APS Solar – Microinverter Data Reader and PVOutput Publisher

A lightweight Python utility for reading live data from an Altenergy Power System (APS / APsystems) microinverter gateway and optionally publishing total generation data to PVOutput.org.

This script automatically fetches power data from your APS ECU web interface and can optionally publish it to PVOutput.
It also includes logic to handle communication dropouts by estimating total output when some inverters don’t report, and can log extra metrics such as voltage, temperature, and grid frequency.

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📁 Repository Contents

File	Description
aps_solar.py	Reads APS inverter data and, if configured, publishes to PVOutput. Includes optional scaling when panels are missing.
config.json	Configuration file specifying gateway, PVOutput, and scaling settings.

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⚙️ Configuration

aps_solar.py uses a simple JSON configuration file.
If "pvoutput.publish" is true, it will push results to PVOutput — otherwise it will just display or return them in JSON.

Example config.json

{
  "host": "192.168.1.102",
  "path": "/cgi-bin/parameters",
  "scale_missing": true,
  // Only required if scale_missing is true:
  "expected_count": 20,
  "pvoutput": {
    "publish": true,
    "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "system_id": "YOUR_SYSTEM_ID",
    "send_temp": true,
    "send_voltage": true,
    "send_freq": true,
    "send_freq_key": "v11"
  }
}

Config Fields

Key	Description	Required	Default
host	IP or hostname of the APS ECU/gateway	✅	—
path	Path to the inverter data page	❌	/cgi-bin/parameters
scale_missing	true to estimate total if some inverters don’t report	❌	false
expected_count	Expected number of inverter/panel readings (only required if scaling is enabled)	⚠️	—
pvoutput.publish	Enables publishing data to PVOutput	❌	false
pvoutput.api_key	Your PVOutput API key	Required if publishing	—
pvoutput.system_id	Your PVOutput system ID	Required if publishing	—
pvoutput.send_temp	Include average inverter temperature (v5)	❌	true
pvoutput.send_voltage	Include average grid voltage (v6)	❌	true
pvoutput.send_freq	Include average grid frequency	❌	false
pvoutput.send_freq_key	Extended PVOutput field to use for frequency (e.g. v7–v12, default v11)	❌	"v11"

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🧩 Requirements

This script depends only on one external library:

pip install requests

Everything else uses the Python standard library (html.parser, json, re, datetime, etc.).
Tested with Python 3.7+.

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🖥️ Usage

Read inverter data only

python aps_solar.py --config /path/to/config.json

Output as JSON

python aps_solar.py --config /path/to/config.json --json

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⚙️ How Scaling Works

If some inverters fail to report, and scale_missing is true,
the script estimates total output as:

estimated_total = round((total_raw / received_count) * expected_count)

This ensures continuity of total readings during brief communication losses.
Scaling only occurs if:

• scale_missing = true, and
• expected_count is defined and greater than the number of readings received.

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🧾 Example Outputs

Case 1 – All panels reporting

Data source: http://192.168.1.102/cgi-bin/parameters

  INV-XXXX-A: 120 W
  INV-XXXX-B: 118 W
  INV-YYYY-A: 117 W
  INV-YYYY-B: 117 W

Received panels: 4
Raw total power: 472 W
Total power: 472 W
Avg voltage: 234.0 V
Avg temp: 50.0 °C
Avg frequency: 50.01 Hz
Publishing skipped (pvoutput.publish=no).

Case 2 – Some panels missing, scaling enabled

Data source: http://192.168.1.102/cgi-bin/parameters

  INV-XXXX-A: 120 W
  INV-XXXX-B: 118 W
  INV-YYYY-A: 117 W
  INV-YYYY-B: — W

Received panels: 3 / expected 4
Raw total power: 355 W
Estimated total (scaled for missing panels): 472 W
Avg voltage: 234.0 V
Avg temp: 50.0 °C
Avg frequency: 50.01 Hz
PVOutput response: OK 200

JSON Output Example

{
  "source": "http://192.168.1.102/cgi-bin/parameters",
  "timestamp": "2025-10-23T11:10:16",
  "received_count": 4,
  "expected_count": 10,
  "total_watts_raw": 472,
  "total_watts_estimated": null,
  "total_watts_for_output": 472,
  "avg_volt_v": 234.0,
  "avg_temp_c": 50.0,
  "avg_freq_hz": 50.01,
  "scaled_due_to_missing": false,
  "panels": {
    "INV-XXXX-A": 120,
    "INV-XXXX-B": 118,
    "INV-YYYY-A": 117,
    "INV-YYYY-B": 117
  }
}

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☀️ PVOutput Publishing

When "pvoutput.publish": true, the script posts results to:

https://pvoutput.org/service/r2/addstatus.jsp

Data sent

Field	Description
v2	Instantaneous Power (W)
v5	Temperature (°C) (optional, if send_temp = true)
v6	Voltage (V) (optional, if send_voltage = true)
v11	Frequency (Hz) (optional, if send_freq = true and send_freq_key = "v11")

You can change send_freq_key to another extended slot (v7–v12) in your config if your PVOutput system already uses v11.

A successful response from PVOutput is:

OK 200

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🕒 Scheduling Example (Linux)

Run every 5 minutes and log output:

*/5 * * * * /usr/bin/env bash -lc 'python /opt/aps_solar/aps_solar.py --config /opt/aps_solar/config.json >> /var/log/aps_solar.log 2>&1'

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🧾 License

Released under the MIT License — free to use, modify, and distribute with attribution.

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🙋‍♂️ Credits

Developed for personal solar monitoring using
Altenergy Power System (APsystems) microinverters
with optional PVOutput.org integration.

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🧠 Summary

Feature	Supported
Reads inverter data	✅
Prints per-panel watts	✅
Calculates total watts	✅
Estimates missing panels	✅ (optional)
JSON output option	✅
PVOutput publishing	✅
Send voltage & temperature	✅
Send grid frequency	✅
Simple config file	✅
No heavy dependencies	✅

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Happy monitoring!