You have a Victron MultiPlus, a SmartSolar MPPT, and a SmartShunt$8,000 of blue boxes operating independently. They do not communicate. They do not coordinate. None of them can call your phone when the battery hits 10% at 3am in January. The cerbo gx vs ekrano gx decision is the question of which brain you put
Victron Cerbo GX vs Ekrano GX: Which Brain Should Run Your Off-Grid System? Read More »
Ontario July is a test of endurance32°C with 85% humidity. Your off-grid solar system is producing its best numbers of the year. You flip on the central A/C. The inverter screams overload and the system shuts down. The micro-air easystart flex is the $300 device that solves this permanently turning an inverter that cannot start
Can You Run A/C Off-Grid? The Micro-Air EasyStart Flex Guide for Solar Systems Read More »
You have invested $15,000 in a Victron off-grid system. You are standing at the kitchen sink with wet hands. You are coming in from the barn at -15°C with gloves on. The victron gx touch 50 vs 70 question is really this do you want your system data on your wall where you can see
Victron GX Touch 50 vs 70: Which Off-Grid Dashboard Should You Buy? Read More »
Your Victron SmartSolar MPPT is making charging decisions based on voltage measured at its own terminals not at the battery. With 3 metres of wire between your controller and battery that reading may be 0.2-0.4V off. Your charger thinks the battery is more charged than it is. It enters float too early. The battery never
VE.Smart Networking: How to Sync Victron Devices Without a Cerbo GX Read More »
You have a Victron MultiPlus, a Victron SmartSolar MPPT, and a Cerbo GX. You have three different communication ports staring at you and cables that look similar but are not interchangeable. The ve.bus vs ve.direct question is not complicated once someone explains it clearly but until that moment it causes expensive mistakes. Before wiring your
VE.Bus vs VE.Direct: Which Victron Cable Do You Actually Need? Read More »
You are at work in Guelph on a Tuesday in February. It is -18°C in Rockwood and your off-grid cabin system is running unattended. You have no idea if the batteries are at 80% or 8%. You are guessing. The victron vrm portal ends that permanently a free web portal and app that shows every
The Victron VRM Portal: Your Off-Grid Power Plant in Your Pocket Read More »
You are standing in your equipment room checking three separate Bluetooth connections SmartShunt, MPPT controller, MultiPlus. You have a $15,000 Victron system and you are managing it like it is 2015. The victron cerbo gx is the piece that ends that one brain that talks to everything, shows everything, and calls your phone when something
Victron Cerbo GX: The Mission Control for Your Off-Grid System Read More »
Your battery voltage reads 13.3V. Looks fine. The sun goes down. Ninety minutes later the inverter shuts off and the fridge dies. Your voltage gauge was lying and if you are running LiFePO4 batteries without a proper battery monitor for solar you will never know until it is too late. Start by understanding how much
Battery Monitors: Why Your Voltage Gauge Is Lying to You Read More »
That $15,000 off-grid solar system sitting on a metal ground mount in an open field is connected to the sky by hundreds of meters of wire and most owners have no solar lightning protection whatsoever. A $45 surge protection device is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy for the most expensive equipment on your
Solar Lightning Protection: Saving Your Inverter from the Summer Surge Read More »
Eight solar panel strings running loose wires to a charge controller is not a system it is a fire waiting for the right conditions. A solar combiner box is the management tier of your array the point where eight messy wires become two clean cables, every string gets its own protection, and lightning has somewhere
Solar Combiner Boxes: How to Safely Merge Multiple Strings Read More »