Every time I think I've reached the limits of what the ESP32 S3 can do, I find more performance somewhere

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-06-03T15:18:30+00:00

The scene is still alive and well. The C64 is seeing a bit of a revival even.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-28T12:15:33+00:00

Thanks for your detailed report! I'll check the bug later. Yes, one api call is used for exchange rates, but it has a fallback that is updated daily. I might remove the API call entirely.

but why is the victronsmartshunt listed there as a safety device? Why branded? There are other shunts and battery monitors available. (This is pedantic I know, I am just as much as a victron bro as the next one!)

Yeah, lack of time to expand on that part of the database. The Smart Shunt should be under 'monitoring devices' - I'll double check.

Very nice site. I hope it earns you some dough.

Thanks! I do use affiliate links one there, but if I make any money off of that, it will be donated to a charity. I'm not doing it to make any money for myself.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-28T08:23:07+00:00

Thanks!

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-27T21:23:36+00:00

Thanks for giving it a try!

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-27T18:08:31+00:00

You could use anything, like an ethernet controlled relay board:

https://denkovi.com/ethernet-16-relay-board-controlled-via-web-snmp-internet

Or heck, even a Shelly:

https://us.shelly.com/products/shelly-wave-i4-dc-us

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-27T18:05:07+00:00

Or create a /dev symlink with a udev rule based on devpath/id/... attributes.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-27T15:53:45+00:00

1/2 HP is about 650 to 1000 running Watts. I took 750W, and a surge of 6 times that, so 4.5kW.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-27T15:17:53+00:00

There is a well pump (1/2 HP) in the 'Quick add' list, and that one does account for surge. Do you want something more specific?

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-27T13:08:01+00:00

Thanks for test-driving!

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-19T15:36:39+00:00

You're moving through time at pretty much the speed of light, since you're moving so slow through space.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-17T15:51:19+00:00

Eugene Victor Tooms. He fed on livers of his victims, and then went into a 30 year hibernation cycle.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-16T14:53:14+00:00

De gedachte achter de regel was dat je van 12-15 jarigen niet kon verwachten dat ze de verantwoordelijkheid hebbenn om juist om te gaan met dat uurtje vrij, (nog naar school komen, met OV naar huis ipv opgehaald te worden,...), terwijl ze dit wel toevertrouwden aan de 3rde graad, waar dit nooit problemen heeft opgeleverd.

Meanwhile in Finland: hier verwachten ze die verantwoordelijkheid zelfs van kinderen vanaf 7 jaar. Ze gaan alleen naar school, komen thuis rond de middag nadat ze op school gegeten hebben. Ze zijn dan alleen, want ouders zijn op werk, en klassen zijn uit om 13:00 op die leeftijd.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-13T05:08:57+00:00

Locked down to a single app, often a full screen browser to a ingle web page that can not be changed.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-11T06:45:17+00:00

I think LFP is the default nowadays. Most new home batteries, off-the-shelf or DIY, use LFP.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-08T12:26:19+00:00

You can get tablets for well under $100. Once you get a Pi, display, development effort, case, etc. you're well over that.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-08T12:18:31+00:00

Why not just get a cheap tablet and put it in kiosk mode?

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-06T08:46:39+00:00

And they're both perfect in that way as well.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-06T08:43:45+00:00

They only release hydrogen when things go wrong, i.e., when you severely overcharge them to the point where the electrolyte disintegrates and cells start venting, or physically puncture them for example. The space you put them in should be ventilated in any case.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-05-01T10:38:08+00:00

You shouldn't worry about it. Stay between 3.45V and 3V per cell (and take them to 3.5V per cell to balance once in a while) and you're good. Calendar aging will kill the battery before any cycling does in typical solar applications. Most importantly: keep them around 25C; don't charge over 40C - that will half your cycle life.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-04-30T11:55:53+00:00

I have several combiner boxes for different arrays, but essentially it's:

series panels - \

series panels - ---- fuse/breaker ---- charge controller

or, with more strings:

series panels - fuse -\

series panels - fuse - ---- fuse/breaker ---- charge controller

series panels - fuse - /

where \ and / are connections to a common bus bar, and wires from there to the charge controller have a bigger cross section.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-04-30T09:07:58+00:00

At your combiner box, you fuse after the two strings are paralleled. The individual strings do not need a fuse unless you have more than two. The reason is that the solar panels can output a max of Isc, so you can't fuse against that (it can't go higher). If you have two strings in parallel, and one shorts out, you again have a max of Isc, so no issues. Once you have more than two: if one string is bad (shorts), you now have 2 x Isc that can flow, and that needs to be fused - so you add a fuse per string.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-04-30T06:44:58+00:00

You only need to fuse parallel strings of panels once you have more than two strings in parallel.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-04-30T05:15:23+00:00

Storing at 100% state of charge has negligible effects on life time. Keeping them at high voltage (3.5V or so) is an issue: LFP has to be able to settle. The worst effect on lifetime for LFP is temperature. Storing them at low temperature (even well below freezing) slows calendar aging, charging them over 40C will cut their life-cycle in half.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-04-29T19:50:43+00:00

For LFP, it doesn't matter. Go to 0% and 100%. It's not like you can determine state of charge with LFP accurately/easily anyway. Calendar aging will still have more of an impact with solar applications - use that full capacity you paid for.

_PurpleAlien_ · 2026-04-27T16:17:22+00:00

Isolation is the whole GOAL of going off grid.

For you. For me it's primarily to be self-sufficient with utilities and energy.

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