Documentation
Energy Manager
Require: IP-Symcon >= 6.3
The module automatically switches variables when the source energy falls below a certain level.
Functional Scope
- Switching a device on when sufficient energy is available
- Switching a device off when there is no longer sufficient energy available
- Overnight charging of devices to ensure that an electric vehicle or energy storage is charged in the morning
- Cheap charging to automatically activate devices when electricity prices are low
- Restriction of devices in accordance with §14a EnWG and §9 EEG
- Management of energy storages to compensate for deficits
- Various calculation options
Software Installation
- Via the Module Store install the 'Energy Manager' module.
Setting up the instances in IP-Symcon
- Under 'Add Instance' the 'Energy Manager' module can be found using the quick filter.
- More information about adding instances in the Instances documentation
Configuration page:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Mode | Selection of calculation option Absolute: Devices are switched on until the source energy is reached and switched off when the power exceeds the source energy Relative: Devices are switched on when the source energy is above zero and switched off when the source energy falls below zero |
| Hysteresis | Tolerance at which switching does not take place |
| Constellation for Surplus/Deficit | Selection of whether surplus and deficit are specified via a shared variable or two separate variables (only for Relative mode, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Available power (W) | Reference variable that contains the absolute available power for the Energy Manager (only for absolute mode) |
| Surplus (W) | Reference variable containing the current surplus (only for Relative mode) |
| Deficit (W) | Reference variable containing the current deficit (only for Relative mode and configuration "Two variables, one per function", since Symcon 8.1) |
| Invert | Selection of whether available power or surplus is positive or negative |
| Update Mode | With Timer: The status is updated at a fixed interval On Source Change: The status is always updated when Available power or Surplus is updated |
| Interval | Update interval of status (only for update mode With Timer) |
| Energy prices | Reference variable that contains the current electricity prices, provided by the module Power Price or another module that uses its format. This variable is only required for night-time charging or night-time runtime. If it is not selected, night-time charging or night-time runtime cannot be used. |
| Consumers | List of all consumers, see Consumers |
| Energy Storages | List of all energy storages, see Energy Storages |
| Electric Vehicles | List of all electric vehicles, see Electric vehicles |
| Configuration for §14a and §9 | Area to configure restrictions according to §14a EnWG and §9 EEG, see Configuration for §14a and §9 (since Symcon 8.1) |
Consumers
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Consumer | The variable to switch the consumer. If the variable is of type integer or float, the Energy Manager attempts to scale it if necessary. With Boolean, the consumer can only be switched on and off. |
| Maximum Usage | Consumption in watts when the consumer is completely switched on. |
| Current Usage (Optional) | Variable with the current usage of the device in watts. If none is set, the consumption is calculated based on the Consumer variable and the Maximum Usage (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Name (Optional) | The displayed name of the consumer. If no name is specified, the name of the consumer variable is used. |
| Condition (Optional) | If a condition is specified, the consumer is only activated if the condition defined here is fulfilled. |
| Hint for blocked by condition (Optional) | If the condition is not fulfilled, this text is displayed in the visualization. If no hint is defined, a standard text is displayed. |
| Minimum Runtime | If the consumer is activated, it runs for at least the time defined here in seconds. The Energy Manager can only deactivate the consumer again once the minimum runtime has expired after the initial activation. If the consumer is scalable, it can be scaled appropriately if there is not enough energy available, but it is never deactivated completely. |
| Follow-up Time | If there is no longer enough energy available for the consumer, it is only deactivated if the energy is not available for the duration defined here in seconds. In this way, short gaps in the available energy can be bridged. If the consumer is scalable, it can be scaled appropriately if there is not enough energy available, but is never deactivated completely. |
| If minimum runtime/follow-up time is active but condition is not fulfilled... | Define the behavior of the device if the condition is no longer met during the minimum runtime or follow-up time ...stop immediately: The device is deactivated at the next status update even though the time is still running ... only stop once minimum runtime/follow-up time has elapsed: The current time continues to run. The device is only deactivated after it has expired. (only if both a condition is set and minimum or follow-up time are positive, since Symcon 8.1) |
Energy Storages
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Template | Selection of a template via which the technical parameters of the device can be entered automatically. If "User-defined" is selected, all parameters are released and can be adjusted manually, otherwise they are locked and set by the template (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Instance | Selection of the instance matching the selected template. After selecting an instance, all parameters of the template are entered in the configuration. In some templates, specific parameters remain editable, as they are not explicitly contained in the template. In this case, corresponding information appears. (only if the template is not set to "User-defined", since Symcon 8.1) |
| Energy storage controllable? | Specify whether the energy storage device has variables for switching Controlled directly: The variables can be switched directly. If the Energy Manager wants to make adjustments, the corresponding variables are switched Controlled indirectly by omitting energy: The variables cannot be switched, but the current status can be read. If the Energy Manager wants to make changes to the energy storage, this is done indirectly, for example by deliberately releasing energy and not consuming it, so that the energy storage's automatic system uses it for charging (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Constellation for Charge/Discharge | Selection of whether charge and discharge are controlled via a shared variable or two separate variables (only if energy storage is controllable, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Charge Variable | The variable to switch the charging of the energy storage. If the variable is of type integer or float, the Energy Manager attempts to scale it as required. With Boolean, charging can only be activated or deactivated. |
| Discharge Variable | The variable to switch the discharging of the energy storage device. If the variable is of type Integer or Float, the Energy Manager attempts to scale it as required. With Boolean, discharging can only be activated or deactivated. (only if energy storage is controllable and configuration "Two variables, one per function", since Symcon 8.1) |
| Invert | Specify whether discharging is represented as a positive or negative variable value. Charging is represented accordingly by the opposite sign. (only if energy storage is controllable and configuration "One combined variable for both", since Symcon 8.1) |
| Control Discharge to avoid purchasing energy | If this switch is set, the Energy Manager activates the discharge of this energy storage if there is a deficit and the energy storage still has charge (only if energy storage is controllable, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Variable for switching between charge/discharge (Optional) | If the device is not only controlled via the variable for charge/discharge, but also has a status variable that must be switched to a specific value for charging or discharging, it can be specified here. (only if energy storage is controllable, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Value for charging | Value to which the Variable for switching between charge/discharge must be switched for charging (only if Variable for charging/discharging is set, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Value for discharging | Value to which the Variable for switching between charge/discharge must be switched for discharging (only if Variable for charging/discharging is set, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Level Variable | Variable that contains the current charge level. The minimum value of the variable is interpreted as completely empty and the maximum value as completely full. This means that both percentage and absolute representations can be used. |
| Maximum Usage | Usage in watts when the energy storage is fully charging. |
| Current Charge/Feed-In (Optional) | Variable with the current charge or feed-in of the energy storage. This variable is optional for controllable energy storage devices. If it has not been set, the current value is calculated based on the charge/discharge variable and the maximum usage (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Invert Current Charge/Feed-In? | Specifies whether charging is positive and feed-in is negative or vice versa (only if Current Charge/Feed-In is set, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Start charging when below | If the energy storage charge level falls below this percentage value, the energy storage is charged with available energy until it reaches the "Stop charging when above" charge level. |
| Stop charging when above | If the charge level reaches this percentage value, the energy storage is no longer charged until it falls below the "Start charging when below" charge level again. |
| Continue charging when every other device is done | If this switch is set, the energy storage is charged regardless of the "Start charging below" and "Stop charging above" settings if there are no other consumers and any excess energy would otherwise remain unused. |
| Name (Optional) | The displayed name of the energy storage. If no name is specified, the name of the instance provided for the template is used. If no instance is selected either, the name of the charge variable is used. If no charge variable is set due to the energy storage not being controllable, the name of the Current Charge/Feed-In variable is used. |
| Capacity (Optional, required for overnight charge) | The capacity of the energy storage in kWh. This value is only required for overnight charge. If it is not set, overnight charge cannot be used for the energy storage. |
| Condition (Optional) | If a condition is specified, the consumer is only activated if the condition defined here is fulfilled. |
| Note for blocking by condition )Optional) | If the condition is not fulfilled, this text is displayed in the visualization. If no note is defined, a standard text is displayed. |
| Minimum Runtime | If the energy storage is charging, it runs for at least the time defined here in seconds. The Energy Manager can only deactivate the energy storage again once the minimum runtime has expired after the initial activation. If the energy storage is scalable, it can be scaled appropriately if there is not enough energy available, but it is never deactivated completely. |
| Follow-up Time | If there is no longer enough energy available for the energy storage, it is only deactivated if the energy is not available for the duration defined here in seconds. In this way, short gaps in the available energy can be bridged. If the energy storage is scalable, it can be scaled appropriately if there is not enough energy available, but is never deactivated completely. |
| If minimum runtime/follow-up time is active but condition is not fulfilled... | Define the behavior of the device if the condition is no longer met during the minimum runtime or follow-up time ...stop immediately: The device is deactivated at the next status update even though the time is still running ... only stop once minimum runtime/follow-up time has elapsed: The current time continues to run. The device is only deactivated after it has expired. (only if both a condition is set and minimum or follow-up time are positive, since Symcon 8.1) |
Electric Vehicles
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Template | Selection of a template via which the technical parameters of the device can be entered automatically. If "User-defined" is selected, all parameters are released and can be adjusted manually, otherwise they are locked and set by the template (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Instance | Selection of the instance matching the selected template. After selecting an instance, all parameters of the template are entered in the configuration. In some templates, specific parameters remain editable, as they are not explicitly contained in the template. In this case, corresponding information appears. (only if the template is not set to "User-defined", since Symcon 8.1) |
| Power (Target) | The variable to switch the target power of the electric vehicle in watts. |
| Unit for Power | Specify whether the target power is specified in watts or amperes (since Symcon 8.1) |
| On/Off Variable (Optional) | If the device is not only switched via the target value, but also has a variable that switches the device On or Off, it can be specified here. (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Phases | Selection of how many phases the electric vehicle supports. |
| Set power | Select whether the power is switched per phase or in total (only if at least 2-phase, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Supports switching between 1-phased and multi-phased charging | The switch indicates whether the electric vehicle supports switching the phases from the above selection to one phase and back. (only if at least 2-phase) |
| Min. charging current per phase | Minimum charging current per phase in amperes |
| Max. charging current per phase Charging current per phase | Maximum charging current per phase in amperes |
| Current Usage (Optional) | Variable with the current usage of the device in watts. If none is set, the consumption is assumed to be equal to the target power (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Name (Optional) | The displayed name of the electric vehicle. If no name is specified, the name of the instance provided for the template is used. If no instance is selected either, the name of the power variable is used. |
| Delay | If the target power of the electric vehicle is adjusted by the Energy Manager, no further switching operations are carried out for the duration specified here in seconds. |
| State of Charge | Variable that contains the current state of charge. The minimum value of the variable is interpreted as completely empty and the maximum value as completely full. This means that both percentage and absolute representations can be used. The variable is only required for night charging. If it is not set, overnight charging is not possible. |
| Capacity | The capacity of the electric vehicle in kWh. This value is only required for overnight charging. If it is not set, night charging cannot be used for the vehicle. |
| Energy per km | The energy in Wh that the electric vehicle consumes per kilometer. This value is only required for overnight charging. If it is not set, overnight charging cannot be used for the vehicle. (only if target for night charging should be specified in kilometers) |
| Condition (Optional) | If a condition is specified, the electric vehicle is only charged if the condition defined here is fulfilled. |
| Note for blocking by condition (Optional) | If the condition is not fulfilled, this text is displayed in the visualization. If no note is defined, a standard text is displayed. |
| Minimum Runtime | If the electric vehicle is charging, it runs for at least the time defined here in seconds. The Energy Manager can only deactivate the electric vehicle again once the minimum runtime has expired after the initial activation. If the electric vehicle is scalable, it can be scaled appropriately if there is not enough energy available, but it is never deactivated completely. |
| Follow-up Time | If there is no longer enough energy available for the electric vehicle, it is only deactivated if the energy is not available for the duration defined here in seconds. In this way, short gaps in the available energy can be bridged. If the electric vehicle is scalable, it can be scaled appropriately if there is not enough energy available, but is never deactivated completely. |
| If minimum runtime/follow-up time is active but condition is not fulfilled... | Define the behavior of the device if the condition is no longer met during the minimum runtime or follow-up time ...stop immediately: The device is deactivated at the next status update even though the time is still running ... only stop once minimum runtime/follow-up time has elapsed: The current time continues to run. The device is only deactivated after it has expired. (only if both a condition is set and minimum or follow-up time are positive, since Symcon 8.1) |
Configuration for §14a and §9 (since Symcon 8.1)
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Limitation Variable (§14a) | Selection of a variable of type Boolean. If this is set, usage is limited in accordance with §14a EnWG. While the variable is active, the entire behavior of the Energy Manager is also saved in a media file |
| Variable for Maximum Feed-In (§9) | Selection of a variable of type Integer or Float. If this is set, it specifies the maximum feed-in in accordance with §9 EEG. If a restriction exists, the Energy Manager will restrict the feed-in to remain compliant with §9 EEG. |
| Energy production | List of all energy producers, see Energy production |
| Simulate restrictions according to §14a | If this switch is set, a restriction is applied in accordance with §14a EnWG, regardless of the actual value of the variable for restriction |
| Current consumption | Listing of all consumers and the relevant parameters according to §14a EnWg to verify that the Energy Manager is behaving correctly |
Energy production (since Symcon 8.1)
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Energy Production Variable | Variable that specifies the current energy production of the device in watts |
| Restriction Variable | Variable via which the maximum feed-in of the device can be restricted in watts |
| Maximum Production | Maximum production of the device in watts |
Status Variables and Profiles
The status variables are created automatically. Deleting individual ones can lead to malfunctions.
Status variables
Here, the term "device" covers consumers, energy storages and electric vehicles.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Planned usage | Float | The current consumption of all entered devices calculated by the Energy Manager |
| PMin (§14a) | Float | The calculated value PMin for applying the restriction in the sense of §14a EnWG (only if Variable for restriction (§14a) is set, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Protocol for restrictions (§14a/§9) | Media - Document | Protocol with all operations while a restriction by §14a EnWG is active as well as all restrictions made according to §9 EEG (since Symcon 8.1) |
All other status variables are created per device. If there are 3 devices in the module, 12 to 27 variables are created depending on the configuration.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Priority | Integer | Order in which the devices are viewed; lower priority values are preferentially activated |
| Status | Link | Link to the status of the device, i.e. "Consumer" for consumers, "Charge Variable" for energy storages and "Power (Target)" for electric vehicles |
| Mode | Integer | If "Automatic", the device is managed by the Energy Manager, otherwise it can be overridden with this |
| Current Consumption | Link | Linking to the variable with the current consumption of the device (only if variable for the device was set, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Charging | Link | Linking to the variable with the current charge level of the energy storage device (only if variable for the energy storage device was set, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Operating Mode | Integer | Specifies whether the energy storage device is currently charging, discharging or passive (only for energy storage devices, since Symcon 8.1) |
| Condition | String | Current status of the condition of the device |
| Locked | Boolean | If this variable is set, the device is locked due to the minimum runtime or run-on time and must not be deactivated. The variable is only created if the device has a minimum runtime or run-on time. |
| Locked until | Integer | If the device is locked, this variable contains the time when this lock will be removed. The variable is only created if the device has a minimum runtime or follow-up time. |
| Overnight Charge/Overnight Runtime | Boolean | Activates overnight charging (for energy storage and electric vehicle) or overnight runtime (for consumers). This variable is only created if the device supports overnight charging or overnight runtime. |
| Overnight Charge: Range | Float | Desired range after overnight charging for the electric vehicle. This variable is only created for electric vehicles that support overnight charging and has its goal for overnight charge defined in km. |
| Overnight Charge: Range available at | Integer | Time at which the desired range should be available the next day. This variable is only created for electric vehicles that support overnight charging and has its goal for overnight charge defined in km. |
| Overnight Charge: Charge | Float | Desired percentage charge level for the energy storage after overnight charging. This variable is only created for energy storages or electric vehicles that support overnight charging. In addition, an electric vehicle must have its goal defined in percentage. |
| Overnight Charge: Charge available at | Integer | Time at which the desired charge should be available the next day. This variable is only created for energy storages or electric vehicles that support overnight charging. In addition, an electric vehicle must have its goal defined in percentage. |
| Overnight Runtime: Duration | Float | Duration in seconds that the consumer should be active overnight. This variable is only created for loads that support overnight runtime. |
| Overnight Runtime: Done until | Integer | Time at which the desired overnight runtime should be completed. This variable is only created for consumers that support night-time runtime |
| Cheap Charge/Runtime: Active | Boolean | Activates Cheap Charge (for energy storage devices and electric vehicles) or Cheap Runtime (for consumers). This variable is only created if a variable for energy prices is set. Non-switchable energy storage devices do not support this function. (since Symcon 8.1) |
| Cheap Charge/Runtime: Maximum Price per kWh | Float | Specification of the maximum price in cents up to which Cheap Charge/Runtime should be activated (since Symcon 8.1) |
Profile
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| EO.Mode | Integer |
| EO.Priority | Integer |
| EO.Range | Float |
| EO.Percentage | Float |
| EO.Duration | Float |
| EO.Cents | Float |
| EO.BatteryMode | Float |
Associations EO.Mode
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | The variable is switched to active and is excluded from consideration |
| Inactive | The variable is switched off and is excluded from consideration |
| Automatic | The variable is switched according to priority and energy. |
Functionality
Optimization
During operation of the Energy Manager, the energy is optimized in individual steps so that the energy produced is used as sensibly as possible. Depending on the configuration, steps are taken at a fixed time interval or when the available power is updated. Only one appliance is switched in each step so that differences between entered and actual consumption can be detected and managed at an early stage. In the Energy Manager, each device can be assigned a priority by the user.
In each step, the system initially checks whether there is a "gap" in the activated devices, i.e. whether devices with a lower priority are active although devices with a higher priority are still inactive and enough energy would be available to activate them. In this case, a device with a lower priority is deactivated in order to release the energy for devices with a higher priority in the next step.
Otherwise, the current surplus is determined. If this is positive, a device with the highest priority is determined, which can absorb the surplus. The device is then activated or scaled accordingly.
If the surplus is negative, a device with the lowest priority is deactivated or scaled down to compensate for the missing energy.
Overnight Charge/Overnight Runtime
Overnight charge or overnight runtime is considered as soon as the day ends according to the Location Control. If overnight charge or overnight runtime is activated for devices, the Energy Manager calculates how long the corresponding device must be activated. This duration is compared with the energy prices from the current time to the corresponding target time and determines at which times this runtime can be used most favorably. If such a cheapest price is available at an optimization step, the device is activated at maximum scaling, otherwise it is deactivated.
Cheap Charge/Cheap Runtime
Cheap Charge or Cheap Runtime can be used to activate a device as soon as the electricity price falls below a user-defined value. If the electricity price is sufficiently low during an update, one of the affected devices is primarily activated, regardless of its set priority and the current surplus. Only when all corresponding devices are already active will an update cycle proceed as usual.
Restriction according to §14a EnWG
If the restriction according to §14a becomes active, an update is carried out immediately. This occurs in addition to the usual update at intervals or when the source variable is updated. If the restriction is active during an update, the permissible maximum consumption "PMin" for energy storage systems and electric vehicles is calculated. If the energy storage systems and electric vehicles are currently consuming more, they are immediately regulated down. Devices that are not locked by minimum runtime or follow-up time are preferentially deactivated. However, if this is not sufficient, devices with active minimum runtime or follow-up time will also be deactivated. For devices that are not in automatic mode, the value before the restriction is saved and restored as soon as the restriction ends. If an attempt is made to manually activate energy storage systems or electric vehicles above PMin, the switching operations are reversed. However, they are saved so that they can be switched to the desired value when the restriction ends. For more information on §14a EnWG, see here.
Restriction according to §9 EEG
If a restriction according to §9 is present, i.e., below 100%, the energy producers are restricted accordingly after each update step. For this, the maximum permissible energy production is calculated. This is composed of the permissible feed-in, i.e., the restriction value multiplied by the maximum total production, and the currently self-consumed energy, which is calculated across all devices. If the current restriction of the energy producers is above the permissible restriction, it is reduced. Preference is given to applying a restriction to devices that are not producing anyway. If this is not sufficient, energy producers that are currently producing energy are restricted. For more information on §9 EEG, see here.
Visualization
The Energy Manager has its own presentation in the visualization.