How it Works
While the HEMS Standard Control strategy primarily focuses on maximizing self-consumption, Advanced Optimization continuously evaluates dynamic electricity prices, feed-in tariffs, device constraints, solar production, and household consumption forecasts to determine the most economically beneficial energy strategy.
Depending on the day-ahead prices and forecasts, Tariff-Timer may automatically:
shift controllable consumption to lower-price periods,
prioritize exporting energy during favorable feed-in price periods,
temporarily delay EV / Battery charging,
strategically charge the battery from the grid or discharge it to the grid when economically beneficial,
The optimization continuously balances economic benefit, system constraints, and user requirements.
Adaptive Control Strategies
Strategy | Logic & User Benefit |
Optimized Surplus Feed-in | Decides whether PV surplus should be exported directly to the grid or stored in the battery based on current and forecasted feed-in prices. |
PV Curtailment | Prevents financially unfavorable export during negative feed-in price periods by reducing PV output once battery charging limit or storage capacity is exhausted. |
Strategic Discharge Delay | Preserves stored battery energy during low-price periods to use or export it later during more favorable price windows. |
Grid-to-Battery Charging | Charges the battery from the grid during forecasted low-price periods to reduce future electricity costs or prepare for profitable discharge opportunities. |
Discharge to Grid | Exports battery energy to the grid when the spread between the charging price and the forecasted feed-in price is economically beneficial after accounting for battery efficiency losses. |
Optimized EV Charging | Uses Program Charge mode to schedule EV charging during the most cost-efficient periods using a combination of solar surplus and low-price grid charging. |
Intelligent EV Delay | Temporarily delays EV charging during high-price periods and automatically resumes charging during forecasted lower-price intervals. |
EV Charging Prevention | Temporarily prevents EV charging when exporting available PV surplus to the grid is economically more beneficial |
Heat Pump Optimization | Sends Recommend On signals during favorable electricity price periods to shift heat pump consumption to lower-cost intervals. Note: This shifts consumption timing but does not directly control power intensity. |
Each of the adaptive control strategies listed above is documented in more detail within its dedicated article.
EV Configuration Requirements
IMPORTANT: to enable Time-of-Use Optimization for EV charging, the EV must operate in Program Charge mode.
Time-of-Use optimization is only available in Program Charge mode because the optimization requires flexibility to automatically shift charging sessions based on electricity prices, forecasts, and mobility requirements.
Other charging modes, such as Solar, Safety, or Quick Charge, prioritize immediate or rule-based charging behavior and therefore do not allow charging schedules to be economically optimized
Setup Prompts
If the system detects that optimization is possible but not active, the UI provides the following assistance:
Mode Activation: If Program Charge is not active, an in-app notification will appear allowing you to enable it quickly.
Missing EV Profile: If no EV profile is detected (required for Program Charge), a reminder will prompt you to set up a profile to unlock cost-saving features.
An EV profile is required for Program Charge mode because the optimization relies on vehicle-specific charging behavior and mobility targets to calculate cost-optimized charging schedules.