Sungrow SG05.ORT Export Limit: Home Assistant Configuration Woes

It can be a real head-scratcher when you're trying to get your smart home system to play nicely with your solar inverter, especially when it comes to managing export limits. Many of us rely on platforms like Home Assistant (HA) to fine-tune our energy usage, and when things don't work as expected, it can be frustrating. This is exactly the predicament faced by one user trying to control the export limit on their Sungrow SG05.ORT inverter through Home Assistant. While the integration seems to install okay, the actual control over the inverter's power output is proving elusive, with settings reverting and changes not reflecting on the inverter itself. Let's dive into this issue and see what might be going on.

Understanding the Sungrow SG05.ORT Export Limit Challenge in Home Assistant

The core of the problem lies in the Sungrow SG05.ORT's export limit functionality when integrated with Home Assistant. Our user reports that they can successfully flick a switch and change power values within HA, but these changes don't stick. The power output seems to default back to 5.000 kW, regardless of the settings applied. Sometimes, the switch in HA confirms the change, while other times it times out, adding to the confusion. This inconsistency suggests a communication breakdown or a misunderstanding of how the inverter's export control parameters are accessed and modified through the HA integration. It's like shouting commands into a void; you think they're being heard, but there's no tangible action from the recipient. The image provided shows the typical HA dashboard setup where a switch and a number input are used to control the export limit, but the underlying inverter behavior remains stubbornly unchanged.

Unraveling the Local vs. Inverter Control Discrepancy

A significant discovery made by the user sheds more light on this Sungrow inverter export control issue. By logging into the inverter's local connection and navigating to "more" and then "Quick Setup," they found settings for "Feed in power limitation" and "Feed in power limit." These settings do correlate with the parameters exposed in the Home Assistant app. When these local settings are adjusted, they update in the HA dashboard. However, and this is the crucial part, these changes still don't seem to affect the inverter's actual delivered power. This indicates that while the HA integration might be seeing or attempting to modify these specific parameters, they might not be the definitive controls for limiting the inverter's output, or perhaps there's another layer of configuration overriding them. The troubleshooting then moved to a deeper level: logging directly into the inverter via a web browser. It was here, under "Device Monitoring" and "Operational Parameters," that a field labeled "Rated Active Power Limit" was found. Adjusting this setting directly on the inverter via its web interface did successfully reduce the export. This is a key piece of information, as it suggests that the HA integration, or at least the current method of controlling the export limit, might not be targeting the correct parameter on the SG05.ORT model.

The Role of Amber and Curtailment Limitations

The user also mentioned that the integration works fine with Amber controlling it. This is an interesting point, as Amber likely utilizes a different communication protocol or API to manage the inverter. However, Amber's control has a drawback: it stops exporting as soon as the power feed-in (FIT) drops below zero. This behavior is problematic because it can halt battery charging and car charging, which the user wishes to avoid. The ultimate goal is to have more granular control over the inverter's output, ideally curtailing it to specific levels between 5 kW and 0 kW. The current limitation where the "Rated Active Power Limit" can only be adjusted between 2.5 kW and 5.0 kW is also a significant hurdle for precise curtailment. This indicates that the integration needs to interact with a parameter that allows for finer adjustments, or perhaps there's a way to configure the existing "Rated Active Power Limit" to accept a wider range of values, or even multiple setpoints.

Debugging the Home Assistant Integration: Errors and Timeouts

To further diagnose the problem, the user provided debug logs. These logs reveal a couple of critical clues. Firstly, there are errors related to platform uniqueness: Platform sungrow_export_limit does not generate unique IDs. ID 172.16.0.117_export_limit_switch already exists - ignoring switch.sungrow_export_limit_172_16_0_117 and Platform sungrow_export_limit does not generate unique IDs. ID 172.16.0.117_export_limit_number already exists - ignoring number.sungrow_export_limit_value_172_16_0_117. This suggests that there might be duplicate configurations or an issue with how the integration is registering the export limit switch and number input within Home Assistant. While this might not be the direct cause of the inverter control failure, it's an aspect that could be cleaned up for better integration stability. More concerning are the numerous WARNING (SyncWorker_X) [sungrow_http_config.SungrowHttpConfig] Request timeout reached (10s) for URL: https://172.16.0.117/device/passthroughway messages. These timeouts indicate that Home Assistant is repeatedly failing to communicate with the inverter over its local network. The passthroughway URL suggests the integration is attempting to send commands or retrieve data via a specific communication channel, and it's not succeeding within the allocated 10-second window. These timeouts could be the root cause of why the commands sent from HA aren't reaching the inverter to enact the desired export limit changes. Possible reasons for timeouts include network instability, firewall issues, incorrect IP address configuration, or the inverter's local API not responding correctly to the specific requests made by the integration.

Potential Solutions and Next Steps

Given the information, several avenues can be explored to resolve the Sungrow SG05.ORT export limit issue in Home Assistant.

1. Verify the Correct Parameter: The most promising lead is that the HA integration might not be targeting the "Rated Active Power Limit" parameter, which was found to be the functional control via the inverter's web interface. Developers of the integration would need to investigate if the current implementation can be updated to interact with this specific parameter.
2. Check Network Connectivity and Timeouts: The frequent timeouts suggest a network issue or an unresponsive API endpoint. Ensuring stable network connectivity between the Home Assistant server and the inverter is crucial. Checking firewall settings on both devices and verifying the inverter's IP address and local network accessibility are essential steps. The 10-second timeout might also be too short for the inverter to respond; however, adjusting this is usually within the integration's code.
3. Investigate Integration Updates/Alternatives: It's worth checking if there are newer versions of the Sungrow integration available for Home Assistant that might have fixed this issue or improved compatibility with the SG05.ORT model. Alternatively, exploring community forums or alternative integrations that might offer more robust control over Sungrow inverters could be beneficial.
4. Explore Modbus Control: For advanced users, controlling the inverter via Modbus TCP might offer a more direct and reliable method. Many solar inverters expose their parameters and control functions through the Modbus protocol. If the Sungrow SG05.ORT supports Modbus, setting up a Modbus integration in Home Assistant could provide granular control over the export limit, assuming the correct Modbus registers are identified.
5. Review Unique ID Errors: While likely not the primary cause, addressing the duplicate unique ID errors in the logs by ensuring the integration is configured correctly and only once for the inverter's IP address can improve overall system stability.

By systematically investigating these points, users can work towards achieving reliable control over their Sungrow SG05.ORT inverter's export limit through Home Assistant, leading to more efficient energy management and potentially unlocking new possibilities for solar power utilization.

For further assistance and community insights, you might find the Home Assistant Community Forums and the Sungrow Official Support to be invaluable resources.