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VE.Direct LoRaWAN - module

Victron GX

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Using the VE.Direct to LoRaWAN module you can connect your BMV, MPPT or Phoenix Inverter to the Victron Remote Management portal. View information such as battery status or solar power wherever you are on your desktop or mobile phone.


Remote Monitoring and Control

You can check the status of your connected products on our free remote monitoring website: the VRM Online Portal. To get an impression of the VRM Online Portal, visit vrm.victronenergy.com, and use the ‘Try Our Demo’ button. The portal is free of charge.


Long Range Wide Area Network

LoRaWAN is a wireless network that operates on the 868Mhz frequency. It has a long range and uses small amounts of power. The VE.Direct LoRaWAN module can send hourly data updates via this network. You do not need a subscription to make use of this network. If you do not have coverage in your region it is possible to add your own gateway.

Read more about the VE.Direct LoRaWAN module in our blog article.


Free internet connection using LoRaWAN to VRM

It’s a little unfair of me to grab your attention with the ‘free internet’ connection and the new VE.Direct LoRaWAN module to the VRM, but it’s true – no data charge. However as with everything there’s always two sides to the coin – benefits to connecting products this way and some limitations. Regardless this new product might just be what you need to connect Victron products to monitor data remotely, such as battery monitors, solar charge controllers and inverters.

Typical examples

Before explaining LoRaWAN (in case you are not aware of it) it makes more sense to give you an idea of how you might connect and use the new Victron Energy module.

  • Small electric hire boats such as those used on lakes or canals. The idea being that there only needs to be LoRaWAN coverage in the harbour – doing it this way keeps it simple with no data running costs when monitoring that all boats are plugged in and charging correctly overnight.
  • Forklifts. Utilising the same idea but as it is typically a smaller area then one can monitor the total area of where the forklifts drive.
  • Robot carts or other autonomous devices that have a battery and move around. For example feeding robots on a farm, pods at an airport, etc.
  • Mobile road-side information displays around a construction area: just one GSM enabled LoRaWAN router in the area would be enough as all the information displays can send their data out via the one gateway.
  • Fish farm feeding pens or anything else you can imagine based on the above suggestions.

What is LoRaWAN?

The VE.Direct LoRaWAN (Long Range wide area network) module is essentially a radio transmitter which broadcasts data (in this instance information about the status of your Victron installation) to a nearby Internet of Things (IoT) gateway. The gateway should be within about 2km of your location if you live in a town, but could be as far away as 30km if you live in a rural location. This device uses infrastructure provided by ‘The Things Network’. Their network of gateways is constantly expanding and you can check coverage in your area here: https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/map

No gateway in your area?

If there’s no coverage in your area it’s simple to add a gateway yourself be that to improve the coverage of the Things Network, either for your personal use or to benefit others. You can purchase your own gateway, or start building one yourself. Why not check out the From zero to LoRaWAN in a weekend guide.