⚡ Energy Manager – Decision Output Reference
This guide explains what each message or value in your Energy Manager Decision Output means.
These appear in Home Assistant, Grafana panels, or the web dashboard as part of the system’s automated decisions.
🌦 Weather & Curtailment
| Output Example | Meaning |
|---|
| Weather: Normal | Normal operation; no weather restrictions. |
| Weather: Restrict | Heavy rain/storm detected → reduce export/charge planning. |
| Weather: X mm today, Y mm tomorrow, restrict | Rain forecast both days → operate cautiously. |
| Curtail: Yes | Feed-in tariff is negative → stop all exports. |
| Curtail: Yes, 50%, 0 FIT | Zero feed-in rate → export only half of normal. |
| Curtail: No | Normal export conditions. |
⚙️ Grid Price & Battery Use Strategy
| Output Example | Meaning |
|---|
| Grid < batt cost ($X < $Y /kWh), prefer grid | Grid energy is cheaper than battery energy — use grid instead of discharging. |
| Preserve batt – grid < batt cost | Battery protected because grid is cheaper. |
| >10 am, not demand, preserving batt – cheap grid | Late morning and before demand, with low prices → don't discharge battery. |
| >10 am – not preserving batt, use batt ok | Late morning, grid cost higher that battery cost → discharge battery permitted. |
| <10 am or in demand, not preserving batt, use batt ok. | Early morning or demand period — normal operation. |
🔋 Charge Rate Messages
| Output Example | Meaning |
|---|
| Charge Rate: Not limited | Battery may charge at full rate. |
| Charge Rate: Low gen, Not limited | Solar low and charging unrestricted. |
| Charge Rate: Gen ok, Slow 50% | Solar available → limit charge to half power to favour export. |
| Charge Rate: Favour export | Prioritise selling solar to grid instead of charging. |
| Charge Rate: Gen ok, Low batt, 20% Gen | Use small portion of solar to top up battery (solar gen for day will be ok). |
| Charge Rate: Gen ok, batt almost full, 10% Gen | Battery nearly full → trickle-charge only. |
| Charge Rate: No limit | Default unrestricted charge. |
🪫 Export Decisions
| Output Example | Meaning |
|---|
| Force Export: No / Export: No | Battery not exporting currently. |
| Morning peak (>= $X, > Y%), batt Z% | Export in morning when sell price is high. |
| OK / Acc / Mod / High / Very High / Extreme FIT – force discharge | FIT price exceeded configured threshold → export battery power. |
| Export: No, sell locked at >$X | Awaiting user-defined minimum FIT before exporting ("High-Sell Mode" active). |
🔁 Charge / Discharge / Inverter Actions
| Output Example | Meaning |
|---|
| Charge to X% for shoulder | Pre-charging before potential morning shoulder price rise. |
| Charge to X% for demand | Preparing battery for evening demand window. |
| Charge to 100% for spike | Fill battery before expected price spike. |
| Cheap, gen not enough, force charge | Low grid price and low solar → charge from grid. |
| Price high 12 am>5 am, release reserve | End of off-peak but price remains high → discharge battery. |
| Paid >3 c to use grid, shut inverter | Negative pricing → stop imports entirely and pulls from grid. |
| Don’t force charge, don’t shut inverter | Maintain idle state. |
| Force Charge: No / Shut Inverter: No | Explicit idle confirmation. |
🕐 Demand Window & Sunset Indicators
| Output Example | Meaning |
|---|
| Demand in: xx mins | Countdown to start of demand period. |
| Demand imminent – stopping any imports | Within 5 minutes of demand start → halt charging, if applicable. |
| Charge to X% for demand | Preparing battery for demand event. |
| Sunset-based rules | For non-demand users, 4 pm (default) is used as the planning cut-off if sunset BOM sensor not provided. |
💸 Notification Types
| Trigger | Notification Title | Purpose |
|---|
| High FIT ≥ $X /kWh | 🤑 High Price Alert | Notifies of profitable export opportunity (export has started). |
| Negative price < –$X /kWh | 💰 Negative Price Alert! | Grid is paying for imports → inverter shuts down. |
| Spike alert ≥ $X /kWh | 🚀🤑👍 Sell Price Spike Forecast | There is a forecast price spike coming up, time specified. |
| Sell Spike Forecast Withdrawn | 😢👎 Spike Forecast Withdrawn | The previously alerted on price spike has been withdrawn. |
| Volatility Alert | 😧 Unstable Market Detected | The pricing forecasts are very volatile (actuals don't meet forecast), caution. |
🧮 Scoring Metrics
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|
as_now, as_1h…as_12h, as_1d…as_5d | Availability Score (0–100): how “energy-available” the system is. |
ps_now, ps_1h…ps_12h | Profit Potential Score (0–100): relative export profitability. |
as_drivers, ps_drivers | Text explaining why each score was chosen (e.g. “cheap buy, solar covers usage, high battery”). |
🔔 Summary of Key Decision Flags
| Flag | Values | Meaning |
|---|
charge_discharge | 1 = Charge 2 = Idle 3 = Shut 4 = Discharge | Controls inverter mode. |
export_now | true / false | Send energy to grid, or not. |
preserve_battery | true / false | Keep battery energy; use grid when cheaper, or not. |
curtailment | true / false | Limit export due to poor feed-in rates, or not. |
slow_charge | true / false | Restrict charging power to gentle levels., or not |