Interesting observation around data refresh times

I've been playing around with the APIs and was looking to data refresh rates. When I joined GE back in Jan, the out-of-home refresh rates were 5 mins in the app and portal, and 5 minutes on the inverter log pages (like Meter etc..).

I am now getting much more real-time data when not at home:

1) Portal and app (away from home) updates every 1 minute
2) Inverter readings/logs are every 10 seconds (ish)

So for example, if I ping the /inverter/CE-SERIAL/system-data/latest API to get the current solar/grid/battery usage data, I am seeing 10 second refreshes of that data - the same as HOME data readings, vs used to get every 5 mins.

I can see my inverter updating logs much more frequently than it used to, without any firmware upgrade.

Is this consistent for everyone? I haven't seen mention of more realtime data out of home, if it's not - why is my inverter so "alive" with logging?

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The intervals changed months ago. Basically if the app is running locally (Home) then you get 10 second updates (on the portal as well obviously), if its running remotely (Away) then its 5 minutes.

If you have the app on more than one device its entirely possible its running in the background, hence the 10 sec updates.

Vestas The intervals changed months ago. Basically if the app is running locally (Home) then you get 10 second updates (on the portal as well obviously), if its running remotely (Away) then its 5 minutes.

Portal is never "home", portal is away, it's a website pinging their cloud APIs, not your inverter. Otherwise say goodbye to your inverter via potential DDOS!

Away for me is currently every 1 minute in their app and portal. Not 5 mins.

Vestas If you have the app on more than one device its entirely possible its running in the background, hence the 10 sec updates.

I don't see why that has any impact on the away data. The inverter is just sending data to Giv's cloud every x seconds or mins - you aren't calling the inverter to GET data, it is pushed out from it I would presume (again to stop DDOS). That timeframe has changed from mins to seconds, and that didn't happen months ago for me looking at my data.

Vestas is correct, the GE app in home mode effectively uploads to the portal. Stop using the GE app and updates will be every 5 minutes.

Rubikcube is that the same with GivTCP running on HA?

Rubikcube
Interesting. So why does the app scan for the inverter, or need to know the local IP?

deanjesper Good Question, I don't know. GivTCP didn't used to do that but if newer versions work the same way as the GE app then it is quite possible. GivTCP will have to upload data from the AIO as the protocol is slightly different.

PianSom The app has to get the data from the inverter in order to upload it to the portal.

Rubikcube Vestas is correct, the GE app in home mode effectively uploads to the portal. Stop using the GE app and updates will be every 5 minutes.

This is blowing my mind a bit... so the app is uploading to their cloud (if open) and portal reflects that data refresh timing (almost its 1 min rather than 10s refresh), if no app open the inverter uploads to the cloud every 5 mins, and so portal defaults to that.

Rubikcube
Oh, I see. I misunderstood you; I thought you were saying the app was displaying cloud data. Now I am clear.

Rubikcube PianSom The app has to get the data from the inverter in order to upload it to the portal.

Why doesn't the inverter just send the data to the cloud/portal like it does when the app is closed? Really surprising architecture I have to say. Is it because the inverter would fall over uploading to cloud every 5 secs and its ok sending that locally?

pacemaker The portal just validates and records whatever data it receives whenever it receives it. It's mindblowing. The app (and perhaps GivTCP) kind of instruct the inverter to send data to the portal. It's a really complicated collection of programming bugs that would take me about 12 pages of A4 to fully explain.

Rubikcube It's a really complicated collection of programming bugs that would take me about 12 pages of A4 to fully explain.

OK good I'm reading this like "this can't be the best way to do this...." 🙂

deanjesper is that the same with GivTCP running on HA?

I think it is, because I raised with GE about my 10 second constant logging that used to be every 5 mins, and the first Q they had for me is "are you using GivTCP or HA?" ... I didn't realise why that mattered (and I'm not). I assumed they thought I changed some logging frequency variable - but actually as it turns out, because I run the GE app on my Mac (24/7) it is uploading data constantly to the portal, hence my 10 sec logging.

It would be logical (not a test that always works!) for the inverter to upload to the cloud its data each time it has to post it - to anything that asks (app, GivTCP, whatever)

PianSom my phone is quite often at home and in home mode reading every 5 seconds. I’m running GivTCP but my portal data is always every 5 minutes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯