How to Optimize Solar Energy Using Emporia Devices
Maximize your solar energy investment by intelligently directing excess solar production to power your home's largest energy consumers. Emporia's ecosystem of smart devices—including EV chargers, smart plugs, and compatible thermostats—allows you to automatically use solar power when it's most abundant, reducing grid dependency and lowering your energy bills.
Note: Excess Solar features require an Emporia Vue Gen 3 energy monitor to track real-time solar production and enable automatic load management.
Understanding Solar Optimization
Solar panels typically produce the most energy during midday hours when the sun is strongest. However, this peak production often occurs when home energy consumption is lowest. By strategically scheduling or automating high-energy devices to run during peak solar production, you can:
Maximize self-consumption of solar energy
Reduce energy exported to the grid (particularly beneficial where net metering rates are low)
Lower overall electricity costs by avoiding peak utility rates
Minimize your carbon footprint
Optimizing with Emporia EV Chargers
Your EV charger is likely your home's largest controllable energy load, making it ideal for solar optimization.
Excess Solar Charging Mode
Emporia EV chargers feature an Excess Solar charging mode that automatically adjusts charging rates based on available solar production:
Requirements: Requires an Emporia Vue Gen 3 energy monitor to track real-time solar production and household consumption
How it works: The charger monitors your solar production through the Vue Gen 3 energy monitor and only charges your vehicle using excess solar power (production that exceeds household consumption)
Benefits: Charge your EV with 100% solar energy during sunny days without drawing from the grid
Setup: Enable Excess Solar mode in the Emporia app under your charger settings
Scheduled Charging
If you don't have a Vue Gen 3 energy monitor or prefer more control:
Schedule charging during peak solar production hours (typically 10 AM - 3 PM)
Adjust charging rates to match typical solar output
Use the app to monitor and adjust schedules seasonally as solar production patterns change
Optimizing with Emporia Smart Plugs
Emporia smart plugs are designed for 120V loads and allow you to control and schedule smaller devices to run during peak solar production hours.
Ideal Applications for Smart Plugs
Dehumidifiers: Run during midday solar production in basements or damp areas
Lights: Schedule outdoor lighting, garage lights, or workshop lighting to coincide with solar availability
Small appliances: Coffee makers, toasters, slow cookers, or other kitchen appliances
Fans: Circulating fans or window fans timed to solar production
Battery charging stations: Charge power tools, e-bikes, laptops, or small battery backup systems with solar
Aquarium equipment: Pumps, filters, and heaters for fish tanks
Small electronics: Gaming consoles, entertainment systems, or home office equipment
Portable heaters: Small space heaters for offices or workshops (within 120V capacity limits)
Important Limitations
Emporia smart plugs are rated for 120V loads only
Not suitable for 240V appliances like dryers, ranges, or most water heaters
Check device wattage ratings to ensure compatibility with smart plug capacity
For high-power 240V loads, use Emporia EV chargers or consult a qualified electrician for hardwired smart solutions
Setup Tips for Smart Plugs
Identify suitable 120V devices: Use your Vue energy monitor to identify which smaller devices you use regularly
Create solar schedules: Set smart plugs to activate during your peak solar production hours (check your Vue data to identify your typical peak times)
Seasonal adjustments: Update schedules as daylight hours and solar production patterns change throughout the year
Monitor and optimize: Review energy data regularly to fine-tune schedules for maximum solar utilization
Safety first: Never exceed the smart plug's rated capacity or use with 240V appliances
Optimizing with Compatible Thermostats
Heating and cooling typically represent 40-50% of home energy consumption, making HVAC systems prime targets for solar optimization.
Pre-Cooling/Pre-Heating Strategy
Use excess solar energy to pre-condition your home:
Summer: Lower your thermostat during peak solar hours (11 AM - 2 PM) to pre-cool your home, then raise the set point during late afternoon when solar production drops
Winter: Increase heating during midday solar production, then lower settings in evening hours
Benefits: Store "thermal energy" in your home's mass, reducing grid consumption during peak utility rate periods
Compatible Thermostat Integration
While Emporia doesn't manufacture thermostats, certain smart thermostats can be integrated into your solar optimization strategy:
Schedule-based approach: Program temperature adjustments to align with your solar production schedule
Manual integration: Use your Vue energy monitor data to identify optimal HVAC scheduling times
Future integration: Check with Emporia for updates on direct thermostat integrations
Setup Steps
Review your solar production patterns in the Vue app to identify peak production windows
Create thermostat schedules that shift maximum heating/cooling to these solar-rich periods
Monitor your energy data to confirm reduced grid consumption during non-solar hours
Best Practices for Solar Optimization
1. Start with Your Vue Energy Monitor
Analyze your solar production patterns over several weeks
Identify your typical peak production hours and seasonal variations
Understand your household's baseline consumption patterns
2. Prioritize High-Energy Devices
Focus optimization efforts on your biggest energy consumers first:
EV charging (typically 7-12 kW)
HVAC systems (3-5 kW)
Pool pumps (1-2.5 kW)
Water heating (3-4.5 kW)
Major appliances (1-3 kW)
3. Layer Your Approach
Primary load: EV charging with Excess Solar mode (requires Vue Gen 3)
Secondary loads: Smart plugs controlling dehumidifiers, fans, or other 120V flexible loads
Tertiary optimization: HVAC pre-conditioning during peak solar
4. Monitor and Adjust
Review weekly energy reports in the Vue app
Adjust schedules seasonally as solar production patterns change
Fine-tune settings based on your household's evolving needs
5. Consider Battery Storage
For maximum solar utilization, consider pairing your Emporia system with battery storage to capture excess solar production for use during evening hours.
Measuring Your Success
Track these metrics in your Vue app to quantify your solar optimization:
Self-consumption rate: Percentage of solar production used directly in your home
Grid export reduction: Decrease in power sent back to the grid
Peak demand reduction: Lower energy consumption during expensive utility rate periods
Monthly savings: Compare utility bills before and after implementing solar optimization strategies
By strategically using Emporia's EV chargers, smart plugs, and thermostat scheduling in concert with your Vue energy monitor, you can dramatically increase your solar self-consumption and maximize the return on your solar investment.