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sam-carleton avatar image
sam-carleton asked

BlueSolar vs SmartSolar with Venus OS / VE Smart Network

I am wondering about the real difference in setup between the BlueSolar MPPT and SmartSolar MPPT.

My original Victron Energy setup is a SmartShunt, SmartSolar MPPT, Blue Smart IP22 Charger, and Phoenix Inverter VE.Direct.

Everything but the Phoenix Inverter VE.Direct has BT so they are all part of one VE Smart Network to leverage all the advantages, such as the SmartShunt sharing true battery level with everything else. The Phoenix Inverter VE.Direct has a BT Dongle so it could be part of the VE Smart Network, too.

The whole system is now connected via a Raspberry Pi Venos OS and hooked everything (but Blue Smart IP22 Charger) to it. There seems to be a lot of functionality in the SmartSolar MPPT which is only accessible via BT. Things link configuring what controls when the load is on/off. There is also configuring the type of battery, it's profile and advanced settings. And finally, it seems the only way it can get battery temp and battery state from the system is via the VE Smart Network which appears to only be BT based, totally independent of the Venus OS.

Thanks to the current setup, I now have an extra BT dongle and I have a need for the second MPPT that is for a stand-alone battery. I am wondering a few things:

  1. Will the BT dongle on the BlueSolar give me 100% of the functionality I have with the SmartSolar? Aka, all the finer configurations I have via BT on the SmartSolar?
  2. Assuming the answer to #1 is yes, the BT does give 100% of the same control, is there some way to access that once using a VE.Direct USB cable or would the BT dongle need to be hooked back up to make any of those types of changes?
  3. Someday this second MPPT might be added to everything else. Is there any way to add it to the VE Smart Network if it is connected to the Venos OS via VE.Direct USB cable?


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2 Answers
Alexandra avatar image
Alexandra answered ·
@Sam Carleton

A couple of things...

A smart network and a GX in one system is not advised.

With the blue solar mppt only having one ve direct port, you can have one or the other, not both.

With the bluetooth dongle you can update and program the mppt the same way a smart solar is done, but you can on the correct firmware can also do it over the VRM.

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sam-carleton avatar image
sam-carleton answered ·

So regarding your statement about smart network and a GX in one system is not advised:

I got the impression they are both needed when I heard (which I question now) that BT is needed for a lot of the MPPT's configuration. This made me think the GX doesn't have the ability to communicate with the device to the same level as they can communicate over BT on the Smart Network. I take it this was not correct, that the GX provides the same connectivity as the Smart Network, correct?

Is all the configuration that is available via VictronConnect on my phone available also GX, also?

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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ commented ·

@Sam Carleton you can use Victron Connect with your BlueSolar mppt if you have the mppt connected to your GX, via VRM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P2W4FmTvbY


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sam-carleton avatar image sam-carleton klim8skeptic ♦ commented ·
Thank you so much! I had seen the tab, but never really paid attention to it. That is so very cool, thank you!
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