The Fronius Smart Meter 63A is a bidirectional three-phase electricity meter (DIN rail, 4 modules, maximum current 63 A) for Fronius PV systems. The meter itself has no network connection: it talks Modbus RTU over a 3-wire RS-485 line to a Fronius inverter — a SnapINverter with Fronius Datamanager 2.0, or a Fronius GEN24 — and the inverter makes the meter data available over Modbus TCP as SunSpec meter models. TapHome connects to the IP address of the inverter / Datamanager on port 502, not to the meter.
This community template reads the SunSpec float meter model 213 (wye-connected three-phase) with function 0x03 and 32-bit float registers. It creates two electricity meters — real energy and apparent energy, each with import and export counters — and adds phase currents, voltages, grid frequency, reactive power and power factor as module service attributes. For the Fronius Smart Meter TS, the official Fronius Smart Meter template is available.
Hardware connection
The data outputs of the meter are terminals A, B and C (RS-485, electrically isolated from the measuring input). Fronius requires the following for the data cable:
- Cable of type CAT5 or higher, shielded twisted pair recommended
- A twisted pair for the data lines that belong together (D+/D- or M1+/M1-)
- Maximum cable length between the inverter and the meter: 300 m
- Near mains wiring, wires rated 300–600 V (never less than the operating voltage); double-insulated or sheathed cables near bare conductors
Wiring to a Fronius SnapINverter (Datamanager 2.0)
| Smart Meter | SnapINverter (system monitoring) |
|---|---|
| A | D+ |
| B | D- |
| C | - |
Wiring to a Fronius GEN24 inverter
| Smart Meter | GEN24 Modbus terminal |
|---|---|
| A | M1+ |
| B | M1- |
| C | GND |
On the GEN24 the inputs M0 and M1 can be chosen freely; up to 4 Modbus participants can be connected to the Modbus terminal.
Fronius recommends terminating resistors to avoid interference. The 120 Ω terminating resistor supplied with the Smart Meter is installed on the meter between A and B. In a multi-meter system, place the terminating resistors individually for each channel.
Network connection
The Fronius inverter (SnapINverter with Datamanager 2.0, or GEN24) must be in the same local network as the TapHome Control Unit. Fronius recommends a wired network for a stable data connection. The IP address of the inverter / Datamanager is entered when the template is imported, so a fixed IP address or a DHCP reservation in the router is recommended.
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Modbus TCP is an unsecured interface. Fronius advises operating the inverter in a private, secured network and never making it reachable from the internet via port forwarding.
Configuration
Setting the meter address
With a single Smart Meter in the system, the meter keeps address 1 (the primary meter always has address 1). In a multi-meter system each meter needs its own address; the other meters are numbered consecutively from 2 to 14.
- Press Prog and Page at the same time to enter the code.
- Enter the password 2633 — Prog increases the digit, Page moves to the next digit.
- Press Prog and Page at the same time again to open the menu item Addr.
- Set the address (permissible values 1–14).
Registering the meter in the inverter
The meter must be configured as the primary meter in the inverter before its data are available:
- SnapINverter / Datamanager 2.0 — open the Datamanager web page, Settings, log in as user service with the service password, open Meter, select the primary meter, click Settings, set the position (feed-in point or consumption point), confirm with Ok once the status shows OK, and save.
- GEN24 — open the inverter web page, Device configuration, log in as user Technician, open Components, click Add component, set the position (feed-in point or consumption point), click Add and Save.
Secondary meters are added the same way with the address set on the meter in the Modbus address field.
Enabling Modbus TCP on the Fronius Datamanager
- Open the Datamanager web interface in a browser (IP address from System Information, or host name)
- Open Settings > Modbus
- Set Data output via Modbus to tcp
- Keep Modbus port at 502
- Set SunSpec Model Type to float (meter models 211/212/213 — required by the template; int+SF shifts all register addresses)
- Save the settings
On the Datamanager 2.0, data output via Modbus is set to rtu at the factory. When a Smart Meter is configured under Settings / Meter, the rtu setting cannot be used — select tcp.
Enabling Modbus TCP on a Fronius GEN24
- Open the inverter web interface
- Open Communication > Modbus
- Enable the TCP Server
- Set SunSpec Model Type to float
- Set Modbus port to 502 (the GEN24 also offers 1502; the template uses 502)
- Note the Meter address — the unit ID of the meter, factory setting 200
Modbus unit ID of the meter
The inverter is a Modbus TCP gateway: the unit ID selects which device behind it answers. The meter is reached under a fixed unit ID on the Datamanager and under a configurable one on the GEN24:
| Smart Meter address | Unit ID via Datamanager | Unit ID via GEN24 (default) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 240 | 200 |
| 2 | 241 | 201 |
| 3 | 242 | 202 |
| 4 | 243 | 203 |
| 5 | 244 | 204 |
The template’s import parameter Slave ID (Modbus egységazonosító) defaults to 1. Unit ID 1 addresses the inverter, not the meter (inverter number 01 on the Datamanager; on the GEN24 the inverter’s unit ID is always 1). When importing, set the Slave ID to 240 behind a Datamanager or 200 behind a GEN24 (or the meter address configured on the GEN24).
In TapHome, import the template and enter the inverter / Datamanager IP address (IP-cím, default 192.168.1.100) and the meter’s unit ID when prompted.
Device capabilities
All values are read from holding registers as 32-bit floats; the module and both devices poll every 15 seconds.
Real energy (import/export) — appears as Valós energia (import/export)
An electricity meter for active energy and power:
- Total consumption — total imported real energy, register H:40137 divided by 1000 (Wh → kWh)
- Demand — reads the total real power register H:40097 (W)
Service attributes of the device:
| Attribute | Appears as | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Total exported real energy (kWh) | Exportált valós energia összesen | H:40129 / 1000 |
| Real power phase A / B / C (W) | Valós teljesítmény A / B / C fázis | H:40099, H:40101, H:40103 |
| Imported real energy phase A / B / C (kWh) | Importált valós energia A / B / C fázis | H:40139, H:40141, H:40143 / 1000 |
| Exported real energy phase A / B / C (kWh) | Exportált valós energia A / B / C fázis | H:40131, H:40133, H:40135 / 1000 |
The sign of the total real power and the meaning of the two energy counters depend on the meter position set in the inverter. With the meter at the feed-in point (grid), positive power means consumption from the grid and negative power means feed-in; the import counter is energy taken from the grid and the export counter is energy fed into the grid. At the consumption point, normal consumption is reported as negative power.
Apparent energy (import/export) — appears as Látszólagos energia (import/export)
An electricity meter for apparent energy and power:
- Total consumption — total imported apparent energy, register H:40153 divided by 1000 (VAh → kVAh)
- Demand — reads the total apparent power register H:40105 (VA)
Service attributes of the device:
| Attribute | Appears as | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Total exported apparent energy (kVAh) | Exportált látszólagos energia összesen | H:40145 / 1000 |
| Apparent power phase A / B / C (VA) | Látszólagos teljesítmény A / B / C fázis | H:40107, H:40109, H:40111 |
| Imported apparent energy phase A / B / C (kVAh) | Importált látszólagos energia A / B / C fázis | H:40155, H:40157, H:40159 / 1000 |
| Exported apparent energy phase A / B / C (kVAh) | Exportált látszólagos energia A / B / C fázis | H:40147, H:40149, H:40151 / 1000 |
Module service attributes
The module shows meter identification from the SunSpec common block and the instantaneous grid values:
| Attribute | Appears as | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Gyártó | H:40004 (text) |
| Device model | Készülékmodell | H:40020 (text) |
| Software version | Szoftververzió | H:40044 (text) |
| Serial number | Sorozatszám | H:40052 (text) |
| Total current (A) | Összesített áramerősség | H:40071 |
| Current phase A / B / C (A) | Áramerősség A / B / C fázis | H:40073, H:40075, H:40077 |
| Voltage L-N average (V) | Feszültség L-N (átlag) | H:40079 |
| Voltage AN / BN / CN (V) | Feszültség AN / BN / CN (A / B / C fázis) | H:40081, H:40083, H:40085 |
| Voltage L-L average (V) | Feszültség L-L (átlag) | H:40087 |
| Voltage AB / BC / CA (V) | Feszültség AB / BC / CA | H:40089, H:40091, H:40093 |
| Grid frequency (Hz) | Hálózati frekvencia | H:40095 |
| Total reactive power (var) | Meddőteljesítmény összesen | H:40113 |
| Reactive power phase A / B / C (var) | Meddőteljesítmény A / B / C fázis | H:40115, H:40117, H:40119 |
| Total power factor | Teljesítménytényező összesen | H:40121 |
| Power factor phase A / B / C | Teljesítménytényező A / B / C fázis | H:40123, H:40125, H:40127 |
Troubleshooting
No communication
- Check that Modbus TCP is enabled — Datamanager: Settings > Modbus > tcp; GEN24: Communication > Modbus > TCP Server
- Check that TapHome uses the IP address of the inverter / Datamanager, not of the meter
- Check the port — the template uses 502; a GEN24 can be set to 1502
- Check that the meter is registered as the primary meter in the inverter (Datamanager Meter page shows status OK, or the meter is listed under GEN24 Components)
- Check the RS-485 wiring (A→D+, B→D-, C→- on the SnapINverter; A→M1+, B→M1-, C→GND on the GEN24) and the 120 Ω terminating resistor
Values belong to the inverter or registers are wrong
- With Slave ID 1 TapHome talks to the inverter, not to the meter — set 240 (Datamanager) or 200 (GEN24, or the configured meter address)
- SunSpec Model Type must be float; with int+SF the meter models 201/202/203 are used and all register addresses shift
- On an installation that is not three-phase, the phase B and C registers can return invalid (NaN) values
Slow responses or timeouts
Fronius recommends executing Modbus queries sequentially, not in parallel (GEN24: at most 2 in parallel), and reading several registers in one request. For the Datamanager, Fronius recommends a response timeout of at least 10 seconds (GEN24: at least 1 second), and longer with more devices in the Fronius Solar Net ring; the template suggests a read/write timeout of 1000 ms. Avoid other Modbus TCP clients polling the inverter at the same time.
