Trying to time home energy use with solar peaks

[BigMama]

I’ve been experimenting with syncing my solar output to some of my automations lately, and it’s kind of addicting. When production peaks mid-day, I’ve got the system turning on my water heater and a few appliances, then scaling things down once the sun starts dipping. It’s not perfect yet, but it feels good knowing I’m squeezing every bit out of the panels before pulling from the grid. Anyone else doing something similar? I’m curious how others in Hawaii are managing smart energy timing since daylight hours shift a bit this time of year. It’s been fun to play around with, but I’m still figuring out the balance between convenience and efficiency.

 

[Alan]

getting the timing right can be half the fun. Some folks in similar climates have started linking their inverter data directly to smart plugs or using Home Assistant energy dashboards for control. Have you noticed a big difference in grid draw since setting this up, or are you still tuning the thresholds?

 

[barfle]

I just had solar panels installed last wek. They’re not active yet - the power company needs to install a new meter, supposedly this week. But getting the most out of the panels seems like an interesting enterprise.

Tips are welcome!

 

[ElaineGo]

I’ve been playing with mid-day automations, but I keep it pretty loose. My panels peak hard around lunchtime, so that’s when the heater, dryer and EV charger get first dibs. The only thing I’m still learning is how to stop everything from running at once. Solar timing is awesome until you realize you overloaded your own schedule.