Morningstar Ethernet Networking Adapter (EMC-1)

Needed to tie all the various communication standards together. I've been painstakingly researching MPPT charge controllers without reaching a decision for long enough that my brain hurts and I just wanted to stop thinking about it. The free offer for this Morningstar Ethernet MeterBus Converter was what I needed to push me in a direction and just commit to this ecosystem. With this on the way, 4 100w bifacial panels, and 12, 24, and 48v batteries, and a DC powered mini PC on hand, I ordered Morningstar relay driver and TS-MPPT-30 to start work on this small versatile system. I needed a way to charge them all, one at a time, switch between them under program control. Nothing like that exists as far as I know. So DIY programming. Frankly I enjoy the 'outdated' winforms menu based gui programming much more than the more 'modern' alternatives which I find unintuitive. Maybe its because I was around for the win 95 release (old). I don't know yet whether I will succeed with this project, but the documentation is excellent and gives me confidence. I am happy with the decision so far. Will add more, once I know more.

A good addition to any morningstar charge controller. Easy to use web interface, and Ethernet to modbus conversion. The firmware is a little finicky when it comes to reconfiguration, and power is a little non intuitive. The EMC-1 can be powered by the meterbus cable, but it is better to power externally. This arrangement does make it difficult to power cycle the emc-1, which is annoying.

I tested this Morningstar Ethernet MeterBus Converter (EMC-1) with a Prostar PWM controller. It does not mention that it works with that older model, but it does. The unit powered on from the MeterBus connection with no problem. The batteries are fully charged LiFePO4s, so the voltage is around 14V. It obtained an IP address via DHCP. The build in webserver shows the liveview pages. There are only pages to look at basic variable, the system log, network setup and setup for the EMC-1. There are no pages for setting options on the controller itself. Some of the pages load pretty slowly. The log takes many seconds to come up. MSView runs on a PC and it connects just fine, and you are able to load, change and save settings there. It does seem slower than the meterbus to USB version I also have. I did not test some of the other capabilities. It comes with an RJ11 cable to connect to the controller and a Cat5e cable to connect to the network. It also comes with power wires, but they were not needed. It also comes with some extra cables and adapters that are not described in the users guide.

I needed a way to monitor the off-grid cabin solar power system from anywhere. The system is based on a mix of TriStar and SunSaver MPPT controllers, and it seemed this converter would meet that need with remote access to the system data. The device was easy to set up. It was almost as simple as plugging into my existing Morningstar controllers and then just configuring the network settings. The LiveView web dashboard is helpful, giving a quick overview of the system's status, like battery voltage and charging current, without needing specialized software. I use the Modbus connectivity, and I’ve integrated it into my basic monitoring system. It really allows me to keep tabs on performance and alerts me to any potential issues. The device works flawlessly. I haven't had any issues with it dropping the connection, and while it may have more features than I need, the basic functionality of being able to access and monitor my system remotely has made my off-grid management so much better.

I have a fine MPPT controller, but wanted the ability to use this to enable access through a tablet or phone so I could monitor what's going on with my batteries in my converted min-skoolie bus home when I'm not right there. It may be that I'm the problem, but I did try to get this set up and sadly, I was not able to get them to work together. It could be that the MPPT and this device are not compatible as well, but I don't know enough about the more complex technical stuff - I was able, with an electrician's help, to put together and wire my PV system with 600 watts of solar, 300 ah lithium batteries and a 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter with a DC, 12 volt side for items like my water pump and diesel heater which are 12 volt. So I understand that part, but it may be I just don't understand the communication part of my MPPT controller that this device connects to...