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This will be a multi-part series so please check out all the sections!
Part 3 – System Monitoring via Victron Remote Management
The previous section – System Monitoring via Victron Bluetooth ‘Connect’ – I showed how to use the Victron Bluetooth ‘Connect’ Apps to keep an eye on your Solar Charging, Mains Charging, Battery usage and Inverter use.
This final part is taking the monitoring a stage further – that being using Victron Remote Management (VRM), an system which allows you to check your installation anywhere in the world via the Internet and using my In-Camper Intranet Setup.
Now this to be truthful is likely overkill for a Campervan or Motorhome unless you are a bit of a geek – but as I am I thought I would show you this next level of monitoring I have available on my Camper, ‘Clarence’
Victron have a central unit called the ‘Colour Control GX’
This is a unit installed with the devices, connected with cables and featuring a touch-screen.
They also have a unit that does not have a screen, and that is accessed remotely via a computer – this unit is called the Victron Venus GX as well as the Cerbo GX and other options.
The CCGX is an expensive unit however, and the Venus GX is still quite pricey, so I for this blog writeup I used a Raspberry Pi computer (costing under £40) and installed Victron GX software which essentially turns the Pi into a Venus GX in most ways, most importantly in Battery Monitoring.
I have some screenshots of the type of information available via the VRM
This shows a system overview, showing the Consumption, Charging from Solar and the SOC (State of Charge). The SOC is show as a range for each day (high to low) so you can get an idea of how much the battery was depleted as well as usage in Watts.
You can also see what the Solar is up to choosing anything from a 60 minute time period all the way to a complete year!
The next chart shows the Battery Voltage and the Current into the battery from the 100/30 MPPT Controller.
Or see the information in Watts instead
Battery charting is possible as well of course (note that the data used in the chart comes from the Victron Devices you have in your system and connected to the CCGX/Venus GX hub – in my case I have the MPPT Solar Controller and the BMV-712 connected, nothing else)
This is a view of the Battery Voltage and current draw (or charge) over a 24 hour period.
You might notice the regualr ‘blips’ in the chart? you can choose to “drill down” to a single hour – and any hour you please!
The chart above shows info over a 1 hour period – this time I chose to see Watts consumed rather than current drawn.
By the way, if you are wondering what the blips are, it is the compressor on my Fridge kicking on. It comes on for 5 minutes every 20 minutes or so (depending on ambient temperature).
Of course the State of Charge is also charted, as can be seen below over a 24 hour timeline
I find monitoring the Solar Performance interesting. Sometimes you may wonder why the Solar Array is not developing as much power as you think it should.
When you look in detail at some of the data, it might seem that the Solar is underperforming? Dropping down a lot during peak hours?
This chart (shown previously) might confirm things are not right maybe?
But when you examine another chart available in the VRM Portal, the situation becomes a lot clearer….
When you read the chart above, you can see that the battery is in Absorption Mode a fair amount of the time (in this mode, the battery only gets a very low charge as it is nearly full); and also quite a bit of time in Float Mode.
Float Mode means the battery is full and the only current out the solar is to cover power demands in the system.
And when the battery is full, there is no room for more charge (A bit like a full bathtub – no room for more water).
That was just a flavour of what is possible using Victrons VRM system.
The Victron Remote Management monitoring is overkill in terms of neccessity for the majority of setups (‘Clarence’ is 100% Electric so it is important I maintain the batteries as well as possible). Battery Monitoring using either the NASA Marine BM Monitors or the Victron BMV-700 Monitors is very worthwhile for systems that have a greater level of complexity then the typical RV, with the Victron Bluetooth ‘Connect’ being a very handy extra to use if possible.
At the very least, a dedicated Digital Voltmeter should be fitted to supplement an Battery Level via LED Light Bars, which are not fit for purpose in all honesty.
This concludes this 3-part series on Power Management. We hope you found it interesting. Please do comment and let us know your thoughts.
There is a lot of detail and maybe really only appeals to the ‘Inner Geek’, but when it comes to looking after your Motorhome and Campervan (and this all applies to Boats as well), it is important to be a little ‘geeky’ to ensure you get the best from your battery.