dbus-mqtt-ev-charger - Emulates a EV charger from MQTT data

GitHub repository: mr-manuel/venus-os_dbus-mqtt-ev-charger

Disclaimer

I wrote this script for myself. I'm not responsible, if you damage something using my script.

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Purpose

The script emulates a EV charger in Venus OS. It gets the MQTT data from a subscribed topic and publishes the information on the dbus as the service com.victronenergy.evcharger.mqtt_ev_charger with the VRM instance 11.

Config

Copy or rename the config.sample.ini to config.ini in the dbus-mqtt-ev-charger folder and change it as you need it.

JSON structure

Minimum required to start the driver

{
    "Ac": {
        "Power": 321.6
    }
}

Full (with descriptions)

Payload

{
    "Ac": {
        "Power": 12000.0,
        "L1": {
            "Power": 4000.0
        },
        "L2": {
            "Power": 4000.0
        },
        "L3": {
            "Power": 4000.0
        },
        "Energy": {
            "Forward": 342.4
        }
    },
    "Current": 17.39,
    "MaxCurrent": 32,
    "SetCurrent": 16,
    "AutoStart": 1,
    "ChargingTime": 63,
    "EnableDisplay": 1,
    "Mode": 1,
    "StartStop": 1,
    "Status": 1,
}

Description

/Ac/Power                  --> Write: AC Power (W)
/Ac/L1/Power               --> Write: L1 Power used (W)
/Ac/L2/Power               --> Write: L2 Power used (W)
/Ac/L3/Power               --> Write: L3 Power used (W)
/Ac/Energy/Forward         --> Write: Total Charged Energy (kWh)

/Current                   --> Write: Actual charging current (A)
/MaxCurrent                --> Read/Write: Max charging current (A)
/SetCurrent                --> Read/Write: Charging current (A)

/AutoStart                 --> Read/Write: Start automatically (number)
    0 = Charger autostart disabled
    1 = Charger autostart enabled
/ChargingTime              --> Write: Total charging time (seconds)
/EnableDisplay             --> Read/Write: Lock charger display (number)
    0 = Control disabled
    1 = Control enabled
/Mode                      --> Read/Write: Charge mode (number)
    0 = Manual
    1 = Automatic
    2 = Scheduled
/Position                  --> Write: Charger position (number)
    0 = AC Input
    1 = AC Output
/StartStop                 --> Read/Write: Enable charging (number)
    0 = Enable charging: False
    1 = Enable charging: True
/Status                    --> Write: Status (number)
    0 = Disconnected
    1 = Connected
    2 = Charging
    3 = Charged
    4 = Waiting for sun
    5 = Waiting for RFID
    6 = Waiting for start
    7 = Low SOC
    8 = Ground test error
    9 = Welded contacts test error
    10 = CP input test error (shorted)
    11 = Residual current detected
    12 = Undervoltage detected
    13 = Overvoltage detected
    14 = Overheating detected
    15 = Reserved
    16 = Reserved
    17 = Reserved
    18 = Reserved
    19 = Reserved
    20 = Charging limit
    21 = Start charging
    22 = Switching to 3-phase
    23 = Switching to 1-phase
    24 = Stop charging

Read settings

Changed settings can be found on this MQTT path of the Venus OS broker:

N/<vrm_id>/evcharger/11/...

Install / Update

1. Login to your Venus OS device via SSH. See Venus OS:Root Access for more details.

2. Execute this commands to download and extract the files:

   # change to temp folder
   cd /tmp
   
   # download driver
   wget -O /tmp/venus-os_dbus-mqtt-ev-charger.zip https://github.com/mr-manuel/venus-os_dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
   
   # If updating: cleanup old folder
   rm -rf /tmp/venus-os_dbus-mqtt-ev-charger-master
   
   # unzip folder
   unzip venus-os_dbus-mqtt-ev-charger.zip
   
   # If updating: backup existing config file
   mv /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/config.ini /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger_config.ini
   
   # If updating: cleanup existing driver
   rm -rf /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger
   
   # copy files
   cp -R /tmp/venus-os_dbus-mqtt-ev-charger-master/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/ /data/etc/
   
   # If updating: restore existing config file
   mv /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger_config.ini /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/config.ini

3. Copy the sample config file, if you are installing the driver for the first time and edit it to your needs.

   # copy default config file
   cp /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/config.sample.ini /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/config.ini
   
   # edit the config file with nano
   nano /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/config.ini

4. Run bash /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/install.sh to install the driver as service.

   The daemon-tools should start this service automatically within seconds.

Uninstall

Run /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/uninstall.sh

Restart

Run /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/restart.sh

Debugging

The logs can be checked with tail -n 100 -F /data/log/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/current | tai64nlocal

The service status can be checked with svstat svstat /service/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger

This will output somethink like /service/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger: up (pid 5845) 185 seconds

If the seconds are under 5 then the service crashes and gets restarted all the time. If you do not see anything in the logs you can increase the log level in /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger.py by changing level=logging.WARNING to level=logging.INFO or level=logging.DEBUG

If the script stops with the message dbus.exceptions.NameExistsException: Bus name already exists: com.victronenergy.evcharger.mqtt_ev_charger" it means that the service is still running or another service is using that bus name.

Multiple instances

It's possible to have multiple instances, but it's not automated. Follow these steps to achieve this:

1. Save the new name to a variable driverclone=dbus-mqtt-ev-charger-2

2. Copy current folder cp -r /data/etc/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger/ /data/etc/$driverclone/

3. Rename the main script mv /data/etc/$driverclone/dbus-mqtt-ev-charger.py /data/etc/$driverclone/$driverclone.py

4. Fix the script references for service and log

   sed -i 's:dbus-mqtt-ev-charger:'$driverclone':g' /data/etc/$driverclone/service/run
   sed -i 's:dbus-mqtt-ev-charger:'$driverclone':g' /data/etc/$driverclone/service/log/run
   

5. Change the device_name, increase the device_instance and update the topic in the config.ini

Now you can install and run the cloned driver. Should you need another instance just increase the number in step 1 and repeat all steps.

Compatibility

It was tested on following devices:

• RaspberryPi 4b
• MultiPlus II (GX Version)

Screenshots

MQTT EV Charger