{"id":31556,"date":"2019-07-02T15:41:40","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T05:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=31556"},"modified":"2024-10-02T10:33:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T01:03:59","slug":"diy-solar-home-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/diy-solar-home-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"DIY Solutions For Solar Power Diversion Through Home Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Smart<\/p>\n

A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at a customer\u2019s need to integrate his solar PV controller with his smart home system, and concluded that this industry needs to settle on standard protocols so systems can get smarter.<\/p>\n

That post drew some really interesting comments and suggestions for solutions – and while I haven\u2019t changed my opinion that the industry falls far short of a plug-and-play solution for the \u201cif there\u2019s enough solar power, switch on the heater \/ pool pump\u201d, it\u2019s worth looking over what our readers suggested (the original comments are beneath the original post<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Thanks to Mark A for pointing out Fronius gets pretty close to a plug-and-play solution: its inverters’ Energy Management feature<\/a> has load diversion, and Mark told us that with a recent software update, the inverter can manage four digital outputs with selectable priority. However, the ability to integrate that with the smart home depends on support from the smart home vendors – or the user\u2019s willingness to get into Fronius\u2019 Application Programming Interface (API).<\/p>\n

\"pv

This example from Fronius uses the Fronius Smart Meter to control a digital output – which switches an external relay when there is surplus solar energy. This is obviously a hard wired solution.<\/p><\/div>\n

Before picking up other comments, I\u2019d like to return to the IT systems administrator I spoke to while prepping the previous article, because his setup turns out to be pretty typical of most of the advice that turned up in the comments on the story: you need to get data out of the inverter (via Bluetooth in his case); data travels over the Internet to PVOutput<\/a>; and\u00a0Home Assistant<\/a> fetches the data from PVOutput and controls a TP-Link Smart Switch (while TP-Link doesn\u2019t publish its API, there are GitHub projects like this one<\/a> to help) to turn the pool pump on or off.<\/p>\n

\"example

How many APIs does it take to turn on a smart socket?<\/p><\/div>\n

Geoff\u2019s comment gave us similar advice – he alerted us to the open source TP-Link software – as did Paul, who uses Home Assistant, Efergy current clamps, and WiFi switches.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably noticed by now that there\u2019s a minimum level of DIY, whatever the solution, at least to program what happens in what conditions.<\/p>\n

Turning to IFTTT<\/b><\/p>\n

Another entry in the \u201cmost popular solution\u201d list is If This Then That<\/a>, a service that allows users to choose triggers (for example, \u201chigh PV output\u201d) that they link to actions (\u201cswitch power to EV charger\u201d).<\/p>\n

Commenter Matthew likes IFTTT, with a caveat relevant to the solar power diversion question:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf solar inverter manufacturers and smart pool pump makers each implement an interface into IFTTT, then users can easily setup whatever rules they want\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Vendors\u2019 willingness to cooperate is the difficult question. Malcolm also likes IFTTT, but probably accurately considers it too complex for the average user.<\/p>\n

Parklea Solar told us they run the\u00a0Reposit<\/a> monitoring system, and IFTTT uses Reposit data as triggers to actions in a\u00a0Homeseer<\/a> automation system, managing\u00a0Insteon<\/a> switches.<\/p>\n

\"solar

A solution using a Reposit monitor, IFTTT web service, a Homeseer home automation hub and an Insteon smart socket.<\/p><\/div>\n

OpenEnergyMonitor<\/b><\/p>\n

Doug alerted us to\u00a0OpenEnergyMonitor<\/a>, which offers open-source software and hardware to plug this gap.<\/p>\n

OpenEnergyMonitor has software for Energy Use, Solar PV, home EV Charging<\/a> and Heat Pump<\/a> Monitoring. The EV Charging solution handles realtime solar diversion and would suit the Tesla-owning YouTuber CWNE881<\/a><\/sup>, but at this point, OpenEnergyMonitor seems to lack hardware specific to the Australian market.<\/p>\n

Its approach to solar energy diversion looks daunting if you\u2019re not comfortable building the hardware<\/a>. It\u2019s not for the faint-hearted.<\/p>\n

Big guns for Mac owners<\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got slightly deeper pockets, a Mac Mini is what Mclass runs to host the\u00a0Indigo<\/a> home automation system, which runs \u201cthe whole house including remote access\u201d on a Mac Mini. Indigo can work with Enphase\u2019s Envoy through a plug-in and directly with Fronius via its API.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to close with one more concern of my own.<\/p>\n

Most of the solutions described here use cloud services for data collection or programming, and that\u2019s a pretty big point of failure.<\/p>\n

As the last household on a very long strand of Telstra copper, I couldn\u2019t ever be certain that the upstream service is visible from my place; and cloud smart home services can be taken out of service by faults in the wider Internet (this isn\u2019t the place for a tutorial on the Domain Name Service or the Border Gateway Protocol, but they\u2019re both great ways to break big cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft Azure, and Google).<\/p>\n

Personally, I\u2019d prefer a solution that can at least function locally if it needed to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at a customer\u2019s need to integrate his solar PV controller with his smart home system, and concluded that this industry needs to settle on standard protocols so systems can get smarter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":31622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[509],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-innovations","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDIY Solutions For Solar Power Diversion Through Home Automation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If 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When not writing for us, he runs a solar-powered off-grid eco-resort in NSW\u2019s blue mountains. Read Richard's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/rchirgwin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/solar-smart-home.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-8cY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":77981,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-meter-strata-townhouse\/","url_meta":{"origin":31556,"position":0},"title":"Can You Install A Smart Solar Meter On A Strata Townhouse? YES!","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"August 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Smart Meter Installation Woes in Sydney.\u00a0 Recently we wrote about an instance in Queensland where a solar meter changeover on a detached suburban home had gone sideways. As it happens, another example that caught my attention involved multiple meters in a strata-owned switchboard. This situation is quite different to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Installation"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Installation","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-installation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/plug-in-meter-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/plug-in-meter-header.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/plug-in-meter-header.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/plug-in-meter-header.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/plug-in-meter-header.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2080,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/combet-pulls-plug-on-rebates-solar-coaster-in-full-flight\/","url_meta":{"origin":31556,"position":1},"title":"Combet pulls plug on rebates: solar coaster in full flight","author":"Staff Writer","date":"November 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"What solar buyers need to know: If you buy a solar system after the 16th November 2012, you have to have it installed before Jan 1 2013 to claim the current rebate. If your system is installed after that date your solar system will cost approximately $1,000 more regardless of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Policy"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Policy","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/greg-combet.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/greg-combet.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/greg-combet.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":90375,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/phase-shift-forget-rooftop-solar-renters-need-plug-play-batteries\/","url_meta":{"origin":31556,"position":2},"title":"Phase Shift: Forget Rooftop Solar – Renters Need Plug & Play Batteries","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"March 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I rented most of my adult life. I left home at 18, bought my first home at 32, struggled with a mortgage for three years, then sold it to start SolarQuotes. It was another four years before I bought again, only after SolarQuotes started doing well enough. So I know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Battery Storage"","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A white picket fence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/for-lease.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/for-lease.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/for-lease.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/for-lease.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/for-lease.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24549,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/panasonic-ac-solar-panel-mb0761\/","url_meta":{"origin":31556,"position":3},"title":"Panasonic Unveils AC Solar Panel At SPI 2018","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"September 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Panasonic has been showing off its recently introduced and new solar products - including an AC solar panel\u00a0 featuring Enphase microinverter technology. Back in February, Panasonic and Enphase Energy announced a partnership that would see Enphase\u2019s IQ 7X Micro microinverters[1. The Enphase IQ 7X Micro should be available in Australia\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Panasonic HIT solar panel featuring Enphase microinverter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/enphase-panasonic-ac-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/enphase-panasonic-ac-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/enphase-panasonic-ac-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/enphase-panasonic-ac-solar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25293,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-mine-wa-mb0797\/","url_meta":{"origin":31556,"position":4},"title":"Solar Power For Nickel\/Copper Mine In Western Australia","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"October 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Zenith Energy has announced it has entered into an agreement to build a hybrid solar power facility at Independence Group's Nova Operation mine in Western Australia. Nova Operation is situated in the Fraser Range, approximately 380 kilometres from the port of Esperance. In its first full year of production (FY18),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solar energy for Australian mining operations","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/solar-mine-wa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/solar-mine-wa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/solar-mine-wa.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/solar-mine-wa.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67411,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/qld-emergency-backstop-submission-mb2708\/","url_meta":{"origin":31556,"position":5},"title":"Inverter Manufacturers Hit Back On QLD Emergency Backstop","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"November 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Several major solar inverter manufacturers have expressed their concerns over Queensland's plans to introduce a very blunt tool to manage some new solar and battery systems remotely. QLD Government owned Energy Queensland is planning to introduce a safeguard for its electricity system called the Emergency Backstop Mechanism. It involves a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"QLD emergency backstop - solar power","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emergency-solar-backstop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emergency-solar-backstop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emergency-solar-backstop.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emergency-solar-backstop.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/emergency-solar-backstop.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31556"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87162,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31556\/revisions\/87162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}