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Automatic Trading Setup Guide

This guide shows you how to set up fully automatic battery trading with Sungrow inverters using the Battery Energy Trading integration.

Overview

The integration provides automation generation tools that create ready-to-use Home Assistant automations for controlling your Sungrow inverter based on electricity prices. This eliminates manual automation creation while giving you full visibility and control.

Prerequisites

Before setting up automatic trading, ensure you have:

  1. ✅ Battery Energy Trading integration installed and configured
  2. ✅ Sungrow integration installed (Sungrow-SHx-Inverter-Modbus-Home-Assistant)
  3. ✅ Nord Pool integration providing price data
  4. ✅ Basic familiarity with Home Assistant automations

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Generate Automation Scripts

The integration provides a service to automatically generate Home Assistant automation YAML for your system.

Using the Dashboard:

  1. Open your Battery Energy Trading dashboard
  2. Find the "🤖 Automation Management" section
  3. Click Generate Automation Scripts

Using Developer Tools:

  1. Go to Developer Tools → Services
  2. Select battery_energy_trading.generate_automation_scripts
  3. Click Call Service

What happens:

  • The integration generates automation YAML tailored to your configuration
  • An event is fired: battery_energy_trading_automation_generated
  • The YAML is stored in hass.data for retrieval

Step 2: Retrieve Generated Automations

The generated automation scripts are stored in Home Assistant's data structure. You can access them via:

Option A: Listen for Event (Recommended for UI)

# Create an automation to capture the generated scripts
automation:
  - alias: "Battery Trading: Capture Generated Scripts"
    trigger:
      - platform: event
        event_type: battery_energy_trading_automation_generated
    action:
      - service: persistent_notification.create
        data:
          title: "Automation Scripts Generated"
          message: |
            Copy the YAML from the attributes and add to your automations.yaml:
            {{ trigger.event.data.yaml }}

Option B: Developer Tools Template

{{ states('sensor.battery_energy_trading_automation_status') }}

Step 3: Add Automations to Home Assistant

Copy the generated YAML and add it to your automations.yaml file:

Generated Automation Structure:

automation:
  - alias: "Battery Trading: Smart Discharge Control"
    description: "Auto-generated: Discharge battery during high-price slots"
    id: battery_trading_auto_discharge
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_forced_discharge
      - platform: state
        entity_id: switch.battery_energy_trading_enable_forced_discharge
    action:
      - choose:
          - conditions:
              - condition: state
                entity_id: binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_forced_discharge
                state: 'on'
              - condition: state
                entity_id: switch.battery_energy_trading_enable_forced_discharge
                state: 'on'
            sequence:
              - service: select.select_option
                target:
                  entity_id: select.sungrow_ems_mode
                data:
                  option: "Forced Mode"
              - service: number.set_value
                target:
                  entity_id: number.sungrow_forced_discharging_power
                data:
                  value: >
                    {{ states('number.battery_energy_trading_discharge_rate_kw') | float(5.0) * 1000 }}
              - service: number.set_value
                target:
                  entity_id: number.sungrow_forced_charging_power
                data:
                  value: 0
        default:
          - service: select.select_option
            target:
              entity_id: select.sungrow_ems_mode
            data:
              option: "Self-consumption"

  - alias: "Battery Trading: Smart Charging Control"
    description: "Auto-generated: Charge battery during low-price slots"
    id: battery_trading_auto_charging
    # ... (similar structure for charging)

Step 4: Reload Automations

After adding the automations to automations.yaml:

  1. Go to Developer Tools → YAML
  2. Click Automations reload button
  3. Verify automations appear in Settings → Automations & Scenes

Step 5: Enable Features

Control which trading strategies are active using the switches:

In the Dashboard: Navigate to "🎛️ Operation Modes" section and enable:

  • ✅ Enable Discharge at Peak Prices - Sell battery power during high prices
  • ⬜ Enable Charging at Low Prices - Buy cheap electricity to charge battery (optional)
  • ✅ Enable Smart Export Control - Block export during unprofitable periods
  • ✅ Enable Multi-Day Optimization - Consider tomorrow's prices for better decisions

Default Configuration: The integration ships with safe defaults for solar users:

  • Discharge: ON (sell excess solar at peak prices)
  • Charging: OFF (no grid charging by default)
  • Export Management: ON (prevent unprofitable export)

Step 6: Monitor Automation Status

Track automation activity in real-time:

Automation Status Sensor:

  • Entity: sensor.battery_energy_trading_automation_status
  • Shows: Active - Discharging, Active - Charging, or Idle

Status Details Card: Located in the dashboard "🤖 Automation Status Details" section:

  • Current Status: Current automation state
  • Last Action: Last action taken (charge/discharge)
  • Last Action Time: Timestamp of last action
  • Next Scheduled Action: Next planned action time
  • Automation Active: Whether automation is currently active

Current Status Indicators:

  • 🔴 Discharging Now - Battery is selling to grid at high price
  • 🟢 Charging Now - Battery is buying from grid at low price
  • ⚡ Export Profitable - Current price makes export profitable
  • ☀️ Solar Active - Solar generation above threshold

Understanding the Automation Logic

Discharge Automation

Triggers:

  • Binary sensor forced_discharge changes state
  • Switch enable_forced_discharge changes state

Logic:

  1. Check if forced_discharge binary sensor is ON (high price slot)
  2. Check if enable_forced_discharge switch is ON (user enabled)
  3. If both true:
    • Set Sungrow to "Forced Mode"
    • Set discharge power to configured rate (e.g., 5000W)
    • Set charge power to 0
  4. If either false:
    • Return to "Self-consumption" mode

Charging Automation

Triggers:

  • Binary sensor cheapest_hours changes state
  • Switch enable_forced_charging changes state

Logic:

  1. Check if cheapest_hours binary sensor is ON (low price slot)
  2. Check if enable_forced_charging switch is ON (user enabled)
  3. If both true:
    • Set Sungrow to "Forced Mode"
    • Set charge power to configured rate (e.g., 5000W)
    • Set discharge power to 0
  4. If either false:
    • Return to "Self-consumption" mode

Customizing Automations

Adjusting Power Rates

The generated automations use dynamic power rates from number entities:

value: >
  {{ states('number.battery_energy_trading_discharge_rate_kw') | float(5.0) * 1000 }}

To change rates:

  1. Go to Number entities in Home Assistant
  2. Adjust battery_energy_trading_discharge_rate_kw (default: 5.0 kW)
  3. Adjust battery_energy_trading_charge_rate_kw (default: 5.0 kW)

Changes take effect immediately—no automation reload needed!

Adding Notifications

Add notification actions to the automation sequences:

sequence:
  - service: select.select_option
    # ... existing Sungrow control

  # Add notification
  - service: notify.mobile_app_your_phone
    data:
      title: "Battery Trading"
      message: "Started discharging at €{{ states('sensor.nordpool_kwh_se3_eur_3_10_025') }}/kWh"

Adding Conditions

Add extra safety conditions:

conditions:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_forced_discharge
    state: 'on'
  - condition: state
    entity_id: switch.battery_energy_trading_enable_forced_discharge
    state: 'on'

  # Add battery level check
  - condition: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.sungrow_battery_level
    above: 30

Testing Your Setup

Dry Run Testing

Before enabling real trading, test the automation logic:

  1. Disable Sungrow Control (temporarily)
    • Comment out the select.sungrow_ems_mode service calls
    • Replace with persistent_notification.create for testing
action:
  - choose:
      - conditions:
          # ... conditions
        sequence:
          # TESTING: Replace Sungrow control with notification
          - service: persistent_notification.create
            data:
              title: "Battery Trading Test"
              message: "Would start discharging now at {{ now().isoformat() }}"

  1. Monitor Binary Sensors

    • Watch binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_forced_discharge
    • Watch binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_cheapest_hours
    • Verify they trigger at expected price thresholds

  2. Check Automation Status Sensor

    • Monitor sensor.battery_energy_trading_automation_status
    • Verify it updates when binary sensors change

Live Testing

Once dry run looks good:

  1. Enable One Feature at a Time

    • Start with discharge only (usually safer for solar users)
    • Monitor for 24 hours
    • Then enable charging if needed

  2. Verify Sungrow Control

    • Watch select.sungrow_ems_mode entity
    • Confirm it switches between "Self-consumption" and "Forced Mode"
    • Check number.sungrow_forced_discharging_power updates

  3. Monitor Battery Behavior

    • Watch battery level during discharge slots
    • Verify discharge rate matches configured value
    • Check battery returns to self-consumption after slot ends

Troubleshooting

Automation Not Triggering

Check 1: Binary Sensors Updating

Developer Tools → States →
binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_forced_discharge

Should toggle between on/off based on prices.

Check 2: Switches Enabled

switch.battery_energy_trading_enable_forced_discharge: on
switch.battery_energy_trading_enable_forced_charging: on (if using)

Check 3: Automation Trace

  • Go to Settings → Automations & Scenes
  • Find your Battery Trading automation
  • Click ⋮ → Traces
  • Review last execution

Sungrow Not Responding

Check 1: Entity Availability

select.sungrow_ems_mode: available
number.sungrow_forced_discharging_power: available

Check 2: Sungrow Integration

  • Verify Sungrow integration is loaded
  • Check for errors in Settings → System → Logs
  • Test manual control of select.sungrow_ems_mode

Check 3: Modbus Connection

  • Sungrow integration uses Modbus TCP
  • Verify inverter IP address is reachable
  • Check inverter firmware supports EMS control

Wrong Discharge/Charge Times

Check 1: Price Thresholds

number.battery_energy_trading_min_forced_sell_price: 0.30 EUR
number.battery_energy_trading_max_force_charge_price: 0.00 EUR

Adjust to match your local electricity prices.

Check 2: Hours Configuration

number.battery_energy_trading_forced_discharge_hours: 2
number.battery_energy_trading_force_charging_hours: 1

Set to 0 for unlimited hours (discharge all profitable slots).

Check 3: Nord Pool Data

  • Verify sensor.nordpool_kwh_* has raw_today attribute
  • Check prices are reasonable (not stuck or missing)

Automation Status Not Updating

Check 1: Coordinator Tracking The automation status sensor requires the coordinator to track actions. This is automatic but verify:

sensor.battery_energy_trading_automation_status: <state>

If stuck on "Unknown", check Home Assistant logs for coordinator errors.

Check 2: Force Refresh Use the dashboard button or service call:

service: battery_energy_trading.force_refresh

Advanced Configuration

Manual Action Recording

For advanced users implementing custom automations, you can manually record actions in the coordinator:

# Custom automation that calls coordinator
automation:
  - alias: "Custom Battery Control"
    trigger:
      - platform: template
        value_template: "{{ custom_logic }}"
    action:
      # Your custom Sungrow control
      - service: select.select_option
        # ...

      # Record action for status tracking
      - service: python_script.record_battery_action
        data:
          action: "discharge"
          next_discharge_slot: "{{ next_slot_time }}"

Note: Requires custom python_script implementation.

Integration with Home Assistant Automations

The generated automations integrate seamlessly with Home Assistant's automation system:

  • Automation Editor: Edit via UI in Settings → Automations
  • YAML Mode: Full YAML customization available
  • Automation Traces: Full execution history and debugging
  • Conditions: Add time, day, weather conditions
  • Actions: Extend with notifications, scripts, scenes

Best Practices

Solar-First Strategy (Recommended)

For homes with solar panels:

  1. ✅ Enable Discharge - Sell excess solar at peak prices
  2. ⬜ Disable Charging - Avoid grid charging, use solar only
  3. ✅ Enable Export Management - Block export when unprofitable
  4. ✅ Enable Multi-Day Optimization - Plan around tomorrow's prices

This maximizes solar ROI without increasing grid consumption.

Grid Trading Strategy

For maximizing arbitrage profits:

  1. ✅ Enable Discharge - Sell at high prices
  2. ✅ Enable Charging - Buy at low prices
  3. ✅ Set Appropriate Thresholds:
    • Discharge price: High enough to cover battery wear
    • Charge price: Low enough for profitable spread
  4. ⚡ Monitor Battery Cycles - Track long-term battery health

Safety Limits

Always configure safety limits:

number.battery_energy_trading_min_battery_level: 25  # Reserve for blackouts
number.battery_energy_trading_force_charge_target: 70  # Don't overcharge

Monitoring and Analytics

Track Profitability

Monitor these sensors over time:

  • sensor.battery_energy_trading_discharge_time_slots (revenue attribute)
  • sensor.battery_energy_trading_charging_time_slots (cost attribute)
  • sensor.battery_energy_trading_arbitrage_opportunities (profit estimates)

Create Performance Dashboard

Add to your dashboard:

- type: history-graph
  title: Trading Performance
  entities:
    - sensor.battery_energy_trading_discharge_time_slots
    - sensor.battery_energy_trading_charging_time_slots
    - binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_forced_discharge
    - binary_sensor.battery_energy_trading_cheapest_hours
  hours_to_show: 48

Support and Resources

Next Steps

Once automatic trading is working:

  1. Monitor for 1 week - Verify behavior matches expectations
  2. Adjust thresholds - Fine-tune based on your electricity market
  3. Review profitability - Calculate actual ROI vs estimates
  4. Expand features - Add charging, multi-day optimization, etc.

Happy Trading! ⚡🔋💰