16.8 kW solar panel system
Case study
A smart home energy system that knows when to use, store and save power
This home was equipped with 16.8 kW of solar panels and a 25 kWh home battery. Highlands Smart Homes used Home Assistant to turn that hardware into a smarter energy management system, automatically shifting household energy use into solar production periods, reducing battery drain in the evening, and responding to wholesale energy prices.
25 kWh home battery
Home Assistant
Shift usage into solar production periods
Amber wholesale energy pricing
Appliances, climate, hot water and battery charging
The challenge
Large solar and battery systems still need smart control
This home had the right energy hardware in place: a large 16.8 kW solar array and a 25 kWh battery. But the next step was making sure the home actually used that energy intelligently.
Without automation, appliances may run at night, the battery may be drained by heating and cooling, and cheap grid pricing opportunities may be missed.
The goal was to create a smart energy layer that helped the home make better decisions automatically, because solar and battery systems are powerful on their own, but smart automation helps the home use that energy at the right time.
The strategy
Using the right energy at the right time
Home Assistant became the control layer between the home’s energy system and everyday household routines.
Rather than relying on the homeowner to manually time every appliance or monitor solar production, automations were created to shift flexible energy loads into the middle of the day, when solar production was strongest.
The result was a home that could make better use of its own solar power without requiring constant input from the homeowner.
Load shifting
Running appliances when solar is available
Simple household routines were redesigned around solar availability.
For example, the homeowner could load the clothes dryer with wet washing in the evening, but instead of running immediately and drawing from the battery overnight, the dryer could be scheduled or automated to run the following morning once solar production was available.
The same approach was used for the dishwasher. It could be stacked at night and automatically run in the morning when the sun was up. The homeowner did not need to change the way they used the house, the automation simply shifted the energy demand to a better time.
- Clothes dryer delayed until morning solar production
- Dishwasher starts after sunrise or once solar output is sufficient
- High-load appliances prioritised during daylight hours
- Optional conditions based on battery level, solar output or energy price
Climate automation
Pre-heating and pre-cooling the home with solar
One of the most valuable automations was climate control. Towards the end of the solar production period, the home’s heating or air-conditioning could automatically ramp up while solar energy was still available.
Instead of waiting until after sunset and drawing heavily from the battery, the system used daytime solar energy to bring the home closer to the desired temperature earlier.
The house effectively became a thermal battery, holding warmth or cool air into the evening and reducing the amount of stored battery energy needed for comfort later in the day.
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Morning
Appliances wait for solar
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Midday
Solar powers household loads
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Late afternoon
Heating or cooling ramps up
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Evening
Battery use is reduced
Pool energy
Applying excess solar to pool heating and filtering
The same principle can also be applied to other large flexible loads, such as a pool.
When excess solar is available, the system can prioritise pool filtering, heating or other pool equipment. Rather than running those systems at a fixed time regardless of energy conditions, Home Assistant can use solar production, battery state and energy pricing to decide when it makes the most sense.
- Run pool filtration during solar production
- Increase pool heating when excess solar is available
- Reduce pool equipment usage during expensive grid periods
- Prioritise household battery charging before non-essential pool loads
Holiday mode
Saving energy when nobody is home
The system also included an automatic holiday mode. When the homeowners were detected more than 50 km from home, the hot water system could automatically turn off to avoid wasting energy while the house was empty.
When they re-entered the 50 km zone, the hot water system could turn back on, preparing the home before they arrived. This removed the need to remember to manually switch systems off before leaving and back on before returning.
Wholesale pricing
Charging the battery when grid energy is incredibly cheap
The home was also connected to Amber, an Australian wholesale energy provider. On days with low solar output, Home Assistant could monitor electricity pricing and charge the home battery from the grid when power became incredibly cheap.
This meant the home was not only using solar intelligently, but could also take advantage of wholesale pricing opportunities when conditions made sense, considering the wider energy market as part of its decision-making.
- Low expected solar production
- Battery below target level
- Grid price drops below a set threshold
- Battery charges to full or to a nominated reserve level
- Avoid charging during expensive price periods
Platform
Home Assistant as the energy control layer
Home Assistant provided the flexibility to coordinate multiple parts of the home: solar production, battery storage, appliances, heating and cooling, hot water, location-based presence and wholesale energy pricing.
Rather than treating each device as separate, Home Assistant allowed the home to behave as one connected energy system, automatically making decisions based on time of day, solar output, battery state, energy price and whether the homeowners were home or away.
The result
A home that uses energy more intelligently
The finished system helped the home make better use of its 16.8 kW solar system and 25 kWh battery. Appliances could run when solar was available, heating and cooling could be shifted into more efficient windows, hot water could turn off automatically when the homeowners were away, and the battery could charge from the grid during extremely cheap wholesale pricing events.
The result was a home that required less manual management and made smarter energy decisions every day.
- Better use of daytime solar production
- Reduced unnecessary battery drain overnight
- Appliances shifted into solar production periods
- Heating and cooling used strategically before sunset
- Hot water automatically managed during holidays
- Battery charging optimised around Amber wholesale pricing
- Home Assistant used as a flexible whole-home energy control platform
- More comfort, less manual control and smarter energy use
Want your solar and battery system to work smarter?
Highlands Smart Homes designs smart energy automations for homes with solar, batteries, electric hot water, pool systems, climate control and wholesale energy pricing. Whether you are building a new home, upgrading an existing system or trying to get more value from your solar and battery, we can help create a smarter energy management system around the way your household actually lives.
Book a smart energy consultation
Tell us about your solar, battery and automation goals. We will be in touch for a no-obligation consultation to discuss what is possible for your home.