How can I monitor inverter output?

[jboy210]

On our installation they used 2 Delta M series inverters. These have no displays beyond 5 status lights.

I want to monitor the inverter output and even the DC inputs from the string on the roof. How can I do this?

My thought was to try to access the data that comes out of the inverters via Wifi to the Tesla Gateway, (not the Powerwall gateway), see image below. But don't know where to get the documentation.

Tesla Gateway.

Inverter with Antenna

 

[gpez]

That's a pretty looking piece of hardware.

Does the gateway you have also provide APIs to query? Querying it will give you essentially real time monitoring and is very doable if you're moderately technical.

 

[woferry]

I believe the Tesla Home Gateway (your black box) only speaks ZigBee to inverters not WiFi. That antenna you hilighted is most likely ZigBee also. I've been working on decoding the ZigBee data going between my home gateway and Delta Solivia units, but it seems very Tesla-proprietary (doesn't match anything anyone else has for Delta inverters online), and based on what I've decoded so far doesn't even query all of the inverter channels (I'm only seeing overall and MPPT1 data, absolutely no data that correlates with MPPT2).

Those Delta M units apparently also support Bluetooth and may have a phone app, I suspect you might have better luck with that if anybody has any documentation on it, but if Tesla's doing their own setup (custom firmware?) as they seem to with the Solivias there may just not be any documentation available.

 

[mattack4000]

I have had issues with my readings dropping off. I can't trust whatever that is on my app because data gets cutoff. The gateway is only about 25' from the garage, but it is behind 2 walls.

 

[Ampster]

The best solutions I found for AC generation were independent devices using CT clamps. There are many including Sense, Nuerio (now Generac PwrView) and others. You may need different CT clamps for DC.

 

[jboy210]

I have had issues with my readings dropping off. I can't trust whatever that is on my app because data gets cutoff. The gateway is only about 25' from the garage, but it is behind 2 walls.

This issue was mentioned when we installed the unit. The team said the listed range is 100 feet, but that assumes nothing in between the Home Gateway and the inverter antenna. And they said if you put a wall in there the range drops way down.

The wall mine is mounted on the inside of the wall to which the inverters are mounted. The distance from the gateway to the antenna is about 20-40 inches including the 3 inches through the wall. I specially ran power, the Ethernet cable and a switch to this location to reduce this minimal distance.

 

[mattack4000]

I moved the gateway in the garage instead of my bedroom that is another 10 feet from it (there are two walls). I am now getting good accurate readings now.

 

[mattack4000]

There are seems to be these random spikes, has anyone seen it?

 

[jboy210]

There are seems to be these random spikes, has anyone seen it?

Random spikes? I do see random amount coming from and going to the grid every once in a while. Is that what you mean?

 

[lucassaugen]

They had me install an iOS app called M Professional to monitor the M4 inverter directly. It works but you need to be standing basically next to it.

I'm having issues where the inverter senses a drop in solar production and shuts down for 20 minutes at a time. Anytime a cloud goes in front of my panels the whole systems shuts down. Tesla came out once and tried some things. Got word they are coming back in a week but no idea what their plan is.

 

[mattack4000]

See the spike at 8am

 

[Jae001]

I have spoke to Delta and they told me the inverters they sell to Tesla are loaded with proprietary software and that you can't connect to it with anything. Regarding the drops in the app you need to get a Wi-Fi bridge and put it as close to the inverters as possible. I have zero drops or connection issues with this setup. I of course had to add some Tesla bling logos to the setup. A Tesla guy came out to do the inspection with the city and he said I didn't know we were putting our logos on the inverters now. I said no I did that. He laughed and said it looked cool.

 

[woferry]

Maybe they've had different versions, but my Tesla Delta Solivia units installed early 2019 have absolutely no WiFi whatsoever. The only thing they have is ZigBee, so a WiFi bridge wouldn't do jack. I am getting some output from the inverters by sniffing the ZigBee signal between the Tesla Home Gateway and the units, but right now I'm just sniffing the data generated by the THG, and it turns out the data Tesla requests from the Solivia is only the total output and MPPT1 data, it never asks for anything from MPPT2 (and it doesn't get enough total data to derive MPPT2 from it). I was really hoping to get both channels, so I'm trying to figure out how to send my own ZigBee packets to the inverters, but without any indication of what request (if any) will provide MPPT2 data instead it's really just shooting in the dark.