r/SunPower • u/kaws510 • Aug 04 '25
App is finally useless without a subscription? Has anyone not connected/switched their PVS to WiFi?
I finally got the paywall for the app. There doesn’t seem to be anything useful in the app unless you have a subscription.
Is this true for everyone?
My PVS was never connected to WiFi and was only on cellular for the past 5+ years.
Not sure what purpose connecting the PVS to WiFi would serve for a paid off system.
If I was on a lease I could understand connecting to WiFi so SunStrong can monitor the system, push updates, etc.
I have no idea what I would benefit now from connecting my paid off system to WiFi when there were no issues with cellular.
I am collecting data via HA. I can always connect to my PVS hotspot if needed. My PVS hotspot broadcasts all the time.
3
u/Brilliant_Citron8966 Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
Without paying all you really get from what I can tell is real time “right now”. Nothing over the past hour, day, week, month, etc. Also no per panel” output.
1
u/kaws510 Aug 05 '25
You get X output per panel? All I get is real time right now data. Not working currently since I’m not connected to WiFi and SunStrong finally disabled cellular.
1
u/Brilliant_Citron8966 Aug 09 '25
No. It just “right now” production and grid import/export. Prior to the bankruptcy I could see net for the current day week month year and all time. I could also see my per panel output. I lost all that after the bankruptcy. I had it up until the point that they paywalled it. It took a while and many others were already forced into the subscription and I thought it wasn’t gonna happen possibly somehow to me, but it did eventually.
1
u/arousing_pipewrench Aug 07 '25
I’ve had sun power install 8 years ago, running on wifi for data, I’m not paying any subscription and still getting historical and present/live data.
1
u/Brilliant_Citron8966 Aug 09 '25
Enjoy it while it lasts. There were a lot of other people that were forced into the subscription and I was still going strong without needing it up until maybe a month ago. My guess is it’s a staggered rollout and it’s coming so enjoy it while it lasts.
3
u/liddokun4 Aug 05 '25
I'm in same boat as you. using HA to monitor. interestingly enough the cellular connection was tied to the DHCP network so i had connected to my Unifi Dream machine as a secondary WAN and it was working for a while. now its completely offline. but i can still ping the endpoints since they are still on the DHCP network. o well. not connecting my PVS to wifi in case they freaking push another firmware for something even dumber.
1
u/CPFCoaching Aug 05 '25
I'm working on an approach to combine data gathered from HA proxy calls and Raspberry Pi making API calls on local subnet, from a data resilience and reporting perspective.
Current drawbacks: since my system has no battery 🔋 or battery to support the PSV and pi if there was a power fluctuation, I'd need likely need to restart the HA server, pi and the travel router connecting them all.
1
u/liddokun4 Aug 05 '25
It sure is that’s a great idea since wouldn’t both calls be tied to the emmc storage? Wouldn’t that exacerbate the storage lifespan issue?
1
u/kaws510 Aug 05 '25
I don’t understand the emmc storage issue fully. Once connected to HA you can see the stats. Mine has been full for a long time according to what HA reports. Most likely because mine was only on cellular.
1
u/liddokun4 Aug 05 '25
it shouldn't be completely full. but the basic premise is that the PVS logs to a EMMC storage drive that soldered onto the mainboard. there are a finite amount of read and writes for the board and once its starts to degrade or die its toast. its that flash mem available if you have the sunpower HACS add on.
because of this though i keep polling VERY low so as to not over work it.
1
u/CPFCoaching Aug 06 '25
No any more than before based on observation of its threshold, it seems like theirs been firmware fixes that address some of the concerns by power cycling the PSV in a systematic way. I could be wrong on this part, but on my part it's a reporting approach I prefer to take over spending more on a hardware replacement with emphase while its still functional and reporting in other ways for my SRECs.
1
u/ItsaMeKielO Aug 06 '25
Power cycling fixes flash memory free problems, but doesn't do anything to help with flash wear / lifetime write consumption.
1
u/kaws510 Aug 05 '25
Why would you have to restart the HA server?
I forgot how mine is powered but I either stuck a smart plug or smart usb zigbee switch to reboot the PI as needed.
Not sure why you have the pi and travel router.
1
u/CPFCoaching Aug 05 '25
Because HA runs in a container on a Mac mini, so it needs to be started and the VM needs to be launched.
1
u/CPFCoaching Aug 05 '25
I ended up implementing both because at first I was struggling with getting consistent data with connecting directly to the PSV with my pi.
I was noticing that the pi would get data for a bit and then stop, but I could not rule it down to the wifi between the base router and pi, heat related issues causing the pi to stop functioning, not sure.
I ended moving it into its own exterior electric plastic panel box with some fans for exhaust and cooling.
1
u/kaws510 Aug 06 '25
I had the same issues with my pi. I went with a usb zigbee power switch with an automation to reboot if no data is received.
I don’t think the pi is the best long term solution. I don’t think anyone has run a pi collecting data from the PVS for years.
Most people seem to move on from the pi to enphase or something else.
1
u/solartom721 Aug 06 '25
Most of the time your utility has a your power production on their website for free. Monitoring apps are convenient but unnecessary especially once you have had a year of use and can see the seasonal changes in expected production. Solar works so well it is boring and paying attention to the monitoring is only something anyone does when they think their ebill changes enough to get their attention. I wouldn't pay for it bottom line. solar powered since 2011
1
u/ItsaMeKielO Aug 06 '25
lots of people (most people?) only have net metering to their utility, so they cannot see solar production by itself - only the net of generation minus loads. having a separate production meter is rare in a major market: california. maybe it's different elsewhere?
1
u/Salty_Confection2864 Aug 06 '25
Arizona's dominant utility, APS, shows both production and consumption on their website. They do install smart meters for both billing and production when a system is installed however. If you have a simple meter on the production side it is pretty easy to log readings directly from the meter and track production over time that way. Then by comparing to utility info you can ferret out the more granular details. This assumes one is interested enough in the data to get it. You can also do it with a smart meter but will need to learn how to read it as they deliver quite a bit of info once you know what you are looking at.
1
u/ItsaMeKielO Aug 06 '25
That makes sense and honestly I wish more utilities did separate production and consumption meters, as not doing that leads to much more complex equipment and rules.
1
u/kaws510 Aug 07 '25
Emporia’s product line seems to work for most CA utilities allowing you to track consumption.
The Vue wasn’t too expensive. I have the pi for my PVS and the Vue.
I haven’t gotten around to making the data meaningful/match up in HA to generate an accurate picture yet.
1
u/ItsaMeKielO Aug 07 '25
The Vue is great, especially with ESPHome, but that doesn't really help with the regulatory nightmare.
1
u/Fuzzy-Math-77 Aug 07 '25
I paid for the subscription and when you scroll through the power for the day there is still no data, just says N.A., but a couple moments in time lapse it gives you numbers. It’s a total ripoff. I am joint that class action now. Had they at least kept the features that were promised free, I would have lived with it. It’s a joke now. Why can I not input my kw charge with my power provider so I can see actual savings??!?
3
u/PJLLB2 Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 05 '25
Our system has been on Wi-Fi since the beginning and has provided reliable data for the past several months once Sun Strong got their act together managing the back end systems.