How to disable control via inverter schedule

[kabadisha]

I am creating a custom inverter configuration to work with my Growatt inverter that I have hooked up to HA with modbus.

I've created simple charge/discharge start & stop services in HA and want Predbat to just use those to start and stop charging & exporting.
The problem is that it seems adamant that it wants entities for the scheduled start and end times etc. It seems like it's trying to use the schedule of the inverter to manage it, which seems to conflict with the service controls I had to set up.

Warn: Inverter 0 unable to read charge window time - charge_start_time returned no data, check the charge_start_time/charge_end_time entities in apps.yaml

What am I getting wrong here? Surely predbat should just use the start/stop services I've declared rather than trying to hook into the inverter's schedule?

apps.yaml here:

pred_bat:
  module: predbat
  class: PredBat

  #template: true

  # Sets the prefix for all created entities in HA - only change if you want to run more than once instance
  prefix: predbat

  # Timezone to work in
  timezone: Europe/London

  # Template configuration - delete this next line once you edit modified it XXXX:
  #template: true

  # If you are using Predbat outside of HA then set the HA URL and Key (long lived access token here)
  ha_url: 'http://mac-mini.lan:8123'
  ha_key: !secret ha_key  # Home Assistant Long-Lived Access Token

  # Currency, symbol for main currency second symbol for 1/100s e.g. $ c or £ p or e c
  currency_symbols:
    - '£'
    - 'p'

  # Number of threads to use in plan calculation
  # Can be auto for automatic, 0 for off or values 1-N for a fixed number
  threads: auto

  # Sets the maximum period of zero load before the gap is filled, default 30 minutes
  # To disable set it to 1440
  load_filter_threshold: 30

  #
  # Sensors, more than one can be specified and they will be summed up automatically
  #
  # For two inverters the load today would normally be the master load sensor only (to cover the entire house)
  # If you have three phase and one inverter per phase then you would need three load sensors
  #
  # For pv_today if you have multiple solar inverter inputs then you should include one entry for each inverter
  #
  load_today:
    - sensor.growatt_load_load_energy_today   # load_power_daily_kWh
  import_today:
    - sensor.growatt_grid_grid_import_energy_today   # electric_import_daily_kWh
  export_today:
    - sensor.growatt_grid_energy_to_grid_today   # electric_export_daily_kWh
  pv_today:
    - sensor.growatt_solar_energy_today

  # Load forecast can be used to add to the historical load data (heat-pump)
  # To link to Predheat
  # Data must be in the format of 'last_updated' timestamp and 'energy' for incrementing kWh
  #load_forecast:
  #  - predheat.heat_energy$external
  #
  # Controls/status - must by 1 per inverter
  #
  num_inverters: 1
  inverter_type: Growatt-Modbus
  inverter:
    name: "Growatt-Modbus"
    has_rest_api: False
    has_mqtt_api: False
    has_service_api: True
    
    # When set to "power", Predbat will use the inverter sensors configured as charge_rate and discharge_rate in apps.yaml
    # to set the inverter charge/discharge power levels. These inverter sensors must be in watts.
    output_charge_control: "power"
    
    # When True, the inverter uses timed_charge_current and timed_discharge_current in apps.yaml to control charging and discharging
    # by setting current levels directly, instead of following a time-based plan.
    charge_control_immediate: False
    current_dp: 1
    charge_discharge_with_rate: False
    has_charge_enable_time: False
    scheduled_charge_enable: False
    has_discharge_enable_time: False
    scheduled_discharge_enable: False

    # When True, Predbat uses the charge_limit sensor configured in apps.yaml to set the target charge SoC % setting for the inverter.
    has_target_soc: True
    
    # When True, Predbat will use the charge_limit sensor configured in apps.yaml to control the target discharge SoC% for the inverter.
    target_soc_used_for_discharge: False
    
    # When True, Predbat uses the reserve sensor configured in apps.yaml to set the discharge reserve SoC % for the inverter.
    # The reserve SoC is the target % to discharge the battery down to.
    # When False, discharging will be turned on and off by Predbat rather than the inverter doing it based on discharge SoC %.
    has_reserve_soc: False
    has_timed_pause: False
    time_button_press: False
    support_charge_freeze: False
    support_discharge_freeze: False
    has_ge_inverter_mode: False
    has_idle_time: False
    has_time_window: False
    charge_time_format: "HH:MM"
    charge_time_entity_is_option: False
    can_span_midnight: False
    clock_time_format: "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
    num_load_entities: 1
    soc_units: "%"
    write_and_poll_sleep: 5

  inverter_hybrid: true

  # **** Start of Outputs to Sunsynk Inverter ****
  # Uses a custom automation to manage the mode the inverter is in, as well ast the rate of charge/discharge

  charge_start_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Charge from grid"
  charge_stop_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Export excess (Normal)"
  discharge_start_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Export excess & battery"
  discharge_stop_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Export excess (Normal)"

  # Entity name for used to set the battery charge rate entity in watts
  charge_rate:
    - input_number.predbat_charge_rate_control

  # Entity name for used to set the battery discharge rate entity in watts
  discharge_rate:
    - input_number.predbat_discharge_rate_control

  # Entity name for used to set the SoC target for the battery in percentage (AC charge target)
  charge_limit:
    - number.growatt_battery_charge_stopped_soc

  #timed_charge_current:
  #- number.sunsynk_battery_max_charge_current

  #timed_discharge_current:
  #- number.sunsynk_battery_max_discharge_current

  # Set the battery target percent for timed exports, will be written to minimum by Predbat.
  discharge_target_soc:
    - number.growatt_battery_discharge_stopped_soc

  # Run balance inverters every N seconds (0=disabled) - only for multi-inverter
  balance_inverters_seconds: 0

  # Custom sensors to get the BMS charge/discharge limit, based on inverter size (8000kW, BMS reported limit, and inverter set limit)
  inverter_limit_charge:
    - 3000

  inverter_limit_discharge:
    - 3000

  # Only relevant for hybrid inverters (inverter_hybrid: true)
  # When set in Watts, overrides the maximum DC battery charge rate used in Predbat's prediction model when solar is available. This does not change how the inverter is controlled.
  # On a hybrid inverter, solar panels connect directly to the DC bus. This means the battery can charge from solar at a rate higher than inverter_limit (the AC throughput ceiling)
  # because the energy never passes through the AC conversion stage.
  inverter_limit_charge_dc:
    - 5000

  # **** End of Inverter Setup ****

  # Sets the maximum battery charge/discharge rate in watts (e.g. 6000). Must be set for non-GivEnergy inverters or Predbat will default to 2600W.
  # Predbat also uses battery_rate_max when creating charge and discharge curves, looking for charging or discharging at 95% of the max rate.
  # Be careful of setting the rate at a value higher than your inverter can handle for grid charging in order for Predbat to be able to find the historical 'full rate'
  # charging/discharging needed to correctly calculate the curves.
  battery_rate_max:
    - 3000

  battery_voltage:
    - sensor.growatt_battery_battery_voltage

# Battery power should be positive for discharge and negative for charge, if your sensor is the other way around then set battery_power_invert to true
  battery_power:
    - sensor.growatt_battery_battery_power   #in watts
  battery_power_invert: true

  pv_power:
    - sensor.growatt_solar_solar_total_power         #in watts. Requires a helper sensor to combine individual PV string values.

  load_power:
    - sensor.growatt_load_power_to_load   #in watts
  
  grid_power:
    - sensor.yasolr_pro_bad934_grid_power
  
  # Grid power should be negative for import and positive for export, if your sensor is the other way around then set grid_power_invert to true
  grid_power_invert: True

  soc_percent:
    - sensor.growatt_battery_battery_soc   # Entity name of the battery SoC in percent of the maximum battery size, should be the inverter one not an individual battery

  # Maximum capacity of the battery in kWh.
  # If not set or set to 0, Predbat will attempt to automatically determine the battery size by analyzing historical charging data.
  # Recommend setting it manually.
  soc_max:
    - 12

  # When set limits the target SoC% setting for charge and discharge to a minimum percentage value
  battery_min_soc:
    - number.growatt_battery_load_first_battery_minimum_soc

  #reserve:
  #  - number.growatt_battery_load_first_battery_minimum_soc

  # Inverter max AC limit (one per inverter). E.g for a 3.6kw inverter set to 3600
  # If you have a second inverter for PV only please add the two values together
  inverter_limit:
    - 6000

  # Export limit is a software limit set on your inverter that prevents exporting above a given level
  # When enabled Predbat will model this limit
  export_limit:
    - 6000

  # Inverter clock skew in minutes, e.g. 1 means it's 1 minute fast and -1 is 1 minute slow
  # Separate start and end options are applied to the start and end time windows, mostly as you want to start late (not early) and finish early (not late)
  # Separate discharge skew for discharge windows only
  inverter_clock_skew_start: 0
  inverter_clock_skew_end: 0
  inverter_clock_skew_discharge_start: 0
  inverter_clock_skew_discharge_end: 0

  # Clock skew adjusts the Appdaemon time
  # This is the time that Predbat takes actions like starting discharge/charging
  # Only use this for workarounds if your inverter time is correct but Predbat is somehow wrong (AppDaemon issue)
  # 1 means add 1 minute to AppDaemon time, -1 takes it away
  clock_skew: 0

  # Set these to match solcast sensor names if not using the cloud interface
  # The regular expression (re:) makes the solcast bit optional
  # If these don't match find your own names in Home Assistant
  pv_forecast_today: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_today)
  pv_forecast_tomorrow: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_tomorrow)
  pv_forecast_d3: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_(day_3|d3))
  pv_forecast_d4: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_(day_4|d4))

  # Defines the number of cars modelled by the system, set to 0 for no car
  num_cars: 0

  # Carbon Intensity data from National grid
  carbon_intensity: 're:(sensor.carbon_intensity_uk_carbon_intensity_uk_current_index)'
  # carbon_postcode: 'WR10 2JA'
  # carbon_automatic: true

  # Standing charge in pounds, can be set to a sensor or manually entered (e.g. 0.50 is 50p)
  # The default below will pick up the standing charge from the Octopus Plugin
  # The standing charge only impacts the cost graphs and doesn't change the way Predbat plans
  # If you don't want to show the standing charge then just delete this line or set to zero
  #metric_standing_charge: 're:(sensor.(octopus_energy_|)electricity_[0-9a-z]+_[0-9a-z]+_current_standing_charge)'
  metric_standing_charge: 0.6

  # Or set your actual rates across time for import and export
  # If start/end is missing it's assumed to be a fixed rate
  # Gaps are filled with zero rate
  rates_import:
    - rate: 22.173
  #  -  start: "00:30:00"
  #     end: "04:30:00"
  #     rate: 7.5
  #  -  start: "04:30:00"
  #     end: "00:30:00"
  #     rate: 40.0
  
  rates_export:
    - rate: 13

  # Days previous is the number of days back to find historical load data
  # Recommended is 7 to capture day of the week but 1 can also be used
  # if you have more history you could use 7 and 14 (in a list) but the standard data in HA only lasts 10 days.
  # Average the house load for the past week.
  days_previous:
    - 2
    - 3
    - 4
    - 5
    - 6
    - 7
    - 8

  # Days previous weight can be used to control the weighting of the previous load points, the values are multiplied by their
  # weights and then divided through by the total weight. E.g. if you used 1 and 0.5 then the first value would have 2/3rd of the weight and the second 1/3rd
  # Include one value for each days_previous value, each weighting on a separate line.
  # If any days_previous's that are not given a weighting they will assume a default weighting of 1.
  days_previous_weight:
    - 1

  # Number of hours forward to forecast, best left as-is unless you have specific reason
  forecast_hours: 48

  # Specify the devices that notifies are sent to, the default is 'notify' which goes to all
  #notify_devices:
  #  - mobile_app_treforsiphone12_2

  # Battery scaling makes the battery smaller (e.g. 0.9) or bigger than its reported
  # If you have an 80% DoD battery that falsely reports it's kwh then set it to 0.8 to report the real figures
  # One per inverter
  battery_scaling:
    - 1.0

  # Can be used to scale import and export data, used for workarounds
  import_export_scaling: 1.0

  # Export triggers:
  # For each trigger give a name, the minutes of export needed and the energy required in that time
  # Multiple triggers can be set at once so in total you could use too much energy if all run
  # Creates an entity called 'binary_sensor.predbat_export_trigger_<name>' which will be turned On when the condition is valid
  # connect this to your automation to start whatever you want to trigger
  export_triggers:
    - name: 'large'
      minutes: 60
      energy: 1.0
    - name: 'small'
      minutes: 15
      energy: 0.25

  # If you have a sensor that gives the energy consumed by your solar diverter then add it here
  # this will make the predictions more accurate. It should be an incrementing sensor, it can reset at midnight or not
  # It's assumed to be in Kwh but scaling can be applied if required. 0.001 == Wh
  iboost_energy_today: 'sensor.yasolr_sonoff_mcb_diverter_total_energy_today'
  iboost_energy_scaling: 1
  switch.predbat_iboost_enable: true

[gcoan]

you shouldn't need to define charge start/end times https://springfall2008.github.io/batpred/inverter-setup/#inverter-control-options

I can't immediately see what you have configured wrong, but you could look at the Kostal definition which also doesn't use start/stop times to see if you can see what they did differently https://raw.githubusercontent.com/springfall2008/batpred/main/templates/kostal.yaml

[kabadisha]

Thanks for the sanity-check. I thought that was the case too, but can't seem to stop it complaining in the logs.
I'll take a look and see if I can figure it out via comparison as you say.

[gcoan]

worst case is define some dummy helper entities and configure those in apps.yaml as start and stop time entities

[kabadisha]

Cracked it.
I had not used the reserve feature and instead tried to set discharge_target_soc to an entity.
This was incorrect as I think that variable is actually supposed to be an output from Predbat rather than a control entity.

Instead, I enabled has_reserve_soc and set reserve to number.growatt_battery_discharge_stopped_soc

Update: It turns out that the problem was that I had to change the name I gave to my custom inverter definition.
This was causing the log errors:

inverter_type: Growatt-Modbus
inverter:
  name: "Growatt-Modbus"

But this is fine:

inverter_type: GrowattModbus
inverter:
  name: "GrowattModbus"

That seems to have cleared the warnings in the log and Predbat is no longer complaining about schedule entities not set.

A a happy bi-product of this discussion, I have also set both the reserve and the discharge_target_soc to relevant entities. The Growatt inverter has equivalents for both.

Thanks for all the help @gcoan :-)

Complete setup here now for posterity:

pred_bat:
  module: predbat
  class: PredBat

  #template: true

  # Sets the prefix for all created entities in HA - only change if you want to run more than once instance
  prefix: predbat

  # Timezone to work in
  timezone: Europe/London

  # Template configuration - delete this next line once you edit modified it XXXX:
  #template: true

  # If you are using Predbat outside of HA then set the HA URL and Key (long lived access token here)
  ha_url: 'http://mac-mini.lan:8123'
  ha_key: !secret ha_key  # Home Assistant Long-Lived Access Token

  # Currency, symbol for main currency second symbol for 1/100s e.g. $ c or £ p or e c
  currency_symbols:
    - '£'
    - 'p'

  # Number of threads to use in plan calculation
  # Can be auto for automatic, 0 for off or values 1-N for a fixed number
  threads: auto

  # Sets the maximum period of zero load before the gap is filled, default 30 minutes
  # To disable set it to 1440
  load_filter_threshold: 30

  #
  # Sensors, more than one can be specified and they will be summed up automatically
  #
  # For two inverters the load today would normally be the master load sensor only (to cover the entire house)
  # If you have three phase and one inverter per phase then you would need three load sensors
  #
  # For pv_today if you have multiple solar inverter inputs then you should include one entry for each inverter
  #
  load_today:
    - sensor.growatt_load_load_energy_today   # load_power_daily_kWh
  import_today:
    - sensor.growatt_grid_grid_import_energy_today   # electric_import_daily_kWh
  export_today:
    - sensor.growatt_grid_energy_to_grid_today   # electric_export_daily_kWh
  pv_today:
    - sensor.growatt_solar_energy_today

  # Load forecast can be used to add to the historical load data (heat-pump)
  # To link to Predheat
  # Data must be in the format of 'last_updated' timestamp and 'energy' for incrementing kWh
  #load_forecast:
  #  - predheat.heat_energy$external
  #
  # Controls/status - must by 1 per inverter
  #
  num_inverters: 1
  inverter_type: GrowattModbus
  inverter:
    name: "GrowattModbus"
    has_rest_api: False
    has_mqtt_api: False
    has_service_api: True
    
    # When set to "power", Predbat will use the inverter sensors configured as charge_rate and discharge_rate in apps.yaml
    # to set the inverter charge/discharge power levels. These inverter sensors must be in watts.
    output_charge_control: "power"
    
    # When True, the inverter uses timed_charge_current and timed_discharge_current in apps.yaml to control charging and discharging
    # by setting current levels directly, instead of following a time-based plan.
    charge_control_immediate: False
    #current_dp: 1
    charge_discharge_with_rate: False
    has_charge_enable_time: False
    scheduled_charge_enable: False
    has_discharge_enable_time: False
    scheduled_discharge_enable: False

    # When True, Predbat uses the charge_limit sensor configured in apps.yaml to set the target charge SoC % setting for the inverter.
    has_target_soc: True
    
    # When True, Predbat will use the charge_limit sensor configured in apps.yaml to control the target discharge SoC% for the inverter.
    target_soc_used_for_discharge: False
    
    # When True, Predbat uses the reserve sensor configured in apps.yaml to set the discharge reserve SoC % for the inverter.
    # The reserve SoC is the target % to discharge the battery down to.
    # When False, discharging will be turned on and off by Predbat rather than the inverter doing it based on discharge SoC %.
    has_reserve_soc: True
    has_timed_pause: False
    time_button_press: False
    support_charge_freeze: False
    support_discharge_freeze: False
    has_ge_inverter_mode: False
    has_idle_time: False
    has_time_window: False
    charge_time_format: "S"
    charge_time_entity_is_option: False
    can_span_midnight: False
    clock_time_format: "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
    num_load_entities: 1
    soc_units: "%"
    write_and_poll_sleep: 5

  inverter_hybrid: true

  # Uses a helper select "Grid Mode" and a custom automation to manage the mode the inverter is in.
  charge_start_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Charge from grid"
  charge_stop_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Export excess (Normal)"
  discharge_start_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Export excess & battery"
  discharge_stop_service:
    - service: input_select.select_option
      entity_id: "input_select.grid_mode"
      option: "Export excess (Normal)"

  # Entity name for used to set the battery charge rate entity in watts
  # Growatt inverters requite charge and discharge to be set as a percentage.
  # Predbat does not support this, so I created helper numbers for charge and discharge power with values from 0-3000,
  # Then for each of those, a template sensor that converts that to a percentage value which an automation then applies
  # to the correct field in the Growatt Modbus integration.
  charge_rate:
    - input_number.predbat_charge_rate_control

  # Entity name for used to set the battery discharge rate entity in watts
  discharge_rate:
    - input_number.predbat_discharge_rate_control

  # Entity name for used to set the SoC target for the battery in percentage (AC charge target)
  charge_limit:
    - number.growatt_battery_charge_stopped_soc

  # Set the battery target percent for timed exports, will be written to minimum by Predbat.
  discharge_target_soc:
    - number.growatt_battery_discharge_stopped_soc

  # Run balance inverters every N seconds (0=disabled) - only for multi-inverter
  balance_inverters_seconds: 0

  # Custom sensors to get the BMS charge/discharge limit, based on inverter size (8000kW, BMS reported limit, and inverter set limit)
  inverter_limit_charge:
    - 3000

  inverter_limit_discharge:
    - 3000

  # Only relevant for hybrid inverters (inverter_hybrid: true)
  # When set in Watts, overrides the maximum DC battery charge rate used in Predbat's prediction model when solar is available. This does not change how the inverter is controlled.
  # On a hybrid inverter, solar panels connect directly to the DC bus. This means the battery can charge from solar at a rate higher than inverter_limit (the AC throughput ceiling)
  # because the energy never passes through the AC conversion stage.
  inverter_limit_charge_dc:
    - 5000

  # **** End of Inverter Setup ****

  # Sets the maximum battery charge/discharge rate in watts (e.g. 6000). Must be set for non-GivEnergy inverters or Predbat will default to 2600W.
  # Predbat also uses battery_rate_max when creating charge and discharge curves, looking for charging or discharging at 95% of the max rate.
  # Be careful of setting the rate at a value higher than your inverter can handle for grid charging in order for Predbat to be able to find the historical 'full rate'
  # charging/discharging needed to correctly calculate the curves.
  battery_rate_max:
    - 3000

  battery_voltage:
    - sensor.growatt_battery_battery_voltage

# Battery power should be positive for discharge and negative for charge, if your sensor is the other way around then set battery_power_invert to true
  battery_power:
    - sensor.growatt_battery_battery_power   #in watts
  battery_power_invert: true

  pv_power:
    - sensor.growatt_solar_solar_total_power         #in watts. Requires a helper sensor to combine individual PV string values.

  load_power:
    - sensor.growatt_load_power_to_load   #in watts
  
  grid_power:
    - sensor.yasolr_pro_bad934_grid_power
  
  # Grid power should be negative for import and positive for export, if your sensor is the other way around then set grid_power_invert to true
  grid_power_invert: True

  soc_percent:
    - sensor.growatt_battery_battery_soc   # Entity name of the battery SoC in percent of the maximum battery size, should be the inverter one not an individual battery

  # Maximum capacity of the battery in kWh.
  # If not set or set to 0, Predbat will attempt to automatically determine the battery size by analyzing historical charging data.
  # Recommend setting it manually.
  soc_max:
    - 12

  # When set limits the target SoC% setting for charge and discharge to a minimum percentage value
  battery_min_soc: 10

  reserve:
    - number.growatt_battery_load_first_battery_minimum_soc

  # Inverter max AC limit (one per inverter). E.g for a 3.6kw inverter set to 3600
  # If you have a second inverter for PV only please add the two values together
  inverter_limit:
    - 6000

  # Export limit is a software limit set on your inverter that prevents exporting above a given level
  # When enabled Predbat will model this limit
  export_limit:
    - 6000

  # Some inverters don't turn off when the rate is set to 0, still charge or discharge at around 200w
  # The value can be set here in watts to model this (doesn't change operation)
  #inverter_battery_rate_min:
  #  - 200

  # Workaround to limit the maximum reserve setting, some inverters won't allow 100% to be set
  # Comment out if your inverter allows 100%
  #  inverter_reserve_max : 98

  # Some batteries tail off their charge rate at high soc%
  # enter the charging curve here as a % of the max charge rate for each soc percentage.
  # the default is 1.0 (full power)
  # The example below is from GE 9.5kwh battery with latest firmware and gen1 inverter
  #
  # Predbat can compute this curve automatically if you have enough data, restart the app and look in the logfile for the data
  # once set here Predbat will no longer re-compute the curve.
  # Can also be set to 'auto' to just use the calculation curve, not recommended if you are using low power charging mode.
  #battery_charge_power_curve:
  #  91: 1.0
  #  92: 1.0
  #  93: 1.0
  #  94: 1.0
  #  95: 1.0
  #  96: 1.0
  #  97: 1.0
  #  98: 1.0
  #  99: 1.0
  #  100: 1.0

  #battery_discharge_power_curve:
  #  4: 1.0

  # Inverter clock skew in minutes, e.g. 1 means it's 1 minute fast and -1 is 1 minute slow
  # Separate start and end options are applied to the start and end time windows, mostly as you want to start late (not early) and finish early (not late)
  # Separate discharge skew for discharge windows only
  inverter_clock_skew_start: 0
  inverter_clock_skew_end: 0
  inverter_clock_skew_discharge_start: 0
  inverter_clock_skew_discharge_end: 0

  # Clock skew adjusts the Appdaemon time
  # This is the time that Predbat takes actions like starting discharge/charging
  # Only use this for workarounds if your inverter time is correct but Predbat is somehow wrong (AppDaemon issue)
  # 1 means add 1 minute to AppDaemon time, -1 takes it away
  clock_skew: 0

  # Solcast cloud interface, set this or the local interface below
  #solcast_host: 'https://api.solcast.com.au/'
  #solcast_api_key: 'xxxx'
  #solcast_poll_hours: 8

  # Set these to match solcast sensor names if not using the cloud interface
  # The regular expression (re:) makes the solcast bit optional
  # If these don't match find your own names in Home Assistant
  pv_forecast_today: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_today)
  pv_forecast_tomorrow: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_tomorrow)
  pv_forecast_d3: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_(day_3|d3))
  pv_forecast_d4: re:(sensor.(solcast_|)(pv_forecast_|)forecast_(day_4|d4))

  # car_charging_energy defines an incrementing sensor which measures the charge added to your car
  # is used for car_charging_hold feature to filter out car charging from the previous load data
  # Automatically set to detect Wallbox and Zappi, if it doesn't match manually enter your sensor name
  # Also adjust car_charging_energy_scale if it's not in kwH to fix the units
#  car_charging_energy: 're:(sensor.myenergi_zappi_[0-9a-z]+_charge_added_session|sensor.wallbox_portal_added_energy)'

  # Defines the number of cars modelled by the system, set to 0 for no car
  num_cars: 0

  # car_charging_planned is set to a sensor which when positive indicates the car will charged in the upcoming low rate slots
  # This should not be needed if you use Intelligent Octopus slots which will take priority if enabled
  # The list of possible values is in car_charging_planned_response
  # Auto matches Zappi and Wallbox, or change it for your own
  # One entry per car
  # car_charging_planned:
  #   - 're:(sensor.wallbox_portal_status_description|sensor.myenergi_zappi_[0-9a-z]+_plug_status)'

  # car_charging_planned_response:
  #   - 'yes'
  #   - 'on'
  #   - 'true'
  #   - 'connected'
  #   - 'ev connected'
  #   - 'charging'
  #   - 'paused'
  #   - 'waiting for car demand'
  #   - 'waiting for ev'
  #   - 'scheduled'
  #   - 'enabled'
  #   - 'latched'
  #   - 'locked'
  #   - 'plugged in'

  # In some cases car planning is difficult (e.g. Ohme with Intelligent doesn't report slots)
  # The car charging now can be set to a sensor to indicate the car is charging and to plan
  # for it to charge during this 30 minute slot
  #car_charging_now:
  #  - off

  # Positive responses for car_charging_now
  # car_charging_now_response:
  #   - 'yes'
  #   - 'on'
  #   - 'true'

  # To make planned car charging more accurate, either using car_charging_planned or the Octopus Energy plugin,
  # specify your battery size in kwh, charge limit % and current car battery soc % sensors/values.
  # If you have Intelligent Octopus the battery size and limit will be extracted from the Octopus Energy plugin directly.
  # Set the car SoC% if you have it to give an accurate forecast of the cars battery levels.
  # One entry per car if you have multiple cars.
  #car_charging_battery_size:
  #  - 75
  #car_charging_limit:
  #  - 're:number.tsunami_charge_limit'
  #car_charging_soc:
  #  - 're:sensor.tsunami_battery'

  # One per car, when true only one car can charge at once, when False multiple cars can charge at once
  #car_charging_exclusive:
  #  - True

  # If you have Octopus Intelligent Go and are not using the Octopus Direct connection method, enable the intelligent slot information to add to pricing
  # Will automatically disable if not found, or comment out to disable fully
  # When enabled it overrides the 'car_charging_planned' feature and predict the car charging based on the intelligent plan (unless Octopus intelligent charging is False)
  # This matches the intelligent slot from the Octopus Energy integration
  #octopus_intelligent_slot: 're:(binary_sensor.octopus_energy([0-9a-z_]+|)_intelligent_dispatching)'
  #octopus_ready_time: 're:((select|time).octopus_energy_([0-9a-z_]+|)_intelligent_target_time)'
  #octopus_charge_limit: 're:(number.octopus_energy([0-9a-z_]+|)_intelligent_charge_target)'

  # Example alternative configuration for Ohme integration release >=v0.6.1
  #octopus_intelligent_slot: 'binary_sensor.ohme_slot_active'
  #octopus_ready_time: 'time.ohme_target_time'
  #octopus_charge_limit: 'number.ohme_target_percent'

  # Set this to False if you use Octopus Intelligent slot for car planning but when on another tariff e.g. Agile
  #octopus_slot_low_rate: False

  # Carbon Intensity data from National grid
  carbon_intensity: 're:(sensor.carbon_intensity_uk_carbon_intensity_uk_current_index)'
  # carbon_postcode: 'WR10 2JA'
  # carbon_automatic: true

  # Octopus saving session points to the saving session Sensor in the Octopus plugin, when enabled saving sessions will be at the assumed
  # Rate is read automatically from the add-in and converted to pence using the conversion rate below (default is 8)
  #octopus_saving_session: 're:(event.octopus_energy([0-9a-z_]+|)_saving_session_event(s|))'
  #octopus_saving_session_octopoints_per_penny: 8

  # Octopus free session points to the free session Sensor in the Octopus plugin
  # Note: You must enable this event sensor in the Octopus Integration in Home Assistant for it to work
  #octopus_free_session: 're:(event.octopus_energy_([0-9a-z_]+|)_octoplus_free_electricity_session_events)'

  # Energy rates
  # Please set one of these three, if multiple are set then Octopus is used first, second rates_import/rates_export and latest basic metric

  # Set import and export entity to point to the Octopus Energy plugin import and export sensors
  # automatically matches your meter number assuming you have only one (no need to edit the below)
  # Will be ignored if you don't have the sensor but will error if you do have one and it's incorrect
  # Note: To get detailed energy rates you need to go in and manually enable the following events in HA
  #       event.octopus_energy_electricity_xxxxxxxx_previous_day_rates
  #       event.octopus_energy_electricity_xxxxxxxx_current_day_rates
  #       event.octopus_energy_electricity_xxxxxxxx_next_day_rates
  # and if you have export enable:
  #       event.octopus_energy_electricity_xxxxxxxx_export_previous_day_rates
  #       event.octopus_energy_electricity_xxxxxxxx_export_current_day_rates
  #       event.octopus_energy_electricity_xxxxxxxx_export_next_day_rates
  # Predbat will automatically find the event. entities from the link below to the sensors
  #metric_octopus_import: 're:(sensor.(octopus_energy_|)electricity_[0-9a-z]+_[0-9a-z]+_current_rate)'
  #metric_octopus_export: 're:(sensor.(octopus_energy_|)electricity_[0-9a-z]+_[0-9a-z]+_export_current_rate)'

  # Standing charge in pounds, can be set to a sensor or manually entered (e.g. 0.50 is 50p)
  # The default below will pick up the standing charge from the Octopus Plugin
  # The standing charge only impacts the cost graphs and doesn't change the way Predbat plans
  # If you don't want to show the standing charge then just delete this line or set to zero
  #metric_standing_charge: 're:(sensor.(octopus_energy_|)electricity_[0-9a-z]+_[0-9a-z]+_current_standing_charge)'
  metric_standing_charge: 0.6

  # Or set your actual rates across time for import and export
  # If start/end is missing it's assumed to be a fixed rate
  # Gaps are filled with zero rate
  rates_import:
    - rate: 22.173
  #  -  start: "00:30:00"
  #     end: "04:30:00"
  #     rate: 7.5
  #  -  start: "04:30:00"
  #     end: "00:30:00"
  #     rate: 40.0
  
  rates_export:
    - rate: 13

  # Can be used instead of the plugin to get import rates directly online
  # Overrides metric_octopus_import and rates_import
  # See the 'energy rates' part of the documentation for instructions on how to find the correct URL for your tariff and DNO region
  #
  # rates_import_octopus_url : "https://api.octopus.energy/v1/products/FLUX-IMPORT-23-02-14/electricity-tariffs/E-1R-FLUX-IMPORT-23-02-14-A/standard-unit-rates"
  # rates_import_octopus_url : "https://api.octopus.energy/v1/products/AGILE-24-10-01/electricity-tariffs/E-1R-AGILE-24-10-01-A/standard-unit-rates"

  # Overrides metric_octopus_export and rates_export
  # rates_export_octopus_url: "https://api.octopus.energy/v1/products/FLUX-EXPORT-23-02-14/electricity-tariffs/E-1R-FLUX-EXPORT-23-02-14-A/standard-unit-rates"
  # rates_export_octopus_url: "https://api.octopus.energy/v1/products/AGILE-OUTGOING-19-05-13/electricity-tariffs/E-1R-AGILE-OUTGOING-19-05-13-A/standard-unit-rates/"

  # Import rates can be overridden with rate_import_override
  # Export rates can be overridden with rate_export_override
  # Use the same format as above, but a date can be included if it just applies for a set day (e.g. Octopus power ups)
  # This will override even the Octopus plugin rates if enabled
  #
  #rates_import_override:
  # -  date: '2023-09-10'
  #    start: '14:00:00'
  #    end: '14:30:00'
  #    rate: 112
  #    load_scaling: 0.8

  # Days previous is the number of days back to find historical load data
  # Recommended is 7 to capture day of the week but 1 can also be used
  # if you have more history you could use 7 and 14 (in a list) but the standard data in HA only lasts 10 days.
  # Average the house load for the past week.
  days_previous:
    - 2
    - 3
    - 4
    - 5
    - 6
    - 7
    - 8

  # Days previous weight can be used to control the weighting of the previous load points, the values are multiplied by their
  # weights and then divided through by the total weight. E.g. if you used 1 and 0.5 then the first value would have 2/3rd of the weight and the second 1/3rd
  # Include one value for each days_previous value, each weighting on a separate line.
  # If any days_previous's that are not given a weighting they will assume a default weighting of 1.
  days_previous_weight:
    - 1

  # Number of hours forward to forecast, best left as-is unless you have specific reason
  forecast_hours: 48

  # Specify the devices that notifies are sent to, the default is 'notify' which goes to all
  #notify_devices:
  #  - mobile_app_treforsiphone12_2

  # Battery scaling makes the battery smaller (e.g. 0.9) or bigger than its reported
  # If you have an 80% DoD battery that falsely reports it's kwh then set it to 0.8 to report the real figures
  # One per inverter
  battery_scaling:
    - 1.0

  # Can be used to scale import and export data, used for workarounds
  import_export_scaling: 1.0

  # Export triggers:
  # For each trigger give a name, the minutes of export needed and the energy required in that time
  # Multiple triggers can be set at once so in total you could use too much energy if all run
  # Creates an entity called 'binary_sensor.predbat_export_trigger_<name>' which will be turned On when the condition is valid
  # connect this to your automation to start whatever you want to trigger
  export_triggers:
    - name: 'large'
      minutes: 60
      energy: 1.0
    - name: 'small'
      minutes: 15
      energy: 0.25

  # If you have a sensor that gives the energy consumed by your solar diverter then add it here
  # this will make the predictions more accurate. It should be an incrementing sensor, it can reset at midnight or not
  # It's assumed to be in Kwh but scaling can be applied if required. 0.001 == Wh
  iboost_energy_today: 'sensor.yasolr_sonoff_mcb_diverter_total_energy_today'
  iboost_energy_scaling: 1
  switch.predbat_iboost_enable: true

[gcoan]

great, glad to hear you got it working.

yes discharge_target_soc needs to be something that predbat controls to set the discharge-to limit. Reserve is an input variable to tell Predbat how low it can discharge down to

If you don't have something that maps to discharge_target_soc then you can create a helper entity so predbat has something to write to

[kabadisha]

I'm not sure that's correct. I've found lots of the Predbat documentation somewhat ambiguous about what various settings do. reserve and discharge_target_soc are examples of this.

reserve - sensor name for the reserve SoC % setting. The reserve SoC is the lower limit target % to discharge the battery down to. Can also be set to a fixed percentage rather than an entity name for inverters that have no reserve register to point at - the supplied Huawei and Sofar templates do this. A fixed value tells Predbat what the inverter is set to so it can be modelled, but Predbat cannot then change the reserve, so switch.predbat_set_reserve_enable has nothing to write to and Predbat logs a warning if something tries. This is true of any setting given a fixed value in place of an entity name.

This suggests that it can be set to a fixed value, but ideally it's a value that predbat controls. The latter makes more sense to me since that way predbat can maintain a bit extra in the battery to cover unexpected load.
However, if that's the case then it is unclear how that behaviour would differ functionally from a discharge target set by discharge_target_soc

discharge_target_soc - Set the battery target percent for timed exports, will be written to minimum by Predbat.

/My best guess is that discharge_target_soc only applys when predbat is using the inverter's schedule to manage discharging and so it would need to be tied to the relevant entity for that schedule. Commenting it out removed those log warnings for me, presumably because setting it implies that I'm trying to use the schedule method.

Overall the docs are really quite hard to follow (no complaints, it's a community project) and I find lots of things like this that are hard to interpret.
Freeze charge & discharge are also really unclear functionally too. As much as I try, I can't figure out functionally what a "freeze" is and how it differs from a normal "hold" at a given SoC...

[gcoan]

This suggests that it can be set to a fixed value, but ideally it's a value that predbat controls. The latter makes more sense to me since that way predbat can maintain a bit extra in the battery to cover unexpected load.

the configuration entities are described (briefly) in the apps.yaml documentation https://springfall2008.github.io/batpred/apps-yaml/, you can search, e.g. 'discharge_target_soc' for individual explanations

they are distinct things reserve and discharge_target_soc

discharge_target_soc is the discharge-to target which Predbat writes when commanding a discharge. Without this Predbat cannot tell the inverter to stop when it gets to a specific battery SoC level and will instead have to rely on it detecting that the level has been reached on its next 5 minute run

reserve is different. It is the minimum level that the battery can EVER be discharged to. It's the battery's idea of 'empty'. It can either be a fixed value or an entity. If you set it to a fixed value, e.g. 10% then Predbat can only set the discharge_target_soc down to this fixed 10% value

BUT, if you set reserve in apps.yaml to an entity, and that entity is mapped on the inverter to something that controls the minimum discharge level, then Predbat can set this itself. You can configure input_number.predbat_set_reserve_min and Predbat will use that when setting the reserve level.

Different inverters can have reserve or discharge_target controls. My own inverter only has a reserve, but later inverters by the same manufacturer have discharge_target as well.

We always welcome updates to the documentation to add extra explanations of how things work. They definitely assume a certain level of knowledge. An awful lot of effort (mainly me) has been spent expanding, restructuring and improving the documentation. but always room for more.
Feel free to raise a PR for any changes you think are needed. Happy to review anything if you would like.

Freeze charge & discharge are also really unclear functionally too

Covered in the what does predbat do doc https://springfall2008.github.io/batpred/what-does-predbat-do/

Think of freeze charge as 'hold the charge level' but allow the battery to charge from excess solar

and freeze discharge as 'hold the battery level', let all solar be exported, but if load exceeds solar, let the battery discharge to meet it

The names of these could have been better but they are what they are and aren't going to change now!

[kabadisha]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply and help me out. I also hope you didn't take my comments about the docs as a snipe. Good docs are an art form in themselves and given the depth of Predbat, they are honestly pretty good.

Talk is of course cheap, so you're right, I'll try and make some time to raise a PR once I feel like I've properly understood.

As it happens I have now set up both a Growatt and a Sunsynk inverter using local Modbus control and so I planned to raise a PR for improving the templates for both anyway.
Got two small children though, so free hours to actually do so are vanishingly few.

[kabadisha]

@gcoan So it turns out that the reserve and discharge target settings were red-herrings for the original issue (although I have amended based on your helpful advice).
The actual problem was that I had to change the name I gave to my custom inverter definition.
This was causing the log errors:

inverter_type: Growatt-Modbus
inverter:
  name: "Growatt-Modbus"

But this is fine:

inverter_type: GrowattModbus
inverter:
  name: "GrowattModbus"

Apparently it doesn't like it when you have a hyphen in it. Strange failure mode though!