Setup guide

1 · Getting started (everyone)

What you need

• A Windows PC (Windows 10 or 11) that's on your home network, the same router or Wi-Fi as your inverter. SunCetra only watches and controls things while it's running, so use a PC that's switched on when you want it working.
• A GivEnergy inverter with its Wi-Fi/network dongle connected to your home network, which it will be if the GivEnergy app shows live readings. SunCetra has been tested on the single-phase Gen 1 inverter.
• About 10 minutes.

Install SunCetra

1. On the SunCetra website, go to Energy Monitor and click ⬇ Download free 7-day trial. This downloads SuncetraSetup.exe.
2. Double-click SuncetraSetup.exe (it'll be in your Downloads folder).
3. Windows may show a blue box saying "Windows protected your PC". This is normal for small independent software. Click More info, then Run anyway.
4. Follow the installer. You can choose:
   • Create a desktop shortcut: recommended.
   • Start Suncetra automatically when Windows starts: tick this if you want SunCetra running all the time without having to open it yourself. Recommended if you'll use the battery controls.
5. Click Finish with Launch Suncetra now ticked.
6. If Windows asks whether to allow SunCetra on your network, choose Allow (private networks). SunCetra needs this to find your inverter.

The free trial and your license key

1. SunCetra works fully for 7 days with no key and no card details. A green box in the bottom-left corner counts down the days left.
2. To keep using it, go to Energy Monitor on the website, fill in your name and email, and pay. Your license key (it looks like SUNC-XXXXX-XXXXX-…) arrives by email within a minute or two. If it doesn't, check your spam folder.
3. In SunCetra, click Enter license key in the bottom-left corner, paste the key in and press ACTIVATE.
4. Keep the email with your key somewhere safe in case you ever reinstall.

Finding your way around

The menu down the left-hand side takes you to each page:

• Home: a picture of your house with live arrows showing where the power is going: solar, battery, house and grid.
• Details, Energy, Analytics: the figures in more detail, today's totals and how self-sufficient you are.
• History: charts for the last day, week, month or year. Your readings are kept on your PC and can be saved as a spreadsheet (Download CSV on the Home page).
• Battery and Cells: your GivEnergy battery's health.
• Anker: only appears if you've told SunCetra you have an Anker Solarbank (section 3).
• Settings: connections, extra equipment and the battery controls.

The version number is in the bottom-left corner, for example Suncetra v1.6.0.

Updating to a newer version

1. If SunCetra is running, close it. If it was in charge of an Anker battery, press ↩ Hand back to the Anker app first.
2. Download the latest version from the website and install it over the top, exactly as above.
3. Your license, settings and history are all kept.

2 · GivEnergy system

Your GivEnergy inverter is the heart of SunCetra. It's read straight over your home network, so no GivEnergy login is needed and nothing is sent over the internet.

Part 1: Connect to your inverter

1. Open SunCetra. It searches your home network for the inverter by itself. The box in the bottom-left corner says Searching local network… while it looks.
2. Within a minute or two it should change to Connected, followed by your inverter's address and serial number. The Home page then fills with live figures.
3. That's it. Most people don't need to do anything else.

Part 2: Control your GivEnergy battery (optional)

You don't need this just to watch your system. These controls change how your inverter charges and empties its battery. Nothing is ever changed until you press the final confirm button.

1. Go to Settings and scroll down to 🔋 Battery controls.
2. Press 🔒 Enable inverter controls (near the bottom, under 🔐 Apply settings). The controls can now be changed.
3. Set the battery limits:
   • How full should the battery charge?
   • Don't let the battery go below. Below 20% is locked for battery health. To go lower you must type I UNDERSTAND.
   • Maximum battery charging power and Maximum battery discharge power. Leave these at 100% unless you have a reason to slow the battery down.
4. 🌙 Charge from the mains: turn this on if you're on a cheap night-rate tariff (such as Octopus Go). Set the Start and Finish times of your cheap rate. Leave it OFF if you pay the same price day and night. The battery then only fills from your solar.
5. 🔋 How the battery gives out power: pick one:
   • Eco — any time: the battery powers the house whenever it's needed. Best for most people.
   • Timed Eco: the same, but only between the times you set. Handy to stop an electric car emptying the battery overnight.
   • Timed Export: the battery gives out everything it can between the times you set, and sends what the house doesn't use to the grid.
6. Press 💾 Save settings to inverter. SunCetra shows exactly what it's about to change. Check it, then press WRITE TO INVERTER, or CANCEL if anything looks wrong.

Part 3: Quick actions (one-offs)

Also in Settings, under ⚡ Quick actions — full rate. The controls in Part 2 must be enabled first.

• ⚡ Charge now from the grid: fills the battery from the grid starting now. Choose Up to what % and until what time, then press ⚡ Start charging.
• 📤 Empty to the grid (dump): the battery gives out everything it can starting now, for example the night before a big sunny day. Choose Down to what % and until what time, then press 📤 Start emptying.

Both stop at the time or the % you chose, whichever comes first, and then put your normal settings back by themselves. Press ■ Stop charging now or ■ Stop now to end one early. If the PC is switched off at the finish time, the inverter still stops by itself.

3 · Anker SOLIX Solarbank

For the Anker SOLIX Solarbank 4 E5000 Pro, including BP5000 expansion batteries. Takes about 5 minutes. SunCetra talks to the Solarbank directly over your home network, so no Anker login and no internet are needed.

Before you start

• Your Solarbank should already be set up and working in the Anker app on your phone.
• The Solarbank and the SunCetra PC must be on the same home network.
• You need SunCetra version 1.6.0 or newer to control the Anker (1.5.0 can only show its readings). The version is in the bottom-left corner.

Part 1: Switch on Modbus TCP in the Anker app (one-off)

1. Open the Anker app and tap your Solarbank.
2. Tap the ⚙ gear in the top right corner.
3. Tap Third-Party Control Settings, then switch on Modbus TCP.
4. Write down the IP address it shows. It looks like 192.168.1.244.

Part 2: Add it to SunCetra

1. In SunCetra, click Settings.
2. In the 🧩 Your equipment box at the top, tick Incorporate Anker SOLIX Solarbank 4 E5000 Pro, then press 💾 Save Settings. An Anker page appears in the left-hand menu.
3. Scroll down to the 🟣 Anker SOLIX Solarbank box and tick Turn on Anker.
4. Under How should SunCetra connect? leave it on On my home network — recommended.
5. Type the address from Part 1 into Solarbank IP address. Leave Port as 502.
6. Click Test connection. You should see ✓ Found it with your Solarbank's details.
7. Click Save Anker settings.
8. Go to the Home page. Within a few seconds a purple Anker box appears showing its solar, battery level and output, and the Anker figures are added into your totals.

Part 3: Controlling the Anker battery (optional)

Open the Anker page from the left-hand menu. The top of the page shows the battery level, what it's doing now, what SunCetra is asking it to do, and a purple line explaining why.

Who's in charge of the Anker battery? Pick one, then press 💾 Save & apply:

• The Anker app: the Anker runs itself the way you've set it in the Anker app. SunCetra just watches. This is where it starts.
• ✋ Manual — you set a fixed rate: the Anker charges or supplies at exactly the rate you choose. Pick Supply the house at or Charge at, then type the number of watts or use the −50 / +50 buttons (50 W steps, up to 2500 W). You can also drag the slider, or use Supply full rate, Rest and Charge full rate.
• ⚡ Smart — SunCetra runs both batteries together: SunCetra watches your GivEnergy readings and decides when the Anker should charge and when it should power the house. You need a GivEnergy system connected for this. The Smart settings are explained in section 5.

Also on the Anker page:

• Quick actions — full rate: ⚡ Charge now from the grid (up to a %, for at most so many hours) and 📤 Empty to the grid (down to a %). Both run at the Anker's full rate, then go back to whatever was in charge before. ■ Stop ends one early.
• Battery limits: Stop charging at (80–100%), Don't go below (0–20%) and Backup reserve (only if backup is switched on in the Anker app). Press 💾 Save limits.
• Anker's own mode: switch the Anker to one of its own modes, the same ones as in the Anker app. This also hands control back to the Anker.

4 · EcoFlow STREAM micro-inverters

For EcoFlow STREAM micro-inverters (and the EcoFlow smart meter). SunCetra shows their readings and adds them into your totals. It doesn't control them. EcoFlow gives out free "developer keys" for this, and the first time you apply it usually takes a day or two for EcoFlow to approve you. This needs an internet connection, because EcoFlow only shares readings through its online service.

Part 1: Get your EcoFlow keys (one-off)

1. Go to developer.ecoflow.com and log in with your EcoFlow app email and password.
2. Apply to become a developer. It's free. Fill in the short form; you can say it's for monitoring your own home system.
3. Wait for the email saying you've been approved (often within a day or two).
4. Log back in, open IoT Background and create your keys. You'll get an Access Key and a Secret Key.
5. Copy both somewhere safe. Treat them like a password.

Part 2: Add them to SunCetra

1. In SunCetra, click Settings.
2. In 🧩 Your equipment, tick Incorporate EcoFlow STREAM, then press 💾 Save Settings.
3. Scroll down to the 🔌 EcoFlow box and tick Turn on EcoFlow.
4. Paste your Access Key and Secret Key into the two boxes.
5. Set Account region to UK & Europe (or USA & rest of world if your EcoFlow account is outside Europe).
6. Click Test connection. You should see ✓ Connected and a list of your EcoFlow devices.
7. Click Save EcoFlow settings.
8. After about a minute, an orange EcoFlow box appears on the Home page with each STREAM's output, and they're added into your solar and house totals.

5 · Running GivEnergy and Anker batteries together

With ⚡ Smart chosen on the Anker page, SunCetra keeps an eye on your GivEnergy readings every few seconds and tells the Anker what to do, so the two batteries work as a team instead of fighting each other. Your GivEnergy carries on working normally. It always tries to stop you buying from the grid, and simply fills in around whatever the Anker is doing.

The Smart settings

• Charge the Anker from spare solar: solar that would otherwise go to the grid goes into the Anker instead.
• Use the Anker to power the house: the Anker helps power the house so you don't buy from the grid. Underneath:
  • Between … and …: the times it's allowed to do this. The same time twice (for example 00:00 and 00:00) means all day.
  • Supply at most … W: the fastest the Anker will power the house, in 50 W steps up to 2500 W.
  • Start once the GivEnergy battery is down to …: slide it all the way to the right (straight away) for the Anker to help from the start, or set a % so the Anker waits until the GivEnergy battery has dropped that far.
• Which battery goes first?
  • Anker first: the Anker takes the spare solar first and powers the house first. The GivEnergy battery fills in after.
  • GivEnergy first: the GivEnergy battery does its normal job, and the Anker only takes what's left over, or helps when the GivEnergy battery can't.
  • Share between both: whatever the house needs from the batteries is split between them, for example 50% from the Anker and 50% from the GivEnergy. Spare solar is split the same way. Set the split with the Anker's share slider. If the GivEnergy battery is down to its reserve (or full), the Anker takes all of it. When the Anker reaches its own Don't go below level it stops, and the GivEnergy covers everything.
• Cheap-rate charging from the grid: charge the Anker from the grid during your cheap-rate hours (Octopus Go / Intelligent and similar). Set the times, the charging rate in watts and the % to stop at. During those hours, make sure your GivEnergy isn't set to power the house from its battery, or it will empty itself into the Anker.

Press 💾 Save & apply after any change. The purple line at the top of the Anker page always tells you what the Anker is doing and why, for example "Sharing the house's needs — Anker 50%, GivEnergy 50%".

Ready-made setups

6 · Solar forecast (optional, everyone)

Shows an estimate of how much solar you'll make, on the Home page.

1. Go to Settings → ☀ Solar Forecast and tick Turn on solar forecast.
2. Fill in your Postcode, System size (kWp), Roof angle and Roof direction.
3. Pick a Forecast source: forecast.solar covers today and tomorrow with no sign-up. Met Office DataHub looks about a week ahead but needs a free API key (register at datahub.metoffice.gov.uk, subscribe to the "Site Specific" API and paste in the key).
4. Press Save forecast settings.

7 · If something isn't working

GivEnergy

Anker

EcoFlow

General

SunCetra is a monitoring and control aid. It's not a substitute for the manufacturers' instructions, a qualified installer or professional electrical advice. Use the control features at your own risk, and always follow GivEnergy, Anker, EcoFlow and DNO requirements and the recommended limits for your equipment.