My Connection to PVOutput exists but my data are old back to 2020

Problems
#1

I been on PVOutput for many years but can’t get my data updated. I thought it was because a donation had not been made recently, so I made another donation. It had no effect. My System is under the ID: Matopos 16.7KW. Since 2020, my solar farm data has not been updated. Can anyone help or advise me.

Regards,

Robert Johnson
NSW, Australia

#2

Hi Robert,

To help narrow this down, we’ll need a bit more detail about how your data is (or was) being uploaded to PVOutput. PVOutput itself generally doesn’t stop accepting data simply due to time or donation status, so the issue is usually at the upload source.

Could you please confirm the following:

  1. PVOutput details
  • Your numeric PVOutput System ID (not just the system name).
  • Whether the system still shows as active in your PVOutput account.
  1. Data upload method
  • How was your system originally uploading data?
    • Inverter native upload
    • Third-party service
    • Custom script / Raspberry Pi / PC
  • Has this upload method changed since around 2020?
  1. Inverter / monitoring hardware
  • Inverter make and model.
  • Whether the inverter or monitoring device has been replaced, firmware-updated, or reset since 2020.
  1. Current symptoms
  • Does any data appear (even sporadically), or has it been completely flat since 2020?
  • Are you seeing any error messages in the uploader, inverter portal, or logs (if applicable)?
  1. Network / connectivity
  • Is the inverter or upload device still connected to your local network and the internet?
  • Have there been router or ISP changes since the uploads stopped?

Once we have those details, it should be much easier to identify whether this is:

  • an uploader/authentication issue,
  • a system ID/API key mismatch,
  • a hardware or firmware change,
  • or simply an uploader that stopped running.

Happy to help once we have a bit more information.

Regards,

#3

Thank you for your response. At 83 years of age, I’m getting past keeping abreast of PV Output and it is likely my data are not being automatically uploaded as I have several different brands of inverter. Several brands have gone out of business in Australia. My most common inverter is Growatt that uses the Shine App to monitor generation. I produce on average about 120 kWh of power per day and use 50% of produced power. My registration has two references:
Matopos System ID: 63335
Matopos Cottage System ID: 75223
My registration is Active and it shows my donation has been paid up and expires in 219 days.

I have had installed since 2012 about 16 kW of Solar panels + 8x2 kW inverters and since 2018 another 12 kW of solar panels + 6x2 kW inverters. My most common inverter other than Growatt is Zeversolar that has gone out of business. I have about 7 Growatt 2 kW inverters and 4 Zeversolar 2 kW inverters and 3 older inverters supplied by other suppliers that have also gone out of business.

I hope this helps.
Regards,

Robert Johnson

#4 
    Sorry, I forgot to advise on Network:
    My Growatt inverters are connected to my local area network and the internet and the Zeversolar inverters were connected to their site that is no longer operational. My Shine App records generation data successfully. Since 2020, my data have not been updated.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

#5

Unfortunately the first point of contact would be the contact/installer that initially setup the uploads, it may be something simple such as restarting the device that was reading your inverter data and uploading it.

#6

Hi Robert,

I have had a look at your data — they tell us something important.

Both of your PVOutput systems (63335 – Matopos and 75223 – Matopos Cottage) stopped updating on the same date and at effectively the same time in July 2020. That strongly indicates this was not an inverter failure and not a PVOutput issue.

When two separate systems stop together like that, it almost always points to a single common uploader or connection that they both relied on.

In practical terms, the most likely causes are one of the following:

  • A change of internet provider or modem/router around that time
  • A Wi-Fi password change that an upload device was never updated with
  • A PC or small data-logger that used to run continuously being turned off, retired, or failing
  • A third-party service or software that ceased operation (which aligns with the Zeversolar shutdown timeline)

PVOutput will happily keep waiting for data indefinitely — so when the uploader stopped, the data simply ended on that day for both systems.

Given that your Growatt inverters are still reporting correctly in the Shine app today, your solar hardware is clearly fine. The missing piece is just the mechanism that used to push data from your site to PVOutput.

At this stage, the simplest checks would be:

  • Was there ever a computer or small box dedicated to solar monitoring that is no longer running?
  • Was there an internet or router change around mid-2020?
  • Did anyone ever need to update Wi-Fi details for solar monitoring equipment?

If the original uploader can’t be found or revived, the cleanest forward option would be to set up a small, dedicated uploader (many people now use a Raspberry Pi or similar) and resume uploads from the Growatt inverters going forward.

Happy to help narrow that down further once we know whether there was a central uploader device involved.

Cheers,
Jeremy

#7

Hi Robert,

Jeremy has covered pretty well the most likely cause of the problem. One other possible cause which relates to his 1st point would be if you upgraded to an NBN plan from an older ADSL plan or your NBN connection was upgraded say from FTTN to FTTP. Your ISP may have either replaced or simply performed a factory reset of the existing router at that time.

Grannos.