Control type and manual setpoints
Decide whether the energy manager controls a device, or set its power or current by hand for tests and service work.
→ Overview
Every device the controller can control has a Control type card at the top of its Last measurements tab. The control type decides who sets the device's power:
- Auto: the strategy (normally the Energy manager) controls the device. This is the normal setting.
- Manual: you set the power or current by hand on this page. The strategy leaves the device alone.
- Off: the controller sets the device's power to zero.
- Boost: the controller runs the device at its maximum.
Which options a device offers depends on its type. In the examples in this manual, the SolarEdge PV inverter offers Auto, Manual, Off and Boost, the Etrel EV charger Auto, Manual and Off, and the Sonnen battery Auto and Manual. Devices that are only measured, such as the grid meter, have no Control type card.
While a device is in Manual, the strategy does not control it, and your value is not limited by the strategy's import and export limits or by the main fuses. A manual value that is too high can overload the grid connection, blow the main fuse or cause high grid costs. Use Manual only while you are on site and watching the device, and set the device back to Auto when you are done.
1 Set a device to manual
The dialog appears for every change on this card: for the control type and for each setpoint, also when you switch back to Auto. Cancel discards the change and reloads the current values from the controller. Nothing is sent to the device until you click Yes. The change is recorded in the Audit log.
2 Control type card
| Option | What the controller does | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | The strategy that has this device as a Regulated device sets its power within the grid limits, fuses and the strategy goal. Your manual values are kept but not used. | Normal operation. |
| Manual | The strategy stops controlling the device. The values in the setpoint cards are sent to the device instead. They are kept when the controller restarts and do not expire: the device stays in Manual until you change it. When you switch to Manual, the setpoint cards start with the values the strategy last used. | Commissioning tests, service, a fixed charging current for a test drive. |
| Off | Power and current setpoints and the device's import and export limits are set to 0. A PV inverter is curtailed to 0 kW, an EV charger gets 0 A, a battery is held at 0 kW. | Stopping one device without removing it from the strategy. |
| Boost | Setpoints are set to the device's maximum: a PV inverter produces without curtailment. Not offered for EV chargers. | Running PV at full output, for example for a performance check. |
| Date and time (card footer) | When the control type was last read from the controller. It does not update live; it changes when the page loads or after you confirm a change. | — |
Like Manual, Off and Boost take the device out of the strategy. Boost on a PV inverter ignores the export limit of the strategy, so a zero-export site exports again. Off on a PV inverter stops production completely.
A battery at its minimum state of charge can still be charged a little by the controller to protect it, even in Off or Manual.
3 Setpoint cards
In Manual, the device's adjustable values appear as cards next to Control type. Which cards appear depends on the device type.
| Card | What it does | Unit / range |
|---|---|---|
| Battery active power setpoint | Power the battery should charge or discharge with. Positive = charge, negative = discharge. The controller limits the value to the battery's Min active power and Max active power and stops discharging at the minimum and charging at the maximum state of charge. | kW · between Min and Max active power, for example −5.0 to 5.0 kW |
| Mode name setpoint | The operating mode requested from the battery. Setpoint = the battery follows Battery active power setpoint. Other batteries can offer more modes, for example Max. production, Self consumption, Max. consumption or Peak shaving, which hand control to the battery's own energy management. | option |
| Per phase current setpoint | Charging current per phase for an EV charger. 0 A means no charging current. A car does not charge below its minimum current (usually 6 A). |
A · up to Max. current per phase, for example 32 A |
| Other setpoints | Other device types show their own adjustable values, for example an export power limit for a PV inverter. | as shown on the card |
| − / + | Lower or raise the value by one step. The value stays within the limits the device type allows. | — |
| Date and time (card footer) | When the setpoint was last read. / = no value set yet. | — |
In Manual, the per-phase current of an EV charger is sent as entered. It is not reduced when other loads already use the main fuse. Enter at most the current the installation can carry together with the rest of the site.
4 Side effects
- A device that is not in Auto is not controlled by any strategy. The Health check shows the warning DEVICE_CONTROL_NOT_IN_AUTO for it, so a forgotten manual setting is visible.
- Every confirmed change is written to the Audit log with the old and the new value.
- A device with Do you want to limit communication with the device to read-only? set to Yes on its Details tab shows no Control type card: the controller never writes to it.
- A device that is offline (Communication error ON) is never controlled, whatever its control type.
5 Checklist
- Every controllable device is set back to Auto after tests.
- The Health check shows no DEVICE_CONTROL_NOT_IN_AUTO warning, or only for devices you deliberately keep in Manual.
- Manual EV charger currents and battery powers fit within the main fuses together with the rest of the site.
- PV inverters on zero-export sites are not left in Boost.