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Provider Amber
All providers · Tariff periods · Configuration index
Choose this provider during initial setup, or open Settings > Devices & Services > PowerSync > Configure > Electricity pricing & provider to change its settings. Use the written plan for your site and account; examples are not a substitute for your contract.
Dynamic pricing with 5-minute and 30-minute resolution. Current prices update every 5 minutes; forecasts are available at 30-minute resolution.
If Amber supplies a complete import forecast but no usable feed-in channel, PowerSync uses a conservative 0 c/kWh export schedule so the import tariff can still sync to Tesla. It does not invent export value. Partial schedules that still have too many unresolved periods after normal gap filling continue to preserve the last good tariff instead of uploading incomplete prices.
Setup:
- Get an API token from app.amber.com.au/developers
- Select Amber Electric during PowerSync setup
- Enter your API token
- Select your Amber site
Amber provides three price forecasts for each interval. PowerSync uses these to build the time-of-use schedule that gets sent to your battery and to plan the optimization schedule.
| Setting | Description | Effect on Optimizer |
|---|---|---|
| Predicted (Default) | Amber's best estimate of the actual price | Balanced — charges and exports based on most likely prices |
| Low | Lower bound estimate — prices expected to be low | Optimizer sees cheaper future prices. This can reduce the value of later export windows, so it is not a general "export now" switch |
| High | Upper bound estimate — prices expected to be high | Optimizer sees more expensive future prices and is more likely to hold charge for possible later value |
When to change it:
- If you use Profit Maximisation Mode, normally leave this on Predicted. Profit Max already makes the LP more willing to use stored energy for high-value export by reducing the terminal SOC value.
- Try Low only when you intentionally want the optimizer to assume cheaper prices. This can reduce charging urgency, but it can also make future export windows look less valuable.
- Try High when you intentionally want the optimizer to assume more expensive prices and hold charge for possible later value.
- If you're happy with how the optimizer behaves, leave it on Predicted.
Configure in HA: Configure > Electricity pricing & provider > Amber Electric, then Amber price forecast. The mobile provider entry is separate under Settings > Electricity Provider.
In HA, enable Enable spike protection under Configure > Electricity pricing & provider > Amber Electric. Use Mobile App for the separate client entry point; its layout depends on the connected integration.
With Smart Optimization enabled, this blocks automatic grid battery charging in intervals Amber marks spike or potential. Starting with v2.12.1376, PowerSync keeps the selected real import prices for charts, charge-price limits and Cost Neutral accounting, and uses a separate charging restriction. A newly flagged live interval also stops an optimizer-owned Force Charge, including a cached action. Solar charging remains available. A Charge By Time target still respects this restriction; it may become unreachable if no permitted charging opportunity remains.
Spike Protection does not guarantee zero household imports: the home may still need grid power when the battery is at reserve or cannot cover the load. It does not take over a user-started Force Charge, guarantee export, or make a forecast spike certain.
Native tariff sync uses a price override to discourage the battery's own charging decisions. Tesla raises buy prices above the highest scheduled sell price. Sigenergy raises buy prices above 100 c/kWh toward an override above the highest scheduled sell price and never lowers an already higher buy price. These native tariff adjustments are separate from Smart Optimization's direct control.
Earlier releases could lower spike prices to 50 c/kWh in the optimizer and Sigenergy tariff sync. That could make expensive charging look cheaper, distort the optimizer chart/accounting, and undermine protection. Update through HACS and restart Home Assistant before evaluating the corrected behaviour.
Amber Forecast Confidence is a separate, opt-in Smart Optimization setting that reduces reliance on future export spikes. Enable it in Battery & Forecast Inputs on a supporting HA integration or mobile client. It changes planning valuation, keeps displayed and settlement rates intact, and may miss a later peak. See Amber Forecast Confidence for fallback behaviour and mode interactions.
Enable Amber forecast confidence alert compares Amber's Predicted and High import forecasts. The default average-difference threshold is 10 c/kWh. An alert such as “forecasts differ by avg 14c/kWh” reports disagreement between estimates; it does not mean a spike will happen or that PowerSync charged the battery.
The alert does not change your forecast mode or charging permissions. High assumes higher prices and can encourage holding energy for later, so changing to High is an intentional planning choice, not a general way to stop imports. Leave Predicted selected when that matches your preference, and use Spike Protection or Smart Optimization's Maximum grid-charge price to restrict automatic battery charging.
For overnight battery holds, see Disable Idle and Confidence Decay.
PowerSync can also track actual metered Amber usage costs when usage tracking is enabled. This creates sensors for yesterday's billed cost, yesterday's estimated battery savings, month-to-date billed cost, and month-to-date battery savings. These values come from Amber usage data rather than the live price forecast, so they are useful for reconciling the daily cost estimate against your bill.
You can use PowerSync automations to switch the Amber forecast type automatically based on time of day, but this is optional advanced tuning rather than a requirement for Profit Maximisation Mode.
Be careful with time-based switches. The selected forecast type is used when PowerSync builds the Amber price schedule and optimization plan. For example, switching to Low before the evening peak can make the upcoming export prices look lower, which may remove the incentive to discharge into that window.
Use forecast-type automations only when you intentionally want PowerSync to plan from a different Amber forecast band at a specific time. If you are unsure, use Predicted and let Profit Max handle the export bias.
The forecast type change takes effect immediately. PowerSync triggers a schedule sync after updating the setting, so your battery receives the new pricing within seconds.
Action: Automations > Add Action > Amber Forecast Type → select Predicted, Low, or High
The initial site picker is not shown on every setup path in v2.12.1411. After connecting your battery, reopen Electricity pricing & provider > Amber Electric and check Amber site against your NMI. Successful token validation alone does not prove the correct site was selected.
Check the current import/export price and tariff schedule for the selected site and local time. On a menu-entered edit, saving provider settings can finish the flow directly; specialist settings remain under Advanced settings. Token/account success, an imported schedule and a hardware command are different outcomes. If rates or the site are wrong, reopen pricing rather than changing battery connection settings.
With Smart Optimization, Amber spike/potential intervals block automatic grid battery charging while retaining the real import price. Native tariff protection is a separate adjustment used by supported battery schedulers. This does not guarantee zero household import or stop a user-started force charge. See the provider and optimizer restrictions before changing forecast modes.
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 is capped to prevent the optimizer from importing electricity from the grid to charge the battery for later export at inflated prices. 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 |
The tables use the current form labels and help text. They list the conditional field union: a field can be hidden for a different battery, provider, route or available integration. The instructions above explain those conditions. Existing saved/discovered values take precedence over fresh fallbacks. Rate units follow the provider; check the displayed currency/energy unit.
| Field | Meaning / input | Fallback / limits |
|---|---|---|
| API token | Found in the Amber app under Profile > Developer > API key. Or visit https://app.amber.com.au/developers. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Field | Meaning / input | Fallback / limits |
|---|---|---|
| Amber site | Choose the NMI at this address. Closed sites will not receive price updates. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Field | Meaning / input | Fallback / limits |
|---|---|---|
| Update Amber API token | Paste a new Amber API token to rotate it. Leave blank to keep your current token. | Fallback blank (see retention/clear rules) |
| Amber site | Use the value or available choice shown in this form; existing saved/detected values take precedence. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Force mode toggle after sync | After uploading a new tariff, briefly toggle operation mode to force immediate recalculation. Tesla only, causes a ~5 second interruption. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Sync TOU schedule automatically | When enabled, PowerSync uploads a new TOU tariff schedule to your battery every 5 minutes based on current Amber prices. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Amber price forecast | Predicted is balanced. Low assumes cheaper prices (more aggressive charging). High assumes expensive prices (more conservative). | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Enable spike protection | Block automatic Smart Optimization grid charging during Amber spike or potential-spike intervals. Keep real prices for charts and cost accounting. Native tariff sync raises protected buy rates to discourage charging. This does not block household imports or manual Force Charge. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Enable Amber forecast confidence alert | Send a mobile notification when Amber predicted and High (higher-price) forecasts diverge significantly. Indicates the forecast spread is large and conservative scheduling may be preferable. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Forecast confidence threshold | Average price difference between Amber predicted and High forecasts that triggers the alert. Default 10 in the selected price unit. | 0.0–100.0; step 0.1 |
| Enable export price boost | Artificially increase sell prices during configured hours to encourage battery export during high-value periods. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Offset to add | Amount added to the actual Amber export price. Example: Amber 18c + Offset 5c = battery sees 23c. | 0.0–50.0; step 0.1 |
| Minimum floor | Floor price after offset. Example: Amber 12c + Offset 5c = 17c, bumped to Floor 20c. | 0.0–100.0; step 0.1 |
| Boost start time (HH:MM) | Use the value or available choice shown in this form; existing saved/detected values take precedence. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Boost end time (HH:MM) | Use the value or available choice shown in this form; existing saved/detected values take precedence. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Only boost above | Only apply boost when the actual Amber price (before boost) is at or above this value. Use 0 to always boost. | 0.0–50.0; step 0.1 |
| Enable chip mode | Suppress exports during configured hours unless price exceeds threshold. The inverse of export boost. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Chip mode start (HH:MM) | Use the value or available choice shown in this form; existing saved/detected values take precedence. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Chip mode end (HH:MM) | Use the value or available choice shown in this form; existing saved/detected values take precedence. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |
| Price threshold | Allow exports only when the price is at or above this value during chip mode hours. | 0.0–200.0; step 0.1 |
| Field | Meaning / input | Fallback / limits |
|---|---|---|
| API token | Found in the Amber app under Profile > Developer > API key. Or visit https://app.amber.com.au/developers. | Saved/detected value or the form’s shown fallback |