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SEM Logo

User Guide

Complete reference for Solar Energy Management (SEM).

SEM Dashboard

Table of Contents

Configuration Options

All settings are accessible via Settings > Devices & Services > Solar Energy Management > Configure.

EV Charger Settings

Setting Description
ev_connected_sensor Binary sensor — is the EV plugged in?
ev_charging_sensor Binary sensor — is charging active?
ev_charging_power_sensor Power sensor (W) — current charging power
ev_charger_service HA service to set current (e.g., keba.set_current)
ev_charger_service_entity_id Entity ID passed to the charger service
ev_current_sensor Current sensor (A) — optional, for actual amperage
ev_session_energy_sensor Session energy (kWh) — optional
ev_total_energy_sensor Cumulative energy (kWh) — optional

Optimization Settings

Setting Default Description
update_interval 10s Control loop frequency (10-300s)
power_delta — Minimum power change to trigger update (50-3000W)
current_delta — Minimum current change threshold (1-10A)
soc_delta — Battery SOC change sensitivity (1-20%)
daily_ev_target 10 kWh Target daily EV energy from night charging (5-100 kWh)
min_solar_power 500W Config floor below which SEM won't even attempt to start the charger. Keep well below the hardware minimum of your charger (~4140 W on 3-phase, ~1380 W on 1-phase). Slider range 0–5000 W.
max_grid_import — Maximum grid import power during solar charging (0-2000W)
ev_charging_mode pv Charging mode: pv (solar only), minpv (Min+PV), off (disabled)
ev_ramp_rate_amps 2 Max current change per 10s cycle during solar charging

Battery Settings

Setting Default Description
battery_priority_soc 30% Below: all solar to battery, EV blocked
battery_minimum_soc — Absolute minimum discharge floor
battery_resume_soc — Hysteresis resume threshold
battery_buffer_soc 70% Above: battery can discharge for EV
battery_auto_start_soc 90% Above: start EV even without surplus
battery_assist_max_power 4500W Maximum battery discharge for EV (1000-10000W)
battery_capacity_kwh — Total battery capacity (5-100 kWh)
battery_discharge_protection_enabled true Protect battery during night charging
battery_max_discharge_power 5000W Maximum battery discharge rate (500-10000W)
battery_discharge_control_entity — Number entity to control inverter discharge limit

Notification Settings

Setting Default Description
enable_keba_notifications true Show status on KEBA display
enable_mobile_notifications false Send push notifications
mobile_notification_service — Which notify service to use

Load Management Settings

Setting Default Description
load_management_enabled false Enable peak load management
target_peak_limit 5 kW Target peak power limit (1-15 kW)
warning_peak_level — Warning threshold (1-15 kW)
emergency_peak_level — Emergency shedding threshold (1-20 kW)
critical_device_protection — Protect critical loads from shedding

Other Settings

Setting Default Description
observer_mode false Read-only mode — no hardware control
forecast_night_reduction false Reduce night target based on solar forecast
daily_home_consumption_estimate 18 kWh Fallback for first 7 days of month

Charging Modes

SEM supports three EV charging modes, configured via ev_charging_mode:

Solar Only (pv) — Default

The EV charges only from solar surplus. SEM calculates available power every 10 seconds and adjusts the charging current accordingly (6-32A range).

  • If surplus is below the minimum threshold (~4140W for 3-phase at 6A), charging pauses
  • Current changes are ramp-limited (default +-2A per cycle) to avoid oscillation
  • evcc-style enable/disable delays prevent rapid on/off cycling

Min+PV (minpv)

Guarantees a minimum charging current (6A) from the grid and adds any solar surplus on top.

  • The EV always charges at least at 6A, even without sun
  • Solar surplus increases the current above 6A
  • No enable delay — charging starts immediately when the EV connects
  • Use this when you need the car charged by a specific time

Off (off)

EV charging is disabled. SEM continues monitoring but does not control the charger.

SOC Zone Strategy

Battery Tab

SEM uses a four-zone model to decide how the battery and EV share solar energy. The battery's state of charge (SOC) determines which zone is active:

SOC 100% ─────────────────────────────
         │  Zone 4: FULL ASSIST       │  Battery always helps EV
SOC 90%  ─── battery_auto_start_soc ──
         │  Zone 3: DISCHARGE ASSIST  │  Battery gradually helps EV
SOC 70%  ─── battery_buffer_soc ──────
         │  Zone 2: SURPLUS ONLY      │  EV gets solar surplus only
SOC 30%  ─── battery_priority_soc ────
         │  Zone 1: BATTERY PRIORITY  │  All solar → battery, EV waits
SOC  0%  ─────────────────────────────

Zone 1 — Battery Priority (SOC < 30%)

All solar production goes to the battery. The EV is blocked entirely — the battery needs to reach a usable level first.

Zone 2 — Surplus Only (SOC 30-70%)

The EV receives only pure solar surplus — power that would otherwise be exported. The battery continues charging normally and is never discharged to help the EV. If surplus is below the charger's minimum (~4140W on 3-phase), the EV waits.

Zone 3 — Discharge Assist (SOC 70-90%)

The battery begins discharging to supplement solar for the EV. The assist power scales linearly: 50% of max at SOC 70%, up to 100% at SOC 90%. Combined with solar surplus, this often pushes the EV above its minimum charging threshold.

Zone 4 — Full Assist (SOC >= 90%)

Full battery assist (default 4500W). The EV starts charging even without solar surplus — the battery alone can push the EV above its minimum threshold.

Hysteresis

Once battery-assist mode activates (Zone 3 or 4), it stays active even if SOC drops back into Zone 2, all the way down to battery_assist_floor_soc (default 60%). This prevents on/off cycling when the SOC hovers near a zone boundary.

Example: Sunny Day, Battery at 30%, EV Connected

  1. SOC 30-69% — Battery charges from solar. EV waits (surplus usually below 4140W minimum)
  2. SOC hits 70% — Battery assist kicks in (~2250W). Combined with surplus, EV may start charging
  3. SOC hits 90% — Full 4500W battery assist. EV charges near maximum
  4. SOC drops below 70% — Hysteresis keeps assist active (EV still charging)
  5. SOC drops below 60% — Assist stops. EV falls back to solar-only surplus

Tuning Tips

  • Conservative setup — Set battery_priority_soc to 70% to ensure the battery is nearly full before the EV gets anything. Good if you have high evening self-consumption.
  • Aggressive EV charging — Lower battery_priority_soc to 20% and battery_buffer_soc to 50% to start EV charging earlier.
  • Small battery — Reduce battery_assist_max_power to avoid draining a small battery too quickly.

Night Charging

Night charging starts automatically when night mode activates (after sunset + 10 minutes, or 20:30, whichever comes first).

How it works

  1. SEM starts the charger at 10A
  2. Each 10s cycle, SEM adjusts current (+-2A ramp, minimum 8A floor) based on peak load management
  3. SEM tracks remaining energy via the daily EV counter
  4. Charging stops when the daily EV target is reached (default 10 kWh)

Daily target tracking

The daily EV target uses sunrise-based reset — the counter resets at sunrise, not midnight. This means a night charging session from 22:00 to 06:00 stays in a single daily bucket.

Forecast night reduction (optional)

When switch.sem_forecast_night_reduction is ON, SEM reduces the night target based on expected solar production the next day:

  • Weekday: conservative reduction (car leaves ~17:00, only 20% of surplus expected)
  • Weekend: aggressive reduction (car connected all day, 70% of surplus expected)
  • Summer: can reduce night target to 0 if solar covers everything

Battery Discharge Protection

During night charging, the home battery should only power home consumption — not the EV. SEM enforces this by setting the inverter's discharge limit to match real-time home consumption.

  • Updated every 10 seconds to track actual home load
  • 100W hysteresis to avoid frequent changes
  • Full discharge capability restored when night charging ends or EV disconnects
  • Requires a Huawei Solar inverter (or compatible) with a number entity for discharge limit control

Device Control Modes

Every device registered in SEM has a control mode that determines how SEM is allowed to interact with it. This is the most important setting for each device — it defines the boundary between what SEM controls and what the user controls.

Mode SEM turns ON? SEM turns OFF (peak)? Use case
off Never Never Monitoring only (coffee machine, lights you don't want managed)
peak_only Never Yes, when peak limit reached Devices that should stay under user control, but SEM can shed to protect the grid limit (towel heaters, general appliances)
surplus Yes, when solar surplus available Yes, when surplus drops or peak limit reached Devices you want SEM to actively control based on solar (hot water heater, pool pump)

Default for all devices: peak_only — SEM will never proactively turn on a device unless you explicitly set it to surplus mode.

Changing the mode

Use the solar_energy_management.update_device_config service:

service: solar_energy_management.update_device_config
data:
  device_id: energy_dashboard_heizband
  property: control_mode
  value: surplus

The mode is persisted across restarts.

EV charging

EV charging is managed separately by the coordinator's dedicated EV control system (not by the surplus controller). The EV charger's control mode setting does not affect EV charging behavior.

Surplus Distribution

SEM distributes solar surplus across devices that are in surplus mode by priority (1 = highest, 10 = lowest):

  1. Read available surplus (solar - home - battery charge)
  2. Subtract regulation offset (default 50W export buffer)
  3. Iterate surplus-mode devices by priority
  4. Activate if surplus >= device minimum power
  5. Variable-power devices get proportional allocation
  6. When surplus drops: LIFO (lowest priority first) deactivation

Devices in peak_only or off mode are never activated by the surplus controller. They can only be shed by peak load management.

Price-responsive mode

When using dynamic tariffs (Tibber, Nordpool, aWATTar), surplus distribution becomes price-aware: during cheap or negative price periods, SEM adds virtual surplus to encourage activation of surplus-mode devices.

Peak Load Management

Control Tab

SEM monitors rolling 15-minute average power and progressively sheds loads to stay under your target peak limit. Only devices in peak_only or surplus mode can be shed. Devices in off mode are never touched.

State Behavior
Normal No action — all devices run freely
Warning Alert — approaching peak limit
Shedding Automatic device shedding by reverse priority
Emergency All non-critical loads shed immediately

When the peak drops back below the target, SEM restores devices only if they were ON before shedding. Devices that were already off are not turned on.

Enable via integration options. Requires controllable devices with switch entities.

Tariff Integration

Costs Tab

Static tariffs

Configure a single fixed import/export rate. SEM uses this for cost tracking.

Dynamic tariffs

Connect Tibber, Nordpool, or aWATTar for real-time pricing. SEM automatically:

  • Enables price-responsive surplus distribution
  • Identifies cheap/expensive price windows
  • Creates sensor.sem_tariff_price_level (cheap / normal / expensive)
  • Creates sensor.sem_tariff_next_cheap_start for automation triggers

Solar Forecast

Install Solcast PV Solar or Forecast.Solar for forecast-based features:

  • sensor.sem_forecast_today_kwh — expected total production today (kWh)
  • sensor.sem_forecast_tomorrow_kwh — expected total production tomorrow (kWh)
  • sensor.sem_forecast_remaining_today_kwh — expected remaining production today (kWh)
  • sensor.sem_charging_recommendation — suggested charging strategy
  • Forecast-based night target reduction
  • Smart battery redirect decisions in the flow calculator

Observer Mode

When running two HA instances against the same hardware (e.g., prod + test), enable Observer Mode on the test instance.

SEM continues to:

  • Read all sensors
  • Calculate energy, flows, costs
  • Update all sensor entities

SEM skips:

  • All charger service calls
  • Battery discharge limit changes
  • Device shedding commands

Enable via Settings > Devices & Services > Solar Energy Management > Configure > Observer Mode, or via switch.sem_observer_mode.

Sensors Reference

Power Sensors (W)

  • sensor.sem_solar_power — current solar production
  • sensor.sem_grid_power — grid export (positive) / import (negative). Same convention SEM uses internally and reads from Huawei power_meter_wirkleistung. NOT the HA Energy Dashboard convention.
  • sensor.sem_battery_power — battery charge (positive) / discharge (negative). Pass-through from the source inverter sensor.
  • sensor.sem_grid_import_power — always ≥ 0, derived from grid_power
  • sensor.sem_grid_export_power — always ≥ 0, derived from grid_power
  • sensor.sem_ev_power — current EV charging power
  • sensor.sem_home_consumption_power — total home power draw (excludes EV)

Energy Sensors (kWh)

  • sensor.sem_daily_solar_energy — today's solar production
  • sensor.sem_daily_grid_import_energy — today's grid import
  • sensor.sem_daily_grid_export_energy — today's grid export
  • sensor.sem_daily_ev_energy — today's EV charging energy
  • sensor.sem_monthly_* — monthly equivalents

Flow Sensors (W and kWh)

  • sensor.sem_flow_solar_to_home_power — solar power used by home
  • sensor.sem_flow_solar_to_ev_power — solar power to EV
  • sensor.sem_flow_solar_to_battery_power — solar power to battery
  • sensor.sem_flow_grid_to_ev_power — grid power to EV
  • sensor.sem_flow_battery_to_home_power — battery power to home

Cost Sensors

  • sensor.sem_daily_costs — today's grid import cost
  • sensor.sem_daily_export_revenue — today's feed-in revenue
  • sensor.sem_daily_savings — today's solar savings
  • sensor.sem_monthly_* — monthly equivalents

Performance Sensors (%)

  • sensor.sem_self_consumption_rate — % of solar used locally
  • sensor.sem_autarky_rate — % of consumption from solar+battery
  • sensor.sem_pv_performance_vs_forecast — actual yield vs Solcast/Forecast.Solar prediction
  • sensor.sem_pv_daily_specific_yield — kWh per kWp installed
  • sensor.sem_pv_estimated_annual_degradation — long-term PV health

Charging Sensors

  • sensor.sem_charging_state — current charging state
  • sensor.sem_charging_strategy — active strategy (solar_only, battery_assist, etc.)
  • sensor.sem_available_power — power available for EV (W)
  • sensor.sem_calculated_current — target charging current (A)
  • sensor.sem_session_energy — current/last session energy (kWh)
  • sensor.sem_session_solar_share — % of session energy from solar
  • sensor.sem_session_cost — current/last session cost
  • sensor.sem_session_duration — session duration (min)

Forecast Sensors

  • sensor.sem_forecast_today_kwh — today's forecast (kWh)
  • sensor.sem_forecast_tomorrow_kwh — tomorrow's forecast (kWh)
  • sensor.sem_forecast_remaining_today_kwh — remaining today (kWh)
  • sensor.sem_charging_recommendation — suggested strategy

Load Management Sensors

  • sensor.sem_peak_margin — headroom before peak limit (kW)
  • sensor.sem_consecutive_peak_15min — rolling 15-min average power (kW)
  • sensor.sem_loads_currently_shed — number of devices currently shed

Daily Energy Reset

SEM resets daily energy counters at sunrise, not midnight. This is intentional:

  • Night charging sessions (22:00-06:00) stay in a single daily bucket
  • Monthly totals derive from sunrise-based dates
  • This may not align with utility billing periods that reset at midnight

The sunrise time comes from HA's sun.sun entity (fallback: 06:00 if unavailable).