Upgrading Battery Modules With RS485 Cable - Without a Skybox

If you've already downloaded and installed the Software, go to the section called "Upgrading the Modules". 

First you need to download the software. Please go to https://www.homegridenergy.com/ and click on the "Help" button here:

Then click on this:

Then click on this:

Once you've clicked on that, it will take you to this page. Click on the following link:

Go to the Upgrade Tools folder:

Once in there, download the following folders:

You either download them the following way: 

• Right-click on the folder and click on 'Download'
• Or, select both folders on the left side where the circles show up, and click on the "Download" link above next to "Integrate"

Once you've downloaded them, go to the "Drivers" folder (wherever you've downloaded it) and go to the RS485 folder

In there, install the following file:

Once you've installed it, you can go to the application.

Upgrading the Modules

Go to the folders we downloaded (wherever you have downloaded them to) named "Module Upgrade Tool (For Gen 1 Modules)" and "Module Upgrade Tool (for Gen 2 & Gen 3 Modules).zip".

Gen 2 and Gen 3 Modules

First, we will go over the Gen 2 and Gen 3 modules, because they are more common.

Extract the Zip file named "Module Upgrade Tool (for Gen 2 & Gen 3 Modules.zip" -- if it's not extracted, it will not work properly. There are files that are required for the application to work, so they all need to be extracted

There'll be a folder named "3.COM_IAP_host 2.6" once you extract it.

Go into the folder and you'll see these files. We will run the Project1 Application:

We will need the RS485 cable in order to be able to do the upgrade:

The RS485 cable plugs into a USB port on your computer, and the Ethernet end goes on the COM port on the battery:

BMS MUST BE TURNED OFF TO UPGRADE THE MODULES. Battery modules must be turned ON. They must all have a green light.

When you open the Project1 app inside the 3.COM_IAP 2.6 folder, this is what shows up:

When the RS485 cable is plugged in and we have the driver installed (as we did in the initial stages of this document), we select the COM port dropdown and select whichever COM shows up:

Select the firmware for whichever Gen (2 or 3) module you are updating. If you put the wrong firmware on a module, it will brick it. If you do not know how to check, use EMS Tools or the Serial Number spreadsheet -- or call us at 725-373-5350 to verify.

Select the firmware for the appropriate module -- Wherever you have downloaded it to. If you do not have the firmware, go here:

https://www.homegridenergy.com/resources

Go to Latest Firmware -> Stack'd

Once you have selected the appropriate firmware, select the "??(O)" button.

Now, it depends on the amount of modules you have available. For the example, we will use 4 battery modules on the stack.

The Start ID and End ID indicate the amount modules. You can do different combinations, for example if you have different Gen modules on your stack. 1 and 2 are Gen 2, and 3 and 4 are Gen 3. You can do Start ID 1 and End ID 2. It will only update 1 and 2.

Then you do Start ID 3, and End ID 4. It will update 3 and 4.

For the sake of the example, we will just do 1 to 4.

Now, click on Open Com

Once you do, it'll say "Open serial port successfully":

Once you have done that, hit upgrade:

It will go through each battery individually. So make sure that your screen doesn't go to sleep while you're upgrading and that every single module has been upgraded as well. It will indicate when each one starts and ends.