A better way to connect Home Assistant to your inverter

Version 2 of my ESP32 installation to pull data from either a DEYE or Sunsynk inverter into home assistant using ESPHome and the new board from smarthomeintegrations.co.za
You are able to write settings back to the inverter and it is easily customised with your own settings if desired.
Some Useful Links:
Discussion thread on Powerforum
powerforum.co.za/topic/25195-...
ESP32 & RS485 Shield
smarthomeintegrations.co.za/p...
ESPHome Yaml Code
github.com/slipx06/Sunsynk-Ho...
NEW Esp32 Shield reference document
w2.electrodragon.com/Board-da...
Sunynk/DEYE modbus commands document
docs.google.com/document/d/e/...
Original Post on Powerforum by sjlouw using ESPHome
powerforum.co.za/topic/8646-m...
ESP32 Drivers for Windows
docs.espressif.com/projects/e...
ESP32 Shield Pinout
w2.electrodragon.com/Board-da...
00:00 Introduction
01:20 Overview
02:57 ESPHome Installation
04:00 ESP32 Onboarding
07:35 ESP32 Firmware Upload
15:28 Firmware Customisation
22:00 Power Calculations
24:48 Firmware Install
26:10 Hardware Cabling & Connections
27:34 Final Checks and Basic Dashboard Setu

[@markal3023]

That’s for your contributions. Brought the board and case and power lead etc. Fairly painless install with good support when I had issues. Neat solution and Works a treat. Had to replace my Sunsynk dongle that failed after only 5 months. After integrating into home assist offers so many powerful options.

[@SolarIntegrations]

Awesome, glad to hear it went smoothly. Is definitely a whole load easier than using one of the MAX485 boards

[@Mus-Doc]

Hi. Thanks for the video

[@SolarIntegrations]

Thanks for watching @Mus-Doc ! I hope you find it useful, it is a much better way to connect to your inverter vs the older rs485 boards

[@andreharty2824]

hi thanks for this infomation, i have a powmr spk5 im trying this but getting modbus errors

[@SolarIntegrations]

Hi @andreharty2824 , Unfortunately I have never tried it out with that inverter. What errors are you getting? Do you have the Modbus register for the inverter? It will probably be similar to the DEYE/Sunsynk register but there will probably be some changes to that specific inverter. Are you using a RS475 Board or do you have the shield? Setting up the shield is a lot easier as there is no soldering which always seems to be problematic. Good luck, let me know how it goes.

[@markvk42]

Hi, Thanks for all of your work on this. I know how long it takes to put this sort of video together! Im going to attempt this, but i have (or will have ) 2 x 8 kw inverters in parallel (master & slave) will it be possible to get this to work and monitor both inverters? Edit, Reading down the tread, isee this has been answered and ive found what i need in the power forum, thanks.

[@SolarIntegrations]

Hi @markvk42, it will definitely work although I have not been able to test it out as I only have 1 x 16kw. There are two ways you could do it. Either using 1 x ESP32, in which case the inverters will need daisy chain the RS485 ports between the Inverters along with ESP32 so that they are all on the same bus. Easiest way to do this is probably to use a Wall Box and just link them up that way matrixwarehouse.co.za/product/4-way-rj45-wall-box/ One of the users on the Powerforum posted his YAML code for running in this config and Slipx06 was kind enough to post it to his Github. github.com/slipx06/Sunsynk-Home-Assistant-Dash/blob/main/ESPHome-1P-Sunsynk-Deye-Master-Slave.yaml You will need to check to make sure that you use the correct modbus addresses so that the ESP32 speaks to your inverters addresses. The other alternative is to use two ESP32's and speak to each inverter individually. In this case you will need to change the entity addresses on the Slave ESP32 so you don't have duplicate entities in Home Assistant being sent from both ESP32's. Good luck, please let me know how it goes.

[@veritasystems3387]

Do you know what the Tx, Rx and Flow Control pins are the Sunksynk 8kW inverter?

[@SolarIntegrations]

Hi @veritasystems3387, You don't connect the ESP32 directly to the inverter, u need an RS485 adapter. The RS485 has no flow control. RS485 is pin 1 (B-) & 2 (A+) on the RJ45 connector. You can also use pin 7 (A+) & 8 (B-)

[@MasterRas1]

Awesome guide, very detailed. I have a 5kw sunsynk ( intending to install a 2nd) will this work in my case? Does the wifi dongle continue to function for updates etc?

[@SolarIntegrations]

Glad you enjoyed the video :-), Yes, the existing dongle will keep on sending it's data to the cloud

[@vinyldude100]

How do you create the dashboards that allows you to change values on the inverter?

[@SolarIntegrations]

You can just go to the settings/device and it will allow you the entities there which can be changed and added to your dashboard. Otherwise you can use Slipx06's dash, I did a video on installation, and that has a really nice looking dash for changing settings.

[@grm58857]

Can you use this ESPHome device and continue to use the Sunsync logger? In other words, use both?

[@SolarIntegrations]

Yes, 100%

[@alfredoayala1911]

cannot be purchased for Spain

[@SolarIntegrations]

Hi @alfredoayala1911, you can also purchase from Electrodragon in China, pretty sure they will ship to Spain. Just make sure that you get the correct ESP32C and check the pinout is correct otherwise it will destroy your ESP32. www.electrodragon.com/product/esp32-can-rs-485-wire-interface-shield/

[@MrStefandup]

Can this still be achieved if I have 2 Sunsynk inverters?

[@SolarIntegrations]

Hi @MrStefandup I personally haven't done it but yes you can (I only have one inverter), one of the users in the discussion thread worked out how to set it up and the code is now on the Slix06 Github page. The code you need to use is slightly different and you need to install a cable to both inverters from the ESP32. Chgeck out the discussion thead on powerforum.co.za/topic/25195-a-much-better-way-of-connecting-home-assistant-to-your-deyesunsynk-inverter/

[@1ARSEN8]

My board does not have an API KEY after installation, what could be the problem?

[@SolarIntegrations]

Hi @1ARSEN8 Have you installed it into ESPhome before perhaps, if so you will probably need to use the old one? Otherwise you can try resetting it using IDE and then onboarding it again.

[@1ARSEN8]

@@SolarIntegrations Thanks it worked! "try resetting it with the IDE and then turning it back on"

[@unwired]

This is better than Solar Assistant to Home Assistant?

[@SolarIntegrations]

Using Home Assistant allows you to integrate with all your other smart devices and do automations using your inverter data. Solar Assistant is pretty much a stand alone system to replace the SolarmanPV/Sunsynk cloud, not sure if they have any integrations as yet.

[@unwired]

@@SolarIntegrations Thank. you, I am in the level of doing some research on HAS and will connect my Deye to HAS and the rest of the House energy usage. Also I wanted to remotely control the Deye charging and also automate it if possible using OpenWeather API.

[@SolarIntegrations]

@@unwired I have done a video on a pool automation using Solcast to forecast my production and then turn my pool pump on when I have sufficient excess energy.

[@kevinrtres]

Thanks for the info - I've bought a board and cables and after being puzzled as to how to connect the server to the shield dongle I discovered the video by Heinz that shows how to connect via the wifi hotspot that is on that v4 board! I hope this link will work : kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZfLfqBpZtObpac There is now no need to run a ethernet/rs485 cable from the Home assistant server to the dongle or to the inverter. Just connect the dongle to the inverter's 485 port and plug it into the 12v outlet and connect via wifi. Very, very simple!!!

[@SolarIntegrations]

Agree 100%, the ESP32 shields are way easier to set up than the separate RS485 boards.

[@SolarIntegrations]

I thought that it was pretty obvious that the ESP32 connected to the server wirelessly once you have it onboarded to ESPHome but didn't mention it in the video, thank you for letting me know