sunpower-ess-monitor

Monitors a SunPower ESS system, publishing metrics to a MQTT broker

Hardware Requirements

• SunPower ESS System (Hub+ cabinet plus one or more ESS cabinets)
• USB-powered Ethernet switch
• Raspberry Pi Zero W (recommended due to low power draw and small form factor)
• Raspberry Pi Zero W Case
• OTG Micro USB Ethernet adapter
• Two short Ethernet cables
• One short USB-A to Micro USB power cable
• Micro SD card
• Torx T20 screwdriver

Software Requirements

• MQTT broker, such as Eclipse Mosquitto

Installation

Install and configure Raspberry Pi OS

• Install a fresh Raspberry Pi image onto the micro SD card using Raspberry Pi Imager
  • Installing a headless image (Raspberry Pi OS Lite) is fine, since we will only be connecting via SSH
  • Click the gear icon to adjust these settings:
    • Set the hostname to sunpower-ess-monitor
    • Enable SSH access
    • Set username to pi and specify a password
    • Configure wireless LAN with your WiFi router SSID, password, and country
    • Set locale settings to your time zone and keyboard layout
• After you burn the OS image onto the SD card, eject it and install the SD card into the Raspberry Pi Zero W
• Install the Raspberry Pi Zero W into a case so that no electronics or pins are exposed
• Connect OTG Micro USB Ethernet Adapter to the micro USB port labeled USB on the Raspberry Pi Zero W
• Connect the short USB to Micro USB power cable to the micro USB port labeled PWR on the Raspberry Pi Zero W
• Connect the other end of the USB to Micro USB power cable to a power source (e.g. a PC USB port or a USB power adapter)
• Make sure the Raspberry Pi connects to WiFi and ssh into it: ssh [email protected]

Install software prerequisites and this package

• On the Raspberry Pi, run this script, which will install all dependencies and configure everything:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/webdeck/sunpower-ess-monitor/main/install.sh > install.sh
sudo bash install.sh

• Shutdown the Raspberry Pi with the command sudo shutdown -h now

Install everything into the Hub+ cabinet

WARNINGS

• The Hub+ cabinet contains DANGEROUS HIGH VOLTAGES. It is strongly recommended to power off ALL SOURCES OF POWER including your main meter breakers, solar breakers, and ESS Inverter breakers before proceeding. This will turn off all power to your house.
• You will be opening up the top portion of the Hub+ cabinet, which is not intended to be opened by consumers, potentially voiding any and all warranties. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Open the Hub+ cabinet

• Open the Hub+ breaker panel via the two latches on the right side
• Using an T20 Torx screwdriver, remove the two screws that secure the top "SunPower" cover above the breaker panel and lift off the cover

Connect Ethernet cables

• Connect the OTG Micro USB Ethernet Adapter to the micro USB port labeled USB on the Raspberry Pi Zero W
• Connect a short Ethernet cable between the OTG Micro USB Ethernet Adapter and one of the ports on the Ethernet switch
• You should see an Ethernet cable plugged into the black Ethernet jack on the Hub+. This cable connects to the Conext gateway inside your ESS cabinet. Unplug this cable and plug it into one of the ports on the Ethernet switch.
• Connect the second short Ethernet cable between the same black Ethernet jack on the Hub+ and another one of the ports on the Ethernet switch.
• At this point, your Ethernet switch should have three connections:
  • The Raspberry Pi Zero W's OTG Micro USB Ethernet Adapter
  • The black Ethernet jack on the Hub+
  • The cable that used to be plugged into the black Ethernet jack on the Hub+

Connect USB power cables

• Connect one of the USB power cables that came with the Ethernet switch to the top USB port in the Hub+, and plug the other end into the Ethernet switch's USB power port
• Connect the Short USB to Micro USB power cable to the micro USB port labeled PWR on the Raspberry Pi Zero W, and plug the other end into the second USB port from the top in the Hub+

Annotated example installation

Close the Hub+ cabinet and restore power

• Replace the Hub+ cover and attach with the two torx screws you previously removed
• Turn the breakers back on

Test everything is working

• Verify ability to ssh into the Raspberry Pi Zero W
• Verify your MQTT server is receiving messages on the topic prefix you specified during configuration
• Messages are published roughly every 15 seconds - this can be adjusted in the configuration file /usr/local/etc/conextpublisher.yaml
• Some metrics you may find interesting:
  • batteryPowerNet - positive for charging battery, negative for discharging
  • batteryBank1SOC - percentage of battery charge
  • batteryBank1SOH - percentage of battery health
• The configuration file /usr/local/etc/conextpublisher.yaml contains many other metrics, but not all are populated by the SunPower system