The hype about PV systems has not passed me by without a trace, so I have - to gain some experience - put together an 800Watt balcony power plant: Cost in total about 600$. Balcony power plants are often offered as a set, which usually consists of an inverter and two PV modules including cables. The power of the inverter limits the maximum generation power of the plant. In Austria, balcony power plants with a generation capacity of up to a maximum of 800 watts are currently allowed, Germany should soon increase the limit of 600 watts to 800 watts. Somewhat dazzled by the fact that the Deye Sun800G3-eu-230 should be able to Zigbee, I decided to buy this inverter.

The heart: The inverter

To make the most of the 800 watts of power, I chose the Deye Sun800G3-eu-230 model. The scope of delivery of the Deye microinverter includes the following components in addition to the actual inverter:

• Betteri BC01 female connector (female) and end cap (male),
• WLAN antenna,
• Installation manual

[Link Pending]

Two cables lead into the inverter. One cable is used to connect the inverter to the mains via the BC01 connector, the second cable could be used to connect another inverter. When using only one inverter, the supplied end cap goes on the second cable.

The most important thing, the PV panels:

Since the shipping of PV panels is not without problems and at least due to the dimensions a bit expensive, I looked for a local supplier and first got 2 pieces of 410W peak PV panels:

https://www.parkettlager.at/PV-Module/Solarmodul-410W-mit-silbernen-Rahmen-GSM12-80-GREENSUNSOLAR.html

The GSM12/80 panels are a bit special as they have a Maximum Power Current (Imp) of 16.51A at a very low voltage (Vmp) of 24.8V. At the time of purchase, I did look at this data, but only later realized that the inverter cannot handle more than 13A and thus cannot technically reach the 800Watts with 2 panels. What is possible due to the low voltage is the connection of 2 panels in series to one input: at least in summer. Since the panels have a Voc value of 29.8V, the limit of the inverter could still be reached at low temperatures. Should this be the case, I will update the article: So until then: please do not copy ...

With 4 panels, the system delivers the 800 watts when the sun shines for several hours and in poorer conditions also correspondingly more.

Accessories: MC4 cable

The panels areconnected to the inverter via MC4 cables, which means another item on the shopping list: 3 x 2 pieces of MC4 cables.

on amazon.com: 1M Solar Panel Extension Cable 10AWG/6mm... Availability: Now Price: $9.99 as of: 2023-09-25 14:12 Details [Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.]

Installation

To connect to the mains, I first connected the supplied BC1 socket to an old Schuko cable from my rummage box. If you use a flexible cable, you should not forget the ferrules. Alternatively, an appropriate ready-made connection cable can of course be used.

From an electrotechnical point of view, the cable is very interesting, because there is voltage on the pins of the Schuko plug, unlike originally intended, when the small power plant is in operation. In order for this not to become dangerous, the inverter must deactivate in a flash when unplugged: At least I hope so, but still try to avoid touching it.

Wiring from the inverter to the panels is very simple with the MC4 cables mentioned earlier:

I used M6 threaded rods and nuts to attach them to the wooden balcony:

Everything plugged together and purely connected to the power grid, the inverter does not report yet; this starts only when the connected PV modules provide enough power: At this point, it's a matter of waiting for the sun to shine.

Commissioning

Important: The WLAN antenna included in the delivery makes sense, because without it, the reception is not sufficient for the connection to the router. If the sun is shining bright enough, the inverter reports as AccessPoint with AP_ and its serial number:

The default password for the integrated hotspot is "12345678". The web interface can then be accessed via the address 10.10.100.254 and the user name "admin" and the password of the same name "admin".

In order for the inverter to connect directly to the WLAN, the WLAN access data can be stored in the "Quick Set" menu:

If the inverter is connected to the own WLAN, it gets an IP address from the WLAN router. The address can be found out the admin interface of the router or alternatively with the following PowerShell script: Find IP addresses in the network, even if their firewall is activated.

Security

To secure the web interface, the admin password and the AP password should be changed:

The password at this point is limited to 15 digits. It is possible to enter a longer password, even the saving process does not return an error, but for the login you still have to use the first 15 digits of the password. I know this because I thought I was locked out, but the GUI clearly says: "Max. 15 characters".

Deye: What about Zigbee now?

In the installation / user manual it says Zigbee as communication, but unfortunately no details how the inverter could be put into pairing mode:

Source: https://www.deyeinverter.com/deyeinverter/2021/12/29/30240301000224-502011646..-sun(300%EF%BD%9E2000)g3-eu-230-ver1.2-...pdf

The datasheet is a bit more specific: Zigbee "or" WIFI:

Source: https://www.deyeinverter.com/deyeinverter/2023/03/09/rand/6987/...SUN-(600-1000)G3...pdf

I could also find a reference to Zigbee in the MECD communications gateway offered by Deye:

Source: https://www.deyeinverter.com/product/accessory-monitoring-1/mwcd.html

At least with ZHA I could not find the inverter even after multiple searches ...
So plan B after all: WIFI, no problem: I just want to integrate the inverter into Home Assistant:

Home Assistant Integration

Solarman Integration

Originally it was not possible for me to query the inverter with the Solarman integration. I suspected the installed firmware: MW3_16U_5406_1.53, or it could be that I tried the "Inverter serial number" and not the "Device serial number" for the connection. After downloading the data from the web interface via cURL in the meantime, I noticed a few days later that the inverter has installed a new firmware version on its own in the meantime: Current version:MW3_16U_5406_1.57. When I tried again to use Solarman and with the "Device serial number" the inverter could be connected quite easily:

First of all, the Solarman integration with the Home Assistant Community Store (HACS) and then add it in Settings / Integration to add it:

Solarman:

The IP address, Device Serial Number and as profile: deye_4mppt.yaml:

Unfortunately, the values are only updated every 5 minutes: I am frugal and take what I get.

Status via cURL:

If Solarman does not work, the status can also be queried using cURL.The status page of the integrated web interface shows the current power and the total power:

Unfortunately, the update of the values is only every 5 minutes: I am frugal and take what I get. After the website is only secured via basic authentication, the status page can be downloaded and parsed via a curl command. A quick test already provides the desired values:

root@test:~# curl http://admin:admin@192.168.1.91/status.html -s | grep -e "var webdata"
...
var webdata_now_p = "380";
var webdata_today_e = "8.40";
var webdata_total_e = "8.9";
...

Specifically, the status can be read directly without an integration, purely with the command_line platform and curl, and the value can be prepared for the energy dashboard using a template:

Home Assistant configuration.yaml

Here is my adaptation of the configuration.yaml file of Home Assistant for reading out the dashboard:

sensor:
  - name: power_balkon_pv_now
    platform: command_line  
    command: curl -s -u admin:admin http://192.168.1.91/status.html | grep -E "\webdata_now_p(\s|$)" | cut -d'"' -f 2
    unit_of_measurement: 'W'
    scan_interval: 60
  - name: power_balkon_pv_total
    platform: command_line  
    command: curl -s -u admin:admin  http://192.168.1.91/status.html | grep -E "\webdata_total_e(\s|$)" | cut -d'"' -f 2
    unit_of_measurement: 'kWh'
    scan_interval: 120
template:
  sensor:
  - name: "balkon_pv_energy"
    state: "{{ states('sensor.power_balkon_pv_total') if states('sensor.power_balkon_pv_total') | float > 0 }}"
    unit_of_measurement: kWh
    device_class: energy
    state_class: total_increasing
    unique_id: balkon_pv_energy

The hopefully previously changed password of the admin user as well as the IP address must of course be adjusted in the command line (curl -s -u admin:password http://IP). See also, HA: Use values of any WebGUI as entities

Universal emergency solution: Measure current via a power socket

Then I had the idea to simply hang a Zigbee socket between the inverter and the power outlet and measure the power via it: Would work, even though I still don't use the plug, since it's not really suitable for outdoor.

Here is a comparison of the values from a one-day test. In green: The values from the inverter, in red the values from the controllable Zigbee socket, mind you on a day in March, so not yet with the maximum possible solar radiation, yet I was able to collect 2.9kWh distributed over the day:

The 5-minute values of the inverter are somewhat inaccurate, but roughly the values agree with the socket.

Deye: Access better without internet, but update before anyway ...

The Deye inverters were in the media several times in 2023 with negative headlines: in the middle of 2023, because a ralais prescribed by the VDE is not installed and beginning of 2023, with the fact that the password of the WLAN access point could not be changed: Thus, the local hotspot could be used by anyone in the vicinity and the device could be managed or deactivated via it. With the current firmware, this gap has been closed, but I still decided not to connect the inverter to the Internet after the update and to do without the Solarman Smart App. One of the reasons why I don't need the app is that I already have the smart meter values in Home Assistant and can use them to create much better evaluations and, if necessary, automations.

I get the data for the energy consumption and the feed-in power directly from the smart meter of the grid operator. See also: Use grid operator’s smart meter KAIFA MA309M

Block Firewall

To prevent internet access I was not able to save the settings in the web interface with an invalid default gateway: These were simply undone after the reboot. The better solution is to block the internet access via the WLAN router anyway, here using the example of a router with OpenWrt firmware:

As a side note, it can be mentioned that the daily counter is worthless without internet connection, as it resets only when the inverter has delivered its data to the China cloud:

Lessens learned

Do I need to pay attention to phases in a balcony power plant?

House connection meters sum the consumption of all phases. If excess power is produced on one of the three phases, it can be consumed on another phase.

Does a microinverter require standby power when it is not active?

Since the Deye SUN800G3-EU-230 only starts up when there is enough power from the solar panels, I would have thought that it would not need standby power: The inverter and its WLAN are not active without PV power, yet the standby power is specified at 50mW (Night Time Power Consumption).

Are two PV panels enough for 800 watts?

Two 410 Watt peak panels were not enough for me to utilize the 800 Watt inverter. Since the angle on the balcony is not ideal and also the inverter only handles 13A, I could rarely reach 600 watts in practice with two panels. After my panels provide a relatively low voltage, I am currently testing 2 panels in series on one input. With 4 panels, the balcony power plant is a bit oversized, but manages the 800 watts easily and also delivers in cloudy conditions neatly. Due to the fact that the voltage of the panels increases at lower temperatures, the setup could be problematic in winter. I will adjust the article if I have new findings here. The total cost is still under 1000 € even after the upgrade.

Conclusion

The Deye inverter does what it is supposed to, yet the device does not really shine on closer inspection. I could not find any indication on the Internet that the repeatedly mentioned Zigbee communication protocol can really be used, nor whether Zigbee is installed at all? At least there are several possibilities to address the inverter via WLAN, even if the updating of the values takes place only every every 5 minutes. All's well that ends well and the home assistant is also satisfied ...

More than a balcony power plant?, see: PV - Considerations - Planning - Implementation