A talented hacker, Michael, integrated Electric Kiwi with Home Assistant. We asked him some questions about his project, so if you’re keen to know what inspired him to work on this project and how it benefits EK customers, read on!

Can you share a bit about your background in software development and how you became interested in home automation?

I have a degree in Computer Science from Otago. I’ve been in software development for about 10 years now. I’ve been working on mobile apps, small scale games, websites and complex integrations and systems. The main languages I’ve used are Javascript (and Typescript), C#, a bit of Kotlin and Java thrown in. No python though which is what Home Assistant is written in.

I started getting really interested in Home Automation when we moved home about 2 years ago and I wanted things like my lights and speakers to turn on automatically when I walked into my home office. Kids also leave things on a lot, like lights and so on, so I want them to turn off on their own. I’d discovered Home Assistant and started learning about all the things it could do. We’d also had solar installed so that further made me want to utilise the excess power better.

What inspired you to participate in the Electric Kiwi Juice Hackers campaign?

We’d recently moved house and power providers (to EK) and had solar installed. Our 1960s house is not very energy efficient so it’s very warm in summer and too cold in winter. The bedroom was one of the worst with next to no insulation in the roof; however, we have five heat pumps and the one in our bedroom was Wifi controllable, which means I could automate it. So a nice warm (or cool) room for an hour sounded like a great idea. I’d managed to set up the automation to go off manually, but of course what if I changed my Hour of Power? I’d then have to change all my automations too!

On top of this, I wanted everything to be easy for my wife to use if she wanted to change the hour. I knew other energy providers had APIs so off I went searching and found the Juice Hackers API, I was stoked!

How did you initially approach the project? Were there any specific problems you aimed to solve with your integration?

I’d never written a Home Assistant integration before and to be honest it’s really daunting. I joined the Home Assistant Discord channel to ask questions and also looked around to see if anyone was already working on it. I found an unofficial integration by Matt (one of EK’s founders) on Github but wasn’t really what I wanted to build and wasn’t a home assistant integration either. Some others had made minor attempts at an integration but didn’t get far. Once released I got a lot of “I was going to do this but didn’t have time” from others.

Can you walk us through the process of developing the integration? What were the biggest challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

I don’t write Python at all in my daily job so it was a huge learning curve! Learning python and Home Assistant at the same time!

When I discovered the API I also learned there was no Python API for the Juice Hackers API. With Home assistant integrations, you need to separate the interfaces (client) from the integrations. It took me at least three iterations to get an API client I was happy with and worked in a way that was easy to use. So I had to publish my first Python library which can be installed using pip (the python package manager).

I did this as I slowly learnt how to make a basic integration using sensors (displaying static data like account information)

I also wanted to publish my integration into Home Assistant – this takes a lot of time and patience, there are hundreds of pull requests that the developers go through so it took months before they were able to review my integration. However; fortunately, that didn’t prevent me from sharing a version others could use while I waited for that to get reviewed. Patience is hard!

I also got EK in touch with Nabu Casa (makers of Home Assistant) to better integrate signing users into the integration using home assistant cloud instead of users having to sign up for their own access keys. This was an interesting process on its own but made for a much better user experience.

How does this integration improve the everyday lives of Electric Kiwi customers using Home Assistant?

Customers can now set up automations around when their free Hour of Power is, whether that’s heating the spa or turning on the dishwasher or setting an alarm. The possibilities are only limited by one’s creativity.

So in short it helps customers save money on their power bill and manage their spending on power as they can also see their current account balance and bills.

They can also change their free Hour of Power using automations based on power use or manually using the selector so they can have this on custom dashboards instead of having to open the app.

Are there any future enhancements or additional features you’re planning to add to the integration?

I’ve been asked a few times to provide energy usage e.g daily, weekly etc. However due to how Home Assistant works and my limited knowledge, this is a bit harder than just exposing the data as the initial days data is usually an estimate and not accurate. Home assistant provides a really useful energy dashboard so getting this data in would be great, so is next on the list. This will allow users to use their energy data to better save money by learning about their energy usage.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of working on this project?

There are probably two rewards for me.

One is my own achievement of publishing both the EK Python API and EK Home Assistant Integration and solving the challenges that came along with it.

The other is the sense of achievement and satisfaction knowing I’ve helped other kiwis use their power better and give them their data to use as they wish.

Thanks to Michael’s work, Electric Kiwi customers can now do all sorts of cool stuff. They can set up their gadgets to turn on and off automatically, saving power and money. Michael’s also thinking about adding even more features, like showing how much energy you’re using each day. Keen to give your coding power a go? Visit our EK Juice Hackers website for more info!

The post Meet Our Electric Kiwi Juice Hacker appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

Nice one. Batteries are a great way to flatten your energy usage to avoid peak times, and to save solar generation for busy periods in the day.

We want to help you get the most out of your battery, and with the MoveMaster plan you have a huge opportunity to maximise the cost savings by using off-peak periods to charge. Moving power off-peak can reduce your impact on the environment, so it helps your wallet as well as the planet.

With the MoveMaster plan you have three different prices, and your free Hour of Power too!

1. The peak time slots are between 7am-9am and 5pm-9pm daily.
2. The off-peak shoulder time slots are between 9am-5pm and 9pm-11pm every day.
3. The off-peak night time slot is between 11pm-7am daily.
4. Your hour of free power can be used in any off-peak period

To make the most of MoveMaster, and your battery, we recommend you power the house from the battery during peak times of day, and to charge your battery at the cleanest and cheapest times.

How our MoveMaster plan works

Having a solar battery installed is a great way to save on power costs, as well as support the energy transition. But are you getting the most value from yours?

What this looks like in practice

11pm -7am (Off-peak Night): Fully charge your battery
Power is generally the cleanest and the cheapest (half price on MoveMaster!) during this time.

6am – 9am (Peak): Power the house from the battery
Carbon emissions from electricity generation are generally higher during peak periods. And peak prices are higher. This is the best time to use your battery!

9am – 4pm (Off-peak Shoulder): Power the house from the grid and/or solar if you have it
This period has average emissions and pricing. While rates are cheaper than peak times, it will still be more expensive than your half price overnight rate. If you have solar, make sure it’s fully charging the battery before powering the house during the evening peak.

4pm-5pm (Off-peak Shoulder): Make this your Hour of Power and charge your battery up before the next peak period
If you have solar and your battery is already charged, you could opt to have your Hour of Power at a different time – but make sure you’re charging your battery while the sun shines.

5pm-9pm (Peak): Power the house from the battery
Carbon emissions from electricity generation are generally higher during peak periods. And peak prices are higher. This is the best time to use your battery!

9pm-11pm (Off-peak Shoulder): Use what’s left in the battery
This is the second ‘shoulder period’. Wait to charge your battery until 11pm, and use any charge you have left to power your home.

Assistance with battery optimisation

We’re starting to work directly with customers with batteries to analyse their usage and to conduct trials on optimising their batteries for them. These trials create real-world case studies that we can use to communicate the benefits of batteries to even more Kiwis.

If you would like us to look at your situation, and be part of these trials, get in touch by emailing: batteries@electrickiwi.co.nz

This blog talks about how to optimise your battery for power usage. To optimise your battery for a longer life, we suggest contacting the manufacturer.

The post How to use your battery to save with MoveMaster appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.

We’re very proud of our MoveMaster plan because it’s the perfect option for EV owners and combines the two things we care about most – saving our customers money and helping the environment. In this case, you’ll pay cheaper off-peak prices and get half-price rates when you charge your EV overnight (11pm-7am). Chances are you’re already charging your EV at night, so make sure you plug into a great deal.

Ensuring you charge overnight also means you’re more likely to be using renewable energy as peak time demand typically results in more dirty power generation, so it really is win-win.

The more times you charge your EV overnight, the bigger savings you can get with MoveMaster.

How much does it cost to run an EV?

If you drive a Hyundai Kona (one of the most popular EVs in NZ), you’re looking at paying around $4.43 per 100km if you recharge at home, according to this Canstar article. This will of course vary depending on your electricity provider, tariff and power plan.

According to Gen Less, charging at home, off-peak, is like buying petrol at around 40c/litre, depending on your electricity retailer, location and various other factors, but it’s a reasonable comparison.

Considering an EV?

If you’re on the fence about buying an EV before reading this blog, we’re sure the running costs we’ve highlighted above have motivated you to calculate your own potential savings if you switch to an EV. But in case you need a little more persuading, here’s a quick list:

• Clean Car Discount – By helping New Zealand achieve its goal to be carbon neutral, you can avail rebates if you purchase an EV or plug-in hybrid EV. As of August 2022, you can get up to $8,625 for new vehicles and up to $3,450 for used. The discount applies to cars with a star safety rating of at least three, and under $80,000.
• Better driving – EVs tend to have more reactive acceleration and regenerative braking when easing off the accelerator, according to Gen Less. Which means some people agree they’re easy to drive on hills and they recharge going downhill.
• Requires less maintenance – When you drive an EV, you can wave goodbye to dealings with oil changes, timing belts, and many other parts that you can find in a standard vehicle. A number of maintenance issues won’t apply to an EV but there are still parts that require regular maintenance, like batteries, brakes, tyres and fluids.

Charge your EV for less with MoveMaster

Recharging your EV frequently should definitely be cheaper than filling your car with petrol, regardless of your power plan. But if you sign up to MoveMaster, the savings could be even greater. And by charging overnight, you’re more likely to be using renewable energy – and will certainly be supporting the green transition – so it really is win-win.

More tips to become a Master Mover:
Reduce carbon by using power off-peak
Save on pool costs with MoveMaster
Enjoy your spa for less with MoveMaster
Become a Master Mover
Master the Hour of Power
Solar 101
Appliance Usage Guide

The post Drive more savings from your EV with MoveMaster appeared first on Electric Kiwi Times.