  on  "Setup"  and  select  "Feeds".  

 

 

A  list  of  all  the  different  feeds  will  be  displayed.  They  are  all  the  same  as  the  list  described  under  the  "Reporting  -­  Understanding  Emoncms  inputs"  -­  section  of  this  manual,  apart  from  the  fact  that  they  store  all  the  values  of  the  different  inputs  over  time  and  are  used  to  create  the  respective  dashboards,  graphs,  dials  and  so  forth.  

There  are  a  few  more  feeds  that  are  not  listed  on  the  "Inputs"  page.    They  are  described  below:  

•   LoadWattskWh:  The  load  on  the  system  as  an  hourly  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour  •   LoadWattskWhd:  The  load  on  the  system  as  a  daily  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour  per  day.  

•   PVWattskWh:  The  wattage  produced  by  the  PV  panels  as  an  hourly  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour.    

•   PVWattskWhd:  The  wattage  produced  by  the  PV  panels  as  a  daily  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour  per  day.  

•   GridWattskWh:  The  power  consumed  from  the  utility  grid  as  an  hourly  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour.  

•   GridWattskWhd:  The  power  consumed  from  the  utility  grid  as  a  daily  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour  per  day.  

•   BatteryWattskWh:  The  power  consumed  from  the  batteries  as  an  hourly  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour.  

•   BatteryWattskWhd:  The  power  consumed  from  the  batteries  as  a  daily  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour  per  day.  

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•   SolarWattskWh:  The  power  consumed  from  renewable  energy  sources  like  the  batteries  or  solar  panels  as  an  hourly  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour.  

•   SolarWattskWhd:  The  power  consumed  from  renewable  energy  sources  like  the  batteries  or  solar  panels  as  a  daily  rate,  measured  in  kilowatt-­hour  per  day.    

REPORTING  -­  EMONCMS  DASHBOARDS  As  described  in  the  previous  chapters,  Emoncms  enable  us  to  take  a  lot  of  data  in  real  time,  capture  it,  and  then  display  everything  in  a  manner  that  makes  logical  sense  on  a  common  dashboard.  

This  Raspberry  Pi  has  been  pre-­configured  with  two  beautiful  dashboards  running  on  the  local  instance  of  Emoncms.    The  first  is  a  dashboard  for  Single  inverters,  with  performance  counters,  data  and  settings  that  should  get  most  users  in  a  single  inverter  environment  up  and  running  quickly.    A  second  dashboard  for  clustered  inverter  environments  is  also  provided,  which  was  pre-­configured  in  such  a  way  to  assist  the  user  in  customizing  everything  for  the  specific  setup  they  run  easily.  The  values  used  on  both  single  and  parallel  dashboards  are  the  same,  apart  from  the  fact  that  the  parallel  dashboard  has  dials  for  each  inverter.    

Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Single)  To  open  the  single  dashboard,  log  on  to  the  emoncms  console  by  visiting  the  IP  address  of  the  Raspberry  pi,  e.g.:  http://192.168.0.18/emoncms.  (Replace  the  IP  address  with  that  of  your  Raspberry).    Once  logged  in,  click  on  the  "Dashboards"  icon  at  the  top  left  of  the  page  and  select  "single":  

 

The  dashboard  will  open,  and  if  the  ICC  software  is  started  already,  it  will  start  to  update  the  respective  values  on  the  dashboard  in  near  real  time.  

A  list  of  all  the  different  information  displayed  is  explained  below.    

NOTE:  On  each  dashboard  there  are  a  lot  of  words  that  are  underlined.    Whenever  you  see  that,  you  can  hover  the  mouse  icon  over  the  underlined  portion  for  a  detailed  explanation  of  the  respective  display(s).    

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Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Grid  Consumption)  

 

This  section  deals  with  power  to/from  the  utility  grid.    The  "Load  Percentage"  dial  shows  the  total  load  on  the  system  measured  as  a  percentage,  while  the  "Load  Watts"  dial  shows  what  that  load  is  in  watts.    If  the  "Load  Watts"  dial  goes  towards  the  green  side,  the  watts  will  show  as  negative,  meaning  that  you  are  exporting  power  into  the  utility  grid.    This  will  only  happen  when  a  grid  tie  inverter  is  used.    The  graph  on  the  right  will  show  the  total  utility  consumption  for  the  period  specified.    Hover  the  mouse  icon  over  "Total  gird  power  used  today"  for  a  detailed  description  of  all  the  values  found  in  this  section.    

 Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Power  Generated)  

 

This  section  shows  us  how  much  power  is  being  generated  by  the  solar  panels.  The  "Solar  Generation"  dial  will  show  the  amount  of  power  being  generated  in  watts.    the  "Efficiency  Factor"  dial  will  show  us  how  efficient  the  system  is,  and  the  graph  will  show  what  the  production  per  day  was  over  a  period  of  time.    Hover  the  mouse  icon  over  "Total  power  generated  today"  for  an  in-­depth  description  of  each  of  the  dials,  as  well  as  how  the  efficiency  factor  is  determined.      

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Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Battery  Consumption)  

 

The  Battery  Consumption  section  shows  us  how  much  energy  we  are  putting  into  or  pulling  out  of  the  batteries  any  point  in  time.    The  "Battery  Amps"  dial  will  show  how  many  amperes  we  are  dealing  with.    If  this  dial  is  in  the  green,  the  figure  will  be  positive,  and  it  will  mean  that  we  are  putting  power  into  the  batteries.    If  the  dial  is  in  the  red  and  the  accompanying  figure  is  negative,  it  means  we  are  pulling  power  out  of  the  batteries.    The  same  applies  for  the  "Battery  watts"  dial.    Likewise,  if  the  graph  on  the  right  is  above  the  0  line,  it  means  power  was  being  put  into  the  batteries,  and  if  it's  under  the  0  line,  it  means  power  was  being  pulled  out  of  it.    Hover  the  mouse  over  "Total  power  to/from  batteries"  for  an  in-­depth  description  of  all  the  dials  and  graph  in  this  section.    

Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Battery  Health)  

 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  sections  on  the  dashboard,  and  shows  us  the  "Battery  Voltage"  as  well  as  "State  of  Charge"  in  real  time,  and  also  draws  a  graph  to  plot  these  two  figures  opposite  each  other  over  time.      

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This  functionality  allows  us  to  track  the  performance  of  the  connected  battery  stack  over  time,  and  also  assist  in  detecting  faulty  batteries  before  the  rest  of  the  stack  get  hurt.  Hover  the  mouse  over  "Tracking  the  performance  of  the  battery  bank"  for  more  information  on  this  section.  

Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (Overview  Of  The  Different  Power  Sources)  

 

This  section  shows  us  all  the  different  power  sources  in  the  system  at  a  glance.    This  is  especially  useful  for  detecting  when  utility  power  or  battery  power  is  being  used,  as  the  colors  for  the  load  on  the  system  will  change,  indicating  that  a  different  source  is  used  to  power  the  load.  Hover  the  mouse  of  "Overview  of  the  different  power  sources"  for  more  information  on  this  section.    

   

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Reporting  -­  Emoncms  Dashboards  (General)  

 

The  final  section  provides  some  general  information  about  the  system,  and  shows  the  mode  the  inverter  is  running  in  (red  for  grid,  green  for  solar),  as  well  as  an  overview  of  how  much  power  was  produced  and  consumed  for  the  day.    These  values  are  rounded  estimates  that  are  calculated  throughout  the  day,  and  as  such  will  never  be  100%  correct,  but  should  be  quite  close  to  the  actual  values  measured  directly  by  the  ICC  software.    It  also  shows  the  highest  values  for  the  day  as  well  as  the  highest  values  for  the  past  hour,  together  with  the  operating  temperature  of  the  Raspberry  PI  as  well  as  the  temperature  for  the  inverter.    Lastly  the  voltage  coming  in  from  the  utility  as  well  as  the  voltage  being  generated  by  the  inverter  is  shown.  

IMPORTANT  CUSTOMIZATION  NOTE:  Every  solar  system  is  different  and  will  require  customization  of  the  dials,  widgets  and  graphs.    Please  ensure  that  you  adjust  the  minimum  and  maximum  values  of  each  display  to  match  your  system.    Click  on  the                icon  in  the  top  right  corner  of  the  dashboard  to  enable  editing.  

Select  a  widget  and  click  on  the  spanner  icon  to  edit  its  properties:  

 

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Ensure  that  the  correct  feed  is  selected  for  the  widget  you  are  editing  (see  the  list  of  inputs  and  feeds  described  earlier),  then  adjust  the  maximum  value  of  the  widget  to  match  that  of  your  system.    A  single  5kva  Axpert  inverter  will  have  a  maximum  load  ability  of  4000W  for  instance,  so  we  can  enter  4000  as  the  maximum  value,  and  ensure  that  the  unit  of  measurement  is  W:  

 

Repeat  this  process  for  every  dial,  widget  or  graph  on  your  dashboard  to  ensure  proper  reporting.  

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Accessing ICC remotelyThere are multiple ways to access the data acquired by ICC remotely. The most suitable scenariofor the system being implemented will have to be decided on by the person doing the install, andthen the required action should be taken to accomplish it.

Below is a short list of the different methods one can use to access ICC and the accompanyingdashboard(s):

1. Forward a port on the internet router -­ This method involves allowing the router thatconnects ICC to the internet to listen for communication on a specific port and then forwardthat traffic to the internal IP address of the Raspberry Pi. This is by far the easiest method toview everything happening on the Raspbery, as it requires very little configuration from anend user perspective. A Dynamic DNS client is already installed on this Raspberry Pi, andonce configured, a port can be forwarded from the router that supplies the Pi with Internet tomap communication from a certain port to it's web server.2. Configure ther router to allow VNC traffic to the Raspberry Pi. This is exactly the samemethod as described above, but in this instance VNC traffic is allowed as opposed to webtraffic. With this configuration the Raspberry can be controlled from anywhere in the worldand all the info, etc on it can be viewed and consumed in real-­time.

3. Use MQTT. Using MQTT, the Raspberry Pi together with all the info that it supplies can bemonitored remotely simply by connecting to the IP address of the Raspberry. This may alsorequire some form of port forwarding if the data is to be consumed remotely. MQTT is soldas a separate package and allows an administrator to connect to many Raspberry Pi'squickly and easily and is aimed at the installer more than the home user.

4. Create a custom dashboard on Emoncms.org and push all the data to the cloud. Emoncmsoffers a free service to display data received from inverters in the cloud. Using this method a usercan register an account for free and create a dashboard in the cloud. The result will be a link that auser can visit (eg. http://emoncms.org to view anything and everything happening on the solarsystem.

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WARRANTY  INFORMATION  The  operating  system  contained  on  this  Raspberry  PI  as  well  as  the  accompanying  Inverter  Control  Center  software  is  distributed  in  the  hope  that  it  will  be  useful,  but  without  any  warranty  whatsoever.    It  is  provided  "as  is"  without  any  warranty  of  any  kind,  either  expressed  or  implied,  including,  but  not  limited  to,  the  implied  warranties  of  merchantability  and  fitness  for  a  particular  purpose.    The  entire  risk  as  to  the  quality  and  performance  of  the  program  and  accompanying  hardware  is  with  the  user.    Should  the  program  or  hardware  prove  defective,  the  user  assumes  the  cost  of  all  necessary  servicing,  repair  or  correction  to  any  affected  systems,  programs  or  otherwise.    

In  no  event  will  the  author  be  held  liable  for  any  damages,  including  any  general,  special,  incidental  or  consequential  damages  arising  out  of  the  use  or  inability  to  use  the  Inverter  Control  Center  software  or  any  accompanying  hardware.      

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TROUBLESHOOTING  Problem   Explanation  /  Possible  Cause   What  To  Do  No  info  is  displayed  when  clicking  "Start".  

USB  Cable  might  be  disconnected        The  wrong  inverter  may  be  selected.                The  "Update  Trends"  box  is  not  ticked.    

Make  sure  that  the  USB  cable  is  plugged  in  properly  at  the  inverter  and  the  Raspberry  PI.    Ensure  that  the  correct  inverter  is  specified  on  the  "Settings"  tab.  Depending  on  the  age  of  your  firmware,  it  might  be  required  to  select  "Axpert  5kva  parallel"  and  specify  only  1  inverter  under  "Number  of  Inverters  (Cluster)".    Ensure  the  "Update  Trends"  box  is  ticked  on  the  "Dashboard"  tab.  

ICC  Refuse  to  start  after  upgrading  to  a  new  version.  

Permissions  to  run  the  new  new  version  may  not  be  set  properly.  

Browse  to  /home/pi/ICC,  right  click  the  ICC  file  and  change  all  permissions  to  show  "Everyone"  

Cannot  access  the  dashboard  from  another  computer.  

The  Raspberry  PI  may  not  be  joined  to  a  Wi-­Fi  hotspot.  

Ensure  that  the  Raspberry  PI  is  joined  to  a  Wi-­Fi  hotspot  and  that  the  machine  you  are  using  to  connect  to  the  dashboard  is  joined  to  the  same  Wi-­Fi  hotspot  as  well.  

The  graph  displayed  on  the  'Dashboard"  tab  is  difficult  to  read.  

You  may  be  viewing  too  much  data  at  once.  

Click  and  drag  to  the  right  inside  the  graph  to  zoom  in  and  make  the  values  more  readable.    Reset  the  view  by  clicking  and  dragging  to  the  left  once  done  to  zoom  out.    

"Change  to  Battery"  or  "Change  to  Grid"  is  greyed  out.    

"Use  SOC  for  Control"  or  "Use  Time  for  Control"  may  be  specified  on  the  "Settings"  tab,  preventing  manual  switching  between  battery  and  utility.  

Un-­tick  the  check  boxes  for  either  "Use  SOC  for  Control"  or  "Use  Time  for  Control",  which  will  make  the  switch  buttons  accessible  again.      

The  "Inverter  Selection"  drop  down  box  is  greyed  out  and  cannot  be  changed.    

The  ICC  Software  is  running  and  as  such  inverter  selections  cannot  be  changed.  

Click  on  "Stop"  to  stop  the  software  from  communicating  with  the  inverter  and  then  select  the  correct  inverter  on  the  "settings"  tab.  Click  "Save"  once  done  to  save  the  settings.  

When  clicking  "EmailTest",  a  failure  is  returned.  

The  port  number  and  username  and/or  password  may  be  incorrect.  

Ensure  the  correct  details  for  username,  password  and  port  number  is  used.    Also  ensure  that  the  correct  setting  is  specified  for  the  "Use  SSL  to  Connect"  option.