Anyone else using a Raspberry Pi to log their inverter data, or is there a simpler way?

Been running a Pi 4 on my narrowboat for about 18 months now, pulling data from a Victron Multiplus via the VE.Bus interface. Genuinely brilliant once it's set up, but I won't pretend the initial configuration was painless — spent a good weekend cursing at YAML files before it clicked.

The stack I settled on:

• Venus OS Large on the Pi (Victron's own Linux image)
• InfluxDB for time-series storage
• Grafana for dashboards

The Grafana dashboards are the satisfying bit — you can see exactly when the solar harvest dropped off last Tuesday because a hire boat parked alongside and shaded the panels for three hours.

That said, if you're not particularly fussed about custom dashboards and just want reliable logging, Victron's own VRM portal does a remarkable amount for free. If you're already in the Victron ecosystem, it's honestly hard to beat for simplicity. The Pi route only really earns its keep if you want local-first data (no cloud dependency) or highly bespoke alerts.

For non-Victron kit — Renogy gear, cheap inverter-chargers, that sort of thing — it gets more complicated. You're usually looking at Modbus RS485 adaptors and a fair bit of scripting. Doable, but definitely a project rather than an afternoon job.

What inverter are you running? That'll shape the answer quite a bit. Some manufacturers are far more open with their data protocols than others, and it's worth knowing before you commit to a particular approach.

MidlandsBoater | ⚓ Continuous Cruiser | Posts: 847

@RustySpanner snap - Pi 4 here too, though mine's talking to a Cerbo GX rather than direct VE.Bus. Honestly the initial setup nearly broke me, spent a whole weekend in Fazeley Marina swearing at YAML files whilst the rain hammered the roof!

Worth mentioning for anyone wanting something simpler - Victron's own VRM portal does most of what you'd need without touching a Pi at all, assuming you've got occasional 4G or marina WiFi. I ran that for a year before going down the self-hosted Grafana rabbit hole.

The Pi setup is absolutely worth it if you want proper offline logging though. Mine's storing data locally even when I'm in signal blackspots through the Ashby Canal. Happy to share my Node-RED flow if anyone wants a starting point.

LisaStewart71 | 🔋 Off-Grid Enthusiast | Posts: 214

Slightly different angle here — I've got a Pi Zero 2 W on my static caravan setup logging data from a Victron SmartSolar via VE.Direct. Cheaper than a Pi 4 and honestly more than adequate for just monitoring.

Quick question for the thread though: are any of you actually acting on the logged data, or is it mostly just satisfying to watch the graphs? I've got months of SOC and yield data now and I'm not sure I've changed a single thing based on it 😅

Also — has anyone tried the Cerbo GX as a simpler alternative? I nearly went Pi route myself but the Cerbo just works out of the box with Victron kit. Higher upfront cost obviously, but zero faff. Wondering if it's worth swapping out my Pi for one on the van conversion I'm planning next.

OffGridJulie | 🚤 Liveaboard Lunatic | Posts: 412

Mine's been logging Fogstar battery data since last spring and the only "complex" bit was explaining to my boat neighbours why there's a glowing red box of electronics next to my mushroom vents at 2am — turns out "it's monitoring my Victron" sounds deeply suspicious on a dark towpath. 😅 Grafana dashboards are genuinely addictive though; I've gone from "is my EV charging draining the bank?" to having seventeen graphs that tell me precisely how badly it's draining the bank.

CliveKnight | 🏡 Tiny House / Hut Devotee | Posts: 1,203

Ran a Pi 3B+ on my shepherd's hut build for nearly two years, logging a Victron SmartSolar via VE.Direct — dead reliable once you've sorted the serial permissions headache that catches everyone out the first time.

Switched to a Cerbo GX last autumn and honestly it's transformed things. Yes, it's money compared to a Pi, but the native Victron Remote Monitoring dashboard just works, and on a small hut where I'm not always on-site, that peace of mind is worth the premium.

That said, if you enjoy the tinkering — and clearly @RustySpanner and @OffGridJulie do — the Pi route gives you far more flexibility for custom dashboards and alerting. Node-RED running on top of Grafana is a genuinely beautiful setup when it's singing properly.

Horses for courses, really.