tsun-gen3-proxy

TSUN-Gen3-Proxy

A proxy for

TSUN Gen 3 Micro-Inverters

for easy

MQTT/Home-Assistant

integration

Overview

This proxy enables a reliable connection between TSUN third generation inverters and an MQTT broker. With the proxy, you can easily retrieve real-time values such as power, current and daily energy and integrate the inverter into typical home automations. This works even without an internet connection. The optional connection to the TSUN Cloud can be disabled!

In detail, the inverter establishes a TCP connection to the TSUN cloud to transmit current measured values every 300 seconds. To be able to forward the measurement data to an MQTT broker, the proxy must be looped into this TCP connection.

Through this, the inverter then establishes a connection to the proxy and the proxy establishes another connection to the TSUN Cloud. The transmitted data is interpreted by the proxy and then passed on to both the TSUN Cloud and the MQTT broker. The connection to the TSUN Cloud is optional and can be switched off in the configuration (default is on). Then no more data is sent to the Internet, but no more remote updates of firmware and operating parameters (e.g. rated power, grid parameters) are possible.

By means of docker a simple installation and operation is possible. By using docker-composer, a complete stack of proxy, MQTT-brocker and home-assistant can be started easily.

ℹ️ This project is not related to the company TSUN. It is a private initiative that aims to connect TSUN inverters with an MQTT broker. There is no support and no warranty from TSUN.

❗An essential requirement is that the proxy can be looped into the connection
between the inverter and TSUN Cloud.

There are various ways to do this, for example via an DNS host entry or via firewall
rules (iptables) in your router. However, depending on the circumstances, not all
of them are possible.

If you use a Pi-hole, you can also store the host entry in the Pi-hole.

Features

supports TSUN GEN3 PLUS inverters: TSOL-MS2000, MS1800 and MS1600
supports TSUN GEN3 inverters: TSOL-MS800, MS700, MS600, MS400, MS350 and MS300
MQTT support
Home-Assistant auto-discovery support
Self-sufficient island operation without internet
runs in a non-root Docker Container

Home Assistant Screenshots

Here are some screenshots of how the inverter is displayed in the Home Assistant:

https://github.com/s-allius/tsun-gen3-proxy/wiki/home-assistant#home-assistant-screenshots

Requirements

A running Docker engine to host the container
Ability to loop the proxy into the connection between the inverter and the TSUN cloud

Getting Started

To run the proxy, you first need to create the image. You can do this quite simply as follows:

docker build https://github.com/s-allius/tsun-gen3-proxy.git#main:app -t tsun-proxy

after that you can run the image:

docker run  --dns '8.8.8.8' --env 'UID=1000' -p '5005:5005' -p '10000:10000' -v ./config:/home/tsun-proxy/config -v ./log:/home/tsun-proxy/log tsun-proxy

You will surely see a message that the configuration file was not found. So that we can create this without admin rights, the uid must still be adapted. To do this, simply stop the proxy with ctrl-c and use the id command to determine your own UserId:

% id 
uid=1050(sallius) gid=20(staff) ...

With this information we can customize the docker run` statement:

docker run  --dns '8.8.8.8' --env 'UID=1050' -p '5005:5005' -p '10000:10000' -v ./config:/home/tsun-proxy/config -v ./log:/home/tsun-proxy/log tsun-proxy

Configuration

The configuration consists of several parts. First, the container and the proxy itself must be configured, and then the connection of the inverter to the proxy must be set up, which is done differently depending on the inverter generation

For GEN3PLUS inverters, this can be done easily via the web interface of the inverter. The GEN3 inverters do not have a web interface, so the proxy is integrated via a modified DNS resolution.

Container Setup
Proxy Configuration
Inverter Configuration (only GEN3PLUS)
DNS Settings (Mandatory for GEN3)

Container Setup

No special configuration is required for the Docker container if it is built and started as described above. It is recommended to start the container with docker-compose. The configuration is then specified in a docker-compose.yaml file. An example of a stack consisting of the proxy, MQTT broker and home assistant can be found here.

On the host, two directories (for log files and for config files) must be mapped. If necessary, the UID of the proxy process can be adjusted, which is also the owner of the log and configuration files.

A description of the configuration parameters can be found here.

Proxy Configuration

The proxy can be configured via the file ‘config.toml’. When the proxy is started, a file ‘config.example.toml’ is copied into the config directory. This file shows all possible parameters and their default values. Changes in the example file itself are not evaluated. To configure the proxy, the config.example.toml file should be renamed to config.toml. After that the corresponding values can be adjusted. To load the new configuration, the proxy must be restarted.

The configration uses the TOML format, which aims to be easy to read due to obvious semantics. You find more details here: https://toml.io/en/v1.0.0

# configuration for tsun cloud for 'GEN3' inverters
tsun.enabled = true   # false: disables connecting to the tsun cloud, and avoids updates
tsun.host    = 'logger.talent-monitoring.com'
tsun.port    = 5005

# configuration for solarman cloud  for 'GEN3 PLUS' inverters
solarman.enabled = true   # false: disables connecting to the tsun cloud, and avoids updates
solarman.host    = 'iot.talent-monitoring.com'
solarman.port    = 10000


# mqtt broker configuration
mqtt.host    = 'mqtt'   # URL or IP address of the mqtt broker
mqtt.port    = 1883
mqtt.user    = ''
mqtt.passwd  = ''


# home-assistant
ha.auto_conf_prefix = 'homeassistant'       # MQTT prefix for subscribing for homeassistant status updates
ha.discovery_prefix = 'homeassistant'       # MQTT prefix for discovery topic 
ha.entity_prefix    = 'tsun'                # MQTT topic prefix for publishing inverter values
ha.proxy_node_id    = 'proxy'               # MQTT node id, for the proxy_node_id
ha.proxy_unique_id  = 'P170000000000001'    # MQTT unique id, to identify a proxy instance


# microinverters
inverters.allow_all = false   # True: allow inverters, even if we have no inverter mapping

# inverter mapping, maps a `serial_no* to a `node_id` and defines an optional `suggested_area` for `home-assistant`
#
# for each inverter add a block starting with [inverters."<16-digit serial numbeer>"]

[inverters."R17xxxxxxxxxxxx1"]
node_id = 'inv1'              # Optional, MQTT replacement for inverters serial number  
suggested_area = 'roof'       # Optional, suggested installation area for home-assistant
pv1 = {type = 'RSM40-8-395M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr
pv2 = {type = 'RSM40-8-395M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr

[inverters."R17xxxxxxxxxxxx2"]
node_id = 'inv2'              # Optional, MQTT replacement for inverters serial number  
suggested_area = 'balcony'    # Optional, suggested installation area for home-assistant
pv1 = {type = 'RSM40-8-405M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr
pv2 = {type = 'RSM40-8-405M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr

[inverters."Y17xxxxxxxxxxxx1"]
monitor_sn = 2000000000       # The "Monitoring SN:" can be found on a sticker enclosed with the inverter
node_id = 'inv_3'             # MQTT replacement for inverters serial number  
suggested_area = 'garage'     # suggested installation place for home-assistant
pv1 = {type = 'RSM40-8-410M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr
pv2 = {type = 'RSM40-8-410M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr
pv3 = {type = 'RSM40-8-410M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr
pv4 = {type = 'RSM40-8-410M', manufacturer = 'Risen'}   # Optional, PV module descr

Inverter Configuration

GEN3PLUS inverters offer a web interface that can be used to configure the inverter. This is very practical for sending the data directly to the proxy. On the one hand, the inverter broadcasts its own SSID on 2.4GHz. This can be recognized because it is broadcast with AP_<Montoring SN>. You will find the Monitor SN and the password for the WLAN connection on a small sticker enclosed with the inverter.

If you have already connected the inverter to the cloud via the TSUN app, you can also address the inverter directly via WiFi. In the first case, the inverter uses the fixed IP address 10.10.100.254, in the second case you have to look up the IP address in your router.

The standard web interface of the inverter can be accessed at http://<ip-adress>/index_cn.html. Here you can set up the WLAN connection or change the password. The default user and password is admin/admin.

For our purpose, the hidden URL http://<ip-adress>/config_hide.html should be called. There you can see and modify the parameters for accessing the cloud. Here we enter the IP address of our proxy and the IP port 10000 for the Server A Setting and for Optional Server Setting. The second entry is used as a backup in the event of connection problems.

If access to the web interface does not work, it can also be redirected via DNS redirection, as is necessary for the GEN3 inverters.

DNS Settings

Loop the proxy into the connection

To include the proxy in the connection between the inverter and the TSUN Cloud, you must adapt the DNS record of logger.talent-monitoring.com within the network that your inverter uses. You need a mapping from logger.talent-monitoring.com to the IP address of the host running the Docker engine.

The new GEN3 PLUS inverters use a different URL. Here, iot.talent-monitoring.com must be redirected.

This can be done, for example, by adding a local DNS record to the Pi-hole if you are using it.

DNS Rebind Protection

If you are using a router as local DNS server, the router may have DNS rebind protection that needs to be adjusted. For security reasons, DNS rebind protection blocks DNS queries that refer to an IP address on the local network.

If you are using a FRITZ!Box, you can do this in the Network Settings tab under Home Network / Network. Add logger.talent-monitoring.com as a hostname exception in DNS rebind protection.

DNS server of proxy

The proxy itself must use a different DNS server to connect to the TSUN Cloud. If you use the DNS server with the adapted record, you will end up in an endless loop as soon as the proxy tries to send data to the TSUN Cloud.

As described above, set a DNS sever in the Docker command or Docker compose file.

Over The Air (OTA) firmware update

Even if the proxy is connected between the inverter and the TSUN Cloud, an OTA update is supported. To do this, the inverter must be able to reach the website http://www.talent-monitoring.com:9002/ in order to download images from there.

It must be ensured that this address is not mapped to the proxy!

General Information

Compatibility

In the following table you will find an overview of which inverter model has been tested for compatibility with which firmware version. A combination with a red question mark should work, but I have not checked it in detail.

Micro Inverter Model	Fw. 1.00.06	Fw. 1.00.17	Fw. 1.00.20	Fw. 4.0.10
GEN3 micro inverters (single MPPT): MS300, MS350, MS400 MS400-D	❓	❓	❓	➖
GEN3 micro inverters (dual MPPT): MS600, MS700, MS800 MS600-D, MS800-D	✔️	✔️	✔️	➖
GEN3 PLUS micro inverters: MS1600, MS1800, MS2000 MS2000-D	➖	➖	➖	✔️
TITAN micro inverters: TSOL-MP3000, MP2250, MS3000	❓	❓	❓	❓

Legend
➖: Firmware not available for this devices
✔️: proxy support testet
❓: proxy support possible but not testet
🚧: Proxy support in preparation

❗The new inverters of the GEN3 Plus generation (e.g. MS-2000) use a completely different protocol for data transmission to the TSUN server. These inverters are supported from proxy version 0.6. The serial numbers of these inverters start with Y17E instead of R17E

If you have one of these combinations with a red question mark, it would be very nice if you could send me a proxy trace so that I can carry out the detailed checks and adjust the device and system tests. Ask here how to send a trace

License

This project is licensed under the BSD 3-clause License.

Note the aiomqtt library used is based on the paho-mqtt library, which has a dual license. One of the licenses is the so-called Eclipse Distribution License v1.0. It is almost word-for-word identical to the BSD 3-clause License. The only differences are:

One use of “COPYRIGHT OWNER” (EDL) instead of “COPYRIGHT HOLDER” (BSD)
One use of “Eclipse Foundation, Inc.” (EDL) instead of “copyright holder” (BSD)

Versioning

This project adheres to Semantic Versioning. Breaking changes will only occur in major X.0.0 releases.

Contributing

We’re very happy to receive contributions to this project! You can get started by reading CONTRIBUTING.md.

Changelog

The changelog lives in CHANGELOG.md. It follows the principles of Keep a Changelog.

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