Transform my heatpumps into smart heatpumps with solar

Follow the project on Github: Smart Heatpumps HA

Hi everyone, i have a 4,14kWp solar photovoltaic system which i want to exploit as much as i can to save money, especially during winter months reducing the amount of gas i need to buy and so saving money.

I have 5 Daikin splits with air conditioning and heat pumps, the idea is to use them when i have enough production to run them “free” or buying as much as i usually buy (~ 450W) from the grid, instead of using my aluminium radiators.
I searched for a long time for something like this online but i did not find anything (apart from Homsai Engine, which is still a beta and seems not to work so well, at least by now november 2022) so i decided to try to write some automations to try to do something by me that could work.
I will update the github page (link above) with the code and the ideas behind any changes to the code, so feel free to have a look and use the “discussion” page there, but i will also update this thread to help me solve the problems i will encounter and to create a base also here on the forum for anyone who will be interested in something like what i’m trying to do.

By now i made a simple automation that checks when the meter reading is less than -350W for 15 minutes and the temperature in the room is < 19°C it starts the heatpump at 19°C and in eco mode.
The first problem i encountered is: with this setup if i have like 4 rooms under 19°C it starts 4 splits at the same time, the consumptions jump to like 2000W and it needs to be stopped… how can i solve this in a smart way? Also considering that 3 splits are connected to one motor, the other 2 to a second one, so it will be smarter to let run multiple splits prioritizing the splits on the same motor to reduce consumptions.
Is there a way to start first the split in the room with the lowest temperature?

Hi @patosette
Do you know if your units support the DRED standard? What is DRED?
Many units sold in NZ and AU support this allowing control of the energy consumption of the device.
Im using it in my Haier unit to control energy relative to my available excess solar like you suggest.
Its not ideal as you only get a few set points, ideally we would be able to interface with our units with some form of analog 0-10v or some other way to directly control the compressor power consumption.

Good luck with your project!

Unfortunately not, i can only read the consumption from the app and using the Daikin Integration… the only thing similar to what you are talking about seems to be their “Control on request” with which i can limit the maximum motor consumption from 40% to 100% of the nominal consumption