wildebus
Forum Member
I've mentioned the Victron Venus System on quite a few occasions and how I think it can be very informative. But generally it really works best when you have a suite of Victron kit to give you the complete picture.
But what if you only have - like many installations - only a Victron MPPT Controller? Is it worth having a Venus Setup then? I suspect the answer is probably no for more folk UNLESS you are expecting to add in additional devices, but I thought I would show you what you could expect to see with just the Victron MPPT Controller (plus the required kit to make it a Victron Venus setup of course) and let you decide for yourself.
I happen to have the bits and pieces to setup this up already in my 'lab', but if you were to do this yourself from scratch for your Camper/Motorhome, you would need the following at a minimum:
Bargain Venus Option
Official Victron Venus Option
You could get the 'Bargain Option' all sorted out and up and running for well under £100, and the connection to and use of the Victron Portal is free.
So once you have your Venus system setup and your MPPT solar controller connected what can you expect to see? Well, this is my test setup using the 'Bargain Venus Option' and a SmartSolar 100/20 Controller, with all loads on the LOAD output and 2 x 100W Panels in series as an PV Array.
This is what Devices the System has in total
WBShed-Device by David, on Flickr
The Overview with just the MPPT shows what contribution the Solar is making to the system.
WBShed-Overview by David, on Flickr
It shows when the solar input is greater than the consumption, but what this doesn't show is when the Solar input is less than the consumption.
The Advanced page is the interesting one ...
WBShed-Advanced by David, on Flickr
This shows various graphss, including what the Solar Charger PV Array is putting into the Controller;
The Solar Charger Battery Voltage and Current shows a total of what the Controller is putting out AND the LOAD is drawing, so is a sum of the MPPT Controller as a whole.
If you connect the loads to the battery rather than the LOAD terminal, this would tell you directly the power the controller is putting out but using the LOAD teminals can be useful as a pseudo-battery monitor in terms of current draw/charge (and the Charger PV data will tell you the harvesting info anyway (it is a shame the Victron portal won't give you that data as the solar yield but uses the Battery Side of the controller as it represents the yield presented to the battery from the controller, not the yield presented to the controller))
The Remote Control display is pre-configured for a full setup, but with just an MPPT connected, there is not that much info displayed
WBShed-RC by David, on Flickr
The Battery Voltage is from the MPPT as is the Wattage and Current. No SOC data for the battery of course as there is no Battery Monitor, and top half requires connected Chargers, Inverters, or Multiplus/Quattros to be connected.
If you compare the screenshot above with the one below from a system with a Multiplus and BMV as well as an MPPT Device you will see the difference in the level of data shown
Victron Venus - Full Set by David, on Flickr
So is it worth having this system for just an MPPT? If you are a bit of a closet (or even openly) geek, then at a cost of around £70 to build and configure your own Raspberry Pi and get the connection cable, then it is both interesting and a bit of fun, plus you can see what your Solar is up to from the comfort of your settee (as well as checking your battery remotely which just in itself can be dead handy!) rather than having to go into your van to check (even with the Bluetooth on the Victron SmartSolar you still need to be super-close to get a connection).
Is it worth investing £70 for this? only you can answer that
But what if you only have - like many installations - only a Victron MPPT Controller? Is it worth having a Venus Setup then? I suspect the answer is probably no for more folk UNLESS you are expecting to add in additional devices, but I thought I would show you what you could expect to see with just the Victron MPPT Controller (plus the required kit to make it a Victron Venus setup of course) and let you decide for yourself.
I happen to have the bits and pieces to setup this up already in my 'lab', but if you were to do this yourself from scratch for your Camper/Motorhome, you would need the following at a minimum:
Bargain Venus Option
- Raspberry Pi running Victron Venus OS
- USB Power @3A recommended
- Internet Connection (WiFi to House Internet or Mobile Phone Internet)
- Victron VE.Direct to USB Dongle
Official Victron Venus Option
- Venus GX or Colour Control GX
- Internet Connection via Network Repeater (the WiFi in the GX/CCGX is VERY low power and you would need some kind of boost device)
- Victron VE.Direct to VE.Direct Cable
You could get the 'Bargain Option' all sorted out and up and running for well under £100, and the connection to and use of the Victron Portal is free.
So once you have your Venus system setup and your MPPT solar controller connected what can you expect to see? Well, this is my test setup using the 'Bargain Venus Option' and a SmartSolar 100/20 Controller, with all loads on the LOAD output and 2 x 100W Panels in series as an PV Array.
This is what Devices the System has in total
WBShed-Device by David, on Flickr
The Overview with just the MPPT shows what contribution the Solar is making to the system.
WBShed-Overview by David, on Flickr
It shows when the solar input is greater than the consumption, but what this doesn't show is when the Solar input is less than the consumption.
The Advanced page is the interesting one ...
WBShed-Advanced by David, on Flickr
This shows various graphss, including what the Solar Charger PV Array is putting into the Controller;
The Solar Charger Battery Voltage and Current shows a total of what the Controller is putting out AND the LOAD is drawing, so is a sum of the MPPT Controller as a whole.
If you connect the loads to the battery rather than the LOAD terminal, this would tell you directly the power the controller is putting out but using the LOAD teminals can be useful as a pseudo-battery monitor in terms of current draw/charge (and the Charger PV data will tell you the harvesting info anyway (it is a shame the Victron portal won't give you that data as the solar yield but uses the Battery Side of the controller as it represents the yield presented to the battery from the controller, not the yield presented to the controller))
The Remote Control display is pre-configured for a full setup, but with just an MPPT connected, there is not that much info displayed
WBShed-RC by David, on Flickr
The Battery Voltage is from the MPPT as is the Wattage and Current. No SOC data for the battery of course as there is no Battery Monitor, and top half requires connected Chargers, Inverters, or Multiplus/Quattros to be connected.
If you compare the screenshot above with the one below from a system with a Multiplus and BMV as well as an MPPT Device you will see the difference in the level of data shown
Victron Venus - Full Set by David, on Flickr
So is it worth having this system for just an MPPT? If you are a bit of a closet (or even openly) geek, then at a cost of around £70 to build and configure your own Raspberry Pi and get the connection cable, then it is both interesting and a bit of fun, plus you can see what your Solar is up to from the comfort of your settee (as well as checking your battery remotely which just in itself can be dead handy!) rather than having to go into your van to check (even with the Bluetooth on the Victron SmartSolar you still need to be super-close to get a connection).
Is it worth investing £70 for this? only you can answer that