How it works
It reads, plans and changes schedules.
Beesley Energy runs inside your Home Assistant and works only with the entities (sensors and controls) that Home Assistant and your integrations already provide.
The loop
- Reads. Battery level, solar output, house use, car state and prices, from the sensors your integrations expose in Home Assistant.
- Plans. Works out a schedule using price and solar forecasts, your own use, and the limits and car-ready times you set.
- Changes schedules. Sends schedule changes, such as when to charge, discharge or heat, through Home Assistant controls. On equipment that allows it, it can also change grid export and import limits, but only within the limits you entered.
- Checks and repeats. Watches what actually happened and re-plans as forecasts change.
See everything it can do, including learnt departure times, two-way charging and the app.
What it changes, and what it never touches
It changes
- When the battery charges and discharges
- When the car charges, and how fast, within your limits
- When hot water or heating runs
- On equipment that allows it, your grid export and import limits, but only within the limits you entered or that your installer or network operator set
It never changes
- Protection settings in your equipment
- Your breaker size or switchboard settings
- Grid connection settings
You enter your breaker size and export limits during setup. Beesley Energy never asks equipment to go beyond the limits you entered or that your installer or network operator set. Changes to wiring, protection settings or grid connection settings must be done by a licensed electrician or your installer.
Breaker limit
The breaker limit is Beesley Energy's model of how much power your switchboard can carry. During setup you choose your main breaker's make and rating from a list of common Hager, ABB, Schneider, Clipsal and NHP breakers, or choose "Other / I don't know". You also enter the number of phases and your supply voltage.
Breakers carry less current when they are hot. Beesley Energy uses the makers' published temperature tables to lower the limit as your switchboard warms up. It reads a switchboard temperature sensor if you have one. If not, it estimates the board at 15 °C above the outside temperature. If your breaker is not on the list, it uses the most cautious table. It then takes off a 1 kW margin.
When the price goes below zero
When your confirmed electricity price is below zero, Beesley Energy plans to draw as much from the grid as the breaker limit allows. The power goes to your car first, then the home battery, then the loads you have chosen, such as hot water or a pool pump, started one at a time. It counts what the house is already using, and it keeps extra headroom for sudden load steps it has measured, so the total stays under the limit. While this happens, it can turn down your solar so the grid supplies the power, and hold your export at zero.
The breaker limit is a planning limit, not a protection device. Your real breaker and your equipment's own protection still do that job. It does not change your breaker or switchboard, and its limit is only as good as the details you enter.
What happens when it stops
If Beesley Energy loses its connection, you switch it off, or your licence ends, it tries to send neutral settings first. Neutral settings hand control back to the equipment's own mode. Then it stops making changes.
Some equipment keeps the last setting it was given, or ignores the request. The app lists what we know for each supported device in Settings > Equipment behaviour. You can switch Beesley Energy off in Settings at any time, and you can always control your equipment yourself.
If we find a safety or security problem, we will be able to switch off Beesley Energy's changes to equipment for everyone or for a group of users. This is coming in a later update. We will tell you in the app and by email.
If our licence server cannot be reached
Beesley Energy keeps working for up to 14 days without reaching our licence server. It warns you in the app and by email 14 days before a licence check would fail.
Your warranty and connection agreement
If your equipment has a manufacturer warranty or a network connection agreement, check that automated control is allowed before you turn Beesley Energy on. Your rights against the makers of your equipment, car, inverter or battery are separate from ours.