I need to look into this again. I had it installed at the beginning of the winter and found it wonky. Heating during peak hours and not doing a thing when we pay .02$/kWh
this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2025
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homeassistant
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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io
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Two cents per kWh?? Where the hell are you?
In Ontario! The new optional Ultra-Low Overnight price plan provides:
Ultra-low overnight rate of 2.4 cents per kWh: everyday 11 p.m.-7 a.m.
Mid-peak rates of 10.2 cents per kWh: weekdays 7 a.m.-4 p.m. and 9 p.m.-11 p.m.
On-peak rates of 24.0 cents per kWh: weekdays 4 p.m.-9 p.m.
Weekend off-peak rates of 7.4 cents per kWh: weekends and statutory holidays 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
I definitely take advantage. I have solar panels that generate a moderate amount of energy, heat pump, and electric (heat pump) furnace and hot water tank plus two electric cars. Home Assistant has been such a dream to maximize the low energy and self-generated energy.
I have debated adding some batteries, but the amount of energy we use, especially at -30 c, it's cost prohibitive.
As a point of view, you don't need (and probably shouldn't buy) a battery that satisfies your peak usage. That would be a waste and would be over buying. Instead, a smaller battery that meets your energy needs on 80% of days is probably a better investment. However, only charging your cars at night probably saves a good part of your energy costs. If you're interested, here is a YouTube channel that talks about energy usage with solar panels, heat pump, EV, and batteries.
Thanks for that channel, I have not seen it before!
Woah that is insanely cheap, that on peak rate though.... I could do Hilo here in Quebec but we work remote so I need the heat during the day I think we'd come out loosing.
I use this extensively.
I whish you could control many thermostats with many external termometers... But I need to run many copies of this automation, one for each room of my house!
Works very well.
That's exactly how I do it too, I think otherwise this automation would be too complex to handle (it is already very complex) ๐
Whoooooa awesome! I just started adding a ton of independent scripts for a new ZigBee thermostat and it was getting messy fast.
Can't wait to tinker with this next weekend!
Update. After installing and basic setup, I woke up to a toasty house and the heater running practically alllll night.
PG&E is going to ream me with a hot poker this month. Oopsie!
Note to others: set reminders to do periodic testing. Don't just go to sleep like me. Haha!
yes, you should definitely check regularly if the Automation does what you want, there are some stumbling blocks e.g. Difference of presence detection and persons. I spent about a month until I've understand enough so that it does what I want :)
Very nice! I'll have to take a look at this.
So far, I've only done some things with variable heating targets, boosting if one room falls behind, and minor adjustments on presence detection.
Hmm I might need this. Will look into.