Victron Venus OS and a Rasberry

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steveh57

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Victron Venus OS setup on a Rasberry Pi.



This a simple summary of the setup procedure for Victron Energy products that contain a V.E Direct port.

Victron has a device called the Color Control GX (£500) that provides monitoring, control and remote management via their VRM portal of many Victron devices either via Bluetooth or V.E. Direct cabling.

The operating system behind this is called Venus.OS , this has been ported to run on the Raspberry Pi a small board computer. (RPi 3B+ £35)

Due to far better explanations and for the sake of completeness the links below will get you up and running.



To setup the Rasberry Pi.



https://github.com/victronenergy/venus/wiki/raspberrypi-install-venus-image



Available release images- latest 2.72



https://updates.victronenergy.com/feeds/venus/release/images/raspberrypi2/



I use balenaEtcher to write to the microSD card



Initial setup I perform via ethernet at home as I’ve no ethernet connections in the motorhome, and then setup the WiFi connection to my Huaweii 5577 then obviously take both bits to the motorhome.



Setup of the OS remote console with subsequent connection to the Victron VRM portal is straightforward and free. Enable bidirectional vrm communication and note the Ethernet LAN address that becomes your VRM Portal ID. The list of available Wifi connections is given under setup – just enter the appropriate WiFi password

This youtube video below gives a pretty comprehensive guide







DIY cables The Victron V.E Direct cables cost around £30 each, you can make your own for around £5, you need one for each device. In the video above he gives the correct instructions for the DIY cables



Further information

https://beta.ivc.no/wiki/index.php/Victron_VE_Direct_DIY_Cable



I purchased 3 of these <Broken link removed> and 3 x 4 pin JST-PH 2.O connectors with cables and joined them together ( you only need 3 cables to the 4 pin)



I also purchased a USB GPS tracker which works with the Venos OS and gives location and geofencing

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26213884...d=link&campid=5338547443&toolid=20001&mkevt=1



The RPi 3 B+ is cheaper than the 4 , less power hungry and man enough for the job. It needs a 5V micro USB power supply.



Communication with the RPi / Victron VRM portal is via the Victron Connect App on your phone/tablet or direct to the VRM portal via browser



You can use a touchscreen on the RPi if you wish, Official RPi 7inch Touchscreen @ £60.

I don’t as my RPi is currently not easily accessible.



Is it any use – well for me the MH when not in use is in storage plus when I’m away from the MH I can see in real time the battery charge, current draw , MPPT status and if it’s actually still where I parked it. It will notify if it’s moved outside the geofence. You have also complete access to the device(s) setup parameters .i.e the same as via Bluetooth.

Perhaps not obvious but you need for this setup a permanent internet connection from the MH , I use the Huaweii 5577, the data transfers involved are pretty small .



Hopefully others will correct any errors, omissions and add to this.

Thanks to Two on Tour for the help and impetus.
 
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OK. I've already got a spare Pi 3 kicking around and I've got a Victron Smartsolar 75/15 in my new van. I'm going to try to hook it up and see what it looks like.

The Pi will be set up next to the charge controller in a cupboard, so a direct connection with a VE cable isn't an issue. But if I get a SmartShunt, the battery is at the other end of the van. Can you connect to devices over Bluetooth?
 
Guigsy said:
Is that just so you can connect the Victron app, or does it allow connection to devices like a Smartshunt?
Click to expand...

You will need to connect your SmartShunt to the Pi via a VE.Direct cable and the you can view the Pi direct via bluetooth direct, Victron Connect or your VRM.
As with any bluetooth device it can only connect to one device at a time.
 
Two on Tour said:
You will need to connect your SmartShunt to the Pi via a VE.Direct cable and the you can view the Pi direct via bluetooth or your VRM.
As with any bluetooth device it can only connect to one device at a time.
Click to expand...
Less than ideal... I wonder if there are issues with running a skinny VE.Direct cable ~6m. Not that I have any idea about how to route it either. The battery is under the driver's seat and the charge controller is in a cupboard in the back of the van.
 
Guigsy said:
Less than ideal... I wonder if there are issues with running a skinny VE.Direct cable ~6m. Not that I have any idea about how to route it either. The battery is under the driver's seat and the charge controller is in a cupboard in the back of the van.
Click to expand...
The other easy option if you want remote viewing of both your SmartShunt and your MPPT controller is to have a RasPi for each device local to the device and then have two installations in your VRM account one for each. (y)
No cable runs then.
 
Some screenshots of the VRM Portal

2021-07-14.png

2021-07-14 (4).png


2021-07-14 (5).png
 
The Raspberry Pi is a gateway drug to the world of Internet Of Things (IOT). There is a way to put together control programs without having to learn detailed programming languages. You just link together 'nodes' on a block diagram, dragging the blocks you need from a palette of nodes.

The system is called Node-RED, invented by IBM, and can run on any computer, including the Raspberry Pi. In fact, there is a parallel version of the Victron Venus OS, called Venus OS Large, which has some additions including Node-RED and Signal-K. It's a separate edition because it takes up more memory space and can't run on some smaller computers. However the Raspberry Pi 3B can run it OK.

Venus OS Large is identical to the Venus OS standard, but there's a menu option to enable Node-RED and/or Signal-K. You know that you access the Venus OS by typing 'venus.local' in the browser. To access Node-RED, use another tab, and type in 'venus.local:1880'. There's lots of online stuff, including tutorials to get you started.

Victron have produced a full set of nodes for controlling all Victron gear. They don't officially support it, but the Victron community forum does. And yes, it's all free, and I'm pretty sure it's all open source.

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I have Pis controlling my home automation system, one out in the garden attached to an air quality monitor, controlling my 3d printer, and a Minecraft server that my nieces use... I have all the Pis.

I've wanted an excuse to put one in the van... now it looks like I have one. ::bigsmile:
 
Random thought... All the hab electronics in my Geist appear to be mostly from a canbus type system (I think it's CI-bus???). The Truma iNet app has access to tank levels, battery voltages, etc. I think the lights work with the bus too as they all go back to the same type of modules... I wonder if I can get the Pi to talk to the canbus?
 
Guigsy said:
OK. I've already got a spare Pi 3 kicking around and I've got a Victron Smartsolar 75/15 in my new van. I'm going to try to hook it up and see what it looks like.

The Pi will be set up next to the charge controller in a cupboard, so a direct connection with a VE cable isn't an issue. But if I get a SmartShunt, the battery is at the other end of the van. Can you connect to devices over Bluetooth?
Click to expand...
Do what I did, ve direct to serial usb converter and usb extension into the RPi. Or chop a usb cable and splice both ends, it works. As mentioned Bluetooth will only support one connection at the time. Wired is better.
 
Guigsy said:
I wonder if there are issues with running a skinny VE.Direct cable ~6m. Not that I have any idea about how to route it either. The battery is under the driver's seat and the charge controller is in a cupboard in the back of the van.
Click to expand...
Maximum VE.Direct cable length is 10m, so 6m is OK. It's a signal cable, so skinny is fine. There are options for longer distances, but all involve some kind of adapter at one or both ends.
 
Guigsy said:
I wonder if I can get the Pi to talk to the canbus?
Click to expand...
Sadly, the answer is yes. You need an add-on board, which they seem to call a 'hat' or 'shield'. Lots of options if you google 'canbus hat for raspberry pi'

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autorouter said:
Sadly, the answer is yes. You need an add-on board, which they seem to call a 'hat' or 'shield'. Lots of options if you google 'canbus hat for raspberry pi'
Click to expand...
Will a canbus board work with the CI-Bus? Are they all similar enough that I'll be able to figure it out? I don't mind a bit of script level hacking. But looking at pages of hex is beyond me.
 
autorouter said:
The Raspberry Pi is a gateway drug to the world of Internet Of Things (IOT). There is a way to put together control programs without having to learn detailed programming languages. You just link together 'nodes' on a block diagram, dragging the blocks you need from a palette of nodes.

The system is called Node-RED, invented by IBM, and can run on any computer, including the Raspberry Pi. In fact, there is a parallel version of the Victron Venus OS, called Venus OS Large, which has some additions including Node-RED and Signal-K. It's a separate edition because it takes up more memory space and can't run on some smaller computers. However the Raspberry Pi 3B can run it OK.

Venus OS Large is identical to the Venus OS standard, but there's a menu option to enable Node-RED and/or Signal-K. You know that you access the Venus OS by typing 'venus.local' in the browser. To access Node-RED, use another tab, and type in 'venus.local:1880'. There's lots of online stuff, including tutorials to get you started.

Victron have produced a full set of nodes for controlling all Victron gear. They don't officially support it, but the Victron community forum does. And yes, it's all free, and I'm pretty sure it's all open source.
Click to expand...
Thinking out loud, Lithium battery, less than 5 degrees and Victron DC DC Charger. The Victron DC DC charger has I believe no low temperature cutoff. I have a battery temperature sensor via the Victron smartshunt which feeds that data into the Victron MPPT . Can I use the temperature data presumably via Node-RED to control a simple relay i.e temperature less than 5 degrees C deactivate D+ feed to DC DC charger or vice versa?
 
You could probably do It via shunt relay signal. In the bmv app you got a relay that can cut off the d+ feed to the B2B.
 
I can't see that with the smartshunt via Victron Connect however I can see there's a temperature alarm facility which I suspect Node-Red could use. Mind you just adding a cheap additional temp sensor and relay to enable/disable D+ would be very straight forward but where's the fun in that.:giggle:
 
Raul said:
You could probably do It via shunt relay signal. In the bmv app you got a relay that can cut off the d+ feed to the B2B.
Click to expand...
I’m sorry ignore that I got confused, the bmv monitor has the programable relay and connects at the back of display. The smart shunt probably doesn’t have it.

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You're making me wish I'd bought the BMV instead :ROFLMAO:
 
Well, I got my finger out this morning, I'd ordered the cables over the weekend and they arrived yesterday, booted up a spare raspberry pi 3 I had lying around (it wasn't really spare but was in a retro gaming console but I'll put a 4 in there now)

Made up the cable's and I can now access the van's solar and bmv remotely, just like my existing off-grid system

 
steveh57 said:
You're making me wish I'd bought the BMV instead :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
The relay on the BMVs add a useful dimension to what is possible.

The benefit of Bluetooth on the Smartshunt really disappears when you have a Venus OS system running and the devices connected to them as you probably will never use VE.Connect via Bluetooth again. (and the reason why when I bought another couple of battery monitors for my van, I got BMV-700s instead of SmartShunts).
 
Hoovie said:
The relay on the BMVs add a useful dimension to what is possible.

The benefit of Bluetooth on the Smartshunt really disappears when you have a Venus OS system running and the devices connected to them as you probably will never use VE.Connect via Bluetooth again. (and the reason why when I bought another couple of battery monitors for my van, I got BMV-700s instead of SmartShunts).
Click to expand...
What about the loss of V.E Smart networking, for instance the temperature monitored by the probe attached to the smartshunt which feeds the B2B for low temp charging cut off?
 
steveh57 said:
What about the loss of V.E Smart networking, for instance the temperature monitored by the probe attached to the smartshunt which feeds the B2B for low temp charging cut off?
Click to expand...
That is replaced by the superior Venus OS option of STS, SVS & SCS, distributed by the VE. Cabling.

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So I would need an additional relay activated by the BMV700 STS to cut power supply to the Victron B2B /DC DC Charger.?
 
steveh57 said:
So I would need an additional relay activated by the BMV700 STS to cut power supply to the Victron B2B /DC DC Charger.?
Click to expand...
I don't know what you are trying to do, so can't say.
You already have a Venus setup ("CashCow"?) So you should really be using DVCC instead of the SmartNetworking ideally (the two will NOT work together. You have to turn off one to use the other).
The Orion Smart-TR does not have Smart Networking anyway (or a VE.Direct port annoyingly) so is outside the system and anything you do with that will need to come via an external control (be it a switch or a signal via a relay).

If you are not familiar with enabling DVCC, I can post some screenshots of the options if you want?

PS. what monitor do you have? You mentioned Smartshunt in one post and BMV-700 in the next?
 
Hi Hoovie. Sorry long night escaping Devon. You're of course correct there is no smart networking with the Orion Smart-Tr. I currently have the SmartShunt, no BMV 700 . Just wondering whether I could/should automate the low temperature charging cut off to the Lithium Battery
 
steveh57 said:
Hi Hoovie. Sorry long night escaping Devon. You're of course correct there is no smart networking with the Orion Smart-Tr. I currently have the SmartShunt, no BMV 700 . Just wondering whether I could/should automate the low temperature charging cut off to the Lithium Battery
Click to expand...

I use a Victron Smart Battery Sense to control the low temperature cutoff on my LiFePo4

<Broken link removed>
 
Two on Tour said:
I use a Victron Smart Battery Sense to control the low temperature cutoff on my LiFePo4

<Broken link removed>
Click to expand...

There is a cheaper version with less bluetooth range.

<Broken link removed>

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