Smart Motion Virtual Power Plant with GridPilot AI
Now with optional GridPilot AI smart optimisation
Streamline your energy management with the Solar and Battery Controller Virtual Power Plant (VPP), designed for seamless integration with Home Assistant. Effortlessly manage wholesale electricity plans like Amber Electric or LocalVolts for optimal efficiency and cost savings. With the new GridPilot AI upgrade (included in the AI and Gold plans), your system can now decide—hour by hour—whether to charge, export or wait, maximising every cent automatically.
Overview
Introducing the Smart Motion Solar & Battery Controller Virtual Power Plant—an advanced energy management solution crafted to optimise your solar & battery power system for wholesale electricity providers like Amber Electric and LocalVolts. Fully compatible with leading inverters, including GoodWe, Sungrow, Fronius, BYD Battery-Box, Victron & Sigen, this controller seamlessly integrates with Home Assistant, enabling automated energy control based on real-time electricity pricing. It works through real time monitoring of the wholesale electricity price and reduces inverter power output when feed into grid prices are negative and supports solar throttling.
Remote Installation and Pre-Configured Device
Installation is completely remote, ensuring minimal disruption and convenience. Our team of skilled engineers handles the configuration process, so when your device arrives, it’s pre-configured and ready to go. Simply connect your inverter and/or battery to your home network, and you’re set to unlock smart energy management with your own VPP.
Key VPP Features
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Dynamic Self-Consumption Mode
- Automatically adjusts your system to prioritise self-consumption when energy prices are unfavourable or your battery is fully charged.
- Prevents unnecessary exporting or importing of energy, maximising cost savings.
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Automated Battery Management
- Force Charge Mode: Ensures your battery reaches full charge during low-cost periods or before peak demand times.
- Force Discharge Mode: Allows you to export stored energy when feed-in prices are high, increasing your return on investment.
- Minimum Reserve Setting: Maintains a user-defined minimum battery level to ensure backup power availability.
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Electric Vehicle Charging
- Force Charge Mode: Charges your EV during low-cost periods to minimise expenses.
- Force Discharge Mode: Discharges your EV (if V2G capable) to export energy when feed-in prices are high.
- Minimum Reserve Setting: Maintains a user-defined minimum charge level in your home battery to ensure availability for use.
- Price-Aware Charging: Adjusts EV charging based on current import (buy) and export (sell) prices, ensuring the lowest cost or highest return depending on your energy plan and vehicle capability.
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Intelligent Export Control
- Throttle solar inverter feed in when prices are negative, preventing you from incurring costs for exporting energy.
- Automatically resumes normal operation when feed-in prices become favourable.
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GridPilot AI (AI & Gold plans only)
- Continuously analyses live prices, battery SoC, household load and solar forecasts.
- Chooses the cheapest moments to charge and the most profitable times to export.
- Displays a clear status line on your dashboard (e.g. “GridPilot: idle · Next update 10:15”) so you always know what it’s doing and why
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Price-Based Automation
- Monitors real-time import and export prices to make informed decisions on when to charge or discharge your battery.
- Integrates with Amber Electric’s and LocalVolts pricing data to provide up-to-date energy cost information.
- Reduces solar inverter output when prices are negative
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Scheduled Operations
- Set specific times to force charge or discharge your battery, ensuring it’s ready when you need it most.
- Automates daily routines like backing up your Home Assistant configuration at predefined times.
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Comprehensive Energy Monitoring
- Tracks daily imported and exported energy costs, providing detailed insights into your energy usage and savings.
- Resets daily totals at midnight for accurate day-by-day tracking.
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Easy Integration
- Compatible with a wide range of inverters including SigEnergy Sigen, Sungrow, Fronius, BYD Battery-Box, GoodWe & Victron models creating your own VPP
- Simple setup through Home Assistant with customisable automations to suit your energy needs.
Benefits
- Maximise Savings: By intelligently managing when to import or export energy, you reduce your electricity bills and increase your earnings from surplus energy and solar throttling.
- Enhance System Longevity: Optimal battery management extends the life of your battery system.
- Stay Informed: Real-time data and automation keep you in control without constant monitoring.
- Environmental Impact: Efficient energy use contributes to a greener footprint.
Stay Informed With Live Savings Data
Curious about your actual savings? We provide a dynamic, real-time look at your daily energy savings and earnings. In just a glance, see how your system takes advantage of off-peak rates, capitalises on high feed-in tariffs—and yes, when prices go negative, that’s money going back into your bank account—while still delivering clean energy to your family through your Virtual Power Plant. Knowledge is power—and now it’s right at your fingertips. Check out how our customers’ systems are performing with the data below.
Compatibility
- Inverters: Sungrow, Fronius, Victron, Sigen, BYD Battery-Box, GoodWe and other compatible models.
- Software: Home Assistant for automation and control and solar throttling.
- Energy Providers: Optimised for Amber Electric’s and LocalVolts dynamic pricing but adaptable to other providers with similar pricing structures.
Get a quote today!
Upgrade your solar power system with the Smart Motion Solar & Battery Controller Virtual Power Plant and take full control of your energy production and consumption.
Contact Us for more information.
Smart Motion Service Level Options
The Smart Motion Service Level Options provide tiered plans catering to various needs and budgets. Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans offer benefits such as unique subdomains and enhanced remote access for efficient smart home management, ensuring accessibility for all users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need technical expertise to install the Solar and Battery Controller?
A: No, all you need is your inverter to be connected to your home network. Our engineers will remotely connect and configure the system.
Q: Can I customise the automation settings?
A: Yes, all automation scripts are customisable within Home Assistant to fit your specific energy usage patterns.
Q: Is it compatible with other energy providers?
A: Yes, Amber Electric and LocalVolts are both supported and can be adapted to work with other providers offering dynamic pricing. This solution is also compatible with Octopus Energy with solar throttling capability included.
Q: Can I remotely connect to this device over the internet away from home?
A: Yes, you have options for remote access. You can subscribe to Smart Motion Remote Access with at least the Bronze plan, or choose Nabu Casa for seamless integration and support. The choice is yours.
Q: Is ongoing support available?
A: Yes, Smart Motion has a tiered Service Level model from ‘Go it alone’ to ‘Gold’.
