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[599.72 --> 600.20] Yeah. |
[600.84 --> 603.86] So a lot of the stuff that we've done in that sense has been quite selfish. |
[604.12 --> 607.30] It's informed decisions that we've made ourselves. |
[608.40 --> 613.38] But I think one of the things that's really excited me the most is being able to share this data with others. |
[613.78 --> 620.08] So we've actually shared all of our electrical data with Battleborn, who make our batteries, with Dennis, the CEO. |
[620.08 --> 627.52] And he's then able to look at that data and from that get real-world insight into how their batteries actually perform in the wild. |
[627.52 --> 637.52] Because no lab can recreate an RV in temperature fluctuations and casually turning on the AC and then boondocking for... |
[638.16 --> 638.86] A hundred days. |
[639.32 --> 639.70] Exactly. |
[640.10 --> 642.18] So we've been able to share all that data with them. |
[642.40 --> 649.20] And that really helps them to then understand how their batteries perform in different conditions and hopefully then improve their products. |
[649.20 --> 653.66] Yeah, I could show them how their batteries perform while they're cooking because it's so dang hot here. |
[653.78 --> 662.34] But something else that strikes me is that you could do is you could watch for the total draw of the RV and prevent tripping a breaker when you're set up to shore power. |
[662.44 --> 665.88] And you're actually maybe not boondocking, but you're at an RV park or something like that. |
[665.92 --> 668.36] So there's utilities for when you're not off-grid as well, I would imagine. |
[668.82 --> 672.74] We actually added that exact automation about 10 months ago. |
[673.00 --> 674.32] We arrived here in Vermont. |
[674.32 --> 677.72] We had full hookups and we knew we were going to be here during the winter. |
[678.32 --> 688.60] And we're only in a 30-amp RV, which means that our main breaker in the RV can only handle 30 amps, which means it's really, really easy for us to trip that breaker. |
[688.76 --> 698.72] If we ran an electric water heater, an electric space heater, if we then happened to turn on the microwave or electric kettle or something else, that would trip the breaker. |
[698.72 --> 713.70] So I was able to use a home assistant automation to look at what I'd set the Victron system to allow as the input current, so 30 amps usually, and then deduct from that whatever the current total power draw was. |
[713.70 --> 735.68] And then if I was exceeding the 30 amps, it would then automatically pause either the electric water heater or the electric space heater so that I can run the microwave or run the electric kettle, because I need my cup of tea, and pause those things until the microwave or the kettle has shut off an... |
[735.86 --> 738.90] And thanks to that, we didn't trip a breaker all winter long. |
[738.90 --> 750.86] So, Matt, are you telling me that my Color Control GX is collecting all the information I need and I just need to go into the settings and tell it an MQTT endpoint or something? |
[751.06 --> 752.50] Do I already have it? |
[752.62 --> 753.64] It's even simpler than that. |
[753.72 --> 756.18] It actually has a built-in MQTT broker. |
[756.34 --> 756.64] No! |
[757.18 --> 763.82] So you can just connect to it on port 1883 and pull the data straight off. |
[764.02 --> 765.36] You're doing it right now, aren't you, Chris? |
[765.40 --> 765.80] Be honest. |
[765.80 --> 771.54] I just don't understand why nobody's built a Victron integration for Home Assistant. |
[771.86 --> 773.26] Like, get on it, somebody. |
[773.44 --> 774.68] So I actually looked at doing it. |
[774.80 --> 781.44] I posted on the Victron forums late last year and said I'd be really interested in making a Victron integration. |
[781.78 --> 783.32] That was probably your forum post I read. |
[783.94 --> 785.40] I just, I don't know Python. |
[785.98 --> 794.90] And so for me, like, there's a decent barrier to entry to go straight from, like, not knowing a language to writing an integration with this massive kind of project. |
[794.90 --> 797.48] But yeah, I mean, all the data's there on MQTT. |
[797.92 --> 808.06] It feels like this is a great example of if you had somebody who was a Python developer and had a Victron system, it would be pretty, it wouldn't take long until we had an integration. |
[808.26 --> 811.40] But it's just those two paths have not yet crossed. |
[811.64 --> 817.90] But these Victron systems are crazy popular in van builds, bus builds, modern RVs. |
[817.90 --> 821.24] RVs, like, this is going to be, these things are going everywhere. |
[821.52 --> 822.96] And Victron makes some great stuff. |
[823.32 --> 823.78] They really do. |
[823.92 --> 829.34] And one of the things that I like the most about Victron is they are open sourcing nearly all of their software. |
[829.90 --> 834.32] So all the APIs they use are all completely publicly documented. |
[834.54 --> 836.76] But all the source code is also there as well. |
[836.88 --> 837.30] Hell yeah. |
[837.30 --> 838.68] And you'll like this one. |
[839.24 --> 848.80] They've even got a literal how-to guide on GitHub along with all the software you need to run the CCGX software on a Raspberry Pi. |
[849.16 --> 850.20] Yeah, I really like that. |
[850.22 --> 853.62] I know some of their boxes internally are running Linux, too, which I think is just great. |
[854.18 --> 855.58] I'm a huge fan of that as well. |
[855.86 --> 859.16] We should reach out to Victron and have them on the show. |
[859.62 --> 860.04] We should. |
[860.14 --> 860.42] You're right. |
[860.42 --> 864.42] I should give them enough publicity on there for heck's sake. |
[865.32 --> 866.02] But yeah. |
[866.36 --> 866.68] All right. |
[866.72 --> 867.06] Well, yeah. |
[867.12 --> 871.66] So I am setting up MQTT and pointing it at my ColorGX right now. |
[872.02 --> 875.88] So I'm going to get that going. |
[876.46 --> 881.38] Top tip, if you want to, my favorite MQTT kind of tool is something called MQTT Explorer. |
[881.72 --> 882.38] Ah, OK. |
[882.58 --> 886.64] This thing lets you log into a broker and see all the messages that it's getting in real time. |
[886.98 --> 889.34] Oh, and is, I see, it's a Mac app. |
[889.34 --> 890.28] Is that a Mac app? |
[890.96 --> 894.22] Brew install MQTT-explorer, I think. |
[894.58 --> 895.16] No kidding. |
[895.46 --> 895.72] Really? |
[895.88 --> 896.08] OK. |
[896.32 --> 900.60] You can actually, so you can use Brew to install practically everything these days. |
[901.08 --> 904.12] When I set this, I got an M1 Mac about a month ago. |
[904.84 --> 914.50] And I've religiously used Brew for absolutely everything, including Chrome, VS Code, Audacity, everything. |
[914.80 --> 914.92] Yeah. |
[915.12 --> 916.58] I legitimately had no idea. |
[916.72 --> 917.10] No, I know. |
[917.10 --> 920.36] It's come a really, really long way in the last five years or so. |
[920.92 --> 921.06] Yeah. |
[921.16 --> 926.54] You know, I have to say, you know, my Mac experiment here on the road trip has been, it's been good. |
[926.54 --> 936.72] I mean, once I got, and Matt, I don't know if you've ever run into this, but I had this problem where like NSURL session D just would consume all of my bandwidth. |
[936.72 --> 939.22] Because I was in a pretty crappy signal area. |
[939.22 --> 942.22] And I had like hardly any signal. |
[942.22 --> 948.22] And I'd fire up the Mac and it would just sit there and run and run and run in part because the download speeds were slow. |
[948.30 --> 948.98] So it took longer. |
[948.98 --> 950.82] And I'm sitting there trying to do a live show. |
[952.90 --> 953.72] It's just horrible. |
[953.98 --> 959.28] So once everybody yelled at me to try Little Snitch out again, which I had tried out a hundred years ago. |
[959.70 --> 966.84] I gave Little Snitch a go and set up an outbound firewall for, you know, and blocked basically everything except for the apps I'm using to do the shows. |
[966.84 --> 968.60] It's been pretty solid since then. |
[969.10 --> 971.30] Seemed a little hacky, but sure works. |
[971.62 --> 971.70] Yeah. |
[971.70 --> 983.04] There's a load of little tricks like that you can use when you're on a really constrained bandwidth situation just to make sure that your devices are only doing the things you really, really want them to do. |
[983.14 --> 985.94] And not just those like background tasks that can wait. |
[986.22 --> 989.24] Are you doing any of that at the firewall level now? |
[989.24 --> 992.20] The big one for us is actually just the ad blocker. |
[992.28 --> 995.72] Just having AdGuard Home on there just cuts out so much stuff. |
[995.88 --> 1003.34] I will say we are completely spoiled having been running on like bonded cellular connections for the past kind of couple of years. |
[1003.78 --> 1008.38] We actually have cable internet plugged into the side of our RV. |
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