AI Contribution
Month – Year - Lifetime | Use the tab bar to select the data period to see. These numbers are calculated based on actual measured performance for your plant, as explained in more detail below. ‘Lifetime’ refers to the duration of the current subscription only, not the cumulative total for any series of subscriptions cancelled/renewed.
Metrics | All the following relate to the period you’ve selected above, and reflect benefits delivered by AI prediction, planning and automated management:
1. Cash Gains | Where the default ‘sell surplus solar at highest rate’ mode is enabled, this is the cumulative daily from total savings from predictive grid purchase management and total earnings from predictive grid sell management achieved whilst meeting local energy needs at all times over the relevant 24-hour period. In other modes the availability of total savings and total earnings is modified, as detailed below.
Sunsynk Connect Pro offers four different user configurable mode settings, which affects the ‘goals’ and automation effects applied by AI optimisation. Availability will depends on if your plant and/or grid supplier supports selling; for safety and compliance reasons, you must not select a mode with selling if this capability is not supported by your plant and/or not authorised by your grid supplier.
Potential benefits will vary depending on available tariffs/rates. Mode 2 is recommended wherever suitable, as this also fully leverages the patented AI capabilities of ‘grid minimisation’ whilst ensuring you have energy when you need it too – meaning the gains are driven in part by control over un-necessary grid consumption, rather thank simply ‘rate chasing’.
The following explains if and how Total Savings and Total Earning apply for the selected mode, and if and how the baseline calculation methods for these (as set out below this table) are modified for that mode:
Mode Number | Mode Type | Total Savings | Total Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
0 | No grid sell | Yes | Not Applicable |
1 | Sell surplus solar when battery 100% | Yes | Not Included* |
2 | Sell surplus at highest rate | Yes ** | Yes |
3 | Rate arbitrage | No *** | Yes |
notes |
* typically, some earnings benefit is nevertheless achieved, but we do not claim it in these metrics as it will not be actively managed by the AI. Such earnings will be reflected in the separate ‘Payback & Investments’ metric.
** this mode will work with non-variable and variable rate configurations, however, the savings opportunity will be reduced if variable high-rate periods are not available to be targeted.
*** in this mode, the AI does not preserve battery capacity to store forecast surplus solar - so we prefer to be conservative and claim no value in metrics. However, there is value delivered to users by the AI which effortless automated grid buying for planned low-rate periods – saving you time and avoiding higher rate periods.
The white ring around the cash number illustrates the scale of the Productivity Gain driving these gains, as applicable.
Where used below, ‘grid rates’ refer to those available in the relevant period from your grid provider, which is dependent on how rate settings have been configured by user/installer within Sunsynk Connect Pro.
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Total Savings | with predictive grid buy management
calculation basis
optimised battery storage capacity * lowest grid buy rate
optimised battery storage capacity (kWh) | The battery storage capacity preserved to store forecast surplus solar by accurately predicting and only buying the minimum quantity of grid needed to balance any forecast deficit of energy needed to meet forecast demand; specifically, it is the difference between the forecast battery SOC at the time forecast surplus solar production is available after forecast demand has been met and forecast battery SOC is 100% less any unplanned grid usage. Typically, ‘unplanned grid usage’ is very low, but it is included as a deductible to ensure a fair representation of our AI’s accuracy and performance.
lowest grid buy rate (local currency) | The lowest grid rate between sunset to sunrise during the first phase of the relevant 24-hour period. We use the lowest rate here rather than an ‘average rate’ so the gains shown are the most conservative, even though an un-optimised system comparator would likely purchase grid energy at a range of rates higher than the lowest rate i.e. achieve poorer returns.
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Total Savings | with predictive grid sell management
calculation basis
solar surplus sold * highest grid rate
solar surplus sold (kWh) | The quantity of forecast surplus solar after forecast demand will be met and forecast quantity of solar needed to achieve 100% battery SOC but only to the extent such surplus is actually sold to grid at times of highest grid sell rates.
highest grid rate (local currency) | The difference between the highest grid rate between sunset to sunset and the average rate over the relevant 24-hour period. We use ‘average rate’ here rather than ‘lowest rate’ so this metric is fairer, balanced and reasonably conservative.
2. Subscription Cost | This shows how much you have spent on your subscription over the period. The applicable monthly subscription price is apportioned equally across the number of days in the relevant month(s) and then shown as a cumulative total for the selected period.
3. Productivity Gain | This is a measure of how efficiently our AI has planned and managed use of your on-site battery storage resources to store the amount the maximum of forecast surplus solar whilst, all at the same time and as applicable for selected mode, meeting forecast energy demands and automatically optimising the economic benefit of grid buy and sell transactions.
calculation basis
[(optimised battery storage capacity + solar surplus sold)/(total energy used to meet demand + total energy sold to grid)] * 100
This metric reflects performance across all Modes. However, if Mode 3 - Rate Arbitrage is selected, then the ‘optimised battery storage capacity’ component in this above formula would be zero.
4. Direct CO2 Reduction | This shows the CO2 equivalent of the battery capacity preserved to store available solar production over the period. This energy source is directly verifiable as ‘green energy’ and does not rely on indirect ‘carbon offset’ arrangements. It is expressed in kg and calculated as follows, using the UK Government Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors for electricity (2023) of 0.20705 kg CO2e per kWh.
calculation basis
optimised battery storage capacity (kWh) * 0.20705 (kg)
AI generated Smart Plans | check these out in Sunsynk Connect Pro to see how your inverter settings vary daily based on AI predictions and automated controls, designed to align with predicted conditions and chosen mode of operation.