💻 Windows 10 / 11

Windows Installation

A one-click installer handles everything — Python packages, icons and shortcuts are all set up automatically.

📥 ACBC-GivEnergy-Dashboard-Setup-v3.3.exe

Windows 10 / 11 · ~15 MB · Requires Python 3.9+ (see Step 1)

Install Python (if you don't have it)

The dashboard is built on Python. If you've never installed it, grab the latest version from python.org/downloads.

Important: during the Python installer, tick "Add Python to PATH" before clicking Install. The dashboard installer needs to find Python from the command line.

If Python is already installed, you can skip this step.

Run the installer

Download and run ACBC-GivEnergy-Dashboard-Setup-v3.3.exe from the button above.

The installer will:

Create a Python virtual environment
Download and install all required packages (needs internet access)
Generate the app icons
Create Start Menu shortcuts
Optionally create a Desktop shortcut
Optionally start the dashboard at Windows login

Windows blocking the installer? Because the installer isn't code-signed, Windows Defender may flag it. This is a false positive — see Windows blocked or deleted the installer below for the two-second fix, whether you get the blue SmartScreen dialog or Defender quarantines the file outright.

Edit the configuration file

At the end of installation you'll be offered the option to open config.ini in Notepad. You can also find it at any time via Start Menu → ACBC GivEnergy Dashboard → Edit Configuration.

The only value you must change is your inverter's IP address:

[inverter]
ip = 192.168.1.100   ; <-- change this to your inverter's LAN IP

Find your inverter's IP in your router's connected-devices or DHCP list. It is usually labelled GivEnergy or SA-xxxx.

Start the dashboard

Use Start Menu → ACBC GivEnergy Dashboard → Start Dashboard, or the Desktop shortcut if you created one.

A console window will appear while the dashboard runs. Once you see "Dashboard ready" open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:7890

From another device on the same network (your phone, tablet), use your PC's IP address instead of localhost.

Change the admin password

The settings screen is protected by a password. The default is password — change it on first use.

Tap the ⚡ lightning bolt icon in the top-left of the dashboard to open Settings.

Add to your phone (optional)

Open http://<your-pc-ip>:7890 in your phone's browser.

iPhone (Safari) — works over HTTP:

Tap Share → Add to Home Screen → opens full-screen with no browser chrome ✓

Android (Chrome) — requires HTTPS for full-screen:

Over plain HTTP, Chrome adds a shortcut that still opens inside the browser with the address bar visible.
For a true full-screen app on Android, serve the dashboard over HTTPS — the easiest option is Cloudflare Tunnel (free, no port forwarding). See the Linux / Pi guide for setup steps.

Management

Stopping & uninstalling

⏹️

Stop the dashboard

Close the console window, or use Start Menu → Stop Dashboard.

🗑️

Uninstall

Use Settings → Apps → ACBC GivEnergy Dashboard → Uninstall, or Start Menu → Uninstall. Your config.ini and history.db are left in place so you don't lose your settings or history data.

Upgrading

Updating to a new version

Upgrades never touch your settings or history. Your config.ini and history.db are always preserved.

Just download and run the newer installer. It detects the existing installation, upgrades it in place, and keeps your settings and history. It will stop the dashboard first if it's running — start it again from the Start Menu afterwards. Any new database columns are added automatically on first run.

Troubleshooting

Common issues

🛡️

Windows blocked or deleted the installer

The installer isn't code-signed (a signing certificate is an expensive yearly subscription for a free app), so Windows Defender sometimes flags it. It is a false positive — the full source code is public on GitHub. There are two things you might see:

1. A blue "Windows protected your PC" box (most common)

Click More info (small link in the dialog).
A Run anyway button appears at the bottom — click it, and the installer runs as normal.

2. The file vanishes, or you get a "Threat found / Virus detected" alert — Defender has quarantined it (there's no "More info" link). Restore it like this:

Open Windows Security (press the Start key, type Windows Security, press Enter).
Go to Virus & threat protection.
Under "Current threats", click Protection history.
Find the entry for ACBC-GivEnergy-Dashboard-Setup-v3.3.exe (it'll be marked Quarantined). Click it to expand.
Click Actions → Allow (or Restore).
Re-download the installer if needed, then run it again — it won't be blocked this time.

Still cautious? That's healthy. You can read every line of what the installer runs in the public installer script, or skip the installer entirely and follow the manual pip install route in the project README.

"Python was not found" during install

Install Python from python.org and make sure to tick Add Python to PATH. Then re-run the installer.

Dashboard shows "Connecting…" and never loads

Check the inverter IP in config.ini. The dashboard PC and inverter must be on the same LAN. Try pinging the inverter IP from a command prompt to confirm connectivity.

Page not found / can't reach from phone

Make sure Windows Firewall allows connections on port 7890. You may need to add an inbound rule for that port, or temporarily disable the firewall to test.