Smart control modeDefault home coverage

Home First

A simpler home-first mode. It runs the home from your own solar and battery first and avoids automatic battery export.

Controlled rollout

This page explains the mode logic, not just the label.

All of these modes sit inside the same wider platform: daytime EV-battery protection where supported, whole-home reporting, and vendor-safe controls. The difference here is what the battery is trying to optimise once those guardrails are in place.

Battery protection still sits above the mode

If your setup qualifies for the flagship daytime drain fix, that protection remains the first job regardless of the mode selected underneath it.

Mode choice changes the operating priority

The question is not whether the battery can charge or export. The question is what outcome should win when value, reserve, and home demand are competing.

Availability still depends on your stack

Real rollout still depends on inverter control support, telemetry quality, tariff setup, and whether current onboarding safely supports your hardware mix.

Best fit

Best for homes that care more about using their own stored energy than selling battery power back to the grid.

Primary goal

Keep battery energy available for the home later, with less grid use and no automatic battery export.

Decision check

Is your main goal to run the house from your own solar and battery rather than sell battery power back?

When this mode wins

  • Homes that want calmer, more legible battery behaviour and fewer moving parts.
  • Users who care about evening home coverage more than export revenue.
  • People who want tariff-aware charging only when the home genuinely needs extra battery for the next expensive period.

When another mode is better

  • You have an export tariff and want to sell spare battery power when prices are high.
  • You want to earn from changing prices rather than keep battery energy mainly for the home.
  • You want a mode that can export automatically when export prices improve.

What it does in practice

  1. 1

    Works out how much battery to keep for the next expensive period.

  2. 2

    Uses battery during cheap periods only while enough remains for later home use.

  3. 3

    Charges in cheap periods only when the battery is lower than the home is likely to need.

  4. 4

    Keeps energy back for later home loads instead of dispatching it to the grid.

  5. 5

    Works well when predictable home coverage matters more than selling power back.

Guardrails and stop conditions

  • Battery safety limits or unsupported devices can still stop charging actions.
  • Outside cheap import windows, the mode will not top up just to fill the battery for its own sake.
  • This mode keeps automatic battery export off, even if export prices look attractive.

Compare with other smart controls

Most homes should choose the operating goal first, then choose the mode. These related pages make the tradeoffs explicit.

Smart controlRecommended

Autopilot

The best starting mode for most homes. Autopilot charges when power is cheap, keeps battery back for the home, and can export spare battery power when prices are high.

Explore page
Smart controlTariff-window charging

Time-based Control

A simple schedule-based mode. Time-based Control charges the battery during your cheaper tariff periods until it reaches the battery target you set.

Explore page

Use cases that usually point toward this mode

These whole-home problems are often where this control strategy becomes the practical answer.

Use case

Stop Octopus daytime EV charging from draining your home battery

This is the flagship 1app.energy wedge: stop the daytime EV-battery conflict first, then layer in cheaper-period battery charging and broader whole-home coordination.

Explore page
Use case

Solar and battery Smart Control for smart tariffs

This is the core 1app.energy use case: understanding whether solar, battery reserve and tariff timing are working together or fighting each other.

Explore page
Use case

Using battery storage to buffer heat-pump demand

For all-electric homes, battery storage can protect comfort and cost, but only if the reserve strategy is tuned to real heating behaviour and tariff opportunity.

Explore page

Integrations commonly paired with this mode

These integration pages explain the device context where this smart control style usually shows up.

Solar and batteryBeta

Solis

Connect supported Solis hybrid inverter homes to 1app.energy so live solar, battery, grid, home demand, reports and tariff-aware battery behaviour can sit in one place once connected.

Explore page

Related reading

Use the overview hub for the big picture, or jump into the comparison blog for a quicker narrative walkthrough.

Overview

Smart Controls overview

See the full smart-control model together and use the overview hub to narrow the choice before you commit to one strategy.

Explore page
Blog guide

Which smart control mode should you use?

Read the comparison blog for a quicker narrative walkthrough of where each mode tends to fit and where it can disappoint.

Explore page

Product context

The smart control is not the whole product.

These modes decide how the battery should behave. The wider platform still includes the daytime EV-battery fix, whole-home visibility, tariff context, and vendor-safe control paths across the rest of the home.

See the wider product

Priority access

Check whether Home First fits your home.

If your priority is lower grid dependence and simpler battery behaviour, we can review whether current onboarding supports your Solis inverter and tariff mix.

1Choose your inverter first
2Solis and SunSynk monitoring continue
3LuxPowerTek confirms beta access

Start with the signup check.

If your inverter is supported, you can create an account straight away. If it is not listed, the same flow sends you to the compatibility list.

Check if your setup fits

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