Files

2026-04-24 16:34:10 -04:00

11 KiB

Raw Blame History

LVX6048 Monitoring & Control via Home Assistant

Integration plan for monitoring (and eventually controlling) 2x LVX6048 inverters from Home Assistant via a Raspberry Pi running a Python poller that publishes to MQTT.

Continue dev from the Raspberry Pi.

Architecture

  [LVX6048 #1] ──USB─┐
                     ├──► [Raspberry Pi] ──MQTT──► [Home Assistant]
  [LVX6048 #2] ──USB─┘    (mpp-solar/powermon     (auto-discovers
                           Python daemon,          ~40 entities
                           systemd service)        per inverter)

Why USB (not RS485)

The LVX6048 is an MPP Solar / Voltronic-family unit. Its documented, supported comm path is USB-HID speaking the PI18 protocol (some firmware revisions also accept PI30). The RS485 port exists on the hardware but is undocumented for external monitoring on this model — it's primarily intended for parallel/BMS comms. Use USB.

Why mpp-solar

jblance/mpp-solar is the canonical Python package for this inverter family. It ships:

PI18 / PI18LVX / PI30 / PI30MAX protocol drivers (all known query + set commands)
A powermon daemon for continuous polling
Built-in MQTT publisher with Home Assistant auto-discovery topic format — no HA YAML needed, entities appear automatically

Hardware Checklist

Raspberry Pi (Pi 4 or Pi 5 recommended; Pi 3B+ works) running Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit
microSD card (32GB+) or USB SSD
2x USB-A to USB-B cables (one per inverter; ~3ft typical — keep short, USB-HID is not spec'd for long runs)
Pi physically located near the inverter cabinet
Ethernet (preferred) or WiFi to reach the HA MQTT broker
Existing MQTT broker running on HA (confirmed operational)

Step 1 — Base Pi Setup

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y python3-pip python3-venv pipx git
pipx ensurepath

Reboot (or exec $SHELL) so pipx PATH takes effect.

Step 2 — Install mpp-solar

pipx install mpp-solar
# verify
mpp-solar --version
mpp-solar --listProtocols

Expect PI18, PI18LVX, PI18SV, PI30, PI30MAX in the protocol list.

Step 3 — Plug in Inverters & Identify Them

Connect inverter #1 first, alone, and run:

ls -l /dev/hidraw*
lsusb
dmesg | tail -20

Note the /dev/hidraw* device that appeared and the USB VID:PID (typical MPP Solar is 0665:5161 — confirm on your unit).

Grab the serial number for a stable udev rule:

udevadm info -a -n /dev/hidraw0 | grep -i serial | head -3

Write down SERIAL_A. Unplug #1, plug in #2, repeat to get SERIAL_B.

Step 4 — Smoke Test

With inverter #1 still plugged in, query it directly:

mpp-solar -p /dev/hidraw0 -P PI18 -c GS

GS is the PI18 "General Status" query. Expected output: battery voltage, SoC, PV watts, load watts, grid voltage, inverter mode, etc. If PI18 returns gibberish or CRC errors, try PI30:

mpp-solar -p /dev/hidraw0 -P PI30 -c QPIGS

Whichever protocol returns clean data → that's the one to use in the config below. Record which protocol worked.

Also grab rated info once:

mpp-solar -p /dev/hidraw0 -P PI18 -c PIRI    # PI18 rated info
# or
mpp-solar -p /dev/hidraw0 -P PI30 -c QPIRI   # PI30 rated info

Step 5 — Stable Device Names (udev)

Without this, /dev/hidraw0 and /dev/hidraw1 can swap on reboot, and the wrong inverter's data ends up under the wrong entity in HA.

As built on this CM5: the LVX6048 returns no USB serial string, so serial-based matching below is aspirational. We ended up matching by USB hub port instead — see 99-lvx6048.rules and Install.md §2.

Create /etc/udev/rules.d/99-lvx6048.rules:

SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0665", ATTRS{idProduct}=="5161", ATTRS{serial}=="SERIAL_A", SYMLINK+="lvx6048-1", MODE="0660", GROUP="dialout"
SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0665", ATTRS{idProduct}=="5161", ATTRS{serial}=="SERIAL_B", SYMLINK+="lvx6048-2", MODE="0660", GROUP="dialout"

Replace SERIAL_A / SERIAL_B and the VID:PID with the real values from Step 3. Then:

sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger
ls -l /dev/lvx6048-*

Both symlinks should be present. Log out / back in so the dialout group applies.

Step 6 — powermon Config

As built: the ports: (plural) schema shown below does not work with current powermon — its config model allows exactly one device: per file. We ship one config file per inverter (powermon.yaml, powermon2.yaml) and run two systemd units. See Install.md §4–6.

Create ~/.config/powermon/powermon.yaml (adjust MQTT creds and protocol name to match Step 4):

device:
  name: lvx6048_pair
  id: solar_lvx6048

mqttbroker:
  name: <HA_MQTT_BROKER_IP>
  port: 1883
  username: <MQTT_USER>
  password: <MQTT_PASSWORD>
  adhoc_topic: powermon/adhoc
  adhoc_result_topic: powermon/adhoc/results

api:
  enabled: false

daemon:
  type: systemd
  keepalive: 60

ports:
  - name: lvx1
    type: usb
    path: /dev/lvx6048-1
    protocol: PI18      # confirmed in Step 4
    commands:
      - command: GS
        trigger: { every: 5 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_1 }
      - command: PIRI
        trigger: { every: 300 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_1 }
      - command: MOD
        trigger: { every: 10 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_1 }
      - command: FWS
        trigger: { every: 30 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_1 }

  - name: lvx2
    type: usb
    path: /dev/lvx6048-2
    protocol: PI18
    commands:
      - command: GS
        trigger: { every: 5 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_2 }
      - command: PIRI
        trigger: { every: 300 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_2 }
      - command: MOD
        trigger: { every: 10 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_2 }
      - command: FWS
        trigger: { every: 30 }
        outputs: { name: mqtt_ha, type: hass, tag: lvx6048_2 }

Command reference (PI18):

GS — General Status (voltages, currents, power, SoC, temps) → poll fast
PIRI — Protocol / Rated Info (nameplate values) → poll slow
MOD — Operating Mode (Grid / Battery / Fault / Standby) → poll medium
FWS — Fault / Warning Status → poll medium
ET — Total Energy (lifetime kWh) → optional, add with every: 60
ED — Daily Energy → optional

Run it in the foreground once to confirm MQTT is flowing:

powermon -C ~/.config/powermon/powermon.yaml

In Home Assistant, go to Settings → Devices & Services → MQTT — two new devices (lvx6048_1, lvx6048_2) should appear with all their sensors auto-discovered.

Step 7 — systemd Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/powermon.service:

[Unit]
Description=powermon LVX6048 → MQTT bridge
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=pi
Group=dialout
ExecStart=/home/pi/.local/bin/powermon -C /home/pi/.config/powermon/powermon.yaml
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

# Tolerate USB dropouts / HA broker restarts
StartLimitIntervalSec=300
StartLimitBurst=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Adjust User= / paths if not running as pi. Enable:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now powermon.service
systemctl status powermon.service
journalctl -u powermon.service -f

Step 8 — Home Assistant Dashboard

Entities auto-appear. Minimum useful Lovelace card:

type: entities
title: Solar System
entities:
  - sensor.lvx6048_1_battery_capacity       # %
  - sensor.lvx6048_1_battery_voltage        # V
  - sensor.lvx6048_1_pv_input_power         # W
  - sensor.lvx6048_1_ac_output_active_power # W
  - sensor.lvx6048_1_grid_voltage           # V
  - sensor.lvx6048_1_inverter_heat_sink_temperature
  - sensor.lvx6048_1_working_mode
  - sensor.lvx6048_2_battery_capacity
  - sensor.lvx6048_2_pv_input_power
  - sensor.lvx6048_2_ac_output_active_power
  - sensor.lvx6048_2_working_mode

Entity IDs will reflect the tag: values from the config. Exact names depend on protocol driver — check the MQTT integration page.

Recommended extras:

Energy dashboard — map ET (total lifetime energy) as a solar production source
Automation: alert when working_mode changes to Fault on either unit
Utility meter helpers on ac_output_active_power for daily/weekly kWh

Control (Deferred)

Once monitoring is stable, control commands are available via the same library. PI18 set commands include:

POP — Output source priority (SUB / SBU / etc.)
PCP — Charger priority (Solar first / Solar+Utility / only Solar)
MCHGC — Max total charging current
MUCHGC — Max utility charging current
PF — Restore defaults (careful)

Exposed in HA as button/select entities via powermon's MQTT command topic. Plan this as a separate phase after at least a week of stable monitoring data.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
`Permission denied` on `/dev/hidraw*`	User not in `dialout`	`sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER`, re-login
CRC errors / garbled output	Wrong protocol selected	Try `PI30` instead of `PI18` (or vice versa)
Device disappears after reboot	udev serial mismatch	Re-check `udevadm info -a`, verify serial string
Symlinks swap between units	Two units report same serial	Fall back to `KERNELS=="1-1.2"` USB-port matching
HA entities don't appear	MQTT discovery disabled or wrong prefix	Verify `discovery: true` in HA MQTT integration; default prefix is `homeassistant/`
Entities appear but never update	powermon service not actually running	`journalctl -u powermon.service -n 100`
One inverter works, other doesn't	Parallel-mode RS232 quirk	Query the master unit; the slave may not respond to USB queries while linked

Parallel-mode caveat

The 2x LVX6048s are wired in parallel (per README.md). In parallel mode, some MPP Solar firmware only responds to USB/PI commands on the master unit — the slave echoes the master's data or returns errors. If Step 4 smoke tests show one unit timing out, check the LCD to see which is master. If only the master responds, a single poller gives you combined system data; per-unit telemetry may require the parallel/sync RJ45 cable's side-channel (undocumented) or firmware that doesn't gate slave comms.

Recommendation: do Step 4 on each inverter individually (unplug parallel comm cable, query via USB, replug) to confirm both respond. Then test again with parallel cable connected.

References

jblance/mpp-solar — Python library
powermon — daemon mode (split out of mpp-solar)
Set commands on LVX6048 — discussion #344
LVX6048WP user manual
MPP Solar LVX6048 product page
HA community — LVX6048 integration thread
Connecting to LVX6048WP via USB with Raspberry Pi

11 KiB Raw Blame History Unescape Escape