Predictive charging — Real-Time Price mode¶

Activates or deactivates grid charging every controller cycle (~2.5 s) based on the current electricity price.

Unlike Dynamic Pricing mode, it requires no price forecast and no overnight evaluation. It reacts purely to the live price.

Configuration¶

Field	Description
Price sensor	Any HA sensor with the current period price (PVPC, Nordpool, CKW…)
Fixed price threshold	Price below which grid charging activates
Daily average price sensor	(Optional) Dynamic threshold instead of a fixed value
Only discharge when price exceeds threshold	(Optional) Price-gated discharge — see below

Configuration form — Real-Time Price mode

Charging behaviour¶

Every cycle (~2.5 s) the controller evaluates whether to start or stop grid charging:

If current_price ≤ threshold:
    And if (battery + solar) < expected_consumption:
        → Activate grid charging
If current_price > threshold:
    → Deactivate grid charging

The energy balance (battery + solar vs. expected consumption) is evaluated before starting charging, the same as in other modes.

Threshold resolution¶

The threshold is resolved in this priority order:

Daily average price sensor — if configured and available, its value is the dynamic threshold.
Fixed price threshold — static numeric value configured in the setup flow.

If neither is available, the mode does not act.

Price-based discharge control¶

The "Only discharge when price exceeds threshold" option adds an extra condition to discharge behaviour, independent of charging.

When active, every controller cycle (~2.5 s) checks whether the current price justifies discharge using the same threshold as for charging:

If current_price > threshold:
    → Discharge allowed (PD controller operates normally)
If current_price ≤ threshold:
    → Discharge BLOCKED (battery holds)

The inverse logic of charging: charge when price is low, discharge when price is high.

Interaction with time slots¶

If discharge time slots are configured, both conditions must be met:

Discharge allowed = within_time_slot AND current_price > threshold

Effect on the PD controller¶

When discharge is blocked by price, the controller completely freezes its state (power to 0, no derivative term update), the same as during a time slot restriction. The battery resumes smoothly as soon as the price exceeds the threshold.

Differences from Dynamic Pricing¶

Feature	Dynamic Pricing	Real-Time Price
Price forecast required	✅	❌
Overnight evaluation (00:05)	✅	❌
Reacts to live price	❌	✅
Optimal hour selection	✅	❌
Discharge threshold	Daily average (calculated at 00:05)	Configurable threshold (fixed or dynamic sensor)