InverterMan – Getting Started

Introduction to InverterMan leads

InverterMan leads give you a wired, local data connection to your solar inverter or home battery. Instead of relying only on the manufacturer's app and cloud, you can read live figures such as solar power, battery charge, house load and grid import/export on your own equipment at home.

What you need

  1. The right lead for your inverter or battery. Each lead is wired for one brand's communication port. See Is my inverter supported?
  2. Something to plug it into. Most of our leads end in a USB RS485 (or RS232) converter, which plugs into a small always-on computer such as a Raspberry Pi, a mini PC or a home server. If you'd rather go wireless, the bare-ended pair can instead go to an ESP32 board with an RS485 module.
  3. Monitoring software (you choose it; we don't supply it):
    • Home Assistant: free, open-source home automation, with community integrations for many inverter brands.
    • ESPHome: free firmware for ESP32 boards that reads the inverter and sends the data to Home Assistant over WiFi.
    • SolarAssistant: a paid, ready-made monitoring product for Raspberry Pi from a separate company. InverterMan isn't affiliated with it.

How it connects

Inverter or battery comms port → InverterMan lead → USB converter → Raspberry Pi or PC running your software → dashboard in your web browser.

Most inverters talk Modbus over RS485, which uses two data wires (A and B). Some batteries and off-grid inverters use RS232 instead. We wire each lead for the port it's sold for, so you don't need to crimp anything yourself.

Safety notes

  • Read your inverter's installation manual first. If you're not confident opening a cover or a comms compartment, ask your installer.
  • Switch off and isolate the inverter, following the manufacturer's procedure, before opening any cover. Never work near the DC or AC terminals while the system is live.
  • Our leads use only the data and ground pins. Never connect the 5V or 12V supply pins found on some ports to a converter.
  • Some ports are shared with the WiFi dongle or the battery link. You may need to unplug the dongle or use our splitter.
  • Connecting monitoring equipment is done at your own risk and may affect your warranty, so check with the manufacturer or your installer.
  • Avoid changing inverter settings from third-party software unless you understand the effect.

Questions? Contact us. We're happy to check your model before you order.