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Advanced Features
Automatic battery discharge during AEMO wholesale price spikes for VPP participation (Globird, AGL, Engie).
When prices exceed your configured threshold (e.g., $300/MWh):
- Saves your current tariff configuration and operation mode
- Switches to autonomous (TOU) mode
- Uploads a spike tariff with very high sell rates to trigger battery export
- Restores original operation mode when spike ends
- Restores normal tariff when prices return to normal
Uses the GenericAEMOSpikeManager which works with any battery system that supports force_discharge and restore_normal service calls:
- Detects when AEMO price reaches your configured threshold (e.g. $3000/MWh)
- Calls
force_dischargeon your battery system - Sends push notification when spike starts
- Calls
restore_normalwhen spike ends - Sends push notification when spike ends
Note: Sigenergy users on Globird don't need this feature as Globird natively supports Sigenergy for spike exports.
Monitoring Frequency: Checks AEMO prices every 1 minute.
Prevents paying to export solar during negative pricing periods (price <= 0c/kWh).
| Battery System | Method | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | Export rules API | Sets export to "never", restores to "battery_ok" when positive |
| Sigenergy | Modbus TCP | Sets export limit to 0kW (load-following mode) |
| FoxESS | Modbus TCP | Enables remote control with zero active power, restores on positive |
Sigenergy/FoxESS Load-Following Mode:
- Solar continues powering the house
- Battery still charges from solar
- Only grid export is blocked during negative prices
Prevents your battery from charging from the grid during Amber price spikes. When wholesale prices spike, your battery may see an arbitrage opportunity and charge from grid — this feature stops that.
When Amber reports spikeStatus: 'potential' or 'spike', buy prices are overridden to ensure charging from grid is always unprofitable during spikes.
Artificially increases export prices sent to your battery system to trigger exports at lower price points. Useful when Amber export prices are in the 20-25c range where the battery's algorithm may not trigger exports.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Export Price Boost | Toggle on/off | Off |
| Price Offset (c/kWh) | Fixed amount added to all export prices | 0 |
| Minimum Price (c/kWh) | Floor for export prices | 0 |
| Activation Threshold (c/kWh) | Boost only applies at or above this value | 0 |
| Boost Start Time | When to start applying boost | 17:00 |
| Boost End Time | When to stop applying boost | 21:00 |
Anti-arbitrage guard (v2.4.2+): Export Boost caps boosted prices to prevent the LP from importing electricity from the grid to charge the battery for later export at inflated prices. The cap only applies when the real export price is below the grid-charge break-even point — if real arbitrage is already profitable, the full boost applies.
Suppress battery exports during configured hours (typically overnight) unless the price exceeds a threshold.
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Chip Mode | Toggle on/off | Off |
| Start Time | When to start suppressing exports | 22:00 |
| End Time | When to stop suppressing exports | 06:00 |
| Price Threshold (c/kWh) | Allow exports only above this price | 30 |
Control AC-coupled solar inverters directly during negative pricing periods. Works with any battery system.
| Brand | Connection | Models |
|---|---|---|
| Sungrow | Modbus TCP | SG series (string), SH series (hybrid) |
| Fronius | Modbus TCP | Primo, Symo, Gen24/Tauro, Eco |
| GoodWe | Modbus TCP | ET, EH, BT, BH, ES, EM series (hybrid) |
| Huawei | Modbus TCP | SUN2000 L1, M1, M2 series |
| Enphase | HTTPS API | IQ Gateway, Envoy-S (microinverters) |
| Zeversolar | HTTP API | TLC series, Zeversolair Mini/TL |
| FoxESS | Modbus TCP | H1, H3, H3-Pro, H3 Smart, KH |
| Solax | Modbus TCP or HA entity | All generations (GEN2-GEN6). Standalone via register 0x42 or via homeassistant-solax-modbus |
| Sigenergy | Modbus TCP | Grid export limit register / DC curtailment |
All supported AC inverter brands support load-following curtailment. Instead of curtailing to zero export, the inverter output is limited to match your current home load. Solar continues powering the house and charging the battery — only grid export is blocked.
Load-following is applied automatically when home load data is available. If load data is unavailable, it falls back to zero-export.
A fast 30-second update timer re-applies the load-following limit as home load changes, ensuring the inverter tracks consumption in near real-time.
PowerSync sends push notifications to the mobile app for key events:
| Event | Notification |
|---|---|
| AEMO spike start | Battery discharging during price spike |
| AEMO spike end | Normal operation restored |
| Automation action failure | Service call failed (e.g. charger unreachable) |
| Force mode timeout | Force charge/discharge timer expired |
Notifications require the mobile app to be connected and push notifications enabled.
When your electricity provider offers free electricity windows (e.g. Contact Energy Good Weekends/Good Nights in NZ), the LP optimizer automatically detects 0 c/kWh import intervals and applies a charging bonus to ensure the battery charges during these periods.
The bonus is calculated as a fraction of the median non-free import price, making free periods clearly attractive to the solver without distorting the rest of the schedule.
During free electricity periods:
- The optimizer prefers CHARGE actions
- SOC projection uses the battery's maximum charge rate (not the LP's conservative estimate)
- The schedule chart reflects the expected rapid SOC increase
Direct off-grid and reconnect control for Tesla Powerwall from the PowerSync mobile app and automations. Supports both Powerwall 2 (local REST API) and Powerwall 3 (RSA-signed cloud commands) — PW3 islanding is the first known third-party implementation.
- Powerwall 3: PowerSync registers an RSA key with your gateway through Tesla's Fleet API (the same pairing process used for local monitoring). Once paired, it sends RSA-signed commands through the cloud that physically open or close the grid contactor.
-
Powerwall 2: Uses the local REST API (
/api/v2/islanding/mode) directly — no RSA pairing required, just the gateway IP and customer password.
Powerwall 3:
- Pair your Powerwall — go to Settings > Battery Setup > Pair Gateway and complete the pairing process (requires physical access to toggle the DC isolator)
- Off-grid controls appear in Settings > Battery Setup > Local Control
Powerwall 2:
- Enter gateway IP in Settings > Battery Setup > Gateway Connection
- Off-grid controls appear automatically — no pairing needed
Both versions support the powerwall_go_off_grid and powerwall_reconnect_grid automation actions.
When enabled, PowerSync can automatically take your Powerwall off-grid during negative price periods (negative export earnings or negative import prices) to avoid paying to export. This uses the same physical off-grid command as the Tesla app.
Enable in Settings > Battery Setup > Local Control > Off-Grid Curtailment.
Safety gates:
- Minimum SOC floor — won't go off-grid below this battery level (default 20%)
- Daily duration cap — limits total off-grid time per day (default 4 hours)
- Automatic reconnection when prices recover
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
power_sync.powerwall_go_off_grid |
Physically disconnect from grid |
power_sync.powerwall_reconnect_grid |
Reconnect to grid |
- Tesla Powerwall 2 or 3
- PW3: Completed gateway pairing (RSA key registered) + PowerSync proxy token or Fleet API token
- PW2: Gateway IP and customer password (no pairing needed)
- Gateway reachable on LAN
Monitor peak demand for capacity-based electricity plans.