GridPilot Power Plant New Features

What’s New at Smart Motion

We’re rolling out new capabilities for your Smart Motion GridPilot Power Plant.

2026-08 – GridPilot AI v2026-08-28: Smarter arbitrage, smarter protection

We’re rolling out new capabilities for your Smart Motion GridPilot Power Plant — including a major upgrade to GridPilot AI’s battery arbitrage engine. Your battery now trades like a broker, buying low and selling high, with every decision backed by real economics.

What’s changed

Arbitrage-first decision making

GridPilot AI now continuously scans the 3-hour price forecast for profitable buy→sell opportunities. Every potential trade is evaluated against real round-trip efficiency losses (12% for a full charge/discharge cycle), and only opportunities with a genuine net profit are acted on.

Spread-based trading – Identifies the best buy and sell price pairs in the forecast window, accounting for timing and efficiency.
Minimum profit threshold – Won’t chase tiny margins. A trade must clear 8 c/kWh net profit after losses before GridPilot will act.
No more “relatively cheap” traps – 22 c/kWh is not cheap just because the rest of the forecast is 30 c/kWh. GridPilot now uses absolute price thresholds, not relative ones.

Replacement cost–aware exports

Previously, GridPilot could export energy at a seemingly good price, only to rebuy at a higher price later — a guaranteed loss. That’s now impossible.

Replacement cost calculation – Before every export, GridPilot calculates what it would actually cost to refill that energy from the grid, weighted toward near-term prices.
Hard export gate – The export price must exceed the replacement cost (adjusted for efficiency losses and a safety margin) before any energy leaves the battery.
Solar-aware pricing – If there’s plenty of solar generation ahead, the replacement cost drops to near zero, unlocking more profitable export windows.

Dynamic SoC floor

Rather than holding a fixed battery reserve, GridPilot now calculates the minimum charge level your household actually needs — and adjusts it in real time.

Load-aware – Factors in your current household consumption rate.
Forecast-aware – Knows when cheap prices are returning and sizes the reserve accordingly.
Solar-aware – Credits expected solar generation (derated for cloud variability) so the floor drops on sunny days.
Always safe – Clamped to a hard minimum of 10%, so you’re never completely exposed.

This means more of your battery is available for profitable trading when conditions are right, while still keeping the lights on when they need to be.

EV DC charger coordination

If you have an EV connected and a forced charging window scheduled, GridPilot now handles this gracefully.

Charge suppression – GridPilot will never import from the grid while the battery is deliberately being drawn down to charge your EV. No more fighting against your own schedule.
Demand adjustment – The inflated household load caused by the EV charger is automatically subtracted from demand calculations, so the dynamic floor isn’t falsely raised.
Configurable windows – Set your EVDC forced charging start and end times in Home Assistant, and GridPilot respects them automatically.

Smarter protection logic

The protection rule — the one that steps in to prevent your battery running flat before or during peak — has been tightened to avoid unnecessary charging.

Proximity-based trigger – Protection only activates when the battery is genuinely close to the dynamic floor (within 5 percentage points). A battery sitting at 60% with a 20% floor won’t trigger a panic charge.
Morning restraint – Between 06:00 and 10:00, GridPilot refuses to grid charge unless the price is negative (i.e. you’re being paid). Morning prices in SA are often elevated, and solar is on the way — patience pays off.

Full decision transparency

Every decision GridPilot makes now references the specific rule, spread, or floor calculation behind it. You’ll see exactly why the battery charged, exported, or waited — and the economics that justified it.

Why these changes matter

No more losing trades – Every export is guaranteed to be profitable after accounting for the cost of replacing that energy.
More battery available for trading – The dynamic floor only holds back what you genuinely need, freeing the rest for arbitrage.
Fewer wasted cycles – Charging only happens when there’s a real opportunity or a real need, extending battery life.
EV and battery working together – No more conflicts between EV charging schedules and battery management.
Smarter mornings – No expensive grid imports when the sun is about to do the work for free.

Available now

GridPilot AI v2026-08-28 is live for AI and Gold GridPilot Power Plant service members. The update is applied automatically — no action required on your end. Need a GridPilot Power Plant? Get started here. Questions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Power on, The Smart Motion Team

2025-07 – Introducing GridPilot AI: Your strategy, executed automatically

We’ve activated GridPilot AI, the decision engine behind the Smart Motion GridPilot Power Plant.
Rather than locking you into fixed schedules or opaque rules, GridPilot AI continuously executes the strategy
you define—based on live electricity prices, your battery state-of-charge, and near-term solar forecasts.

You choose how aggressive to be, when to charge, when to export, and how much reserve to keep.
GridPilot AI then decides—minute by minute—whether to charge, export, or wait,
ensuring your preferences are applied precisely across changing market conditions.

Clear, concise status on your dashboard

At a glance, you can see:

Mode – what your battery is doing right now
Why – the exact rule, price or condition driving that action
When – the next optimisation decision point

What makes GridPilot AI different?

Market-aware execution – Continuously tracks wholesale price movements and responds instantly.
Battery-conscious logic – Protects battery health by avoiding unnecessary cycling.
Solar-aware planning – Anticipates upcoming generation and schedules actions accordingly.
Adaptive behaviour – Automatically adjusts as tariffs, weather and usage patterns change.
Total transparency – Every decision is visible and explained, so you remain firmly in control.

Why you’ll love it

Lower bills, no micromanagement – Your strategy runs continuously without constant tuning.
More revenue opportunities – Ready to act instantly when feed-in prices spike.
Cleaner energy use – Imports and exports aligned to cheaper, lower-carbon periods.

Available now

GridPilot AI is live for
AI and Gold GridPilot Power Plant service members.
Update to the latest add-on, refresh your dashboard, and the new tile will appear within minutes.

Need a GridPilot Power Plant?
Get started here.

Questions or feedback?
Email [email protected].

Power on,
The Smart Motion Team

2025-06 – Auto Battery Charging During Low Solar

You set the price. GridPilot handles the timing.

This automation helps you stay ahead on cloudy days or during low solar output,
while keeping full control over when grid charging is allowed.

How it works

Tracks your live energy price – Works with Amber Electric and LocalVolts.
Estimates remaining solar – Uses live production and historical trends.
Monitors household load – Ensures charging won’t unintentionally spike imports.
Anticipates price rises – Charges ahead of forecasted price spikes.
You set the trigger – Define your own Auto Charge price threshold (e.g. $0.08/kWh).