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Devices and installation

What Solar Monitor works with, how it connects to your system and how it is installed – see it all before you sign up. Every device has a step-by-step video.

How it connects

  1. A small device next to your systemESP32-S3 or a Raspberry Pi, plugged in near the inverter and the batteries.
  2. The inverter – over Wi-Fi or by cableThrough the inverter’s Wi-Fi logger (Solarman, e.g. on Deye) or through the Data Logger (SmartESS, e.g. on Easun) – no cables. A cable works too (RS485, RS232 or USB) – with a Raspberry Pi, and with an ESP32-S3 for Easun and Voltronic inverters.
  3. The batteries – over Bluetooth or by cableEvery JK BMS battery on its own, down to every cell. With a Raspberry Pi – also by RS485 cable, and Seplos batteries too.
  4. Everything – on the website and on your phoneThe device records everything on its card and is connected to solarmonitor.pro over the Wi-Fi at your place. You see your system live from anywhere.
A different inverter or battery? Contact us and tell us which ones – we will let you know if they work and how they connect.

Choose a device

Each one has a video of how it is installed, what you need and what to do if something does not work.

Which device should I choose?
  • 1–3 inverters and up to 4–5 batteriesESP32-S3
  • More inverters or batteries, or cables to themRaspberry Pi
  • Many batteries, far from the Raspberry PiRaspberry Pi + battery antenna

An ESP32-S3 also works with a few more inverters and batteries, but charts and statistics load more slowly.

Important: the ESP32-S3 board must have a microSD card slot – the system’s history is kept on the card.

ESP32-S3 with 16 MB flash and PSRAM (N16R8), and it must have a microSD card slot (for example ESP32-S3 WROOM N16R8 CAM).Reads the inverters over Wi-Fi or by cable and the batteries over Bluetooth – for systems with 1–3 inverters and up to 4–5 batteries.

The software is installed straight from the browser (Chrome or Edge on a computer) with a USB cable.

Video: how to do it 1:15 · no sound, with captions

Bought a ready device from us? The software is already on it – start from step 4.

Steps in the video

You will need

  • ESP32-S3 board (N16R8) with a microSD card slot
  • microSD card
  • USB data cable
  • A computer with Chrome or Edge
  • Phone
  • Your Wi-Fi password
  • The activation code (in your account)

If something goes wrong

The computer does not see the board (ESP32)

Try another USB cable – many cables are for charging only. On the ESP32-S3 the cable goes into the port labelled COM (not USB).

If there is no port in the list, install the driver from the install page (CH343 – for most ESP32-S3 boards; CH340 – if the board says CH340) and restart the browser. You need Chrome or Edge on a computer – it does not work from a phone.

Writing does not start

Hold the BOOT button, press and release RST, then release BOOT and try again.

I don’t see the solarmonitor.pro network on my phone

Wait 1–2 minutes after powering on. On an ESP32, hold the BOOT button for 5 seconds – the Wi-Fi setup starts over. On a Raspberry Pi the network appears while there is no Wi-Fi setting or it cannot connect to your network.

The setup page does not open by itself

While the phone is connected to the solarmonitor.pro network, open the address 192.168.4.1 in the browser.

I entered a wrong Wi-Fi password or code

The solarmonitor.pro network comes back – with an explanation of what is wrong. Connect to it again and fix it.

The JK batteries beep

JK batteries beep at every Bluetooth connection – this is normal.

Can’t find the answer? The “Help” button is at the bottom right of every page.

Raspberry Pi – Zero 2 W, 3, 4 or 5.For bigger systems: more than 3 inverters or 5 batteries, cables to the inverters and batteries, smart devices on the network.

The software is written to a microSD card with one program for Windows.

Recommended: a second antenna for a stable link to the batteries

Raspberry Pi has one chip and one antenna for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. When both the internet and the batteries go through it, the link to the batteries drops more often. So leave the built-in antenna to Bluetooth only:

  • USB Wi-Fi adapter – a second antenna for the internet. Plug it into USB and set nothing up – the Raspberry Pi switches to it by itself. Tested with an adapter with a Realtek RTL8821CU chip (on a Zero 2 W – through a USB OTG adapter).
  • Or a network cable to the router – the most reliable (the Zero 2 W has no socket for a cable). As soon as the cable has internet, the built-in Wi-Fi switches off by itself.
  • Many batteries, or far from the Raspberry Pi? “Battery antenna” (ESP32-S3) – more Bluetooth right next to the batteries.

The setup is the same – the Wi-Fi and the code from the phone. The software does not use a USB Bluetooth adapter for now.

Video: how to do it 1:24 · no sound, with captions

Bought a ready device from us? The card is already prepared – start from step 3.

Steps in the video

You will need

  • Raspberry Pi (Zero 2 W, 3, 4 or 5)
  • microSD card, 16 GB or more
  • A Windows computer with a card reader
  • A 5 V power supply for the Raspberry Pi
  • Phone
  • Your Wi-Fi password
  • The activation code (in your account)
  • Recommended: a USB Wi-Fi adapter or a network cable to the router
  • Optional: a USB–RS485 or USB–RS232 adapter – if the inverter or the batteries will be on a cable

If something goes wrong

I don’t see the solarmonitor.pro network on my phone

Wait 1–2 minutes after powering on. On an ESP32, hold the BOOT button for 5 seconds – the Wi-Fi setup starts over. On a Raspberry Pi the network appears while there is no Wi-Fi setting or it cannot connect to your network.

The setup page does not open by itself

While the phone is connected to the solarmonitor.pro network, open the address 192.168.4.1 in the browser.

I entered a wrong Wi-Fi password or code

The solarmonitor.pro network comes back – with an explanation of what is wrong. Connect to it again and fix it.

I don’t have a Windows computer (Raspberry Pi)

On a Mac or Linux the card is made by hand: one FAT32 partition (MBR), then copy everything from the zip onto it. Details are in the instructions text file in the archive.

Without a phone (Raspberry Pi)

Before you put the card in the Raspberry Pi, open the file solarmon.txt on it with Notepad and fill in the Wi-Fi name, the password and the activation code.

The batteries drop out or are read only now and then (Raspberry Pi)

On the Raspberry Pi, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are in one chip with one antenna. Add a USB Wi-Fi adapter or connect the Raspberry Pi to the router with a network cable – then the built-in antenna is left to the batteries only.

Close the JK app on the phones nearby and move the Raspberry Pi closer to the batteries – metal cabinets and walls weaken the signal.

It does not start (Raspberry Pi)

Put the card in the computer and open the solarmon-data folder: boot.txt says what happened at start-up and status.txt holds the program’s last message.

The JK batteries beep

JK batteries beep at every Bluetooth connection – this is normal.

Can’t find the answer? The “Help” button is at the bottom right of every page.

An add-on to the Raspberry Pi for many batteries.ESP32-S3 with the “Antenna” software sits close to the batteries, keeps up to 6 JK batteries connected over Bluetooth and sends their data to the Raspberry Pi over the local network. You can have several antennas.

The software is installed from the browser, the same way as on the ESP32-S3.

Video: how to do it 1:19 · no sound, with captions

Bought a ready antenna from us? The software is already on it – get the code (step 1) and continue from step 4.

Steps in the video

You will need

  • A system with a Raspberry Pi in Solar Monitor
  • ESP32-S3 board (N16R8)
  • USB data cable
  • A computer with Chrome or Edge
  • Phone
  • The site’s Wi-Fi password

If something goes wrong

The computer does not see the board (ESP32)

Try another USB cable – many cables are for charging only. On the ESP32-S3 the cable goes into the port labelled COM (not USB).

If there is no port in the list, install the driver from the install page (CH343 – for most ESP32-S3 boards; CH340 – if the board says CH340) and restart the browser. You need Chrome or Edge on a computer – it does not work from a phone.

Writing does not start

Hold the BOOT button, press and release RST, then release BOOT and try again.

The setup page does not open by itself

While the phone is connected to the BGS-Antena-… network, open the address 192.168.4.1 in the browser. If the network is not there – hold the BOOT button for 5 seconds.

The JK batteries beep

JK batteries beep at every Bluetooth connection – this is normal.

Can’t find the answer? The “Help” button is at the bottom right of every page.

30 days free – with your own ESP32-S3 board (with a microSD card slot) or Raspberry Pi. You get the activation code right after you sign up.

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