Victron Data Communications

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Victron Energy B.V. | De Paal 35 | 1351 JG Almere | The Netherlands

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Introduction

Many of our customers integrate our products into their own systems, using data communication protocols. There are several options to establish data

communication. The purpose of this document is to explain the different options, and help you choose one.

Communicating to a complete system? Use Modbus-TCP

Rather than going for direct communication with Inverters, battery monitors or Solar chargers, consider using ModbusTCP. This has two advantages:

1. ModbusTCP is easier than most other protocols

2. Retrieve precalculated system, as available on the Color Control GX

Looking for internet related protocols? Use the JSON API or MQTT

Once uploaded to the VRM Portal by a Color Control GX, or another device running our Venus OS, the data can be requested via our VRM JSON API:

https://vrmapi.victronenergy.com/v2/docs

Besides that API, MQTT is also available. More information here: https://github.com/victronenergy/dbus-mqtt/blob/master/README.md

Integrating into a Marine NMEA 2000 network? See our integration guide:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ve.can:nmea-2000:start

More information

As a developer, make sure to also have a look at these two pages:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/open_source:start

https://github.com/victronenergy/venus/wiki

Products with data communication

The following product lines have a data communication port, with protocol information available for 3

parties:

Protocol overview

At Victron Energy we have the following protocols:

Protocol

3rd party

connections allowed

Topology

Physical

International

standard

More information

Modbus-TCP

Yes (preferred)

TCP/IP

Modbus-TCP

Further down in this document

VE.Direct

Yes (preferred)

Point to point

RS232 / TTL

Proprietary

On our website, see next page for link

VE.Can / NMEA2000

Yes

Drop cables / Daisy

chain

CANBUS

J1939 & NMEA2000

http://www.victronenergy.com/

http://www.nmea.org/

VE.Bus

Daisy chain

RS485

Proprietary

See MK2/MK3 protocol

MK2/MK3 Protocol

Yes

Point to point

RS232

Proprietary

On request

BMV Text

Yes

Point to point

RS232

Proprietary

On our website, see next page for link

VE9bit RS485

Point to point

RS485

Proprietary

Deprecated

Product range

Products in that range

Onboard comm.

port

party protocol

How to connect

Color Control GX

Gateway to almost all Victron products that

have a data communication port

Ethernet

Modbus-TCP

Battery monitoring

BMV-600S, BMV-602S and BMV-600HS

BMV-60xS Text (TTL)

CAN and BMV Text

Via interface

BMV-700 and BMV-700H

VE.Direct

Direct or via interface

Inverters

Phoenix Inverter models from 1200 to

5000VA

VE.Bus

CAN and MK2/MK3

Via interface

Phoenix Inverter 250, 375 and 500VA

VE.Direct

Direct of via interface

Multi Inverter/chargers

Complete range: all Multis and Multi

compacts

VE.Bus

CAN and MK2/MK3

Via interface

Quattro’s

Complete range

VE.Bus

CAN and MK2/MK3

Via interface

Skylla-i/-IP44 battery chargers

Complete range

VE.Can

CAN

Direct

BlueSolar Chargers

BlueSolar MPPT 150/70 and 150/85 (VE.Can)

VE.Can

CAN

Direct

BlueSolar MPPT 75/10 to 150/100 (VE.Direct)

VE.Direct

Direct or via interface

Lynx Ion (Lithium Ion BMS)

Lynx Ion, Lynx Ion + Shunt and Lynx Ion BMS

VE.Can

CAN

Direct

Lynx Shunt 1000A VE.Can

Only the Canbus version.

VE.Can

CAN

Direct

Peak Power Pack

Complete range

VE.Direct

Direct or via interface

Data communication with Victron Energy products

Matthijs Vader

Summary of content (13 pages)

PAGE 1
Datas communication with Victron Energy products www.victronenergy.com Matthijs Vader Introduction Many of our customers integrate our products into their own systems, using data communication protocols. There are several options to establish data communication. The purpose of this document is to explain the different options, and help you choose one.
PAGE 2
VE.Net No Daisy chain And then there are JSON and MQTT, see introduction. RS485 Proprietary Deprecated NMEA2000 Certified products This table lists all Victron products that have an NMEA2000 or VE.Can communication port, and the status of NMEA2000 certification. Note that the mentioned NMEA2000 database version number is the database version used by the latest firmware of each product.
PAGE 3
Modbus TCP The industry standard Modbus TCP is a well-known and open communication protocol, used in many PLCs and SCADA systems. The Victron Color Control GX acts as a Modbus-TCP gateway. Connect it to the Victron products that you want to monitor, and then communicate from your PLC to the Ethernet LAN port on the Color Control GX. It allows reading information, and writing operational parameters, such as Multi on/off and input current limiter settings.
PAGE 4
VE.Bus VE.Bus is our proprietary protocol used by the Inverters to synchronize their AC outputs. There are VE.Bus communication ports on our Inverters, Multi’s and Quattro’s. The synchronization feature is mission-critical. Direct third-party connections are not allowed. All interfacing has to be done via Modbus TCP (preferred), “VE.Bus to CANbus/NMEA2000 interface”, or via the MK2/MK3: MK2/MK3 Protocol The MK2.2 and MK3 provide a galvanically isolated connection to VE.Bus, and it translates the VE.
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Accessories to communicate with a BMV-60xS battery monitor Partnumber Product name RS-232 ASS030071000 BMV Data Link RS232 X Canbus SMS Web ASS030520000 BMV-60xS to NMEA2000 interface X ASS030520020 BMV-60xS to VE.Can interface X VGR000200000 Victron Global Remote 2 6 VGR200100000 X X Victron Ethernet Remote 7 X X Ethernet SNMP X8 X FAQ – General Q1: Do I need an MK2 or MK3 for each product in a system with multiple VE.Bus products in parallel or three-phase? No. Per VE.
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Q17: Do I need to power the canbus? That differs per product. Some products power the canbus themselves others don`t. To power the canbus, supply anywhere between 9 and 36Volts to V+ and V-. See also the pin outs below. A small list at the time of writing: Skylla-i Skylla-IP44 Lynx Shunt VE.Can Lynx Ion BMS Lynx Ion + Shunt Lynx Ion Color Control GX VE.Bus to NMEA2000 interface VE.Bus to VE.Can interface BMV-60xS to NMEA2000 interface VE.Direct to NMEA2000 interface VE.Direct to VE.
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Q23: Instances: I have multiple BMV’s (or another canbus product) in the same network, how do I address them? You need to use instances to differentiate between multiple similar products in the same network. There are different types of instances within NMEA2000: Device instance The device instance is sent in PGN 0xEE00, ISO Address Claim, as a combined field of Device Instance Lower (ISO ECU Instance) and Device Instance Upper (ISO Function Instance).
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Canbus PGN overview per product Use below tables to see where to find what data. There is a freely available PDF file on the NMEA2000 website that also gives a good overview. Go to http://www.nmea.org/content/nmea_standards/downloads.asp, and then the link called “NMEA2000 Parameter Group Descriptions (Messages) with Field Description”. To get the detailed information in order to decode the PGNs, see Q14 in the FAQs. VE.
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BlueSolar MPPT 150/70 and 150/85 Data PGN Name PGN dec PGN hex Field Remarks Battery voltage Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 2 Battery instance 0 Battery current Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 3 Battery instance 0 Battery temperature Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 4 Battery instance 0 PV voltage Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 2 Battery instance 1 PV current Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 3 Battery instance 1 Relay and alarms Binary Switch Bank Status 127501 0x1F20D Charger s
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Lynx Ion, Lynx Ion + Shunt and Lynx Ion BMS Data PGN Name PGN dec PGN hex Field Remarks Battery pack voltage Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 2 Battery instance 0 Battery pack current Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 3 Battery instance 0 Battery pack highest temperature Battery Status 127508 0x1F214 4 Battery instance 0 State-Of-Charge (SOC) DC detailed Status 127506 0x1F212 4 DC instance 0 Time-To-Go (TTG) DC detailed Status 127506 0x1F212 6 DC instance 0 Lowest cell voltage i
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DEPRECATED: Getting data from VRM with wget Use the JSON API for this, instead of wget. See: https://vrmapi.victronenergy.com/v2/docs DEPRECATED: VRM Juice API Use the new JSON VRM API, instead of Juice. See https://vrmapi.victronenergy.com/v2/docs Links to interesting products Note that we have not tested all these products, and they are not affiliated to Victron Energy in any way. We do not take any responsibility.
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Document History Rev. Name Details 1 Date Matthijs Vader Initial version 2 Matthijs Vader Changed 9bit protocol from Daisy Chain to point to point. 3 Matthijs Vader Added FAQ section for the Canbus communication. 4 2012-jan-24 Matthijs Vader Added names of the VE.Bus and BMV protocol documents. And added link to Canbus manuals on our website. 5 2012-may-3 Matthijs Vader Canbus is the preferred protocol. Added list of products, and how to connect via Canbus.
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Added link to VE.Direct protocol FAQ as well as VE.Direct RS232 interface More small cleanups and updates left and right 24 2016-Nov-18 Matthijs Vader Skylla-i and Solar Charger with VE.Can connection: 127503 and 127507 are deprecated in favor of 127750 and 127744 25 2016-Nov-30 Matthijs Vader Reworded introduction, putting more focus on ModbusTCP Deprecated the Juice and wget methods of getting data from vrm. 26 2017-May-10 Matthijs Vader Added info on MK3-USB 27 2017-Sept.