There are two types of charge modes in the app, below gives a thorough run through of how they work, what to expect when using them and some common mistakes we see from customers when they set them up for the first time.
Auto charging mode
This is the standard operation, and is the default setting for your battery.
It will prioritise self consumption.
Example:
If you're generating solar power, then that power will be directed to your house first. It will cover any home usage first. Then, if there's any excess, it will direct this to the battery. If the battery is full, and there's still excess solar energy, then it will export the rest to the grid.
Once there's no more solar generation, but there is homeload and the battery has charge, then the system will prioritise using the battery first. If the load exceeds the inverter's capacity or the battery has discharged to it's reserve setting already, then the system will default back to the grid as a last resort. Simple.
If you do nothing else with the app, this alone will provide more benefit than solar can alone. Essentially storing any solar when it would have otherwise been exported, for later in the day, to be used on site.
Personalised charging mode
If you decide you want to take more control over how / when your battery discharges, then you can set specific charging and discharging windows. These windows sit over the top of the auto charging mode. The 'global' control for these periods is the time period.
Note: If you set a kW charge rate, this will cap the batteries rate of charge / discharge. As an extreme example, if you say 0kW charge rate, it will prevent the battery from charging or discharging during the scheduled period. If you set 1kW, then the battery will only discharge / charge at ~1kW for this time period, despite household load requirements.
Use case:
You have a tariff that benefits from an 11-2pm free window.
Settings:
You switch to 'Personalised' mode in the app and you set a charging window from 11am to 2pm, with a 6kW charge rate and a target State of Charge (SoC) of 100%.
What happens:
00:00 to 11am:
The system prioritises self-use.
11am to 2pm:
The system takes a charge of ~6kW until either the window closes, or the target SoC of 100% is met. If the window closes before the target is met, the system will stop charging at ~6kW. If there's excess solar being generated to meet this demand during the window, then it will use all the solar. If not, then the inverter will draw the rest from the grid, for either the whole period or until you meet target SoC.
2pm to 23:59:
The system prioritises self-use.
If we take a look at how this might show up in the graphs in your app, you'll see a large amount of demand from the grid in the 11-2pm window (blue in the grid graph, purple /red in the battery graph), but then the majority of home consumption outside of these periods is covered by the battery and solar (blue and orange in the left home graph).
When would I want to use the 'personalised' mode?
The personalised mode is useful if you know you have specific periods either in your retail energy plan, or in the way you consume your energy, that are advantageous for charging or discharging your battery.
A few such examples of energy plans are:
- OVO Energy's Free 3 Plan which gives free energy between 11am and 2pm
- Globird's Zero Hero Plan which gives the same free window, but also pays you $1/day to stay off the grid between 6pm and 8pm (coupled with a 'super export' rate of $0.15/kWh during the same time period).
It's worth checking the rest of the rates for these plans, to make sure it's right for you and your circumstances, but it's simple to set these schedules up to great effect in our app.
You might also have an EV, and have a tariff with both the free window, AND a cheap overnight charging rate. In which case, you might want to set multiple schedules.
Common mistakes
Schedules that cover the whole day
You don't need to set up schedules that cover the whole of the day.
The temptation, if you put a charging schedule 11am-2pm, is to also then put a discharging schedule from 2pm to 11am (i.e the rest of the day) - but this won't optimise the charging / discharging of the battery. In fact, it can hamper it.
The 'global' control in this scenario is the time frame, so if you set a discharging schedule from 2pm to 11am, you're basically telling the battery not to charge at all during this time - if you have excess solar, this is no good.
Export to the grid override
In the app, we give you an override for exporting to the grid.
If you have a discharging schedule set for example with a 6kW discharge rate, all the way to your reserve from 6pm to 8pm, but the 'export to the grid' button is disabled, then the battery will only cover home consumption during this period and not export anything to the grid.