Solar Powered Pi Monitor

Solar Power Monitoring System

This project is a web-based application designed to monitor and visualize solar power data from the Lifepo4wered hardware sold by silicognition (https://www.tindie.com/products/silicognition/lifepo4weredpi-2/). It allows users to view historical power generation data, understand performance trends, and make informed decisions about their solar power systems.

Features

• Data Visualization: Interactive graphs to display solar power generation data over time.
• Dark Mode: A toggle for switching between light and dark mode for better visibility according to user preference.
• Responsive Design: The interface is fully responsive and adapts to different screen sizes for optimal viewing on any device.

Installation

To set up the project locally, follow these instructions:

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x installed on your machine.
• https://github.com/xorbit/LiFePO4wered-Pi Installed on your RPI
• Flask installed in your Python environment.
• A modern web browser.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>

2. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd lifepo4wered-web/

3. Install dependencies (if any listed in requirements.txt):

   pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Application

1. To run the Flask server, execute:

   python app.py

2. Access the web interface by opening http://localhost:5000 in your web browser.

Configuration

• Changing the Bound IP Address: To modify the bound IP address of the Flask server, open app.py and locate the line app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000). Replace '0.0.0.0' with your desired IP address.

• Modifying the Battery Capacity Variable: In app.py, search for the battery_capacity variable and adjust its value according to your system's specifications. This value is in amp-hours.

File Structure

• app.py - The Flask application script.
• index.html - The main HTML file for the web interface.
• styles.css - Contains styles for the web interface.
• script.js - JavaScript for interactive web elements.

Running Your Application as a Service on Raspberry Pi

To ensure your Python web application starts automatically on your Raspberry Pi's boot, follow these steps to configure it as a systemd service.

Prerequisites

• Ensure you have the path to your application's directory.
• Know the username under which you want the service to run.

If you're unsure about the directory path or your username, you can use the pwd command in the terminal within your application's directory to get the path, and whoami to get your current username.

Step 1: Create a systemd Service File

1. Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi.

2. Create a new systemd service file using a text editor. Replace <your_service_name> with a meaningful name for your service:

   sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/<your_service_name>.service

3. Insert the following content, adjusting User, WorkingDirectory, and ExecStart with your specific details:

   [Unit]
   Description=Your App Description
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   User=<your_username>
   WorkingDirectory=<path_to_your_app>
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/python3 <your_app.py>
   Restart=always
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target

   Replace <your_username>, <path_to_your_app>, and <your_app.py> with your actual username, application directory path, and Python script name, respectively.

4. Save and exit the editor (for nano, press Ctrl+X, followed by Y, then Enter).

Step 2: Enable and Start Your Service

1. Reload the systemd configuration to recognize your new service:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload

2. Enable your service to start at boot:

   sudo systemctl enable <your_service_name>.service

3. Start the service immediately to test:

   sudo systemctl start <your_service_name>.service

4. (Optional) Check the status of your service:

   sudo systemctl status <your_service_name>.service

Step 3: Monitoring and Logs

• To view your application's logs:

  journalctl -u <your_service_name>.service

• To restart your service:

  sudo systemctl restart <your_service_name>.service

• To stop your service, if necessary:

  sudo systemctl stop <your_service_name>.service

Contributing

We welcome contributions! If you have suggestions for improvements or bug fixes, please feel free to fork the repository and submit a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.