Hi… I purchased the Axioma Qalcosonic E4 heat meter from the store with the USB MBUS reader and have today installed emon on a spare Raspberry Pi I had. My goal is to setup COP monitoring, with the Qalcosonic providing the energy data and a Shelly device providing the electricity (I have this connected to the heat pump circuit and already reading into Home Assistant).
I’ve got emon working, have created a local account and can access via the WebUI. I’ve also connected the USB MBUS reader and the 2 cables to the terminals. But now I’m stuck! I have dropped the code from the config file below, I’m not seeing any errors in the log, but I don’t seem to be getting any outputs (when I physically look at the meter I can see readings). On the MBUS USB dongle I am only seeing a red light (I’ve also tried swapping the wires to the 2nd terminals). Any pointers on what the problem could be?
I have setup my install under Devices and given it a Node name and chosen the emonHP Heat Pump Monitor config.
Huge thanks in advance for guidance.
#######################################################################
####################### emonhub.conf #########################
#######################################################################
### emonHub configuration file, for info see documentation:
### https://github.com/openenergymonitor/emonhub/blob/emon-pi/configuration.md
#######################################################################
####################### emonHub settings #######################
#######################################################################
[hub]
### loglevel must be one of DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, and CRITICAL
loglevel = DEBUG
autoconf = 1
### Uncomment this to also send to syslog
# use_syslog = yes
#######################################################################
####################### Interfacers #######################
#######################################################################
[interfacers]
### This interfacer manages the RFM12Pi/RFM69Pi/emonPi module
[[EmonPi2]]
Type = EmonHubOEMInterfacer
[[[init_settings]]]
com_port = /dev/ttyAMA0
com_baud = 115200
[[[runtimesettings]]]
pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,
subchannels = ToRFM12,
# [[USB0]]
# Type = EmonHubOEMInterfacer
# [[[init_settings]]]
# com_port = /dev/ttyUSB0
# com_baud = 115200
# [[[runtimesettings]]]
# pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,
# subchannels = ToRFM12,
# nodename = emonTx4
[[SPI]]
Type = EmonHubRFM69LPLInterfacer
[[[init_settings]]]
nodeid = 5
networkID = 210
resetPin = 24
selPin = 16
[[[runtimesettings]]]
pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,
[[MQTT]]
Type = EmonHubMqttInterfacer
[[[init_settings]]]
mqtt_host = 127.0.0.1
mqtt_port = 1883
mqtt_user = emonpi
mqtt_passwd = emonpimqtt2016
[[[runtimesettings]]]
pubchannels = ToRFM12,
subchannels = ToEmonCMS,
# emonhub/rx/10/values format
# Use with emoncms Nodes module
node_format_enable = 0
node_format_basetopic = emonhub/
# emon/emontx/power1 format - use with Emoncms MQTT input
# http://github.com/emoncms/emoncms/blob/master/docs/RaspberryPi/MQTT.md
nodevar_format_enable = 1
nodevar_format_basetopic = emon/
# Single JSON payload published - use with Emoncms MQTT
node_JSON_enable = 0
node_JSON_basetopic = emon/
[[emoncmsorg]]
Type = EmonHubEmoncmsHTTPInterfacer
[[[init_settings]]]
[[[runtimesettings]]]
pubchannels = ToRFM12,
subchannels = ToEmonCMS,
url = https://emoncms.org
apikey = xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
senddata = 1 # Enable sending data to Emoncms.org
sendnames = 1 # Send full input names (compression will be automatically enabled)
interval = 30 # Bulk send interval to Emoncms.org in seconds
[[DS18B20]]
Type = EmonHubDS18B20Interfacer
[[[init_settings]]]
[[[runtimesettings]]]
pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,
read_interval = 10
nodename = sensors
# ids = 28-000008e2db06, 28-000009770529, 28-0000096a49b4
# names = ambient, cyl_bot, cyl_top
[[MBUS]]
Type = EmonHubMBUSInterfacer
[[[init_settings]]]
device = /dev/ttyAMA0
baud = 2400
[[[runtimesettings]]]
pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,
read_interval = 10
validate_checksum = False
nodename = MBUS
[[[[meters]]]]
[[[[[heatmeter]]]]]
address = 1
type = qalcosonic_e4
#######################################################################
####################### Nodes #######################
#######################################################################
## See config user guide: https://github.com/openenergymonitor/emonhub
## If autoconf is enabled above, node configuration will automatically
## populate based on templates listed in available.conf
[nodes]
Hi Adrian, I had my Axioma Qalcosonic e4 meter installed yesterday and have added exactly the same configuration as you did back in September after looking at all the various documentation etc. Initially like you I didn’t comment out the USB configuration and got loads of error messages in the Emonhub log file. When I commented out this USB configuration I got no errors in the log file but the system seems to freeze in that no data (i.e. power feed or heat meter data gets to the EmonPi (or even any indication the data has been configured). If I remove the MBUS configuration then the power inputs and feeds I have setup resume correctly. I had thought that this migt be because I have a 15m USB cable between my heat meter in the loft and the EmonPi2 located downstairs so have tried to connect up the MBUS using an ethernet USB extender but this seems to make no difference. I wonder if you have solved your problem and what configuration you managed to use. This is very frustrating as I have setup an account on EmonCMS.org and linked it to Home Assistant successfully .
I had exactly the same configuration other than I had “type = qalcosonic_e4” and “device = ttyAMA0”. Have tried your configuration but still nothing. What I did find was that by not referencing “ttyAMA0” twice the system no longer locks up which is a step in right direction. I have tried to look for the device “ttyUSB0” but this is not referenced if I use the command "ls /dev/tty* " when logged into the emonPI2 directly so I suspect that although the red light on the MBUS to USB is on and it is connected to the USB on emonPI2 the connection is not working somehow !! Two questions do both of your red LEDs light up when you connect the MBUS adaptor to the emonPI ? Did you need to do anything to the connections . Think I’ll need some help from open energy monitor as running out of ideas now !! @TrystanLea can you give me any ideas as where to go next please ?
PS I have now moved the EmonPi up into loft and repositioned the power supply box next to so the USB connector from Qalcosonic E4 is about 150mm. I have exactly same configuration but still nothing showing on EmonPi. There is still no ttyUSB0 showing if I directly login to the PI !! . Help
Doesn’t help your current situation, but for what it’s worth in these circumstances with remote meters you’re better running the mbus cable long distance than the USB.
(it’s designed for long distances within apartment buildings - 100 metres is nothing)
Hi, I’ve pasted a link to the LED colours below (I’m colour blind so I can’t tell you what colour they are)! I didn’t have to do anything else - well other than ensuring the heat meter is connected to power (via the 220v in-line transformer).
I discovered today that if I connected the long cable to an old raspberry PI2 the TTYUSB0 socket instantly appeared. Even with a really short USB cable and the EmonPI connected adjacent to the heat meter nothing happened. I concluded that the EmonPI2 USB C must be faulty in some way.
My solution is to leave the EmonPI2 downstairs to record the power feed via CT1 and use my old raspberry PI2 with a separate EmonCMS instance to pick up the heat monitor data. I have merged two datasets via sync to the cloud and added some Daikin data and external temps etc from Home Assistant. So in reality I don’t need to physically wire between the two locations. It’s been a learning curve but think I have a viable solution now.
Thanks Adrian,
See my reply to Marco. I think I had a faulty EMonPI 2 so have worked around it to eliminate the need for a long cable. Think I have solved it after a frustrating few days . Your calibration worked first time with my raspberry PI2 . Cheers
Hi @PhilBroggio - glad you’ve got it working, but just wanted to check the above statement. On the Pi2, the USB-C is a device, not a host. You need to connect directly to the Raspberry Pi in the emonPi (if you used a Pi Zero, the USB ports are not exposed) not the USB-C. Hope that’s helpful!
Thanks for your reply. Basically If I connected the MBUS via a USB cable (whatever length) the EMONPI2 did not see it. I have only USB port on the unit which is a USB C format. I guess this doesn’t perform the function that I thought it did. If I had realised I could simply merge the output from connecting the mbus to an old raspberry PI 2 (located in loft) with the energy CT data connecting the EMONPI 2 (located in downstairs loo) via my cloud account I wouldn’t have wasted my time running a 15m USB cable through the loft down the side of the house and back into the loo. You live and learn !!! BTW do you know what the USB C on the EMON PI 2 is for ?
Yes - it functions as a serial port used to configure and also read data. Link to the documentation here. If you plug it into a computer, it will appear as a serial port you can access in the normal way.
The emonPi2 and the emonTx5 are identical, just the emonPi2 has a Raspberry Pi attached (and also an OLED screen but that doesn’t change the overall functionality). If you have the holes punched out on the USB side of whatever emon you have, you could put your Raspberry Pi 2 there, but it sounds as if actually routing the USB cable was the issue (although, as others have noted, extending the MBUS link is the way to do it - it’s designed for long distance, low bandwidth traffic with a huge noise margin compared to USB).
Hope that clears it up a little bit for you, feel free to ask anything else to optimise your setup
Thanks. It’s working fine with the data gathered by the EMonPI downstairs and my old PI 2 in loft. I also use Home Assistant to collect some data and then collate it all in cloud.
