One of the most important developments introduced in the Smart Solar Power System is the availability of real-time data about battery and solar panel performance. This article describes the data available and how to interpret it to ensure you are getting the most performance out of your system.
Accessing the data
This feature requires access to a beta feature that is not yet accessible to all QuantAQ Cloud users. If you do not see the below-mentioned items, please reach out to QuantAQ support for access.
If your sensor is being powered by the Smart Solar Power System, you will see a "Solar" icon in the header of the device page, as shown below. If you are confident your sensor is connected properly and powered by the Smart Solar Power System, please reach out to QuantAQ support for help.
When you click on "Solar", a pop-up will appear that includes the solar panel and battery data for the device.
You can use the "Time Range" drop-down menu to select a different date range, and the drop-down menu in the figures to look at data, including power usage, current draw, and voltage information for the battery and solar panel.
Interpreting the data
As of writing (December 2025), we do not have a "State of Charge" variable available for viewing or download. For more information on why, please see the FAQ section below.
Latest solar reading
The "Latest solar reading" section includes the most recent information about the solar panel and battery. The card on the left includes the most recent values for several variables, all of which are documented in the table below:
Variable | Definition |
Power In (Panel) | The amount of power coming into the battery via the solar panel |
Power Out (Load) | The current power being used by the load (i.e., the sensor) |
Controller Temp | The temperature of the MPPT controller within the battery |
Environment Temp | The internal temperature of the battery enclosure |
Yesterday Power In | The total amount of power generated and stored by the panel over the most recent 24 hours |
Yesterday Power Out | The total amount of power used by the sensor over the most recent 24 hours |
Panel and Load
The "Panel and Load" section includes three options under the drop-down menu: Power, Current, and Voltage. When selected, the figure below will plot the power, current, or voltage for the solar panel and battery over the time frame selected.
Power
Below is an example of viewing the power generation and consumption over a several-day period. The Smart Solar Power System includes a 25W solar panel, and we see that the maximum power generated gets close to 21W. This indicates that the panel is installed in a location with direct line-of-sight to the sun. We also see that the power generation (blue line) is reduced by a factor of 2 on most days during the afternoon. This likely means that there is an obstruction as the sun sets (possibly a tree, building, or other obstruction) that interferes with power generation.
Voltage
The voltage curve is useful for determining a rough state-of-charge estimate. The Load voltage describes the current voltage of the battery. For this LiFePO4 battery, a full charge is 13.5V, and a low charge is anything below 12.6V. More information is available in the FAQ below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't there a State of Charge?
Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LiFePO4 or LFP) batteries have a nearly constant voltage-to-capacity curve, which makes it difficult to use just the current voltage value to estimate the state of charge. Below is a figure showing a discharge curve we made from a Smart Solar Power System battery. As you can see, the curve is quite steep above ~90% charge (> 13.4V) and below ~10% charge (< 12.6V), but is quite constant throughout the rest of the curve.
Generally speaking, if the voltage is above 13V, you are good, and if it's below 13V, you are getting low.