SOLARWATT Home May update: Grid optimisation with Home plus

We've experienced record-breaking solar generation thanks to the sunshine over the past few weeks in the UK, and we're seeing the results in SOLARWATT Home installations across the country.

This May, we'd like to share what new services & features we will be releasing this month on the SOLARWATT Home app, as well as what's to come later this summer.

Starting today, the Home app will automatically update to let you register for the new SOLARWATT Home plus service to let you grid optimise your system should you choose to do so.

What is Grid Optimisation?

Grid Optimisation will let you optimise your SOLARWATT Home system based on the current price of energy. This means your battery and consumer devices automatically adjust their behaviour based on what you pay to import electricity from the grid - letting you charge your battery or electric car when it's cheapest to do so, in addition to topping your battery up based on any excess PV generation.

Grid Optimisation works based on the dynamic half-hourly electricity price of electricity in your region. If you have a zone-based time of use tariff, you'll also be able to enter and visualise your cost-savings balance in the app. Grid Optimisation is beneficial for the long winter months where there's less PV generation during the day, or system owners who have a battery without solar panels. It will help you minimise your electricity bills through round-the-clock optimisation of your household consumption, even when the sun isn't shining.

When will it be available?

Home plus will be available for free for all customers starting today.
As we build out the feature set of the SOLARWATT Home app, we plan on making Home plus a paid service next year.

How will installers be involved?

When we transition SOLARWATT Home plus to being a paid service next year, partners will have the opportunity to markup and sell Home plus as part of a full system offering. Through Home plus, we're able to continue to invest in refining and development our home energy management offering with new devices and improved optimisation capabilities.

This is great for customers with an energy provider who offer cheap or even free "power hours" occasionally - when a supplier announces a cheap rate period, the customer use the new dial on the Electricity tab of the app to start charging their battery with cheap electricity, for use later on to avoid having to import energy from the grid when the electricity price goes back up.

For customers with a SOLARWATT Charger, we've also added the ability to change and configure the optimisation profile of your charger directly in the app.

The new streamlined user interface will come packed with new features, and unlock new ways to control and visualise your system.

What's coming this summer

• New, streamlined user interface
• Favourite and quickly switch devices from the home page
• Optimise all power, heat, and mobility devices directly in the app

We'll have more to share on the summer Home app update soon, so please stay tuned.