Tag: renewable-energy

Harnessing Excess Solar Energy to Power Your Appliances with Home Assistant

One of the great joys of having a smart home is automating mundane tasks—but when you add renewable energy into the mix, the fun (and savings) multiply. Imagine using your dishwasher and washing machine only when your solar panels are producing excess energy or electricity prices are negative. Not only do you save money, but you also pat yourself on the back for being environmentally conscious. Let me walk you through how I accomplished this with Home Assistant, a little bit of automation magic, and some good old-fashioned solar power.

The Dream: Let the Sun Do the Work

Picture this: the sun is shining, your solar panels are cranking out kilowatts like nobody’s business, and instead of letting that energy go back to the grid for peanuts, you’re using it to run your power-hungry appliances. For me, this means the dishwasher and washing machine—two machines that, without automation, seem to have their own agenda (and it’s not solar-friendly).

The plan was simple:

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