Limitations of Monitoring 3rd-Party Battery Controllers with ETB Monitor

Overview

ETB Monitor can provide visibility into battery performance even when paired with a third-party battery controller. However, there are important limitations to understand before proceeding.

Key Limitations

1. State of Charge (SOC) Not Displayed
   ETB Monitor cannot show the battery’s SOC on charts because this data requires an integration with the battery, which is not available from third-party controllers.
2. No Alerts for Inverter Status (or anything that cannot be determined by power/energy measurements)
   ETB Monitor cannot generate alerts for inverter inoperability since inverter status is unavailable.
3. No System Control
   Users cannot perform overrides or control functions without ETB Controller.
4. No Fault Codes or Warnings Messages for Batteries
   Battery fault codes and warnings come from hardware integrations provided by ETB Controller.
5. ESS Donut Chart Assumptions
   The “What Charged My ESS” donut chart uses power readings only and assumes:
   1. Negative power values = charging
   2. Positive power values = discharging

Why Monitor 3rd-Party Controllers?

Even with these limitations, monitoring can provide value:

• Gain insight into the economic performance of the battery.
• Gain visibility into charging/discharging patterns.
• Compare performance across different control systems.
• Identify optimization opportunities.