🌞 EpEver Solar Monitor

Monitor your EPEVER solar charge controller via ESP8266, MQTT, and Home Assistant – fully local and all sunshine, no vendor cloud required.**

🔗 Buy the Charge Controller 🔗 Buy the DS485Max Controller

Monitor your off-grid solar system in real-time with a WiFi-enabled, Arduino-powered NodeMCU ESP8266. This firmware speaks fluent Modbus over RS485, publishes readings via MQTT, and auto-discovers in Home Assistant - no cloud, no fuss, just data.

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⚡️ Highlights

✅ Polls Modbus registers from EPEVER MPPT via RS485 (MAX485)

✅ Sends clean JSON over MQTT

✅ Works out-of-the-box with Home Assistant MQTT Discovery

✅ OTA firmware updates

✅ Optional Deep Sleep for ultra-low power

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🧠 How It Works

The ESP8266 queries your EPEVER solar charge controller via RS485 using the Modbus protocol. It extracts real-time data like voltages, amps, SOC, and temperatures - then sends it wirelessly over MQTT to your broker (e.g., Mosquitto). If you’re running Home Assistant, it auto-discovers and configures the entities.

No YAML, no cables, no vendor cloud.

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🪛 Hardware Wiring

Use an RJ45/Ethernet cable to neatly bridge the EPEVER RS485 port, MAX485 breakout board, and your NodeMCU ESP8266.

Ethernet Cable Mapping (T568B standard)

Green/White  → RS485MAX B
Blue/White   → RS485MAX A
Brown/White  → NodeMCU GND
Orange       → NodeMCU VIN 5v

Full Connection Table

Device	Pin	Connects To
EPEVER	A (+)	MAX485 A
	B (−)	MAX485 B
	GND	MAX485 GND
MAX485	RO	NodeMCU RX (D7)
	DI	NodeMCU TX (D6)
	RE	NodeMCU D1
	DE	NodeMCU D2
	VCC	NodeMCU 3.3V
NodeMCU	GND	Common Ground

💡 Pro tip: Use stranded Cat5/6 for flexibility and reduced noise.

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📦 Dependencies

Install these via Arduino Library Manager:

• ModbusMaster by Doc Walker
• PubSubClient by Nick O'Leary
• ESP8266WiFi (built-in)
• ArduinoOTA (built-in)
• SoftwareSerial

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🔧 Prerequisites

• Arduino IDE with ESP8266 board support installed
• USB-to-MicroUSB cable for uploading firmware
• Local MQTT broker (e.g. Mosquitto)
• Basic knowledge of Home Assistant (for integration)

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🧰 Getting Started

1. Clone the repo and open EpEverSolarMonitor.ino
2. Copy secrets_template.h → secrets.h and fill in:

const char* hostname    = "espSolarChargerOTA";
const char* mqtt_user   = "your_user";
const char* mqtt_pass   = "your_pass";
const char* mqtt_server = "192.168.1.x";
const int   mqtt_port   = 1883;
etc

3. Upload the sketch via USB
4. Device connects to WiFi, starts publishing via MQTT, and auto-registers in Home Assistant

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📈 Published Metrics

These show up in MQTT as JSON:

• pv_volt, pv_amps, pv_power
• batt_volt, batt_amps, batt_power, batt_charge, batt_soc, batt_temp
• load_volt, load_amps, load_power

Topic: epever/state

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🏠 Home Assistant Integration

When #define ENABLE_DISCOVERY is set:

• Entities auto-register under homeassistant/sensor/epever_*
• Includes correct device_class, unit_of_measurement, and unique_id
• No YAML required

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🛌 Deep Sleep Support

Low power deployment? Wire GPIO16 (D0) to RST to enable wake-from-deep-sleep.

Control sleep via MQTT:

• Topic: mortylabs/solar/deepsleep
• Payload: 1

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📸 Screenshot

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MIT License - Made with ☀️ by MortyLabs