Victron MPPT Solar Monitoring via ESPHome BLE — No Cloud Required Overview Most Victron MPPT tutorials either use the official VRM cloud platform or a USB-to-serial cable. This guide shows a completely different approach: reading Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/20 data directly via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) using an ESP32 and ESPHome, feeding it into Home Assistant entirely locally — no Victron account, no cloud, no cables required. ...
Running a Home Server and Network Stack from 12V Solar Overview The home automation and server infrastructure here runs directly from the 12V LiFePO4 solar battery bank rather than from mains via inverter. This keeps the critical systems online during grid outages and eliminates inverter losses for loads that do not need 240V AC. The load list: Synology NAS — file server, HA backups, Plex, email server, web server — running 24/7 for 13 years WiFi 7 router ADSL modem Raspberry Pi 5 (Home Assistant) Amazon Echo Several ESP32 sensor and display boards Motion-activated lighting throughout the house The office — Mac Mini, two screens, active speakers at around 140W — runs from the Victron Phoenix 12/375 pure sine inverter. In summer this runs most days from solar. In winter it is an occasional load. ...