ahoy/User_Manual.md

User Manual Ahoy DTU (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 Output

The ahoy dtu will publish on the following topics <CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/<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 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"

<CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/<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 Setup Page

If you leave the field "Active Power Limit" empty during the setup and reboot the ahoy-dtu will set a value of 65535 in the setup. That is the value you have to fill in case you want to operate the inverter without a active power limit. If the value is 65535 or -1 after another reboot the value will be set automatically to "100" and in the drop-down menu "relative in percent persistent" will be set. Of course you can do this also by your self.

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.

Active Power Limit via MQTT

The ahoy-dtu subscribes on the topic <CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/devcontrol/# if the mqtt broker is set-up correctly. The default topic is inverter/devcontrol/#.

To set the active power limit (controled value is the AC Power of the inverter) you have four options. (Only single phase inverters are actually in focus).

topic	payload	active power limit in	Condition
<CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/devcontrol/<INVERTER_ID>/11 OR <CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/devcontrol/<INVERTER_ID>/11/0	[0..65535]	Watt	not persistent
<CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/devcontrol/<INVERTER_ID>/11/256	[0..65535]	Watt	persistent
<CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/devcontrol/<INVERTER_ID>/11/1	[2..100]	%	not persistent
<CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/devcontrol/<INVERTER_ID>/11/257	[2..100]	%	persistent

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

• First inverter --> <INVERTER_ID> = 0
• Second inverter --> <INVERTER_ID> = 1
• ...

Developer Information MQTT Interface

<CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/devcontrol/<INVERTER_ID>/<DevControlCmdType>/<DATA2>

The implementation allows to set any of the available <DevControlCmdType> Commands:

typedef enum {
    TurnOn                  = 0,  // 0x00
    TurnOff                 = 1,  // 0x01
    Restart                 = 2,  // 0x02
    Lock                    = 3,  // 0x03
    Unlock                  = 4,  // 0x04
    ActivePowerContr        = 11, // 0x0b
    ReactivePowerContr      = 12, // 0x0c
    PFSet                   = 13, // 0x0d
    CleanState_LockAndAlarm = 20, // 0x14
    SelfInspection          = 40, // 0x28, self-inspection of grid-connected protection files
    Init                    = 0xff
} DevControlCmdType;

The MQTT payload will be set on first to bytes and <DATA2>, which is taken from the topic path will be set on the second two bytes if the corresponding DevControlCmdType supports 4 byte data. See here the actual implementation to set the send buffer bytes.

void sendControlPacket(uint64_t invId, uint8_t cmd, uint16_t *data) {
    sendCmdPacket(invId, TX_REQ_DEVCONTROL, ALL_FRAMES, false);
    int cnt = 0;
    // cmd --> 0x0b => Type_ActivePowerContr, 0 on, 1 off, 2 restart, 12 reactive power, 13 power factor
    mTxBuf[10] = cmd;
    mTxBuf[10 + (++cnt)] = 0x00;
    if (cmd >= ActivePowerContr && cmd <= PFSet){
        mTxBuf[10 + (++cnt)] = ((data[0] * 10) >> 8) & 0xff; // power limit || high byte from MQTT payload
        mTxBuf[10 + (++cnt)] = ((data[0] * 10)     ) & 0xff; // power limit || low byte from MQTT payload
        mTxBuf[10 + (++cnt)] = ((data[1]     ) >> 8) & 0xff; // high byte from MQTT topic value <DATA2>
        mTxBuf[10 + (++cnt)] = ((data[1]     )     ) & 0xff; // low byte from MQTT topic value <DATA2>
    }
    // crc control data
    uint16_t crc = Hoymiles::crc16(&mTxBuf[10], cnt+1);
    mTxBuf[10 + (++cnt)] = (crc >> 8) & 0xff;
    mTxBuf[10 + (++cnt)] = (crc     ) & 0xff;
    // crc over all
    cnt +=1;
    mTxBuf[10 + cnt] = Hoymiles::crc8(mTxBuf, 10 + cnt);

    sendPacket(invId, mTxBuf, 10 + (++cnt), true);
}

So as example sending any payload on inverter/devcontrol/0/1 will switch off the inverter.

Active Power Limit via REST API

It is also implemented to set the power limit via REST API call. Therefore send a POST request to the endpoint /api. The response will always be a json with {success:true} The payload shall be a json formated string in the following manner

{
    "inverter":<INVERTER_ID>,
    "tx_request": <TX_REQUEST_BYTE>,
    "cmd": <SUB_CMD_BYTE>,
    "payload": <PAYLOAD_INTEGER_TWO_BYTES>,
    "payload2": <PAYLOAD_INTEGER_TWO_BYTES>
}

With the following value ranges

Value	range	note
<TX_REQUEST_BYTE>	81 or 21	integer uint8, (0x15 or 0x51)
<SUB_CMD_BYTE>	[0...255]	integer uint8, subcmds eg. 0x0b
<PAYLOAD_INTEGER_TWO_BYTES>	[0...65535]	uint16
<INVERTER_ID>	[0...3]	integer uint8

Example to set the active power limit non persistent to 10%

{
    "inverter":0,
    "tx_request": 81,
    "cmd": 11,
    "payload": 10,
    "payload2": 1
}

Example to set the active power limit persistent to 600Watt

{
    "inverter":0,
    "tx_request": 81,
    "cmd": 11,
    "payload": 600,
    "payload2": 256
}

Developer Information REST API

In the same approach as for MQTT any other SubCmd and also MainCmd can be applied and the response payload can be observed in the serial logs. Eg. request the Alarm-Data from the Alarm-Index 5 from inverter 0 will look like this:

{
    "inverter":0,
    "tx_request": 21,
    "cmd": 17,
    "payload": 5,
    "payload2": 0
}

Zero Export Control

• You can use the mqtt topic <CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/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 <CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/<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 <CHOOSEN_TOPIC_FROM_SETUP>/<INVERTER_NAME_FROM_SETUP>/ch0/P_AC 👆 This value is ALWAYS in Watt

Issues and Debuging for active power limit settings

Turn on the serial debugging in the setup. Try to have find out if the behavior is deterministic. That means can you reproduce the behavior. Be patient and wait on inverter reactions at least some minutes and beware that the DC-Power is sufficient.

In case of issues please report:

1. Version of firmware
2. The output of the serial debug esp. the TX messages starting with "0x51" and the RX messages starting with "0xD1" or "0xF1"
3. Which case you have tried: Setup-Page, MQTT, REST API and at what was shown on the "Visualization Page" at the Location "Limit"
4. The setting means payload, relative, absolute, persistent, not persistent (see tables above)

Developer Information General for Active Power Limit

⚡The following was verified by field tests and feedback from users

Internally this values will be set for the second two bytes for MainCmd: 0x51 SubCmd: 0x0b --> DevControl set ActivePowerLimit

typedef enum {
    AbsolutNonPersistent    = 0x0000, // 0
    RelativNonPersistent    = 0x0001, // 1
    AbsolutPersistent       = 0x0100, // 256
    RelativPersistent       = 0x0101  // 257
} PowerLimitControlType;

Firmware Version collection

Gather user inverter information here to understand what differs between some inverters.

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

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.