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HOW DOES THE HUB:ONE WORK?
What does the Hub:One do? How does it work? Read on and we’ll get you up to speed on the latest in renewable energy management.
WHO IS THE HUB:ONE FOR?
The Hub:One is currently designed for single-phase homeowners who have a solar PV installation, along with a hybrid inverter and a home battery.
We are currently integrated with the following inverters: Solax G4, Solis S5-EH1P(3-6)K-L, and Fox K-Series G1, with plans for additional integrations in the future. You can track our integrations on our Integrated Devices page.
If you have a supported Octopus tariff, such as Octopus Agile, your Hub:One can automatically take advantage of its 48 daily pricing windows. Hub:One also supports one and two-tier time of use tariffs, which can be manually entered into the Swarm app on setup.
Please note that we prefer tariffs with more variability; therefore, fixed or single-tier tariffs are not as effective.
HOW DOES HUB:ONE SAVE MONEY?
The Hub:One is a physical product that connects directly to a home’s solar inverter via a Modbus cable.
It is designed to (1) read the registers of the inverter, which contain data such as home battery percentage, solar energy totals for the day, and various power readings; and (2) command the inverter to charge and discharge the connected home battery.
Why is this important? The Hub:One reads all of the inverter’s register data to deduce information about the home setup and the home’s capacity to generate solar energy. From this data, we can also gather details about the household’s energy behaviour, allowing us to forecast their time-based demands.
Combining these insights with solar forecast data and information about the home’s energy tariff (i.e., their import and export rates), we are able to create a daily personalised automated energy schedule. This schedule dictates when and how we will source energy and store it in the battery to meet daily demands.
AN IN-HOME EXAMPLE
If we consider a scenario where we forecast periods of high energy demand, such as a weekday after school when everyone is back home, we might know that a home cannot meet this increased energy demand solely with their solar panels.
The Hub:One will calculate the additional energy required and will purchase this from the grid when prices are low, storing it for later use. This way, when the high-demand period arrives, the homeowner doesn’t have to reactively source energy at premium prices.
Similarly, if the weather forecast predicts poor solar generation, the Hub:One will proactively import grid energy throughout the day during cheaper times and store it. This approach helps prevent the homeowner from having to reactively buy energy from the grid when prices are high.
SELLING ONLY EXCESS ENERGY
At the same time, Hub:One allows users to export excess solar energy back to the grid when it is not needed to meet their own demand, particularly when export prices are favourable. In some cases, it may also enable arbitrage, which involves purchasing grid energy at a low price, storing it, and then selling it back at a higher price.
However, this arbitrage process depends on the home’s battery capacity in relation to their energy demand. We will only activate this feature as a secondary function if there is enough capacity available, outside of their automated schedule. In other words, we will always prioritise safeguarding your daily energy schedule first.
THE SWARM APP
We offer a supporting app available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, where homeowners can track their savings and access data related to home energy use. We understand that there are already many apps available, but our goal is to provide a single, agnostic app that consolidates these various solutions.
Additionally, we have a feature that explains and breaks down your daily battery charging schedule, catering to those who enjoy tinkering with their renewable devices.
2025 UPGRADE PLANS
As we move into 2025, we aim to become the central hub for energy management in modern homes, recognising that the concept of a modern home is evolving rapidly.
Our roadmap includes integrating electric vehicles and heat pumps, allowing Hub:One to create battery charging schedules that efficiently manage multiple home renewable energy sources. This setup is essential, as solar panels alone may not provide sufficient energy for all household demands.
This approach gives us greater potential to optimise your home’s energy usage and reduce your bills, ultimately leading to significant cost savings!
SWARM’S VIRTUAL POWER PLANT
The Hub:One is empowering users by developing processes that will allow users of Hub:One to respond to Grid Demand events and sell their energy at significantly higher export rates.
This initiative not only helps reduce a home’s energy bill further, but also enables them to actually earn money from their renewable energy installations, thereby shortening their payback time.
The Virtual Power Plant (VPP) will be included in the standard offering for anyone with a Hub:One who opts to participate in Grid Demand events when they occur in their area.
