Renogy BT Monitor (to MQTT)

A standalone Python application for monitoring Renogy solar devices via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and publishing data to an MQTT broker with Home Assistant auto-discovery support. This code was developed for my 3 devices. Renogy Rover 40, Renogy 100 amp hour battery with heating module (RBT100LFP12SH-G1) and 1000 W pure sine wave inverter. Also this uses 2 BT adapters, a BT-1 and BT-2. The battery and inverter are connected via the hub, sharing the same BT-2 module. The BT connections are persistent, meaning once they connect, they will remain connected. The code also includes alarms and faults for each of the devices as attributes and "number of faults" sensors. The code also has a data validator for the charge controller (Rover 40) to prevent spikes in the data. The min, max and max change values can be adjusted in the data_validator.py file to suit your system.

Supported Devices

Device Type	Model Examples	BT Module	Supported
Charge Controller	Rover, Wanderer, Adventurer	BT-1, BT-2	✅
Battery	RBT100LFP12SH-G1 (LiFePO4)	BT-2	✅
Inverter	RINVTPGH110111S (1000W)	BT-2	✅

Features

• 🔌 Connect to multiple Renogy BLE devices simultaneously
• 📡 Publish data to MQTT broker
• 🏠 Home Assistant auto-discovery (devices and entities appear automatically)
• 🔋 Support for charge controllers, batteries, and inverters
• 📊 Comprehensive sensor data (voltage, current, power, SOC, temperature, etc.)
• 🔄 Configurable polling interval
• 📝 Detailed logging
• 🛡️ Automatic reconnection on connection loss

Dashboard Example

Included in dashboard yaml file.

Whole Dashboard

Battery Alarms

Data Validation Sensor (last 100 rejections, for Rover 40 Controller only)

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi (Pi Zero 2W, 4 or 5) (or any Linux system with Bluetooth)
• Bluetooth adapter (built-in or USB, like LM0101 long-range adapter)
• Renogy BT-1 or BT-2 module(s) or both connected to your Renogy devices

Installation

1. System Dependencies (Raspberry Pi OS / Raspbian)

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Bluetooth and Python dependencies
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv \
    bluetooth bluez libglib2.0-dev

# Enable Bluetooth service
sudo systemctl enable bluetooth
sudo systemctl start bluetooth

2. Clone or Download the Application

# Create directory
mkdir -p ~/renogy_monitor
cd ~/renogy_monitor

# Copy all Python files to this directory
# (main.py, ble_client.py, mqtt_handler.py, parsers.py, utils.py)

3. Create Python Virtual Environment

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure the Application

# Create sample configuration
python main.py --create-config

# Edit configuration with your settings
nano config.yaml

Configuration

Edit config.yaml with your device and MQTT settings:

# MQTT Broker Configuration
mqtt:
  host: "homeassistant.local"  # Your Home Assistant IP or hostname
  port: 1883
  username: "your_mqtt_user"   # Leave empty if no authentication
  password: "your_mqtt_pass"
  discovery_prefix: "homeassistant"
  topic_prefix: "renogy"

# Polling Configuration
polling:
  interval: 60  # Seconds between polls (10-600)

# Bluetooth Configuration
bluetooth:
  adapter: "hci0"  # Bluetooth adapter to use (hci0, hci1, etc.)
                   # Run 'hciconfig' to see available adapters
                   # Built-in Pi adapter is usually hci0
                   # USB adapters are usually hci1

# Device Configuration
devices:
  # Charge Controller with BT-1 module
  - name: "Solar Charge Controller"
    mac_address: "XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX"
    alias: "BT-TH-FXXXXXXX"
    type: "controller"
    device_id: 255
    adapter: "bt1"

  # Battery with BT-2 module (Hub mode)
  - name: "Main Battery"
    mac_address: "XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX"
    alias: "BT-TH-XXXXXXXX"
    type: "battery"
    device_id: 48
    adapter: "bt2"

  # Inverter with BT-2 module (Hub mode)
  - name: "Power Inverter"
    mac_address: "XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX"
    alias: "BT-TH-XXXXXXXX"
    type: "inverter"
    device_id: 32
    adapter: "bt2"

# Logging
logging:
  level: "INFO"
  console: true

Device ID Guide

When using Hub Mode (multiple devices connected to one BT-2 via Communication Hub):

Device Type	Standalone	Hub Mode
Controller	255	96, 97
Battery	255	48, 49, 50
Inverter	255, 32	32

For separate BT modules (one per device), use device_id: 255.

Usage

Scan for Devices

Find your Renogy BT modules:

# Activate virtual environment
source venv/bin/activate

# Scan for nearby devices
python main.py --scan

Example output:

Found 2 Renogy device(s):

1. Name: BT-TH-FXXXXXXX
   MAC Address: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
   Signal Strength: -65 dBm

2. Name: BT-TH-ACCCCCCC
   MAC Address: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
   Signal Strength: -72 dBm

Run the Monitor

# Start monitoring (foreground)
python main.py config.yaml

# With debug logging
python main.py config.yaml --debug

Run as a System Service

Create a systemd service for automatic startup:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/renogy-monitor.service

Add the following content:

[Unit]
Description=Renogy BT Monitor
After=network.target bluetooth.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=pi
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/renogy_monitor
ExecStart=/home/pi/renogy_monitor/venv/bin/python main.py config.yaml
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable renogy-monitor
sudo systemctl start renogy-monitor

# Check status
sudo systemctl status renogy-monitor

# View logs
journalctl -u renogy-monitor -f

Home Assistant Integration

Automatic Discovery

Once the monitor is running and connected to your MQTT broker, devices and entities will automatically appear in Home Assistant under Settings > Devices & Services > MQTT.

Manual MQTT Configuration (Alternative)

If auto-discovery doesn't work, add sensors manually to configuration.yaml:

mqtt:
  sensor:
    # Battery SOC
    - name: "Solar Battery SOC"
      state_topic: "renogy/solar_charge_controller_xxxxxx/state"
      value_template: "{{ value_json.battery_percentage }}"
      unit_of_measurement: "%"
      device_class: battery

    # PV Power
    - name: "Solar PV Power"
      state_topic: "renogy/solar_charge_controller_xxxxxx/state"
      value_template: "{{ value_json.pv_power }}"
      unit_of_measurement: "W"
      device_class: power

    # Battery Voltage
    - name: "Solar Battery Voltage"
      state_topic: "renogy/solar_charge_controller_xxxxxx/state"
      value_template: "{{ value_json.battery_voltage }}"
      unit_of_measurement: "V"
      device_class: voltage

Energy Dashboard

The sensors are configured with appropriate state_class for energy tracking:

• power_generation_today - Daily solar generation (Wh)
• power_generation_total - Lifetime solar generation (Wh)
• power_consumption_today - Daily load consumption (Wh)

Sensor Reference

Charge Controller Sensors

Sensor	Unit	Description
battery_percentage	%	Battery state of charge
battery_voltage	V	Battery voltage
battery_current	A	Battery current
battery_temperature	°C	Battery temperature
pv_voltage	V	Solar panel voltage
pv_current	A	Solar panel current
pv_power	W	Solar panel power
load_voltage	V	Load voltage
load_current	A	Load current
load_power	W	Load power
controller_temperature	°C	Controller temperature
charging_status	-	Current charging mode
power_generation_today	Wh	Daily generation
power_generation_total	Wh	Lifetime generation

Battery Sensors

Sensor	Unit	Description
voltage	V	Battery voltage
current	A	Battery current (+charge/-discharge)
power	W	Battery power
soc	%	State of charge
remaining_capacity	Ah	Remaining capacity
total_capacity	Ah	Total capacity
cycle_count	cycles	Charge cycle count
bms_temperature	°C	BMS board temperature
cell_voltages	V	Individual cell voltages

Inverter Sensors

Sensor	Unit	Description
input_voltage	V	AC input voltage
input_current	A	AC input current
output_voltage	V	AC output voltage
output_current	A	AC output current
output_frequency	Hz	Output frequency
battery_voltage	V	Battery voltage
battery_soc	%	Battery state of charge
pv_voltage	V	PV input voltage
pv_power	W	PV input power
load_percentage	%	Load capacity percentage
temperature	°C	Inverter temperature
machine_state	-	Operating state

Troubleshooting

Device Not Found

1. Ensure BT module is powered and connected
2. Check Bluetooth service: sudo systemctl status bluetooth
3. Verify adapter: hciconfig
4. Try running with sudo: sudo python main.py --scan

Connection Timeouts

1. Move closer to the device
2. Increase CONNECTION_TIMEOUT in ble_client.py
3. Check for Bluetooth interference
4. Try a long-range Bluetooth adapter (like LM0101)

MQTT Connection Failed

1. Verify broker IP/hostname and port
2. Check username/password
3. Ensure MQTT broker is running
4. Check firewall rules

No Data Received

1. Verify correct device_id (try 255 first)
2. Check device type matches actual device
3. Enable debug logging: --debug
4. Check that Renogy app can connect (disconnect app first!)

Permission Denied (Linux)

# Add user to bluetooth group
sudo usermod -a -G bluetooth $USER

# Or run with sudo
sudo python main.py config.yaml

Known Limitations

• Only one BLE client can connect to a device at a time (close Renogy app first)
• Raspberry Pi built-in Bluetooth may have limited range
• Some older BT-1 modules may have compatibility issues

Credits

This project is based on research and code from:

• cyrils/renogy-bt
• Olen/solar-monitor
• IAmTheMitchell/renogy-ha

Modbus protocol documentation from Renogy/RongSi.

• cyrils/renogy-bt#94 (comment)

AI was used to create this project.

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details.

Disclaimer

This is not an official Renogy product. Use at your own risk. Renogy and all trademarks are property of their respective owners.