ahoy/manual/User_Manual.md

User Manual AhoyDTU (on ESP8266)

Version #{VERSION}#

Introduction

See the repository README.md

Setup

Assuming you have a running ahoy-dtu and you can access the setup page. In the initial case or after click "erase settings" the fields for the inverter setup are empty.

Set at least the serial number and a name for each inverter, check "reboot after save" and click the "Save" button.

MQTT Publish

The AhoyDTU will publish on the following topics

<TOPIC>/#

Topic	Example Value	Remarks	Retained
comm_start	1672123767	inverter communication start, based on sunrise, UTC timestamp	true
comm_stop	1672155709	inverter communication stop, based on sunset, UTC timestamp	true
device	AHOY-DTU	configured device name	true
dis_night_comm	true	setting if night communication is disabled	true
free_heap	17784	free heap of ESP in bytes	false
mqtt	connected	shows MQTT status	true
status	1	see table below	true
sunrise	1672124667	sunrise, UTC timestamp	true
sunset	1672154809	sunset, UTC timestamp	true
uptime	73630	uptime in seconds	false
version	0.5.61	current installed verison of AhoyDTU	true
wifi_rssi	-75	WiFi signal strength	false
ip_addr	192.168.178.25	WiFi Station IP Address	true

status code	Remarks
0	offline
1	partial
2	online

<TOPIC>/<INVERTER_NAME_FROM_SETUP>/#

Topic	Example Value	Remarks	Retained
available	2	see table below	true
last_success	1672155690	UTC Timestamp	true
ack_pwr_limit	true	fast information if inverter has accepted power limit	false

status code	Remarks
0	off: not available and not producing
1	available but not producing
2	available and producing
3	available and was producing
4	was available

<TOPIC>/<INVERTER_NAME_FROM_SETUP>/ch0/#

Topic	Example Value	Remarks
U_AC	233.300	actual AC Voltage in Volt
I_AC	0.300	actual AC Current in Ampere
P_AC	71.000	actual AC Power in Watt
Q_AC	21.200	actual AC reactive power in var
F_AC	49.990	actual AC Frequency in Hz
PF_AC	95.800	actual AC Power factor
Temp	19.800	Temperature of inverter in degree Celsius
EVT	9.000	Last Event/Alarm Message Index
YieldDay	51.000	Energy converted to AC per day in Watt hours (measured on DC)
YieldTotal	465.294	Energy converted to AC since reset Watt hours (measured on DC)
P_DC	74.600	actual DC Power in Watt
Efficiency	95.174	actual ration AC Power over DC Power in percent
FWVersion	10012.000	Firmware version eg. 1.00.12
FWBuildYear	2020.000	Firmware build date
FWBuildMonthDay	624.000	Firmware build month and day eg. 24th of june
HWPartId	100.000	Hardware Id
PowerLimit	80.000	actual set point for power limit control AC active power in percent
LastAlarmCode	1.000	Last Alarm Code eg. "inverter start"

<TOPIC>/<INVERTER_NAME_FROM_SETUP>/ch<CHANNEL_NUMBER>/#

<CHANNEL_NUMBER> is in the range 1 to 4 depending on the inverter type

Topic	Example Value	Remarks
U_DC	38.900	actual DC Voltage in Volt
I_DC	0.640	actual DC current in Ampere
P_DC	25.000	actual DC power in Watt
YieldDay	17.000	Energy converted to AC per day Watt hours per module/channel (measured on DC)
YieldTotal	110.819	Energy converted to AC since reset Watt hours per module/channel (measured on DC)
Irradiation	5.65	ratio DC Power over set maximum power per module/channel in percent

Active Power Limit via Serial / Control Page

URL: /serial

You can change the setting in the following manner. Decide if you want to set

• an absolute value in Watt
• an relative value in percent based on the maximum Power capabilities of the inverter

and if this settings shall be

• persistent
• not persistent

after a power cycle of the inverter (P_DC=0 and P_AC=0 for at least 10 seconds)

The user has to ensure correct settings. Remember that for the inverters of 3rd generation the relative active power limit is in the range of 2% up to 100%. Also an absolute active power limit below approx. 30 Watt seems to be not meanful because of the control capabilities and reactive power load.

Control via MQTT

Generic Information

The AhoyDTU subscribes on following topics:

• <TOPIC>/ctrl/limit/<INVERTER_ID>
• <TOPIC>/ctrl/restart/<INVERTER_ID>
• <TOPIC>/setup/set_time

👆 <TOPIC> can be set on setup page, default is inverter.

👆 <INVERTER_ID> is the number of the specific inverter in the setup page.

NOTE: Some users reported that a limit below 20W results in 0W output of the inverter. To reenable the inverter a reboot command was need to be sent, because a new limit with 100% didn't work.

Inverter restart

<TOPIC>/ctrl/restart/<INVERTER_ID>

Example:

inverter/ctrl/restart/0

Power Limit relative (non persistent) [%]

<TOPIC>/ctrl/limit/<INVERTER_ID>

with a payload [2 .. 100]

NOTE: optional a % can be sent as last character

Example:

inverter/ctrl/limit/0     70

Power Limit absolute (non persistent) [Watts]

<TOPIC>/ctrl/limit/<INVERTER_ID>

with a payload [0 .. 65535]

NOTE: the unit W is necessary to determine an absolute limit

Example:

inverter/ctrl/limit/0     600W

Power Limit persistent

This feature was removed. The persisten limit should not be modified cyclic by a script because of potential wearout of the flash inside the inverter.

Control via REST API

Generic Information

The rest API works with JSON POST requests. All the following instructions must be sent to the /api/ctrl endpoint of the AhoyDTU.

👆 <INVERTER_ID> is the number of the specific inverter in the setup page.

Authentication (new for versions > 0.8.79)

The authentication is only needed if a password was set. To authenticate from API you have to add the following JSON to your request:

{
    "auth": <PASSOWRD>
}

<PASSWORD> is your DTU password in plain text.

As Response you get the following JSON if successful:

{
    "success": true,
    "token": "<TOKEN>"
}

Where <TOKEN> is a random token with a length of 16 characters.

For all following commands you have only to include the token into your JSON:

{
    "token": "<TOKEN>"
}

ℹ️ Do not pass the plain text password with each command. Authenticate once and then use the token for all following commands. The token expires once the token wasn't sent for 20 minutes.

If the authentication fails or the token is expired you will receive the following JSON:

{
    "success": false,
    "error": "ERR_PROTECTED"
}

Inverter Power (On / Off)

{
    "id": <INVERTER_ID>,
    "cmd": "power",
    "val": <VALUE>
}

The <VALUE> should be set to 1 = ON and 0 = OFF

Inverter restart

{
    "id": <INVERTER_ID>,
    "cmd": "restart"
}

beginning from verson 0.8.39 the wattage and percentage has one decimal place!

Power Limit (active power control) relative persistent [%]

{
    "id": <INVERTER_ID>,
    "cmd": "limit_persistent_relative",
    "val": <VALUE>
}

The VALUE represents a percent number in a range of [2.0 .. 100.0]

Power Limit (active power control) absolute persistent [Watts]

{
    "id": <INVERTER_ID>,
    "cmd": "limit_persistent_absolute",
    "val": <VALUE>
}

The VALUE represents watts in a range of [1.0 .. 6553.5]

Power Limit (active power control) relative non persistent [%]

{
    "id": <INVERTER_ID>,
    "cmd": "limit_nonpersistent_relative",
    "val": <VALUE>
}

The VALUE represents a percent number in a range of [2.0 .. 100.0]

Power Limit (active power control) absolute non persistent [Watts]

{
    "id": <INVERTER_ID>,
    "cmd": "limit_nonpersistent_absolute",
    "val": <VALUE>
}

The VALUE represents watts in a range of [1.0 .. 6553.5]

Zero Export Control (needs rework)

• You can use the mqtt topic <TOPIC>/devcontrol/<INVERTER_ID>/11 with a number as payload (eg. 300 -> 300 Watt) to set the power limit to the published number in Watt. (In regular cases the inverter will use the new set point within one intervall period; to verify this see next bullet)
• You can check the inverter set point for the power limit control on the topic <TOPIC>/<INVERTER_NAME_FROM_SETUP>/ch0/PowerLimit 👆 This value is ALWAYS in percent of the maximum power limit of the inverter. In regular cases this value will be updated within approx. 15 seconds. (depends on request intervall)
• You can monitor the actual AC power by subscribing to the topic <TOPIC>/<INVERTER_NAME_FROM_SETUP>/ch0/P_AC 👆 This value is ALWAYS in Watt

Firmware Version collection

Gather user inverter information here to understand what differs between some inverters. To get the information open the URL /api/record/info on your AhoyDTU. The information will only be present once the AhoyDTU was able to communicate with an inverter.

Name	Inverter Typ	Bootloader V.	FWVersion	FWBuild [YYYY]	FWBuild [MM-DD]	HWPartId	FWBuild [HH:MM:SS]
lumapu	HM-1200	0.1.0	1.0.12	2020	06-24
dragricola	HM-1200		1.0.16	2021	10-12	100
eeprom23	HM-1200	0.1.0	1.0.18	2021	12-24	269619201	18:21:00
eeprom23	HM-1200 2t	0.1.0	1.0.16	2021	10-12	269619207	17:06:00
aschiffler	HM-1500		1.0.12	2020	06-24	100
DanielR92	HM-1500		1.0.16	2021	10-12	100
Copro	HM-300		1.0.10	2020	07-07	102	14:12:00
klahus1	HM-300		1.0.10	2020	07-07	102
isdor	HM-300		1.0.14	2021	12-09	102
roku133	HM-400		1.0.10	2020	07-07	102		HWRev 256
setje	HM-600		1.0.08	2020	07-10	104		HWRev 256
madmartin	HM-600	0.1.4	1.0.10	2021	11-01	104
chehrlic	HM-600		1.0.10	2021	11-01	104
fila612	HM-700		1.0.10	2021	11-01	104
B5r1oJ0A9G	HM-800		1.0.10	2021		104
B5r1oJ0A9G	HM-800		1.0.10	2021		104
rejoe2	MI-1500		1.0.12	2020	06-24	100
dragricola	MI-300		230	2017	08-08	1
rejoe2	MI-600		236	2018	11-27	17
tomquist	TSOL-M1600		1.0.12	2020	06-24	100
Groobi	TSOL-M400		1.0.14	2021	12-09	102
chehrlic	TSOL-M800de		1.0.10	2021	11-01	104
tfhcm	TSUN-350		1.0.14	2021	12-09	102

Developer Information about Command Queue

After reboot or startup the ahoy firmware it will enque three commands in the following sequence:

1. Get active power limit in percent (SystemConfigPara = 5 // 0x05)
2. Get firmware version (InverterDevInform_All = 1 // 0x01)
3. Get data (RealTimeRunData_Debug = 11 // 0x0b)

With the command get data (RealTimeRunData_Debug = 11 // 0x0b) the alarm message counter will be updated. In the initial case then aonther command is queued to get the alarm code (AlarmData = 17 // 0x11).

This command (AlarmData = 17 // 0x11) will enqued in any operation phase if alarm message counter is raised by one or greater compared to the last request with command get data (RealTimeRunData_Debug = 11 // 0x0b)

In case all commands are processed (_commandQueue.empty() == true) then as a default command the get data (RealTimeRunData_Debug = 11 // 0x0b) will be enqueued.

In case a Device Control command (Power Limit, Off, On) is requested via MQTT or REST API this request will be send before any other enqueued command. In case of a accepted change in power limit the command get active power limit in percent (SystemConfigPara = 5 // 0x05) will be enqueued. The acceptance is checked by the reponse packets on the devive control commands (tx id 0x51 --> rx id 0xD1) if in byte 12 the requested sub-command (eg. power limit) is present.

How To

Sunrise & Sunset

In order to display the sunrise and sunset on the start page, the location coordinates (latitude and longitude) must be set in decimal in the setup under Sunrise & Sunset. If the coordinates are set, the current sunrise and sunset are calculated and displayed daily. If this is set, you can also tick "disable night communication", then sending to the inverter is switched off outside of the day (i.e. at night), this avoids unnecessary communication attempts and thus also the incrementing of "RX no anwser". Here you can get easy your GeoLocation: https://www.mapsdirections.info/en/gps-coordinates.html

Commands and informations

Turn On - turns on the inverter/feeder (LED flashes green if there is no error) Turn Off - switches off the inverter/feeder (LED flashes fast red), can be switched on again with Turn On or by disconnecting and reconnecting the DC voltage Restart - restarts the microcontroller in the inverter, which deletes the error memory and the YieldDay values, feed-in stops briefly and starts with the last persistent limit Send Power Limit:

• A limitation of the AC power can be sent in relative (in %) or in absolute (Watt).
• It can be set to a different value non-persistently (temporarily) at any time (regardless of what you have set for persistent), this should be normal in order to limit the power (zero feed/battery control) and does not damage the EEPROM in the WR either.
• With persistent you send a saving limit (only use it seldom, otherwise the EEPROM in the HM can break!), This is then used as the next switch-on limit when DC comes on, i.e. when the sun comes up early or the WR on batteries is switched on the limit is applied immediately when sending, like any other, but it is stored in the EEPROM of the WR.
• A persistent limit is only needed if you want to throttle your inverter permanently or you can use it to set a start value on the battery, which is then always the switch-on limit when switching on, otherwise it would ramp up to 100% without regulation, which is continuous load is not healthy.
• You can set a new limit in the turn-off state, which is then used for on (switching on again), otherwise the last limit from before the turn-off is used, but of course this only applies if DC voltage is applied the whole time.
• If the DC voltage is missing for a few seconds, the microcontroller in the inverter goes off and forgets everything that was temporary/non-persistent in the RAM: YieldDay, error memory, non-persistent limit.

Update your AHOY-DTU Firmware

To update your AHOY-DTU, you have to download the latest firmware package. Here are the latest stable releases and latest development builds available for download. As soon as you have downloaded the firmware package, unzip it. On the WebUI, navigate to Update and press on select firmware file. From the unzipped files, select the right .bin file for your hardware and needs.

• If you use an ESP8266, select the file ending with esp8266.bin
• If you use an ESP8266 with prometheus, select the file ending with esp8266_prometheus.bin
• If you use an ESP32, select the file ending with esp32.bin
• If you use an ESP32 with prometheus, select the file ending with esp32_prometheus.bin

Note: if you want to use prometheus, the usage of an ESP32 is recommended, since the ESP8266 is at its performance limits and therefore can cause stability issues.

After selecting the right firmware file, press update. Your AHOY-DTU will now install the new firmware and reboot.

Additional Notes

MI Inverters

• AhoyDTU supports MI type inverters as well, since dev. version 0.5.70.
• MI inverters are known to be delivered with two different generations of firmwares: inverters with serial numbers 10x2 already use the 3rd generation protocol and behave just like the newer HM models, the follwoing remarks do not apply to these.
• Older MI inverters (#sn 10x1) use a different rf protocol and thus do not deliver exactly the same data. E.g. the AC power value will therefore be calculated by AhoyDTU itself, while other values might not be available at all.
• Single and dual channel 2nd gen. devices seem not to accept power limiting commands at all, the lower limit for 4-channel MI is 10% (instead of 2% for newer models)
• 4-channel MI type inverters might work, but code still is untested.