dm_ve Module

VE.Direct (TTL) protocol abstraction layer, for Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) solar charge controllers and battery monitors made by Victron Energy. This module supports:

• BlueSolar MPPT series,
• SmartSolar MPPT series,
• SmartShunt.

The following VE.Direct fields are captured:

The TTY has to be configured to these serial port parameters:

The device transmits blocks of data at 1 second intervals. Each field is sent using the following format:

<Newline><Field-Label><Tab><Field-Value>

The identifiers are defined as:

The statistics are grouped in blocks with a checksum appended. The last field in a block will always be Checksum. The value is a single byte, and will not necessarily be a printable ASCII character. The modulo 256 sum of all bytes in a block will equal 0 if there were no transmission errors. Multiple blocks are sent containing different fields.

Fields

Description of fields returned by MPPT chargers and SmartShunt.

Alarm

This shows the buzzer alarm state of the BMV. During normal operation, this will be OFF. When a buzzer alarm occurs the value will change to ON.

This refers to the value of the alarm condition, and not the buzzer itself. This means that once a condition has occurred, the value will be ON until all alarm conditions have cleared; regardless of whether or not a button has been pressed to silence the buzzer.

AR

Alarm reason; this field describes the cause of the alarm. Since multiple alarm conditions can be present at the same time the values of the separate alarm conditions are added. The value total is sent in decimal notation.

CS

The state of the MPPT operation.

ERR

The error code of the device, relevant when the device is in fault state.

Error 19 can be ignored, this condition regularly occurs during start-up or shutdown of the MPPT charger. Since version 1.15 this error will no longer be reported.

Error 21 can be ignored for 5 minutes, this condition regularly occurs during start-up or shutdown of the MPPT charger. Since version 1.16 this warning will no longer be reported when it is not persistent.

FW

The firmware version of the device. The version is reported as a whole number, e.g. 208 for firmware version 2.08.

HSDS

The day sequence number in range 0 to 364. A change in this number indicates a new day. This implies that the historical data has changed.

MPPT

The tracker operation mode.

OR

The off reason of the charger. This field describes why a unit is switched off.

Relay

During normal operation of the MPPT charger, the relay is OFF. If there is a battery low voltage condition, the value will change to ON.

SER

The serial number of the device. The notation is LLYYMMSSSSS, where LL is the location code, YYWW is the production date stamp (year, week), and SSSSS is a unique part of the serial number.

The field is not supported by DMPACK and should be ignored.

Example

The snipped reads a single VE.Direct block from sequentially passed character byte, adds it to a frame, and converts the frame to a response type once finished:

integer             :: rc
logical             :: eor, finished, valid
type(ve_frame_type) :: frame
type(response_type) :: response

call dm_ve_frame_next(frame, byte, eor, finished, valid)

if (finished) then
    if (valid) then
        print '("Record is valid")'
    else
        print '("Record is invalid")'
    end if

    call dm_ve_frame_reset(frame)
    return
end if

if (eor) then
    call dm_ve_frame_read(frame, response)
    print '("Label: ", a, " Value: ", a)',    frame%label, trim(frame%value)
    print '("Name:  ", a, " Value: ", f8.1)', response%name, response%value
end if

References

• VE.Direct Protocol v.3.33 (6 June 2023)