Possibility of Event Overlay

[droolingtaz]

Enhancement
On the Energy Usage graph would it be possible to overlay events like "Charge from Grid Enabled/Disabled"

Additional context
The idea being that we can correlate energy usage to configuration changes (which are done by home automation)

[jasonacox]

Thanks @droolingtaz - I generally like the idea. Do you have any suggestion on what you would like to see (look)? Even a sketch would help. Also, if you are Grafana savvy and get it working, post the dashboard or submit a PR. :)

[droolingtaz]

Examples of configuration changes would be operational mode or grid charging allowed

[youzer-name]

@jasonacox I've been watching this thread for activity since I was the one who set up indicators along the bottom of the panel for off-grid events, and on my custom dashboard I have a few other indicators that run along the bottom edge of the Energy Usage panel. I would be happy to contribute a version of the panel that adds additional state indicators if they can be pulled from the database.

I recently started using "Backup-Only" mode, rather than a reserve level change, to prevent my cars from pulling from the Powerwalls when they charge (see #668). I decided I wanted to track that on the Energy Usage panel, but I couldn't find the Operating State anywhere in InfluxDB.

I have my Hubitat home automation hub linked to the Powerwalls, and it shows an OpState attribute as either 'Self-Powered" or "Backup-Only" (I assume it would also show something related to Time-Based if I ever set that mode). I set something up to save that attribute to a database whenever it changes and am using that database to put indicators on the Energy Usage panel showing which state my system is in.

I then realized that the "SolarChargeOnlyLimited" alert coincides with the "Backup-Only" state, so I could have based the indicator on that alert without involving my Hubitat or other database. However, given the ongoing struggles to keep the TEDAPI connected, I'm reluctant to rely on alerts, so I'll probably keep my other solution in place for now.

All that leads me to ask -- are these state/mode changes getting stored in InfluxDB? If so, where? If not, would you consider adding whatever can be pulled from the API to InfluxDB? I know Operating State is in the data somewhere, since my Hubitat picks it up.

@droolingtaz - You mentioned the Charge from Grid enabled/disabled state. Does that have any effect on your system when you change it? I keep mine turned off, but since a firmware update in June 2024, my system ignores that setting. Any time the reserve is above the battery level, it charges from the grid. When I contacted Tesla about it, they said it was working as designed and proceeded to completely disable the Charge from Grid capability on my system. I had them revert that back since I wanted the option available to me, but I just have to make sure I don't set a reserve above the current charge level if I don't want it to charge from the grid. I have three Powerwall 2's with a Gateway 2 and use Self-Powered mode. Maybe the switch does something in other modes?

[droolingtaz]

@youzer-name yes it does. I am using Teslemetry integrated with Home Assistant. Teslemetry integrates directly with the Tesla Fleet API. In HA it exposes a switch called allow_charging_from_grid to easily enable/disable grid charging. It exposes ALL abilities allowed in the Fleet API. I also have a Powerwall 2 and Gateway 2 system currently running on firmware 25.18.4. My power company has a TOU plan which drops to 2 cents between 11PM and 7AM. I have an automation which flips to Self-Powered during the day and then to Time-Based (with Grid Charging Enabled) 11PM to 7AM.

[droolingtaz]

Here is a list of whats available via Teslemetry:
"backup_reserve_percent": 20,
"default_real_mode": "self_consumption",
"installation_date": "2020-04-03T11:58:20-04:00",
"user_settings": {
"go_off_grid_test_banner_enabled": false,
"storm_mode_enabled": true,
"powerwall_onboarding_settings_set": true,
"powerwall_tesla_electric_interested_in": false,
"vpp_tour_enabled": true,
"off_grid_vehicle_charging_enabled": true
},
"app_settings": {
"live_status_local_refresh_s": 4
},
"components": {
"solar": true,
"solar_type": "pv_panel",
"battery": true,
"grid": true,
"backup": true,
"gateway": "hec",
"load_meter": true,
"tou_capable": true,
"storm_mode_capable": true,
"off_grid_vehicle_charging_reserve_supported": true,
"vehicle_charging_performance_view_enabled": false,
"vehicle_charging_solar_offset_view_enabled": false,
"battery_solar_offset_view_enabled": true,
"solar_value_enabled": true,
"energy_value_header": "Energy Value",
"energy_value_subheader": "Estimated Value",
"energy_service_self_scheduling_enabled": true,
"show_battery_soe_graph": true,
"show_grid_import_battery_source_cards": true,
"set_islanding_mode_enabled": true,
"wifi_commissioning_enabled": true,
"backup_time_remaining_enabled": true,
"battery_type": "ac_powerwall",
"configurable": true,
"grid_services_enabled": false,
"disallow_charge_from_grid_with_solar_installed": true,
"customer_preferred_export_rule": "battery_ok",
"net_meter_mode": "battery_ok",
"edit_setting_permission_to_export": true,
"edit_setting_grid_charging": true,
"edit_setting_energy_exports": true,
"local_offline_monitoring_enabled": true,
"system_alerts_enabled": true,
"service_mode_enabled": true,
"support_manual_backup": true,
"vpp_backup_reserve_percent": 20,

[youzer-name]

@youzer-name yes it does. I am using Teslemetry integrated with Home Assistant. Teslemetry integrates directly with the Tesla Fleet API. In HA it exposes a switch called allow_charging_from_grid to easily enable/disable grid charging. It exposes ALL abilities allowed in the Fleet API. I also have a Powerwall 2 and Gateway 2 system currently running on firmware 25.18.4. My power company has a TOU plan which drops to 2 cents between 11PM and 7AM. I have an automation which flips to Self-Powered during the day and then to Time-Based (with Grid Charging Enabled) 11PM to 7AM.

So if you set Time-Based but don't enable Grid Charging, what does it do? Because on my system in Self-Powered with Charge From Grid disabled, it still charges from the grid to reach the reserve. Maybe the switch is still there because it has an effect when in Time-Based mode. It's pretty misleading to have the switch visible in Self-Powered mode when it doesn't function.

I don't have a TOU plan, so I've never used Time-Based. Isn't the time-based mode supposed to handle your situation without the need for external scripting? Or does the Tesla algorithm not do as good a job of managing it as your rules do.

[droolingtaz]

When in Self-Powered mode it will not use grid charge (except for reserve and storm watch). Grid Charge is only used in combination with Time Based. Yeah Time-Based has its own algorithm but I have found it does not meet my needs which is why I spun up my own automation to handle it the way I wanted.