| layout | default |
|---|---|
| title | Troubleshooting |
| nav_order | 7 |
The debug dashboard provides real-time insight into your battery control system's decision-making process, without having to scroll through Home Assistant and Node-RED. Use it to understand why your system behaves a certain way or to diagnose issues.
It shows known issues, but is not a full debug tool. Some unforeseen errors still require inspection via Node-RED. Also the Node-RED logs can be useful, e.g. http://homeassistant.local:8123/hassio/addon/******_nodered/logs
- Activate: Navigate to the Debug tab in your Home Assistant dashboard and toggle Debug Mode on via the chip in the top
- Monitor: The system will immediately start logging detailed information about:
- Which strategy flows are executing and in what order
- How long each flow takes to complete (in seconds)
- Why batteries are being charged, discharged, skipped, or stopped
- Price comparisons for dynamic strategies
- PID controller calculations and decisions
- Disable: when done or to review the state in calm and quiet.
- Auto-disable: Debug mode automatically turns off after 5 minutes to prevent performance degradation.
Flow Trace (Execution Timeline)
- Shows which Node-RED flows executed, in order, with timestamps (HH:MM:SS.mmm)
- Displays total execution time at the bottom
- Use this to verify your strategy is executing as expected
Log Messages (Detailed Explanations)
- Color-coded by severity: 🔧 Log (green), ℹ️ Info (teal),
⚠️ Warning (orange), ❌ Error (red) - Shows up to 100 recent log entries
- Each entry includes: timestamp, flow name, node name, and explanation
- Enable debug mode and wait for one execution cycle
- Check the log for messages about your specific battery (e.g., "Battery M1")
- Look for skip reasons: SoC limits reached, RS485 not enabled, or strategy conditions not met
- Check the log for strategy switching messages
- For dynamic strategy: look for price delta comparisons showing whether the threshold was met
- For timed strategy: verify current time falls within configured periods
- Check the Flow Trace total execution time
- Normal execution: < 0.5 seconds
- Slow execution: 0.5 - 1.0 seconds (review system load)
- Very slow: > 1.0 seconds (check Node-RED CPU usage and network connectivity)
- Or lower the rate limit on the
Home Battery Startflow using themsg/snodes in the Rate Limit group
- Or lower the rate limit on the
- Most likely: the system has become too slow. Check the Flow Trace
- Using a Raspberry Pi? Check if it has sufficient power
- Otherwise check Node-RED and review the strategy flows. Does it show red dots or errors?
- Enable debug mode during active control
- Review PID-related log entries showing input error, P-term, I-term, D-term values
- Check for messages about deadband or hysteresis affecting behavior
- Verify grid power sensor is updating correctly (check timestamps, the interval should be regular steps of +/- 1 sec.)
- Check if the P1 input is in Watt and not in kW.
I get an error "HomeAssistantError: Invalid value for input_number.house_battery_control_pid_output: 16743 (range -15000.0 - 15000.0)"
- Check battery max (dis)charge values. Are these correct?
- If your converter/batteries allows over 15kW of charging, adjust the limits in
home assistant\input_numbers\input_number_house_battery_control.yaml
- Update the latest firmware on your battery.
- Check the
RPi Power Statusentity. Does it show OK or PROBLEM? - Replace the power supply with a stronger one. E.g. test with your laptop adapter.
