flow => unknown modbus contrib nodes

[thales-man]

hi will firstly, thanks for a great contribution. I have a couple of nodes not recognised in the flow => api-current-state and modbus write

got any idea where I'll find them? have they come out of another node red contribution?

thanks colin edwards

[8none1]

Hi Colin,

Yes, you need to install the extra modules in Node RED:

Click "Manage palette":

You need to install:

• node-red-contrib-modbus

To resolve the "api-current-state" error you can delete this section:

It's trying to pull information from Home Assistant which you don't actually need to get the basic metrics out to MQTT.

[thales-man]

Thanks Will

I’ve got that one installed, but that one node wasn’t loading. I take it you're using that for the processing the half hour tariff rates from Octopus (Agile)?

Splendid. This is will undergo considerable change as I wanted something listing the registers for this inverter, along with battery info. You can get the EW11’s off Amazon, by the way, more expensive but faster delivery, no postage and (potential) import charges.

Colin :)

On 14 Sep 2023, at 7:57 am, Will Cooke @.***> wrote:

Hi Colin,

Yes, you need to install the extra modules in Node RED:

Click "Manage palette": https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/6552931/267882551-3be22c4e-a499-4faf-b621-4bd6e8eadbfa.png You need to install:

node-red-contrib-modbus https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/6552931/267882912-b4594877-34b9-4a82-93e6-c4835e8f0fef.png To resolve the "api-current-state" error you can delete this section:

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/6552931/267883929-5c785eb0-90ee-4391-8e87-75810e5cf730.png It's trying to pull information from Home Assistant which you don't actually need to get the basic metrics out to MQTT.

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/8none1/growatt_sph_nodered/issues/1#issuecomment-1718869487, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AEIGBWQHMDDZ3REWBXNZSNTX2KTF5ANCNFSM6AAAAAA4XB3KCM. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.

[8none1]

I've got some scripts which process the Agile prices to try and work out when the best time to charge the battery is here:

https://github.com/8none1/octopus_agile_battery_scheduler

But they're a bit hacky.

I've recently started using Home Assistant to do more of the automation. I'm not yet convinced that it's easier than writing a Python script yourself, but it does have a very good Octopus Agile prices add-on which has had a lot more effort put in to than anything I've ever done.

Home Assistant also has a ModBus add on so I /might/ end up moving the whole lot over to it in the fullness of time.

In the meantime, I'll be interested to see what you end up with.

[thales-man]

Hi Will I don’t think HA would be right for you, I understand it inspects the registers individually, which start to make it an issue of ‘load’. I currently inspect a TEG once every 6 seconds (10xPM) which seems to be optimal for realtime stats. Imagine conducting individual inspections on a potential hundred elements?

This is my board, I’ve aimed for domestic consumption of data so I’ve attempted to make it pleasant to look at and usable, it’s touch screen and sits on a wall in the kitchen. I use OpenHAB (behind the scenes, predominantly for HomeKit integration but I have a fair number of rules running) alongside custom node-red flows and .NET api’s collating and calculating data for presentation on the board. Most of this communication takes place through MQTT. The board itself was written in Typescript using Angular and runs in Porteus Kiosk on an i3 (RPi4 couldn’t hack it, touch didn’t work properly; it just struggled), now it’s a smooth as butter.

Colin :)



On 14 Sep 2023, at 10:43 am, Will Cooke @.***> wrote:

I've got some scripts which process the Agile prices to try and work out when the best time to charge the battery is here:

https://github.com/8none1/octopus_agile_battery_scheduler

But they're a bit hacky.

I've recently started using Home Assistant to do more of the automation. I'm not yet convinced that it's easier than writing a Python script yourself, but it does have a very good Octopus Agile prices add-on which has had a lot more effort put in to than anything I've ever done.

Home Assistant also has a ModBus add on so I /might/ end up moving the whole lot over to it in the fullness of time.

In the meantime, I'll be interested to see what you end up with.

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/8none1/growatt_sph_nodered/issues/1#issuecomment-1719113758, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AEIGBWXN3W6RNTADFKX7UITX2LGVFANCNFSM6AAAAAA4XB3KCM. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.

[8none1]

That sounds excellent! Sadly the photo didn't upload though.

Thanks for the tip on HA, that does sound less than ideal. While my current system isn't broken, I won't fix it :)

[thales-man]

I replied form email, max message size issue I think.

[8none1]

Wow! Very nice!

[thales-man]

Hi Will

Another quick question… How is the EW11 powered? I can’t see any information on that, in the blurb I can find.

Colin :)

[thales-man]

Hi Will

On the EW11 I think it must be PoE.

I’m trying to locate the registers for these values, would you happen to know where might find them? I’m finding the descriptions aren’t very clear.

Grid kWh(+/-) - bought /sold PV kWh(+ only) - made Battery kWh(+/-) - discharge / charge House kWh(+ only) - in use now

Battery SoC %

I’m looking for the items that will provide me with the current load not the ‘days’ value or a ’total’ value, I’m going to be polling this every 6 seconds so I’ll generate my own accumulations.

Colin :)

[8none1]

Another quick question… How is the EW11 powered? I can’t see any information on that, in the blurb I can find.

It accepts between 5 and 18 volts DC on pins 7 & 8. There should be a lable on the unit which tells you the pin outs. I don't think it's real PoE.

I made up a cable, but you can buy a screw terminal that plugs in to the rj45 socket.

http://www.hi-flying.com/elfin-ew1x-rs232-rs485-to-wi-fi

Finding the correct registers for that stuff is pretty tricky. The PDF file in this repo is what I used, with some trial and error. I listed some findings in this file: https://github.com/8none1/growatt_sph_nodered/blob/main/registers.md

The other tip I have is in the official web UI from Growatt if you hover the mouse over the metric that you are looking for it sometimes gives you a more useful description and gives clues as to what the register is called.