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    Solar Forecast Setup

    The Charge strategy supports a solar forecast goal. Instead of charging to a fixed energy level, it calculates how much grid charging is actually needed to charge the battery to its cutoff capacity, based on today’s expected solar production. It automatically switches to solar charging (Charge PV) when it hits the calculated level. This way you optimise self-use and prevent unnescesarry exports to grid.

    How It Works

    When the charge goal is set to solar forecast, a dashboard distribution card shows the split between grid charge and expected solar charge.

    • If the forecast covers the full battery capacity, no grid charging is needed.
    • If the forecast only partially covers it, only the remaining portion is charged from the grid.
    solar_surplus  ~= forecast_today − reserved_for_house
charge_target  ~= max_battery_energy − solar_surplus

    This calculation updates automatically whenever any input changes (forecast value, threshold, or battery capacity).

    Step 1 - Prerequisites

    You need a solar forecast integration installed in Home Assistant that provides a daily kWh sensor. Common options:

    Integration Sensor example
    Solcast sensor.solcast_pv_forecast_forecast_today
    Forecast.Solar sensor.energy_production_today
    Open-Meteo Solar Forecast Varies by configuration

    Any sensor that reports today’s expected solar production in kWh will work.

    Step 2 - Configuration

    • On the dashboard, set the Charge goal to solar forecast.
    • Under Configure your solar forecast, enter your forecast sensor entity IDs:
      • Solar forecast sensor (kWh today) — e.g. sensor.solcast_pv_forecast_forecast_today
      • Solar forecast sensor (kWh tomorrow) — e.g. sensor.solcast_pv_forecast_forecast_tomorrow
    • Set Solar reserved for house (house_battery_solar_reserved_for_house) to your estimated daily household consumption in kWh. Only solar production above this value is considered available for battery charging.
      • 30% of your average daily household energy use as a good starting point.

    Step 3 - Tips

    • Start with a conservative Solar reserved for house value (e.g. your average daily consumption). You can fine-tune it over time.
    • The forecast goal works well with the Dynamic strategy: during cheap hours it charges only what solar won’t cover, saving grid costs.
    • Use forecast remaining today instead of forecast today, if you want to accuratly charge at late times during the day.
      • e.g. sensor.solcast_pv_forecast_forecast_remaining_today

    Dashboard Indicators

    When the solar forecast goal is active, the dashboard shows:

    Card / Field Description
    Charging until reserve is The calculated charge target in kWh
    Distribution card Visual split: available energy, grid charge portion, and solar charge portion
    Solar forecast today Raw forecast value from your sensor
    Solar surplus today Forecast minus household reservation
    Surplus covers capacity Whether solar alone can fill the entire battery from flat to full

    All values update in real time when the forecast, threshold, or battery capacity changes.

    Entities Reference

    Entity Type Description
    sensor.solar_forecast_today Template sensor Solar forecast mirrored from your configured sensor
    sensor.solar_forecast_surplus_today Template sensor Forecast minus household consumption threshold
    sensor.charge_target_energy Template sensor Calculated charge target considering solar surplus
    sensor.charge_grid_energy_portion Template sensor Energy that needs to come from the grid
    sensor.charge_solar_energy_portion Template sensor Energy expected from solar
    input_number.house_battery_solar_reserved_for_house Input number Estimated daily household consumption
    input_number.house_battery_strategy_charge_target_energy Input number Manual charge target (used by energy reserve goal)

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