Victron Edge Collector

Node-RED based data collector for Victron SmartSolar MPPT controllers with InfluxDB replication to remote server.

Overview

This project runs on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and collects data from a Victron MPPT 75/15 charge controller via VE.Direct USB interface. Data is written to a local InfluxDB instance and automatically replicated to a remote VPS for long-term storage and visualization.

Complete Monitoring Stack:

This repository provides the edge data collection component. For the complete visualization and analysis stack, combine with: → victron-grafana-influx - Grafana dashboards, downsample tasks, and long-term storage

System:

Edge: Raspberry Pi + Node-RED + local InfluxDB (7 days)
VPS: InfluxDB (raw/5min/1hour buckets) + Grafana
Replication: Automatic HTTPS sync
Retention: 6 months raw, 2 years 5min, infinite 1hour

Features:

VE.Direct USB protocol parser
10-second sampling interval
Low power (~2W)
Works with cheap FTDI adapters (~5-10€)

System Requirements

Hardware

Raspberry Pi Zero 2W (512MB RAM recommended)
microSD Card: 16GB minimum, 32GB recommended
USB-Serial Cable: FTDI FT232R adapter (3.3V logic level)
- NOT the expensive Victron VE.Direct USB cable!
- Generic FTDI USB-to-Serial adapter works fine (~5-10€)
- Must support 3.3V TTL serial (some are 5V only - check specs!)
- Connect: GND → GND, TX → RX (VE.Direct pin 2), RX → TX (VE.Direct pin 3)
- VE.Direct connector: 4-pin JST-PH 2.0mm pitch
Power Supply: 5V/2A USB power adapter
Victron Device: SmartSolar MPPT 75/15 (or compatible with VE.Direct port)

Software

Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit, Debian 12)
Node-RED v4.0+
InfluxDB v2.x
Node.js v18+

Installation

1. Prepare Raspberry Pi

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Set hostname
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname victron-collector

# Configure timezone
sudo timedatectl set-timezone Europe/Berlin

# Enable SSH (if not already enabled)
sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh

2. Install InfluxDB 2.x

# Add InfluxDB repository
wget -qO- https://repos.influxdata.com/influxdb.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/influxdb-archive-keyring.gpg > /dev/null
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/influxdb-archive-keyring.gpg] https://repos.influxdata.com/debian $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/influxdb.list

# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install influxdb2 influxdb2-cli -y

# Start service
sudo systemctl enable influxdb
sudo systemctl start influxdb

3. Configure InfluxDB

# Initial setup (interactive)
influx setup

# Enter:
# - Username: admin
# - Password: <secure-password>
# - Organization: <your-org-name>
# - Bucket: victron
# - Retention: 168h (7 days)

# Create API token for Node-RED
influx auth create \
  --org <your-org-name> \
  --write-bucket victron \
  --description "Node-RED Write Token"

# Save the token! You'll need it for Node-RED configuration.

4. Install Node-RED

# Install Node-RED using official script
bash <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/node-red/linux-installers/master/deb/update-nodejs-and-nodered)

# Enable Node-RED service
sudo systemctl enable nodered
sudo systemctl start nodered

# Reduce memory limit for Pi Zero
sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/nodered.service
# Add line under [Service]:
# Environment="NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=256"

# Reload and restart
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart nodered

5. Configure Node-RED

# Access Node-RED web interface
# Open browser: http://<raspberry-pi-ip>:1880

# Enable projects mode
cd ~/.node-red
nano settings.js

# Find and uncomment:
editorTheme: {
    projects: {
        enabled: true
    }
}

# Restart Node-RED
sudo systemctl restart nodered

6. Install Node-RED Dependencies

# SSH to Raspberry Pi
cd ~/.node-red

# Install required nodes
npm install node-red-contrib-influxdb
npm install node-red-contrib-victron-vedirect-usb

# Restart Node-RED
sudo systemctl restart nodered

7. Import Flow

Clone this repository on your PC:

git clone https://github.com/simonbuehler/nodered-victron-edge-collector.git

In Node-RED web interface:
- Menu → Import → Select a file to import
- Choose flows.json from cloned repo
- Click "Import"
Configure InfluxDB connection:
- Double-click "batch influx" node
- Edit "Server" field:
  - URL: http://localhost:8086
  - API Version: 2.0
  - Organization: <your-org-name>
  - Bucket: victron
  - Token: <token-from-step-3>
- Click "Done" → "Deploy"

8. Verify USB Connection

# Check if Victron MPPT is detected
ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*
# Should show: /dev/ttyUSB0

# Check device info
dmesg | grep -i "ttyUSB\|FTDI"
# Should show: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0

# Add user to plugdev group (if not already)
sudo usermod -aG plugdev pi

9. Test Local Data Collection

# Check Node-RED logs
sudo journalctl -u nodered -f

# Query InfluxDB
influx query 'from(bucket:"victron") |> range(start: -5m)'

# Should show recent data from measurements:
# - ve_direct_battery
# - ve_direct_panel
# - ve_direct_load
# - ve_direct_today
# - ve_direct_victron

Remote Replication Setup

1. Configure Remote Connection

# On Raspberry Pi, create remote connection
influx remote create \
  --name vps-server \
  --remote-url https://your-vps-domain.com:8086 \
  --remote-org-id <remote-org-id> \
  --remote-token <remote-api-token>

# Verify
influx remote list

2. Create Replication

# Create replication from local to remote
influx replication create \
  --name pi-to-vps \
  --remote-id <remote-id-from-previous-step> \
  --local-bucket-id <local-victron-bucket-id> \
  --remote-bucket victron

# Verify
influx replication list

# Should show:
# - Remaining Bytes to be Synced: 0
# - Latest Status Code: 204

3. Get Bucket/Org IDs

# Local bucket ID
influx bucket list | grep victron

# Remote org ID (run on VPS or use API)
influx org list --host https://your-vps-domain.com:8086 --token <remote-token>

4. Monitor Replication

# Check replication status
influx replication list

# Check queue size (should be near 0 when synced)
# Current Queue Bytes on Disk: ~1-2 MB during normal operation

# Check InfluxDB logs for errors
sudo journalctl -u influxdb -f | grep -i replication

Data Schema

Measurements

`ve_direct_battery`

Field	Type	Unit	Description
`voltage`	integer	mV	Battery voltage
`current`	integer	mA	Battery current (±)
`power`	integer	mW	Battery power (calculated)

`ve_direct_panel`

Field	Type	Unit	Description
`voltage`	integer	mV	Panel voltage
`current`	integer	mA	Panel current (calculated)
`power`	integer	W	Panel power

`ve_direct_load`

Field	Type	Unit	Description
`current`	integer	mA	Load current
`power`	integer	mW	Load power (calculated)
`status`	integer	-	Load switch (0=OFF, 1=ON)

`ve_direct_today`

Field	Type	Unit	Description
`yield`	integer	Wh	Today's energy yield
`power`	integer	W	Today's maximum power

`ve_direct_victron`

Field	Type	Unit	Description
`CS_Status`	integer	-	Charge state (0-9)
`ERR_Status`	integer	-	Error code
`MPPT_Status`	integer	-	MPPT tracker mode (0-2)

Status Code Reference

CS_Status (Charge State):

0: Off
2: Fault
3: Bulk
4: Absorption
5: Float
9: Inverting

MPPT_Status:

0: Off
1: Voltage/Current limited
2: MPPT active

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Victron MPPT 75/15                      │
│ (VE.Direct USB)                         │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────┘
                 │ FTDI USB-Serial (/dev/ttyUSB0)
                 ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Raspberry Pi Zero 2W (Edge Device)      │
│  📦 THIS REPOSITORY                     │
│                                         │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ Node-RED (Port 1880)              │  │
│  │  - VE.Direct Parser               │  │
│  │  - Data Transformation            │  │
│  │  - Batch Writer (10s)             │  │
│  └──────────┬────────────────────────┘  │
│             ↓                            │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ InfluxDB 2.x (Local Buffer)      │  │
│  │  - Bucket: victron (168h)         │  │
│  └──────────┬────────────────────────┘  │
│             │                            │
└─────────────┼────────────────────────────┘
              │ HTTPS Replication (automatic)
              ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ VPS / Remote Server                     │
│  📦 victron-grafana-influx              │
│                                         │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ InfluxDB 2.x (Long-term Storage)  │  │
│  │  - victron (180 days, raw)        │  │
│  │  - victron_5m (730 days, 5min)    │  │
│  │  - victron_1h (infinite, 1hour)   │  │
│  │  - Downsample Tasks               │  │
│  └──────────┬────────────────────────┘  │
│             ↓                            │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │ Grafana Dashboard                 │  │
│  │  - Dynamic bucket selection       │  │
│  │  - Peak-preserving queries        │  │
│  │  - 2+ years visualization         │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Data Flow:

Edge Collection (this repo): Raspberry Pi reads MPPT via USB every 10s
Local Buffer: 7 days retention on Raspberry Pi
Automatic Sync: InfluxDB replication to VPS (HTTPS)
Downsampling (victron-grafana-influx): VPS creates 5min + 1hour aggregates
Visualization (victron-grafana-influx): Grafana queries optimal bucket per time range

Related Projects

victron-grafana-influx - Grafana dashboard and downsample tasks for VPS (companion project)

License

MIT

Navigation Menu

Repository navigation

README.md

README.md

Victron Edge Collector

Overview

System Requirements

Hardware

Software

Installation

1. Prepare Raspberry Pi

2. Install InfluxDB 2.x

3. Configure InfluxDB

4. Install Node-RED

5. Configure Node-RED

6. Install Node-RED Dependencies

7. Import Flow

8. Verify USB Connection

9. Test Local Data Collection

Remote Replication Setup

1. Configure Remote Connection

2. Create Replication

3. Get Bucket/Org IDs

4. Monitor Replication

Data Schema

Measurements

`ve_direct_battery`

`ve_direct_panel`

`ve_direct_load`

`ve_direct_today`

`ve_direct_victron`

Tags

Status Code Reference

Architecture

Related Projects

License

FilesExpand file tree

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

File metadata and controls

Victron Edge Collector

Overview

System Requirements

Hardware

Software

Installation

1. Prepare Raspberry Pi

2. Install InfluxDB 2.x

3. Configure InfluxDB

4. Install Node-RED

5. Configure Node-RED

6. Install Node-RED Dependencies

7. Import Flow

8. Verify USB Connection

9. Test Local Data Collection

Remote Replication Setup

1. Configure Remote Connection

2. Create Replication

3. Get Bucket/Org IDs

4. Monitor Replication

Data Schema

Measurements

ve_direct_battery

ve_direct_panel

ve_direct_load

ve_direct_today

ve_direct_victron

Tags

Status Code Reference

Architecture

Related Projects

License

`ve_direct_battery`

`ve_direct_panel`

`ve_direct_load`

`ve_direct_today`

`ve_direct_victron`