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The cheap pwm charge controller I used was around 75% efficient and the Epever MPPT is around 98% efficient so you are getting upwards of 25% more. Probably at least 20% better. If you can afford it then Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is far better.

Thank you. I did create some schematics in KiCad for the floating pool thermometer project but I didn’t feel confident enough to send them out to be made. I might have another go using this project, the electronics are far simpler so might be a nice introduction to custom PCB design.

@@DeveloperDIY fantastic！

@@DeveloperDIY How could we contact you?

@@daisywong-ke1kz My PCBs are arriving today. I decided to give it a go.

👍

Thanks. Let me know how you get on.

@@DeveloperDIY where did you get your ceramic temperature prob?

@@paulhyland3528 Amazon UK K Type Ceramic Kiln... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CCSG4LZK

@@paulhyland3528 for a BBQ you might be better with one of these. Also comes with the Max6675. DollaTek MAX6675 Module Mini... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DK8VG87

@@DeveloperDIY just seen your reply, that's looks great definitely more suitable, thanks for your help. I'll be adding it to the ever growing list of esp projects

Thank you for watching. The roof is one of my favourite parts too. I imagine the felt roof tiles would melt in the Australian summer heat so they are probably more of a northern hemisphere product. Everything is just nailed in with roofing tacks and bits of my fingers where I missed with the hammer! 😵‍💫 I’ll book the flight as soon as the outdoor kitchen is complete! Although I suspect we’ll be waiting a good while, it’s taken two years to get this far!

Thank you and sorry twice, I’ve put part two on hold until I’ve completed the oven. It dawned on me that I need to fit the oven chimney first. The heat from the oven and flue will affect the light, especially if I embed led strips into it. Also, sorry for these videos being quite long, I’m still learning how to edit videos and now realise that shorter is better and less music is good too. 😁

Yes, the existing speed controller does have soft start. I’ve not used the new controller and pedal yet. I’ve been side tracked by the pizza oven project. I’ll have another go at the car later this year.

@@DeveloperDIY ah ok. I've never used the LiPO batteries. Do you need a low voltage cutoff for it?

@@beforeyourimmigrants8471 That would be a great addition to help protect the batteries. Maybe set around 3.2v per cell as a cut off. I always supervise the kids when they use the vehicles with lithium polymer batteries so I can check their temperature and voltage. It’s best not to take chances with lithium based batteries, they need treating with respect.

Thank you. I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole now. I’ve just got the display gauge working using LVGL in ESPHome. I’m hoping they merge the LVGL branch into a release version it’s very nice to work with for small device interfaces.

I’m not qualified to give legal advice. I’d always recommend that you get a qualified electrician in to check over your work as there will always be recommendations, improvements and regulations that need addressing. Each country will be different so an electrician will know what you need. You should also notify your insurance as it is a notable change to your house. Solar can be a significant investment that you would want to ensure is included in your building cover. Again, I’m not qualified to give advice, my videos just cover my experience and learning. If you attempt to do something similar then you should research the requirements in your own location. I always seek the relevant help to ensure safety. Plus it’s nice to have someone look over your work and point out improvements.

Oh, I’d love to build my own batteries. I keep looking but it’s a big investment of money. This month we generated more electricity than we used, if I had batteries to store it. I will try but probably a project for next year.

@@DeveloperDIY I made my own lead carbon batteries. Made the first test with lead and lead mixed with red oxide powder. But then I just recycled single use AA batteries using the carbon rod in place of red lead. Recycled, free and made it better.

@@Theoverthinker81 wow, that’s some serious chemistry then. I thought you meant some lifepo4s with a bms. You’re actually making the cells. That’s awesome. Let me know if you figure out how to make some of those sodium ion batteries.

Sure it’s the Fire Brick Company youtube.com/@thefirebrickco

Thanks for the nice comment. I’m in the midlands and yes it rains more than the sun shines so a roof is key. It’s very much a learning process so hopefully I can help someone else with their project. Good luck with your own build. Hopefully with a cold beer and a pizza cooking it’ll feel like I’m in a sun soaked California.

It’s a little frustrating to begin with but once you master the move and rotate tools along with rectangle and line, you are good to design anything. It’s worth sticking with and do a couple of tutorials. I’ve almost completed the design now, just the oven floor to go. When I’m done I could do a little video on using Sketchup to design the oven if you think it would be useful?

@@DeveloperDIY that would be very helpful!

Thanks. I did wonder about running copper water pipes within the dome insulation layer. I could then use this to heat the garage. Good luck with your own project.

Thank you for watching. I’m slowly getting the hang of the video editing. I just need a better microphone I think. I’m cleaning bricks as we speak! 😁

I’m about to go to sleep. A new subscriber from South Australia!

Night, night. 😁

I am planning to do a run through of my home assistant setup along with the sensors and switches. I’m not sure when though as it’s all about the outdoor kitchen and brick oven at the moment. Hopefully next month.

👍

Wow, converting a car to electric must have been a great project. It sounds like you are way ahead of me in your solar journey. Electric car is on my list for the future. I believe most hybrid inverters will do what you want and can be setup with rules for exporting and charging etc. there are hundreds of different makes and models to choose from so I’m unable to recommend anything in particular. All I can offer is my preference in brands. I do like Epever, Solis and Fox ESS. Epever do some cheap hybrid inverters. Solis seem very reliable and Fox also have a nice range. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Try Will Prowse, he has lots of great reviews for products.

​@@DeveloperDIY​@DeveloperDIY thanks, converting the car was the best thing I've ever done and is still ongoing. I posted a video series abut it. As for solar I'm only starting out and know almost nothing so trying to get my head around the various options. I can pick up some new 420W JA panels for £160 locally so might do that first then see what happens.

Check out City Plumbing, 425w panels are £70. Or HDMSolar, they are as low as £58. It’s a great time to buy panels. I did consider buying some and storing them.

​@@DeveloperDIYI'll do that thanks.

I’ll check out your video too.

Sounds like a good project, let me know how you get on. I’ve heard that bi facials work very well if you mount them vertically, mainly due to more efficient heat loss. I’ve been looking at ways of setting up a cylinder outside with a DC element to use excess solar to heat water, I really dislike exporting solar.

@@DeveloperDIY Wait on those bi-facials ones there has been an issue on a local solar farm of them just cracking.

I’m still waiting to find a new inverter so the Shunt and Epever integrations are not working at the moment. The Epever was courtesy of Colin Hickey so nothing for me to add there. I was going to do a video on the shunt esphome script as it needs re soldering anyway but I’ve been distracted with all things pizza oven the last few months. I don’t know anything about Batmon, but I’ll take a look and see if there is anything I can add.

I could do a run through of my whole Home Assistant setup. I don’t know if that’s of interest to people.

Thanks, I can almost smell the burning pizzas 😁

The G98 is a work in progress, my end goal is to have kitchen roof and south facing garage connected to the Solis 3.6 and grid tied so the G98 will cover that configuration and then setup 10 more panels off grid to test the setup then move those to grid tied which will take me above the G98 and into the next tier. I still have 2 more vertical wall panels to install so the setup is not complete yet.

Let me know how you get on with it.

Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s a great time for buying panels, I’ve never seen them so cheap at the moment. I’m tempted to buy a few and store them in the shed for future use. Good luck with your project, I wonder if you could use bi-facials like a roof light, that would be nice.

@@DeveloperDIY You're very welcome. Yes I've seen panel prices come down slightly, though as usual, I have to priorities spending money, like most! Good point about bi-facials, I don't think they would work in my situation, but I like your thinking 👍 To start with I'll have around 3 x 2m x 1m panels - one might be some tree shade at times, so I might need to arrange them in a way that the shaded one doesn't drag the others down. I've heard some pro installs have panels with their own inverters, I'm betting they're crazy money? If it's working nicely, I have space for 2 more of a similar size within relative proximity to the other 3 (around 2m). Really though, perhaps I should start small like you, it would certainly work better for my budget and give me the same understanding as you if I tried a simpler route. Finally, just a thought about securely mounting on a flat roof without penetrating the felt. May be you could get some 50-70mm square hollow steel lengths, get an upright that's bolted a few courses above the flat roof/wall intersection. Then a horizontal length that goes over the flat roof but doesn't touch it, then a vertical member that goes down to the ground in front of the extension, bolted into a concrete pad. 2 of those space right, might allow for bracing between and make it quite sturdy. Happy to illustrate with Sketchup if helps...might just be a stupid idea! Thing is, some modern roofs have insulation directly under and may not even have OSB that would at least give some fixing to.

@@bikerchrisukk That’s a good idea for the frame. I suspect it might not pass the wife test though, plus I do like the ability to experiment and change configuration. I think a subframe bolted to the house wall might work too.

@@DeveloperDIY Ah, with all the panels and frames, I was unsure if it would pass the wife test. I think certainly having a section bolted 2-3 times to house, then a horizontal bit on the roof might be OK. could put rubber feet on end nearest the flat roof eaves, then 2 diagnonal members to act as a brace, then normal sections for attaching panels to, after the upright bit is done to get the angle right.

Great question. I don’t have batteries or a hybrid inverter so I don’t have any experience with trying to manage charging schedules etc. My integration is purely read only, I didn’t have any need to send commands to the inverter. You could add this though. You would need to wire up the TXD to the TX for the RS485 to the D1 Mini and the add the sending of commands within the ESPHome script. Sorry I can’t be of more help, It sounds like an interesting addition to make setup changes based on weather predictions. Let me know if you get something working.

@@DeveloperDIY thanks for the reply I do have a waveshare RS485 to ethernet powered over Poe but I have zero experience or idea on how this works or would wire up to what you've done. Is there any chance you could help with the physical wiring part as I have no idea what I am doing. I can follow instructions but sadly this is all very bespoke and there don't appear to be anyone who has done this before me (that I can find.) I have found several that are similar but not the same!

@@miketargaryen1210 that’s a completely different beast to the simple esp8266 microcontroller. I wouldn’t know exactly how to set that up. All I can offer is my thoughts. If you use my diagram from the video then RS485 A and B would go to your waveshare device into the respective A & B connections. You may need ground and 5v, I’m not sure. It may work without. I’m guessing you would then have to communicate with the waveshare via MQTT into Home Assistant. You wouldn’t be able to use my scripts for this. You would need to write something new. If you’re not 100% sure, it’s probably best not to experiment and wait for someone who has already done an integration to share.

I’d always advise that you get a qualified electrician to check over your work and help implement any improvements or things that don’t meet regulations. This is far cheaper than paying for a full install. In the UK I do think the mood is changing in favour of people doing their own solar installs. I believe Octopus energy had relaxed their requirements for an export guarantee so they don’t always need as MSC certification. Good luck, with your install. Just start small, I bet you have something you could run off grid in a simple low volt setup.

@@DeveloperDIY yes - I think I need a simple set up just to get the hang of a DIY set up. Thank you for your videaos

I totally agree, the cheap inverters were great to get going but both low voltage inverters I’ve had have both failed within one to two years so I agree, it’s worth spending a little more if you can, it will save you money in the long run. I’m still on the lookout for a good 3kw inverter for the off grid setup.

Why not the victron multiplus? 😊

@@skullpoly1967 if I could afford Victron I probably wouldn’t need solar panels 😁. I believe they are great quality though.

Maybe one day I’ll find a broken one that I can repair 🤞

@@skullpoly1967 Victron low frequency inverters are great inverters. Even Victron's high frequency units are better than the Chinese designed inverters because they use much higher quality quality components in their builds.

Thanks, I’m now googling micro cracking. 🫣

No, I only read information from the Solis S6. My integration does to send any commands to the inverter. In theory you could change the script to both read and send commands, you’d have to research that though as I’ve got no experience. Let me know if you get it working, I’m sure others would be interested.

Thank you for the nice comment. It’s tricky to know how much detail to include before it gets boring. I just need to get the sound levels right, it’s either too loud or too quiet at the moment. All the best with your build.

I couldn’t say for sure but I would imagine the principle would be the same assuming it is using Modbus. I would expect the Modbus registers would be different though. Try a Google for Afore Modbus and see if you can get the correct registers. Sorry I can’t be of more help.

@@DeveloperDIY@DeveloperDIY ye, I got registers from the manufacturer and connected it to the home assistant via reading wifi dongle, but there was a 20-second delay. Gonna try your method, but I can't find such parts in Europe, can I replace it with something else?

@@ketohable I get a lot of my parts from AZ-Delivery which are based in Germany. I buy through Amazon. The connector came from Germany. The RS485 module should be easy to find too. Which part are you struggling to find?

@@DeveloperDIY I was looking for it in my local stores in Bulgaria:) There is nothing or not listed on the internet. And Amazon de won't send item here. Gonna check other sources

Shh!, it’s the entrance to the secret nuclear bunker really! 🤫

I did think about that but my fear was that the blocks would move and concrete would go everywhere. I couldn’t find any interlocking blocks near me. I agree it would be much easier but you need to be a little braver than me. Thanks for the advice.

The line that says ‘api:’ instructs esp_home to handle the MQTT automatically for you. See esphome.io/components/mqtt.html

Ohhh, I _think_ that piece you mention enables esp to push data to home assistant using their API In order to have MQTT working seems more code is required, MQTT is nice but not strongly required unless you want to decouple from home assistant or if you want to have multiple _listeners_ for the data. Simplicity is king and the API integration looks great!

@@qz5ogsx9 Yes you are right, I think I just assumed it would connect via MQTT behind the scenes. I have a few of these microcontrollers for connecting power monitors, Epever off grid charge controller and Victron smart-shunt. All the code kind of blurs into one after a while. I like the simple solutions that I can just fit and forget. Using the api is the simplest. Thanks for the extra info, I’m sure it will help others.

Thanks for the additional information.

Yes, mine is getting thin. Is the shaft replacement easy?

@DeveloperDIY yes but mine is riveted on so I'm gonna drill the rivets and replace with nuts and bolts.

How does the NUC compare to the pi? I was thinking it might be time to upgrade the hardware.

Thanks, it’s nice hear I’m not the only one.

That’s good to know, thanks.

Let me know if it fixes your problem.

I’m glad it’s not just me then.

Yes, the ESP8266 microcontroller sends data via the wifi to your home assistant server. If you still want to use the cloud and the App then I’d recommend sticking with the official dongle and look for an API based solution to read data from the cloud. In theory you could try and run them in parallel but I’d imagine there would be lots of issues.

You can use solarman integration for solis, also ask the cloud people to change the data upload frequency from 5min to 1 min.

I replaced my CAD display with a Glowmarkt Smets2 CAD which then allows me to listen to the encrypted Zigbee network that the Smets boxes use and broadcast the energy data to my home assistant MQTT server. It sounds way more complicated that is really is. Just buy the new display either Smets1 or Smets2 then enter a username and password from your home assistant and that’s it. I have a short showing the CAD here czcams.com/users/shortsp9wYQgjUFaA

Here is the CAD I bought shop.glowmarkt.com/products/display-and-cad-combined-for-smart-meter-customers

I started by using the free Bright app (which you will need) to test if the data could be collected and my meters were compatible. glowmarkt.com/bright Hope this helps.

@@DeveloperDIY That's very helpful. Thanks a lot!

Thank you

My video editing skills are a work in progress. I’m sure all of these early videos will be removed in a few years time when I figure it all out.

Glad it was helpful!

I’m glad it has helped. Let me know how the exhaust recovery goes, that sounds like a great addition as the exhaust gets very hot and does seem like a waste of energy.