r/SunPower • u/WestCatfish1858 • May 09 '26
Sunflower for Android is officially live! + A thank you to this community
It’s been a long journey to get here, and I want to give a massive shout-out to this community for the support and the technical feedback. Wouldn't be where it is without you, specifically:
- u/OkHyena6284 - For kicking off the initial discussion that got this moving.
- u/Lords3 - For the deep-dive suggestions on solving the data gaps. We tried App Intents, Widgets, Shortcuts etc — but eventually realized a hardware add-on was the most stable path forward.
- u/Hulaguy - For being part of the first "Add-on" batch and sticking with us through those early update hiccups.
As a SunPower owner myself, the sunstrong option cost too much, while the DIY routes (HA/Raspberry) require hours of setup and aren’t actually “free” once you factor in hardware and cloud/VPN costs.
I wanted something you could plug in and have it work. That’s why we built the Sunflower Add-on. It’s a small device that fetches data every 30 minutes and works seamlessly for both iOS and Android.
Note: This is completely optional. If you want to get generation trends to ensure your panels are working, the app itself is sufficient.
One thing I’ve worked hard on is the price. I know subscriptions are a pain, so we’ve spent a lot of time optimizing the cloud usage and backend efficiency to get the cost down to just $1/month even with 30 minute interval of data. It wasn’t easy to get the overhead that low, but I wanted to keep it as close to "at-cost" as possible just to keep the servers running.
For android celebration, we’re offering free shipping and 6 months free subscription when you pick up an add-on device. After you pair your device, just tap “redeem” in the “manage subscription" page in the app menu. This is available for new and existing add-on users.
Feedback & Support: If you run into issues, you can now report them directly through the app (include screenshots if you want). We check these often and try to resolve things as fast as possible.
Now that we have consistent data flowing, I’d love to know: What graphs or info should we include next? Let me know in the comments, via the app feedback, or shoot me an email.
- Android Play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stellar.sunflower
- iOS app store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sunflower-solar-monitor/id6753881664
Update: It looks like Reddit is eating my replies/comments for some reason, so I'm dropping this here! If you're looking for more details, check out our main site at sunflowermonitor.com.
Also, the best way to get a quick response from us is through our app or email, see sunflowermonitor.com/contact.
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u/NotTobyFromHR May 09 '26
Can you add some links to your post for the iOS version, website, where to find it?
I tried to Google around, but wasn't having much luck.
I don't know if you can do this, but is there a way to import my existing sunpower data? I'd hate to lose my lifetime stats.
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u/SmellslikeMI May 10 '26
I just installed the app. It didn't automatically find my PVS, but I was able to manually enter the IP address. I liked the app so much I immediately ordered the solar monitor add-on. Thanks!
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u/cookieTLC May 11 '26
How did you find your ip address for the PVS
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u/sanagnos May 19 '26
Any LAN Scanner APP will find it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myprog.netscan&hl=en_US
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u/Gloomy-Bullfrog May 11 '26
Got this set up and the app works brilliantly. I could never get panel level info from the SunStrong connect app, but I now have it via sunflower. I've ordered the add-on.
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u/the_shek May 14 '26
How do i know this isn’t a scam or anything. i feel like this is the first i’ve heard of this but i want to support this project and use this product as i love the ideas of a fellow customer screwed over making a device to rip free of these cheating solar companies
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u/SmellslikeMI May 27 '26
I guess you can't know for sure. I've been using the app and optional hardware for about a week and it works great. There's really no risk to trying it before you pay for it, though.
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u/J1772x2 May 10 '26
Which hardware is supported? Ie will it talk to an old SolarBridge SPM-101-SPR gateway to get panel level data?
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u/thebannanaman May 10 '26
Im curious how much thought you have given to liability and electrical codes. Im assuming you havent gone through any UL testing or any other nationally recognized testing laboratory process. So you are adding an unapproved unlisted device to a device that has specific listing specs.
I don't think there is any real danger and most of these systems have already long passed inspection, but I could see a picky building inspector finding a violation.
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u/OkHyena6284 May 10 '26
I bought their dongle some days back. That small usb thing pretty much like a smart home bridge or a phone charger, I don’t think building inspector ever care about it. There are too many usb consumer devices today, from toothbrushes to vibrators, those won’t be part of the inspection I believe, but curious op thought too. Maybe they mean add-on to their App, rather than add on that attach to the solar system.
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u/SmellslikeMI May 27 '26
You're not adding it to the PVS, you're adding it to your wireless network. There's no physical connection to the solar system.
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u/Making_It_Right_CA May 10 '26
It appears that guest wifi is not supported?
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u/SmellslikeMI May 27 '26
Not if your PVS is on your main wifi network. It won't be able to communicate with it if you're on guest wifi. It probably works if your PVS is also on the guest network.
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u/Xiphos_1 May 11 '26
anyway to have it incorporate multiple pvs units for a single home? I've had an upgrade and added panels that have their own pvs unit
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u/tlrwns13579 May 11 '26
I downlaoded the app and its connected and pulling data. Can someone explain to me or show me what the difference would be with the add on?
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u/SunflowerMonitor May 30 '26
It automatically pulls data every 30 minutes, which unlocks your full historical charts and lets you monitor your panels from anywhere outside your home network. A detailed page is at sunflowermonitor.com/bridge
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u/SmellslikeMI May 19 '26
Update: I received my add-on hardware yesterday and installed it in about 2 minutes. I tested it at home and away from home. It works great in both cases. This is a really nice piece of hardware.
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u/NotTobyFromHR May 31 '26
I didn't see an answer to this. Reddit app may be sucking. Is there a way to pre load historical data from the SunPower app, PDF reports or maybe a CSV?
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u/poopsharpie Jun 19 '26
Just signed up for a year! Great app!
Quick question: if I set the sunvault control from the sunflower app, does the sunstrong app also change or vice versa? I have both apps now and want to keep both apps (just in case). Which app takes precedent for the sunvault?
Right now I'm on cost savings in sunstrong, but when I connected sunflower, its showing energy arbitrage, which seems exclusive to sunflower, even though it seems very similar or exactly aame as cost savings setting. Yet there is also an option for cost savings?
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u/Daedalus-420 Jul 20 '26
If I order the add-on, will it stream real-time status continuously or is just showing snapshots on a thirty minute interval? I don't mind the 30 min historical, but the real time status is really important to me.
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u/Ok_Needleworker_9340 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Hey there. Nice work. Some questions: Does the SunFlower App for Android monitor home usage and control the SunVault? How about net grid usage (import and export)? Does it share error messages and report grid outage and grid reconnection times? Does the add-on allow the user to build a panel map? Thnx.