What is system monitoring?
When installing off-grid electrical systems, there are many things you can do to optimize the equipment to work to its fullest potential. These systems tend to have multiple charging sources, mixed voltages, and large current draws, and it is vital for the system to be properly monitored.
Enter the Victron GX device.
This powerful little blue box made by Victron Energy can keep track of all your system data and present it in a beautiful color display that makes it simple to understand. Admittedly, when I initially started designing campervan electrical systems I did not feel that the Victron Cerbo GX was a necessary piece of the puzzle because I did not understand how it worked or what it actually did. Now I would not design a system without one. I think that a GX device is an essential part of a camper’s electrical system and I’ll share why it’s so important to our design.
What is a GX device?
You can think of a GX as the brain of your system. It has the job of talking to your inverter/charger, solar charge controller, batteries, shunt, and making sure that everything is working and communicating in harmony. The display shows how energy is flowing throughout the system in a obvious and intuitive way. We find it to be one of the best tools our customers have to learn how their new electrical system works.
This device is also responsible for data collection, meaning it will record and compile information from every connected device in the system. It’s an all-in-one communication and monitoring device.
We generally recommend installing a Cerbo GX in all of our electrical installations because of its versatility. It monitors all of your electrical system and offers multiple ways to view the information it is collecting.
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While there are many ways to view your system information, a touch screen is our recommended option. We believe having a physical display will allow you to learn the system faster, and then use it to its fullest potential.
Another advantage to the Cerbo GX is its abilty to access the system information remotely from anywhere provided there is some kind of internet connection. This exclusive feature is called Victron Remote Monitoring or VRM for short.
VRM - Remote Monitoing
VRM is an incredibly useful and free tool that you have access to when you connect any compatible Victron equipment to a GX device. All you need to do is create an account so that you can access the VRM portal, we will go over how to do this later.
Because the system can be monitored anywhere it is very helpful to the owner of the system to ensure that everything is working properly whether you are occupying the camper or not.
As an installer we also find a great benefit from the GX device. When we install a GX device in a campervan electrical system it allows us to receive alerts if conditions are inadequate or alarms if something has stopped functioning properly. We are able to look at the historical data and help understand and troubleshoot any issue that could arise, even if you are camping in the middle of the desert.
Another great feature is you can quickly set your shore power current limit from the touch screen display, or through the VRM. This is done so you won’t trip a breaker when plugging into shore power or a generator. If you are using a onboard generator in your setup, a GX device will give you access to its start/ stop function.
Monitoring Other Systems
A GX device also has the ability to monitor other systems in your camper. Your fresh water, gray water, black water, and propane levels can all be monitored through the Cerbo. It has the ability to use the level sensors you may already have in your RV, or it has the ability to use bluetooth sensors.
With the addition of the Mopeka Pro Tank Sensor you can also monitor fresh water, gray water, propane. Some other common devices the GX can monitor is propane levels, hot water temperature, and ambient air temperature.
As you can tell, a GX device has many advantages in a camper. It can be used as a centralized monitoring system, system data collection and remote accessibility. We believe a GX is required to optimize your electrical system and provide overall system awareness. We hope you learned something new about off-grid electrical systems., thanks for your time and be sure to check out our other articles!
