When configuring automations for appliances with different power requirements, you have two primary options:
- Create a single automation for all appliances
- Set up separate automations for each appliance or group of appliances
If you're new to creating automations in Home + Control, you can follow this guide: How to properly set up your solar-based automations based on grid injection and maximize your photovoltaic electricity production
1. Single automation for all appliances
If you choose to control all your appliances within a single automation, they will all turn on at the same time. This can be convenient, but it requires careful planning to ensure that your system runs efficiently.
Calculate the combined load
Start by adding up the power consumption of all the devices you want to automate. Your trigger threshold should be set to match this combined load. For example, if your appliances consume respectively 0.5 kW, 1 kW, and 1.5 kW, your threshold should be set to at least 3 kW.
Set a safety margin
It's crucial to set the threshold slightly higher than the exact combined load. This ensures that your automation only triggers when there's enough excess energy being produced or fed back into the grid. The margin also helps prevent your appliances from drawing power from the grid, which is particularly important if you've set up an automation to turn them off when solar energy is insufficient.
2. Set up separate automations for each appliance or group of appliances
If you prefer more granular control, you can set up different automations for each appliance or group of appliances. This method requires setting distinct trigger thresholds based on each device's power consumption.
Stagger the thresholds
Each automation should have a unique threshold that reflects the load of the appliance it controls. Generally, the device with the lowest power consumption should have the lowest threshold and will be the first to turn on.
Understanding grid injection vs. total production
It's crucial to understand the difference between these two concepts, especially when setting up multiple automations:
- Grid injection: This refers to the excess power sent back to the grid after your home’s consumption needs are met. We recommend using this for your automations because it leverages the surplus energy that would otherwise be lost.
- Total production: This is the total power generated by your solar panels, regardless of how much is being used or sent back to the grid.
For more details about the difference between the total production and the grid injection, refers to this article : INSERT LINK
Multiple "Grid injection" and " Total production" automations
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Grid injection: If you're setting up multiple automations based on the grid injection, remember that each time an appliance turns on, the grid injection drops significantly. For instance, if you have three automations set to trigger at 0.5 kW, 1 kW, and 1.5 kW respectively, they will not trigger one after the other as your solar production increases.
For example, suppose your first automation triggers at 0.5 kW of grid injection, turning on an appliance that consumes 0.5 kW. Once this appliance is on, the grid injection could drop to near zero. For the next automation (set at 1 kW) to trigger, your system must generate enough power to first overcome the drop and then reach 1 kW of grid injection again. Similarly, the third automation (set at 1.5 kW) will only trigger after the grid injection increases by another 1.5 kW, making a total of 3 kW needed for all three automations to trigger sequentially—not just the 1.5 kW threshold of the last automation.
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Total production: When you configure automations based on the total production of your home rather than on the grid injection, the automations will trigger in a more linear fashion as your solar production increases.
For example, if you set up automations at 0.5 kW, 1 kW, and 1.5 kW, each automation will activate as soon as your solar panels produce the corresponding amount of energy.
Keep in mind that the total production doesn't account for your home's energy usage. If your household consumption is high, you might end up drawing power from the grid, even as your automations trigger. This can reduce the benefits of using solar energy for your automations.
By carefully planning your automations and understanding how to balance grid injection and total production, you can maximize your solar energy usage and ensure your devices run efficiently without relying on the grid.
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