Software to coordinate HVAC with generation?

[cdtexas]

I want to start by thanking the forum for being a great source of information. After looking through it for a few days last fall, I built up the confidence to DIY install a grid-tied system with 56 mission solar modules (315 watt each) and two solaredge 10kw inverters. It is in south central texas, on a farm, so the permitting process was as simple as an interconnection agreement with the cooperative, who installed a two way meter and made sure I had a safety disconnect by the main panel. I want to say to anyone contemplating a DIY system, that the solaredge products and ironridge racking are very easy to install, have intuitive monitoring and commissioning software, etc., and CED Greentech in San Antonio was great about helping with the system and gave me a really good price on the equipment. Since commissioning in November, the system produces more than I use. Last month was 1630 Kwh total solar generation, 473 Kwh consumed from co-op, 981 Kwh of generation sent back to co-op.

Because of the price difference between consumption and generation, my preference would be to try to use solar generation to cool down the houses in the afternoon, as opposed using grid power to cool them at night. Both the inverters and my thermostats (honeywell) are connected to the wifi. Is there any relatively off-the-shelf systems that can control the HVAC based on inverter generation? In other words, I am looking for something that can lower the thermostat settings in early afternoon if the inverters are generating above some pre-set threshold Kwh number (i don't want to lower the thermostats on a regular schedule because that will not account for cloudy days). I have looked around some, and not found anything. Does anyone have any experience with trying to coordinate hvac settings with generation? Thank you in advance.

[Ampster]

.......... Does anyone have any experience with trying to coordinate hvac settings with generation? Thank you in advance.

I have a parallel but more complex situation that I have found might work. It involves software and hardware and I already had most of the hardware. I did not find a single software solution. If you have a smart thermostat like a Nest you can trigger it to turn down the AC temperature in the afternoons. The trick is of course to only do it when there is solar production. In my case I wanted to charge my EVs during the shoulder times. For that I already had Neurio which plays well with IFTTT. I put one of the Neurio's CT clamps on my solar production. When the solar production hits a set amount of generation I used IFTTT to trigger the charger through a complicated relay circuit. I think IFTTT can be set to trigger the Nest directly.

Hope that helps.

[cdtexas]

Thank you. The Neurio system would allow real time monitoring of consumption versus generation, but it looked (from the website) like it is geared toward 1) providing the homeowner more data, and 2) optimizing storage, which I don't have. The Solaredge monitoring platform is very good for real time generation data. Aside from hvac and intermittent well draw, the rest of the load in the houses probably is less than 2Kwh at any given time, meaning any time I have above 10Kwh generation, there is ample power to run hvac. The neurio monitoring you suggest would work, but my experience with IFTTT is limited. It's mildly frustrating that the inverter, which already monitors its generation, is not designed to communicate that data to any other smarthome ecosystem. But, since I already have thermostats, a garage door, and lighting control which all already also have ecosystems that communicate poorly if at all, i guess one more is what it is.....

[Ampster]

Yes, the Neurio does all those other things but it was the only such device that had useful solar generation triggers that worked with IFTTT. I to was frustrated that I couldn't get the inverter to trigger something..I have also found a way to use IFTTT to set temps on my heat pump water heater at different times of day.
The Neurio does work well with storage because it is used in the Gateway of the Tesla Powerwall. Generac recently purchased the company to integrate it into their new line of Lithium battery storage units.