Solis inverter - Ginlong data logger

[Comet]

Hi

We have just had a solar system installed. It came with a Ginlong data logger wifi stick that I have set up according to the instructions. When I am logged into the data logger via wifi the status says that it is connected and when I test the connection on the server page it seems to be all good.

I have set up an account on Ginlongmonitoring.com and entered the details of the data logger. According to the website my data logger is offline. I have tried different settings with the data logger setup without having any luck. Is there a trick to setting it up properly that I am missing? I have done a bit of Googling and the only negative thing I have read about the data logger is that it can lose it's wifi connection easily.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Chris24]

My data logger says unpingable which I gather is offline. I can only read the inverter of kw produced. 

I cant get data logger online, no matterwhat I do. Very frustrating. 

[Chris24]

My data logger doesnt work properly. Can read kw produced but cant fnne t to wifi properly for other readings at all. No light on  it at all. 

Says unpingable. 

[Debraspace]

Hi Comet,

I have just set up solar too and the Solis wifi stick has an extremely poor reception even if you have a brilliant normal wifi reception in the house, it just constantly drops out. It took about 15 attempts to actually get it set up, and it was only from reading these posts that I realised others were making a dozen attempts so that's what I did and it did take quite some time before it confirmed successful. The app for Ginlong data logger tells you nothing, it says its always offline and like others on this forum shows no data what-so-ever. I have no idea if in fact this logger really does work as nobody has actually said on this site it is brilliant or otherwise. If you have any tips would love to hear from you.

[Debraspace]

Hi Chris,

My data logger always says offline too, did you get a resolve to this? would be good to know what the next step is. Dealing with Ginlong is hopeless, they give no support at all, have sent several emails - nothing!

[benpaddlejones]

Unfortunately a side effect of buying a budget system.

My datalogger works perfectly, what brand/model router do you have? And many brick walls are between your router and it?

[Stevco123]

Wondering if anyone knows if the data logger is necessary or just a luxury to have? I unplugged mine as i don't like too many wifi devices around the house and i see no need to constantly check how much the solar system is producing 

[Peter3991]

One advantage is if the inverter has a system issue it will then send you an email telling you the type of error and error code.

That way you don't have a dead inverter which you never look at sitting on the wall doing nothing until you get your next power bill and wondering why it is so high

[NeilC]

@Stevco123 ,

The main advantage of getting the data from the the inverter is that you can see how much energy you are consuming directly from the inverter.

AGL can tell you how much you are putting to the grid, your inverter tells you how much you are generating.

Now this data is of use to me because I use it to calculate how I am going, on paying off my investment in solar.

Date	Peak	Solar Exported	Solar Gen	Solar Used	Meter	Solar
Carried Fwd	215.956	775.597	1004.2	211.005	2118.826	8146.693
1-Mar	5.169	21.185	25.60	4.42	2123.995	8167.878
2-Mar	5.470	27.454	32.10	4.65	2129.465	8195.332
3-Mar	6.007	12.216	13.90	1.68	2135.472	8207.548
4-Mar	7.105	20.857	23.10	2.24	2142.577	8228.405
5-Mar	6.489	13.516	18.60	5.08	2149.066	8241.921

Above is a sample from one of my spreadsheets.

The GREEN shows what Kw AGL is paying me for, the BLACK shows me how much I generated and the RED shows me how much I used of the power I generated.

In paying of my investment I add the GREEN and the RED together to work out how much I have payed off.

For my last bill (Nov 2019 - Jan 2020)

Exported	Used
2362.483	568.579
$ 472.50	$ 233.12
Total	$ 705.61

I got $705 back from having the solar in this period.

I can tell you that of the $3,299 that it cost me to have the Solar installed (Dec 19) I have already already recovered over $2,200 back so by Jan 2021 I should have paid off the investment.

So after Jan 2021 I will basically not be paying for electricity.

So I think its worthwhile.

As to using up your wireless network.

The inverter will contact via your internet connection once every 15 mins with a single packet of information that gives your Inverter Serial Number, output details, temp and a few other things.

All useful data.

No load on your system unless you are still using a 14K telephone modem to connect to the internet.

Cheers

Neil

[umop3pisdn]

Hi

I got a solar system put in on Tuesday, and it came with.a Ginlong data logger, working fine with no issues, now. I am still making small discoveries and realisations.

Here is some info that I would’ve been greatful to have had when I was setting it up.

Glitching webpage

• Using my iPhone, The wizard nor manual setup was NOT successful in rebooting the logger; and therefore not able to save updated settings.
My phone is an iPhone 6S/iOS 13.3, which is outdated, is probably where my issue lies.. But use a laptop, it worked first time 

• For those saying their logger offline, What you wanna do is get your logger to join your local network. You know you’re on the right treacle when your logger is in STA mode, not AP mode. and it’s hotspot AP_1234567890 disappears from available hotspots.

• Don’t forget to register an account at http://m.ginlong.com

and go get the ‘Solis Home’ app from your AppStore/play store.

goodluck

[David_AGL]

Thanks for taking the time to share that @umop3pisdn! hopefully those tips will help some others out.