Germany’s clever-PV seeks beta testers for AI battery storage control

Landsberg am Lech-based clever-PV wants to beta-test the use of its energy management system to enable the charging of residential batteries from the grid at times when electricity prices are low.

Potential participants – who are based in Germany and Austria and have a home solar-plus-battery system equipped with a Huawei, Sungrow, or Solax inverter – can apply to join the beta test for free via the clever-PV app, the company said on Jan. 3, 2025.

Clever-PV has been developing the feature for months and has tested it on some systems. An artificial intelligence algorithm forecasts expected generation from a home solar array and home consumption levels. If a shortage of self generated power is anticipated, and electricity prices are sufficiently low, the home battery is charged from the grid.

When balancing the economics, the algorithm also takes into account the battery’s charging and discharging efficiency, wear and tear, calendar aging of the battery, and aging due to deep discharge, clever-PV said.

The company said its electricity price and weather analysis indicated charging batteries with cheap grid power would have been worthwhile for many users on more than 50 days in 2024. Such usage would also have reduced grid loads and fossil-fuel-powered electricity generation.

Clever-PV said it aims to offer the feature to all users before July 2025, with clients in other nations and other brands of inverter to be accommodated.

From pv magazine Deutschland.