Optimization modes, goals and limits
Set the goal and the grid limits the Energy manager follows, decide how the battery, PV, EV chargers and heat pumps may be used, and add schedules and special modes.
→ Overview
The Optimization modes tab is the heart of the Energy manager. Each row of the table is a mode: a set of grid limits, a goal and advanced settings for the battery, PV, EV chargers (EVSE) and heat pumps (HVAC). Every Energy manager has a Default mode. You can add schedules and special modes, for example for negative electricity prices or high grid voltage.
Only one mode is in effect at a time. The Energy manager picks it automatically (see Which mode is in effect) and regulates every few seconds towards its goal while it keeps the grid power inside the mode's limits.
Limits are entered as positive numbers. Import limit is the maximum power drawn from the grid, Export limit is the maximum power fed into the grid. On the measurement tabs, grid import is shown as positive power and export as negative power.
1 Set the default mode
Save stores the whole table, including every mode you changed or deleted, and restarts the Energy manager. Regulation is interrupted for a moment while it restarts; the controller does not reboot. Confirm in a dialog only changes the table on the page: if you leave the page without clicking Save, the change is lost.
Modes table
| Column / button | What it does | Unit / default |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Name of the mode: Default mode, the name of a schedule entry, or the mode type (for example Negative price). | — |
| Event description | A short description of when or how the mode applies, for example "Negative SPOT price". / for the Default mode, which has no condition. |
— |
| Export limit | Maximum power the site may feed into the grid while this mode is in effect. 0 = no export (zero export, see Zero export). |
kW · empty = no limit ("No limit") |
| Goal | What the Energy manager optimizes for while this mode is in effect. See Goals. | default Self-consumption |
| Import limit | Maximum power the site may draw from the grid while this mode is in effect. | kW · empty = no limit ("No limit") |
| Advanced (edit icon) | Opens the Edit dialog of the mode with its limits, goal and Advanced settings. | — |
| Advanced (bin icon) | Deletes the mode after a confirmation. Not shown for the Default mode, which cannot be deleted. The deletion is stored when you click Save. | — |
| + | Opens the Add dialog to add a schedule entry or a special mode. See Add a mode. | — |
| Save | Saves all modes and restarts the strategy. | — |
A row shown struck through is configured but cannot take effect at the moment, for example a Negative price mode without electricity prices.
The import limit and the fuse values on the Details tab are what stops the controller from loading EV chargers, heat pumps and battery charging beyond the grid connection. An import limit higher than the connection allows can trip the main fuse. Use the power from the connection agreement, and enter the fuses on Details.
The import and export limits are held as an average over the Import power active time window and Export power active time window on the Details tab (by default 900 s and 60 s). A short overshoot is compensated by a lower limit for the rest of the window. See Strategy details: grid, EVSE, PV and HVAC.
2 Goals
The goal tells the Energy manager which grid power to aim for between the limits. The limits are always respected, whatever the goal.
| Goal | What the Energy manager does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Self-consumption | Aims for 0 kW at the grid connection. The battery charges from PV surplus and discharges to cover the site's consumption. PV is reduced only if export would exceed the export limit. | Default for homes and businesses: use your own PV energy before buying from the grid. |
| Maximize production | Aims for the full export limit. The battery discharges so that the site exports as much as the export limit allows. | You want to sell energy now, for example at a high feed-in price (usually in a schedule entry, not as the default). |
| Maximize consumption | Aims for the full import limit. The battery charges from the grid until import reaches the import limit. | Energy is cheap or free now, for example at negative prices (usually in a schedule entry or the negative-price mode). |
| Peak shaving | Lets the site import normally and uses the battery only to keep import at or below the import limit. Export is absorbed by charging the battery. Below the SOC limit for charge from grid the battery may also charge from the grid, up to Maximum power for charge from grid. | You pay for the highest power peak (capacity tariff), or the connection is small. |
The goal mainly steers the battery. The other device types behave the same with every goal:
- PV produces as much as possible and is reduced only to keep export within the export limit.
- EV chargers use the power that is left up to the import limit and the phase fuses. Use the EVSE advanced settings to charge only from PV.
- HVAC (heat pumps) does not follow the goal. It switches between three states based on grid power, using the HVAC advanced settings.
Keep Self-consumption as the default goal and add schedule entries for the hours when another goal pays off, for example Maximize consumption during a cheap night tariff. See Schedules.
If a hybrid inverter or battery measures the grid itself, the Energy manager can hand the goal to the device's own EMS mode instead of sending power setpoints. This is set with Preferred control mode (EMS or setpoint) on the Details tab.
3 Zero export
An Export limit of 0 kW means the site must not feed power into the grid. With a battery,
that is hard to hold exactly: the battery can only be charged from PV if the controller sees the
surplus. To keep PV from being curtailed, the controller then allows a small temporary export, and
lets the battery absorb it, when all of these are true:
- the mode's export limit is 0 kW (for Maximize consumption: the import limit is also 0 kW);
- the strategy regulates at least one PV inverter and at least one battery;
- the battery is not full (more than about 1 % below its maximum SOC);
- the local time is between 07:00 and 20:00.
The temporary allowance depends on how much more charging power the batteries can take: up to 2 kW for small batteries, up to 10 kW or 20 kW for large ones. To replace it with your own values, fill in Override zero-export export limit and Override zero-export import limit on the Details tab.
If the grid operator does not tolerate any export, not even for a few seconds, set the override values on the Details tab and test the behaviour on site. See Strategy details: grid, EVSE, PV and HVAC.
4 Advanced settings of a mode
Click the edit icon in the Advanced column. The Edit dialog shows the mode's Export limit, Goal and Import limit at the top and the Advanced settings in four panels. Click a panel title to open it. Every mode has its own advanced settings.
Battery
| Parameter | What it does | Unit / default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable charging | No: the batteries are not charged while this mode is in effect. | Yes / No · default Yes |
| Enable discharging | No: the batteries are not discharged while this mode is in effect. | Yes / No · default Yes |
| Allocate power only from PV | Yes: the batteries charge only from PV power, never from the grid. Overrides Maximize consumption and Peak-shaving grid charging. | Yes / No · default No |
| Min. SOC | The batteries are not discharged below this state of charge. | % · default 10 |
| Max. SOC | The batteries are not charged above this state of charge. | % · default 100 |
| Maximum power for charge from grid (% of import power) | Peak shaving only. Maximum grid power used to charge the batteries below the SOC limit for charge from grid, as a percentage of the import limit. The kW field next to it shows the same value in kW; type in either field. Greyed out with other goals or when Allocate power only from PV is Yes. | % or kW · default 10 % |
| SOC limit for charge from grid |
Peak shaving only. Below this SOC the batteries charge from the grid, so that they are ready for the next peak. 0 = never charge from the grid. |
% · default 0 |
Many batteries also have their own minimum SOC. Set Min. SOC at or above it, otherwise the battery stops discharging before the controller expects it to.
PV
| Parameter | What it does | Unit / default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable | No: all regulated PV inverters are switched off while this mode is in effect. | Yes / No · default Yes |
EVSE
| Parameter | What it does | Unit / default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable | No: all regulated EV chargers are stopped while this mode is in effect. | Yes / No · default Yes |
| Charging from PV limit | Which power the EV chargers may use. Charge from PV and Grid: any available power up to the import limit. Charge only from full PV production: the total charging power is not higher than the current PV production. Charge only from PV surplus: only PV power that would otherwise be exported; the chargers do not cause grid import. | empty = Charge from PV and Grid |
| Allow charging from battery | No: the batteries do not discharge to charge electric vehicles. | Yes / No · default Yes |
An EV usually needs a minimum power to charge (often about 4.2 kW on three phases). With the two PV-only options, charging pauses when the PV power is below that minimum.
HVAC
The Energy manager sets the heat pumps to one of three states, depending on the grid power averaged over the time window of the Details tab:
- Setpoint 3 when the grid power is at or above Active power 2;
- otherwise Setpoint 2 when it is at or above Active power 1;
- otherwise Setpoint 1.
Enter export as a negative value. Example: Setpoint 1 Eco, Active power 1 -2, Setpoint 2
On, Active power 2 -5, Setpoint 3 Boost: the heat pump runs in Eco mode, switches to On
when the site exports 2 kW or more, and to Boost at 5 kW export or more.
| Parameter | What it does | Unit / default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable | No: the regulated heat pumps are switched off while this mode is in effect. | Yes / No · default Yes |
| Minimum state setpoint time | After a change, the new state is kept for at least this time, to prevent frequent switching. | min · default 15 |
| Setpoint 1 | State when the grid power is below Active power 1. | No change, Off, Eco, On, Boost · default On |
| Active power 1 | Threshold between Setpoint 1 and Setpoint 2. Negative = export. | kW · default 0 |
| Setpoint 2 | State when the grid power is between Active power 1 and Active power 2. | No change, Off, Eco, On, Boost · default On |
| Active power 2 | Threshold between Setpoint 2 and Setpoint 3. Negative = export. | kW · default 0 |
| Setpoint 3 | State when the grid power is at or above Active power 2. | No change, Off, Eco, On, Boost · default On |
No change sends no command, so the heat pump keeps its current state. How Eco, On and Boost are carried out depends on the heat pump; see What each device type shows and controls.
Dialog buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Confirm | Takes the values into the table and closes the dialog. Nothing is saved yet. |
| × | Closes the dialog without taking the changes. |
5 Add a mode
Click + below the table. The Add dialog lists the mode types with a short description and a Create button. Click Show more to see all types, Hide to show only the first two. Create adds the mode to the table (or opens its form); click Save below the table to store it.
| Mode type | What it is for | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| AI energy manager * | An AI agent plans the battery, EV chargers, heat pumps and PV from electricity prices and forecasts. Needs electricity prices and a subscription. | AI energy manager |
| Schedule | Other limits, goal and advanced settings for given days, months and times. | Schedules |
| Flexibility | Lets an external flexibility or aggregator system use the strategy's devices within its limits. | Flexibility and External EMS |
| External EMS | Lets an external energy-management system send setpoints for batteries, EV chargers, PV and heat pumps. | Flexibility and External EMS |
| Negative price | Other limits, goal and advanced settings while the electricity price is zero or negative. | Negative price optimization |
| EVSE optimization, HVAC optimization, Battery optimization | Price-based optimization of one device type. | Battery, EVSE and HVAC optimization |
| Voltage regulation | Other limits and goal while the grid voltage is too high. | Voltage regulation and grid connection fallback |
| Grid connection fallback | Raises or lowers the grid limits while a device does not communicate. | Voltage regulation and grid connection fallback |
The note "* Reduxi advanced feature. Subscription may be required." marks features that need a licence or subscription.
The AI energy manager and the specific optimizations (Negative price, Battery, EVSE and HVAC optimization) cannot be used at the same time. Use one of them.
6 Which mode is in effect
The Energy manager checks the modes in this order, every regulation cycle, and uses the first one that applies:
- 1Voltage regulation: while the grid voltage is above its activation threshold.
- 2Negative price: while the electricity price is zero or negative.
- 3Schedule: the first schedule entry, in table order, whose days, months and times match now.
- 4Default mode: when none of the above applies.
These features work on top of the selected mode rather than replacing it:
- Grid connection fallback raises or lowers the limits while a listed device does not communicate.
- AI energy manager, Battery, EVSE and HVAC optimization plan setpoints from prices within the limits.
- External EMS and Flexibility replace the setpoints of the device types they control while they are active.
- A power limit received from the grid operator through the EEBUS connector lowers the import and export limits further.
On the Last measurements tab, Optimization shows the mode in effect and Regulation mode the goal in effect. Max. import active power and Max. export active power show the limits the controller applies at this moment. See Strategy measurements, charts and archive.
7 Checklist
- Default mode Import limit and Export limit match the connection agreement.
- The Default mode Goal fits the site; other goals are used in schedule entries.
- Min. SOC and Max. SOC match the battery manufacturer's recommendations.
- Charging from PV limit matches how the owner wants the cars charged.
- The HVAC setpoints and thresholds are set if heat pumps are regulated.
- Save was clicked after the last change, and Last measurements shows the expected Optimization and Regulation mode.