Datasheet

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www.victronenergy.com
Victron Energy B.V. | De Paal 35 | 1351 JG Almere | The Netherlands
General phone: [phone] | Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail] | www.victronenergy.com
REV 8 – Last update 12 May 2014
Color Control GX
Firmware version v1.13
Color Control GX
The Color Control provides intuitive control and monitoring for all products connected to it. The list
of Victron products that can be connected is endless: Inverters, Multi’s, Quattro’s, all our latest MPPTs,
BMV-600, BMV-700, Lynx Ion and even more.
VRM Online Portal
Besides monitoring and controlling products on the Color Control GX, the information is also
forwarded to our free remote monitoring website: the VRM Online Portal. To get an impression of the
VRM Online Portal, visit https://vrm.victronenergy.com/, and try our demo. See also the kWh
dashboard screenshot further down in this datasheet.
Future functionality
The Color Control has endless possibilities. To implement all our ideas and wishes will take years.
There are therefore many features that are not yet available. Functions marked with ‘Future function’
will become available later on, as a firmware update. Firmware updates are free of charge, as with all
Victron products. Updating the product is easy: the Color Control GX will update itself automatically,
as long as it is connected to the internet. Manual updates can be done with a USB stick and microSD
cards.
Supported products
- Multi’s, including split-phase and three phase systems. Monitoring and control (on/off and
current limiter). Changing Multi settings is not yet available.
- Quattro’s, including split-phase and three phase systems. Same limitations as Multi’s, and some
Quattro specific features, such as seeing which input is currently active, are not yet available.
- BlueSolar MPPT 150/70 and the MPPT 150/85. Current solar output is visible on the overview
screen, and all parameters are logged to the VRM online portal. Note that the VRM App has a
nice overview showing data of the BlueSolar MPPT 150/70 as well. When multiple BlueSolar
MPPTs with VE.Can are used in parallel, the Color Control will show all information as one. See
also our blog-post about synchronizing multiple MPPT 150/70 solar chargers.
- BMV-600 family can be connected to the VE.Direct ports on the Color Control GX. Use the
VE.Direct to BMV60xS cable for that. See our pricelist.
- BMV-700 family can be connected directly to the VE.Direct ports on the Color Control GX. Use
the VE.Direct Cable for this. See our pricelist.
- BlueSolar MPPT Solar Chargers with a VE.Direct port (70/15, 75/15, 100/15, 100/30, 75/50,
100/50, 150/35) can be connected to the VE.Direct ports on the Color Control GX. Connecting
multiple at the same time is possible. They will all appear as a separate Solar Charger in the
device list.
- A USB GPS can be connected to the USB port. Location and speed will be visible on the display,
and the data is sent to the VRM Portal for tracking purposes. The map on VRM will show the
latest position. Implementation of more advanced racking features on the VRM Portal is
expected in 2014-Q1.
- Lynx Ion BMS
- Lynx Shunt VE.Can
Note that there are more options for products which use the VE.Direct ports, such as BMV’s and
small MPPT’s. They can also be connected through USB, useful when more than two products need
to be connected. Use an off-the-shelf USB-hub, and the VE.Direct to USB interface, ASS030530000.
Other highlights
- When connected to the internet, the Color Control GX will update itself automatically as if
there is a new software version available. It checks for an update every night at 02:00 UTC.
- Multiple languages: English, Chinese, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Swedish and Dutch.
Notes for existing VGR2 and VER users
- Opposite to the Victron Global Remote 2 (VGR2) and Victron Ethernet Remote (VER), the Color
Control GX stores all data locally during network interruptions. As soon as the connection to
the VRM Online Portal is restored, it will automatically send all backlogged data to the portal.
Data can then be analyzed on https://vrm.victronenergy.com. This local storage feature can be
useful for diagnostics and problem solving as well: leave it for a couple of days in an
installation where there are problems, then take it back to the office and connect it to the
internet.
- Remote VEConfigure is not yet supported by the Color Control GX. This functionality is
expected in 2014 Q2. It will be even better than the VGR2 and VER: it will include support for
changing Assistants and their settings.
- The local website, as present on the VER, is not yet supported.
- The Color Control GX has no internal GPRS modem: you cannot insert a sim-card into the Color
Control GX. You can use an off-the-shelf GPRS or 3G router instead. See FAQ for a blog post
about 3G routers and the data consumption.
Color Control GX