Ask Deeck with Siri: your Victron system by voice
I built the Siri side of Deeck for the moments when I can’t look at a screen: driving the camper, cooking, carrying the cable to the hook-up post. You say “Hey Siri, Deeck battery charge” and Siri tells you where your Victron battery stands. No app to open, nothing to tap. The five questions are part of the free version of Deeck.
Below: the five questions with the answers you’ll hear, where the numbers come from, the four actions that come with Deeck Pro, how it behaves in the car and on the Watch, and how to set it up.
The five questions
Say “Hey Siri” or press the side button, then one of these. The answers below are examples: Siri reads your own numbers.
| You say | Siri answers, for example |
|---|---|
| “Deeck battery charge” or “What is the Deeck battery at” | “The camper van battery is at 78 percent, 13.3 volts.” |
| “Deeck autonomy” | “You have about 2 days of autonomy before the reserve.” If the battery is charging, or your sources cover the loads, Siri says that instead. |
| “Deeck solar production” | “You are producing 240 watts from solar.” |
| “Deeck summary” | “Battery at 78 percent. 310 watts coming in, 95 watts of loads.” |
| “Deeck climate status” | “The camper van climate is on, set to 22 degrees.” This one needs your camper’s climate connected through Deeck Bridge. |
The questions work in English, German, Italian, French and Spanish. Siri answers in the language your phone uses.
What Siri answers with
Siri answers with the last values Deeck saw from your Victron devices. It does not wake a Bluetooth device to take a fresh reading in that second. That is what makes the answer instant, and it is why it works from the Watch and from the car without opening anything.
In practice, if Deeck has been near your system recently, the numbers are the ones you would see on the deck. If it has been a while, open Deeck on the phone for a moment and ask again. I would rather tell you this plainly than let you take an old number for a live one.
Actions with Pro
With Deeck Pro, Siri can also change four things. These open Deeck, so you see what you are confirming.
- “Deeck reserve” sets your reserve, from 5 to 50 percent. Autonomy is counted down to this level.
- “Deeck battery warning” sets the threshold of the battery alert, from 10 to 90 percent.
- “Set the Deeck climate” and “Stop the Deeck climate” control the climate, if your camper’s climate is connected through Deeck Bridge.
- “Deeck dashboard mode” puts Deeck in dashboard mode.
Those are all the actions there are. They change Deeck’s own settings or the connected climate, never the settings inside your Victron devices.
In the car
On CarPlay there are two ways to ask, and they behave differently.
- Ask Siri aloud. Say “Hey Siri” and one of the questions. Siri answers with its voice. This is the one I use while driving, and it doesn’t need the Deeck screen to be open.
- The Siri tab in Deeck on CarPlay (Pro). It lists the questions, ready to tap, and shows the answer as text on the car’s screen. It does not read it aloud. Among the rows, the one for charging from the engine is called DC-DC.
So if you want to hear the answer, ask Siri aloud; if a passenger wants to glance at it, the tab is quicker. More on the dashboard itself in Victron on CarPlay.
On the Watch
Ask Siri on your Apple Watch the same questions, in the same words. You get the same answer, built from the same last values Deeck saw. It is handy outside the van, when the phone is somewhere inside and your hands are full.
Setup in two minutes
- 1
Install Deeck on your iPhone.
- 2
Pair your Victron devices once with their Bluetooth PIN.
- 3
Say “Hey Siri” or press the side button, then “Deeck battery charge”. The phrases are there as soon as Deeck is installed: nothing to record, nothing to switch on.
If you like, you can also add the questions to the Shortcuts app and run them from there, like any other shortcut.
Questions people ask
Does it work offline?
Deeck reads your devices over Bluetooth, so it doesn’t need the internet for the numbers, and the answer comes from the last values it saw. Whether Siri itself understands you without a connection is up to Apple and your iPhone, so try it once with the connection off before you count on it.
Can Siri change settings on my Victron devices?
No. The Pro actions change only Deeck’s own settings, such as the reserve and the battery warning, plus the climate if it is connected through Deeck Bridge. Device settings stay in VictronConnect.
Which languages does it work in?
English, German, Italian, French and Spanish. Speak to Siri in the language your phone uses, and Siri answers in that language.
Does it need a GX?
No. Deeck reads SmartShunt and BMV-712, SmartSolar MPPT, Orion XS, Orion-Tr Smart, Blue Smart IP22 and IP65 and Phoenix Smart chargers, Phoenix Smart inverters and DC energy meters directly over Bluetooth. The ones I have tested live are SmartShunt, SmartSolar MPPT, Orion XS and Blue Smart IP22.
Are the Siri questions free?
Yes. The five questions are in the free version of Deeck. The four actions and the Siri tab on CarPlay are part of Deeck Pro.