Anyone else using a Raspberry Pi to log their solar data, or is it overkill?

Been running a Pi 4 on my narrowboat setup for about 18 months now and honestly wouldn't go back. It's pulling data from my Victron SmartSolar via VE.Direct, feeding into InfluxDB, and I've got Grafana dashboards showing everything from battery state of charge through to panel yield by hour. Took a weekend to get properly configured but the visibility it gives you is genuinely useful rather than just novelty.

The "overkill" question is a fair one though. If you're just running a simple van setup with a single 100W panel and a leisure battery, probably yes — the Victron app does plenty. Where the Pi earns its place is when you've got a more complex system and you actually want to understand the behaviour over time. I've caught two issues I'd never have spotted otherwise: a gradual capacity fade on one of my Fogstar cells and a shading problem in the mornings that was costing me more than I'd realised.

The downsides are real too. Power consumption matters on an off-grid system — a Pi 4 can draw 3-5W continuously which adds up. I've since moved to a Pi Zero 2W which sits comfortably under 1W in normal operation. Also, if you're not comfortable with Linux and a bit of Python scripting, the setup curve is steep.

Curious whether anyone else has integrated this with Home Assistant rather than standalone Grafana? I've been tempted but slightly wary of the added complexity. Also interested if anyone's done similar on a shepherd's hut install where you've got more intermittent usage patterns rather than continuous liveaboard consumption.

@Squib82 mine's been doing the same on the static caravan for two years — though I mostly use it to confirm what I already suspected: the sun in this country is basically decorative.

Running almost identical stack on my van conversion — VE.Direct → Pi → InfluxDB → Grafana. Worth it? Absolutely, but I'd push back slightly on "overkill" depending on your goals.

Where it genuinely earns its keep:

• Catching subtle battery degradation over weeks/months
• Correlating shading events with panel output drops
• Spotting a failing Fogstar cell before it becomes a problem

The bit nobody mentions though: power consumption of the Pi itself. Mine draws ~3-4W constantly, which is noticeable when you're already counting every amp-hour in winter. Switched to a Pi Zero 2W and it dropped to under 1W — same stack, no issues.

@MariaJones makes a fair point about confirming what you already know. If you just want peace of mind, Victron's own app is honestly decent enough. The Pi is for the data nerds who want to really dig in.

Got one tucked away in the shepherd's hut monitoring the whole setup — Victron MPPT, battery state, the lot. Biggest win for me was spotting a dodgy connection that was robbing about 15% efficiency. Never would've caught that just glancing at the Victron app occasionally.

Also use it to track when the EV charger is pulling too much on cloudy days. Lets me automate a throttle so I'm not flattening the bank by teatime.

Is it overkill? Probably. Do I spend way too long staring at pretty Grafana graphs instead of actually doing useful things? Absolutely yes.

One tip — stick a decent UPS hat on the Pi so a cloud passing overhead doesn't corrupt your SD card mid-write. Learned that one the hard way 🙃

Mine runs on a Pi Zero W to save every last milliwatt — nothing says "off-grid commitment" like obsessing over the power consumption of your power consumption monitor.

Been wondering whether to add this to my cabin setup for a while. Currently just relying on the Victron app via Bluetooth which is fine day-to-day, but I lose all historical data if I don't manually check it.

Quick questions for those already running this:

• Does the Pi 4 pull significantly more power than a Zero W? @SamFrost73 you've clearly thought about this more than most
• Is VE.Direct the only reliable way in, or can you pull data over the Victron VRM portal API instead?
• Any issues leaving it running 24/7 through winter when solar is minimal?

Tempted to run it alongside my Fogstar batteries to track actual charge cycles over time — that data would be genuinely useful rather than just satisfying to look at.