Cheap Sunny Island data logger

stephendv
stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
Hi all,

Since my 3W Raspberry pi computer arrived, I've been using it as a data logger and web server for the SMA Sunny Island. Right now, it's acting as a data logger and graphing the data from the Sunny Island.
Some of the interesting data visible in the graphs is:
  • Comparison of return amps vs. SoC measured by the internal battery monitor
  • Battery voltage vs charging current to see whether absorb is too long or short
  • SoC error margin
  • Identifying big spikes in consumption

Next up will be making the Midnite classic follow the SI's charging profile. Will be adding more functionality as it occurs to me :) The hardware came in at under $60- so about the right price for me.
Some pics and more details here http://www.casanogaldelasbrujas.com/blog/island-manager/

The code is free to copy/modify/use as you like: https://github.com/stephendv/IslandManager
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Comments

  • TheBackRoads
    TheBackRoads Solar Expert Posts: 274 ✭✭
    #2
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    Very cool!! I'm toying with the idea of Raspberry PI as my PBX in my house... Thanks for sharing.
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  • nsaspook
    nsaspook Solar Expert Posts: 396 ✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    Great stuff!
    I'm working on a project using a Raspberry PI with a USB DAQ board for robotic tester I built for work. It's currently using a 8 bit PIC device and an 4X80 LCD display but the power of a full Linux system on the PI has me wanting to port the source code so I can use the pretty video interface.

    This is the USB interface board with linux I/O drivers. http://www.vellemanusa.com/products/view/?country=us&lang=enu&id=522974
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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
    #4
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    Yeah the fact that a full blown linux system costs the same as an Arduino microprocessor makes it very very interesting for a whole bunch of apps :)
    The PI has some GPIO on the board already and there is a kit available to connect to it, is you want to save a USB connection for something else: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1734

    I found it slow when running the X server and window manager, starting up a web browser took about a minute. But for server-side only apps like mysql, apache, it's fast enough for my purposes. I'm guessing it should be fine as PBX.
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  • unicornio
    unicornio Solar Expert Posts: 217 ✭✭
    #5
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    Hi, Stephen!...I'm glad to see you from here!...

    I see you've come a long way with the sma system & Raspberry ...
    could see it on-line or have it only for your internal network? ...

    say you'll also have a midnite? .... hehehehe
    going to retire the morningstar? ...
    midnite is a very good option, por favor, cuenta como va ese bicho!...;-)

    dales recuerdos a los cracks de solarweb! ...;-)
    the, rodas, hlebtomane, carlos6026, asbergadas...y muchos mas!...
    a Tim y a ti os tengo por aqui, y a jepefe tambien lo tengo siempre muy cerca....jejeje
    un abrazo
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  • nsaspook
    nsaspook Solar Expert Posts: 396 ✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger
    stephendv wrote: »
    Yeah the fact that a full blown linux system costs the same as an Arduino microprocessor makes it very very interesting for a whole bunch of apps :)
    The PI has some GPIO on the board already and there is a kit available to connect to it, is you want to save a USB connection for something else: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1734

    I plan to use the board level GPIO interface for quadrature encoder A/B channels and a few things that need under 1ms response times. The USB device is needed for my application as it monitors several relative position encoders, 3 motor position 10-turn pots, 3 hall-effect current sensors, several limit/home/position sensors, 8 DPDT power relays (more field robust than a DC motor H-bridge), configuration jumpers and a jumble of other misc I/O. The USB device also uses the standard Comedi DAQ library so the I/O code can be tested on a full server class machine before hosting it on the PI board. http://www.comedi.org/doc/index.html#introduction

    A few prototype units I built with the 8 bit PIC controllers. http://flic.kr/s/aHsjAJPw91
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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
    #7
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    Hola unicornio,

    Good to see you here! At the moment I just have the logger visible on my internal system, it's still too early to put it on the web. Yes, the midnite classic has replaced the morningstar- I'm still getting to grips so will let you know how it goes in a few weeks. The really nice thing about it is that there are sooooo many programming set points and a lot of functionality is exposed over modbus which makes it great for programming.

    Te hechamos de menos en el solarweb, quien va a recomendar los outbacks y los trackers ahora? :P

    nsaspook,

    That's a very professional looking system! Since you seem to be in this business, can you recommend any cheap longish range wireless relays or wall plugs? I'd like to be able to control some loads remotely but they're about 300m LoS away from the Pi. Ideally, a modular system that can switch multiple relays and works easily on the Pi would be nice.
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  • unicornio
    unicornio Solar Expert Posts: 217 ✭✭
    #8
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger
    stephendv wrote: »
    Hola unicornio,
    Good to see you here! At the moment I just have the logger visible on my internal system, it's still too early to put it on the web. Yes, the midnite classic has replaced the morningstar- I'm still getting to grips so will let you know how it goes in a few weeks. The really nice thing about it is that there are sooooo many programming set points and a lot of functionality is exposed over modbus which makes it great for programming.

    I think you learn a lot from observation of the data and helps to fully optimize charge parameters and battery care ... for me it is essential ...
    also I have very much interest to know how you work with the midnite ...
    stephendv wrote: »
    Te hechamos de menos en el solarweb, quien va a recomendar los outbacks y los trackers ahora? :P .

    no pasa nada, los outbacks se venden solos....jejeje, ademas asi el photon se forra vendiendo victrons y engañando al personal!...jejeje
    menudo moderador esta hecho metiendo cizaña todo el dia para poder vender el solito, el foro parece su despacho!...jajajaja
    aqui se esta mas tranquilo y los moderadores son muy educados...:-)

    de todas maneras estoy montando un foro solo para vivienda aislada:
    Foros de vivienda aislada
    estas invitado!...;-)
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #9
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    let's keep it in english guys as not everybody here speaks espanol.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #10
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    A little google translate:
    We take you less in the solarweb, who will recommend the Outbacks and trackers now? : P.


    nothing happens, the Outbacks sell themselves .... lol, so besides the photon is lined victrons selling and deceiving staff! ... lol
    moderator often is made weed all day getting to sell by himself, the forum seems his office! ... hahaha
    here it is quieter and the moderators are very polite ...

    anyway I'm riding a forum only for isolated housing:
    Detached Forums
    are welcome! ...;-)

    I won't vouch for the translation (I think something got lost there). ;)

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • unicornio
    unicornio Solar Expert Posts: 217 ✭✭
    #11
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    were just some confidences to my friend Stephen, many thanks for the traslation, that i think is not so bad! ...;-)
    but no worth more comments ...
    i will always write in English ...;-)
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  • inetdog
    inetdog Solar Expert Posts: 3,123 ✭✭✭✭
    #12
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger
    unicornio wrote: »
    were just some confidences to my friend Stephen, many thanks for the traslation, that i think is not so bad! ...;-)
    but no worth more comments ...
    i will always write in English ...;-)

    From friend Stephen, with a combination of misspellings and Google Translate:

    Te hechamos de menos en el solarweb, quien va a recomendar los outbacks y los trackers ahora? ----> We take you less in the solarweb, who will recommend the Outbacks and trackers now?
    But Google is quick to recommend instead:

    Te echamos de menos en el solarweb, quien va a recomendar los outbacks y los trackers ahora? ----> We miss you in solarweb, who will recommend the Outbacks and trackers now?

    As Unicornio said, the meaning comes through pretty well in the translation of his response. You can finish by adjusting "isolated housing" to "off grid", I believe. Jejeje.
    SMA SB 3000, old BP panels.
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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
    #13
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger
    BB. wrote: »
    moderator often is made weed all day getting to sell by himself

    Hehe, now all we need to understand is why the moderators make weed all day.
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  • inetdog
    inetdog Solar Expert Posts: 3,123 ✭✭✭✭
    #14
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger
    stephendv wrote: »
    Hehe, now all we need to understand is why the moderators make weed all day.

    It happens all the time in California. :-)

    But there is also a difference between making weed and being made weed. Not that either translation makes sense. :-)
    SMA SB 3000, old BP panels.
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  • unicornio
    unicornio Solar Expert Posts: 217 ✭✭
    #15
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger

    that good! ... is a spanish business, spain is different ... that the owner of the forum allows one of its moderators this angering people and breaking the synergy of their own forum?? ... money is a scourge! ... hehehehe, nor maybe is a failureman who turns his frustration against the members of the forum, a type of chronic mental illness! ... :-(

    in this forum (example) with no advertising, we not see moderators selling at all costs, hogging the forum to sell to all members!...even considering that this forum is supported by a real business selling solar systems, the behavior is quite different ...and what we need is to know solarweb private messaging traffic, that would be fun!.... hahahaha

    it's a shame for the good people who write there, (myself???) I have over 1700 post (large technical posts) in solarweb, but if they are not able to feeling all this, they would remain for them! ... ;-))))
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  • nsaspook
    nsaspook Solar Expert Posts: 396 ✭✭✭
    #16
    Re: Cheap Sunny Island data logger
    stephendv wrote: »
    The PI has some GPIO on the board already and there is a kit available to connect to it, is you want to save a USB connection for something else: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1734

    I ordered a Gertboard kit from Newark for my PI. It's not in stock so who knows when it will arrive. I've started working on a Linux based solar voltage/current/status datalogger using the "comedi" daq drivers (using a pcmcia card with my updated Linux driver) that should port easily to the PI. While I'm waiting I'll start working on a basic Gertboard "comedi" driver from the published specs.

    Some demo code (bmc) to test the current setup. https://github.com/nsaspook/nidaq700.git
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  • jhinshel
    jhinshel Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭
    #17
    Please could someone help me to design an interface to the sunny island 5048 with something like a raspberry pi or arduino. I'm looking to access the SOC data ...
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