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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Question: Is there an up-to-date option for remote monitoring that will send an email if certain error conditions occur? <span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">The old webbox can be programmed to email you error notifications, as they occur. Need to program the webbox with an email server to
use. Sunnyportal does as well, but there is an unpredictable lag time there. <o:p>
</o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">There are two major issues, however, and I am baffled why they would program like this.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">First, the emails are encoded in Base64 format, so you need to manually convert that to readable text. Ok, fine.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Second, once that is done, you get an error code like this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Sunny WebBox event report for xxxxxx Sunny WebBox serial number: xxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">2020-11-20 15:10 SI5048UH:xxxxxxxxxx<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Warning: Warning / 7xx SYS<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">------------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">created on:: 2020-11-20 15:10<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">This is an automatically generated e-mail. Please do not reply.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">I cannot fathom why they would go to this extent, but to not display the entire error code. I want to know if it's a 710, 720, etc.
7xx is near useless. Though can get a general idea if being bombarded with errors that something is wrong.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">As best as I can tell the only way to get the full error code is to pull data from the SD card on the Sunny Island.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Kevin<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Tump<br>
<b>Sent:</b> December-18-20 6:32 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> william@millersolar.com; RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [RE-wrenches] Remote Alert and Bootstrapping on Sunny Island AC Coupled System<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have long been a supporter & installer of the SMA SI product line, but their support and availability has led me to find other products. Outback Schneider products like Victron with their smart phone interface and their "Virtual remote
monitoring\u201d sunsets the SMA product line. Thats not to say that Victron is the easiest to set up but it does offer other advantages.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Dec 17, 2020, at 11:04 PM, William Miller <<a href="mailto:william@millersolar.com">william@millersolar.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Friends:</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Thanks for the many replies. Here is what I have learned, paired with the questions.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:-18.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">1.</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Is it normal for the display
screens on the Sunny Islands to go blank after shutting off due to low battery voltage<span style="color:#0070C0">? <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Apparently this is a feature, not a bug--the display is supposed to go blank. There is a fault-clearing
procedure that requires you remove all input power for 15 minutes and it worked here. The system was responding as designed--it was not \u201cbricked\u201d.</i></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:-18.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">2.</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Is there an up-to-date
option for remote monitoring that will send an email if certain error conditions occur? <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i><span style="color:#0070C0">No one is telling me any new SMA remote access system is much different from the old system of
port-forwarding the web-box and then going blind trying to navigate the interface. There is a remote-alert for some new SMA inverters, but not Sunny Island, which needs it the most. I don\u2019t think SMA can hold a candle to OpticsRE in this area. This alone
is a deal-killer for me spec\u2019ing Sunny Island in the future.</span></i></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:-18.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">3.</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">What would you do with
a 6k AH battery bank with a voltage too low to start a battery inverter or solar charge controller? <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i><span style="color:#0070C0">My first reaction was the same as those that suggested AC-coupled off-grid architecture
is fundamentally flawed due to this predicament. In thinking about it further, the same is actually true for DC coupled systems: if battery voltage gets low enough, many PV charge controllers are not able to startup and charge a battery bank. There is a
warehouse-style, 48 volt forklift charger next door I could have for the asking, but it was not needed for this outage and I doubt it will be needed in the future.</span></i></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Thanks again. The wrenches list rocks!</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">William Miller</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Miller Solar</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">17395 Oak Road, Atascadero, CA 93422</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">805-438-5600</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><a href="http://www.millersolar.com/"><span style="color:purple">www.millersolar.com</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">CA Lic. 773985</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><a href="blocked::mailto:Tump@swnl.net%22%20%5Co%20%22blocked::mailto:Tump@swnl.net">Tump@swnl.net</a></span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:9.0pt">
<a href="blocked::http://www.swnl.net/%22%20%5Co%20%22blocked::http://www.swnl.net/"><b>www.SWNL.net</b></a></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> <span style="color:#2D2CFA"> </span></span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;color:#2D2CFA">Solarwinds Northernlights</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> <i> </i></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> Serving Mid Coast Maine & Northern California</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><br>
</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size:7.5pt"> 207-832-7574 Cl. 610-517-8401 </span></i></b><span style="font-size:7.5pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:#2D2CFA"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Blair "TUMP" May</span></i></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:#009019"> <u> NABCEP "Certified PV Installer"</u></span></i></b><b><i><u><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black"> <br>
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