Special local control modes

Special local control modes are control modes for specific, less common situations: for example keeping inverters that receive green certificates at full power, switching a generator on with a relay when the batteries run empty, or excluding a few devices from control. They run locally on the Sunlight Group EMS and do not talk to an external party, but they behave like external signals: they override the default working mode of the devices they are applied to, and they take a place in the priority list of the external signals.

For a rule built from measurements, conditions and actions, see Custom control logic below, including the full video walkthrough.

Available modes

Two more special local control modes are documented under the external signals, because they serve test purposes or belong with the price based signals:

• Diagnostic tests: charge and discharge test curves for batteries.
• EPEX SPOT solar curtailment: curtails PV inverters when the day-ahead price drops below a threshold.

Managing the special local control modes

1. Go to the 'Settings' tab of the commissioning interface and scroll to the section "Special local control modes". It lists the modes that are active on this site, and whether they are paused.
2. Click "Manage special local control modes". The page that opens shows the active modes with their devices and status, and lets you pause, resume, edit or delete each of them.
3. To add a mode, click "Start wizard" under "Enable a new special local control mode", choose the mode from the list and click "Next".
4. Fill in the inputs of the mode, if it has any (for example the state of charge thresholds of a relay mode).
5. Select the devices to which the mode applies. By default "Select all" and "Always apply this special local control mode to all devices that are compatible with it, including devices that are newly added later" are ticked, so the mode covers every compatible device, now and in the future. To apply the mode to specific devices only, untick both options and tick the devices one by one. Click "Apply mode to selected devices".

Priority towards external signals

A device can be part of several external signals and special local control modes at the same time. The signal that is highest in the priority list of the 'External signals' tab wins for that device. Special local control modes share this list with the external signals, and their priority is changed there: the management page of the special local control modes only shows them, in the order of their priority, without the arrows.

Pausing a mode

"Pause" on the management page temporarily suspends a mode without deleting its configuration: the devices fall back to the next signal in the priority list, or to the default working mode. "Resume" activates it again. A paused mode is marked "(Paused)" on the settings page.

Custom control logic

Custom control logic lets you build your own rules on the Sunlight Group EMS. Combine measurements, device states, energy prices and time conditions with visual blocks, then use the result to select a control mode, request a device action, set a power limit or send a message.

The logic runs locally on the controller, once per control cycle. A useful starting point is: read a value → decide when a rule applies → request an action.

Public beta: in the version shown here, this feature is a pre-release for testing. It may still contain bugs and should not yet be used for critical production installations.

Video walkthrough

This Dutch-language course shows the commissioning interface, a practical control-mode example, the available blocks and how to check, preview and save your design.

Video chapters: Access and editor — 00:00 · Control modes and example — 01:51 · Outputs and messages — 07:04 · Measurements — 10:33 · Time and signals — 20:14 · Comparison and math — 26:18 · Logic — 31:19 · Checking and managing — 34:06.

Open the editor

1. In the SmartgridX platform, open Settings, select the controller under Current Site and open Controller Configuration. See Accessing the commissioning interface for the available access routes.
2. In the controller's commissioning interface, select Settings. Scroll to Custom control logic and select Open logic editor.
3. If the feature is not enabled yet, select Enable the custom control logic and complete the activation. The editor then opens.

The block library is on the left, the canvas in the centre and Problems on the right. The toolbar contains editing, validation, live-value and file controls. The bottom status bar shows whether changes have been saved and which live values are being displayed.

Drag a block onto the canvas. Double-click it, or select Parameters, to choose devices and enter settings. Apply updates the block in your design; Save activates the saved design on the controller. Connect an output on the right of one block to a compatible input on the left of another. Each input accepts one wire; connecting a new wire replaces its previous connection.

Start with a control mode

Control modes select how the chosen devices should be regulated while the block is active. The device selector only offers devices that support that mode.

• Power setpoint: request a power level. Positive power means consumption or battery charging; negative power means production or battery discharging. A setpoint for several devices is shared according to their nominal power.
• Self-consumption: use local production as effectively as possible.
• Cost optimization: let the devices follow the lowest-energy-cost plan.
• Peak shaving: let devices act to keep grid power within the relevant thresholds and limits. Thresholds supplied by this block apply across the site to devices in peak shaving.
• Feed-in restriction: limit solar, wind or water production to keep grid export within the permitted power.
• Don't control: let the selected devices operate without Sunlight Group control while this block is active.

An unconnected Active input means the output block is always active. Connect a true/false condition when the request should apply only at certain times. If the block is inactive or a required value is missing, it makes no request. The applicable default control or other control requests can then take over.

Example: request battery charging from 12:00 to 14:00

1. Add Time schedule. Select the required weekdays and enter 12:00–14:00. The schedule uses the site's timezone.
2. Add Constant and enter 2 kW.
3. Add Power setpoint and select a compatible battery in its parameters.
4. Connect the schedule output to Active, and the constant output to Setpoint.
5. Use Check, inspect the result with Live values, then use Save when the design is ready to become active.

During the selected period, the block requests 2 kW of charging, subject to the device's capabilities, applicable limits and control priorities. Outside that period, this block stops requesting the setpoint. It does not force the battery to stop or request 0 kW.

Choose the building blocks

Use the search field to find a block. Each parameter dialog explains what the block does. Besides Control modes, the library contains these groups:

• Control outputs: request heat-pump modes, switch relays, select EV charging phases, or set grid and device power limits. Use these for a specific action or limit.
• Messages: show a status message or send an e-mail, HTTP request or MQTT message when a condition applies. Configure repeat behaviour and the minimum interval where available. A message block's Test action sends a real test message.
• Measurements: read grid, device or category power, state of charge, nominal power and temperatures. Device has data checks freshness; History reads an earlier measurement; Grid power forecast supplies a forecast.
• Device states: read relay and digital-input states, heat-pump mode, EV connection and the number of charging phases.
• Prices: use the current price, a price at another time, its percentile rank, or the lowest/highest price within a window.
• Time: use a weekly Time schedule or Daytime condition.
• Constants: provide a fixed number with the appropriate unit, or a fixed true/false value.
• Comments: explain the purpose of a rule directly on the canvas.
• Timing: reject short fluctuations, delay a signal, enforce minimum/maximum on and off times, count run time or energy, or remember the preceding cycle's value.
• Signal shaping: smooth measurements, limit how fast a value changes, protect switching behaviour or enforce a minimum operating value.
• Routing: allocate a value between outputs, choose which input passes through, gate or switch a signal, or replace a missing value.
• Compare: compare two values or use Hysteresis with separate upper and lower thresholds to avoid repeated switching around one boundary.
• Math: add, subtract, multiply, divide, limit and scale values, or use integration, differentiation and proportional calculations.
• Logic: combine true/false conditions with AND, OR, XOR and NOT; count true inputs, detect an edge or hold a state with Latch.

Choose compatible signal types and units. False, zero and no value have different meanings. Use Replace missing value only when you have deliberately chosen a suitable fallback. A dashed feedback wire uses the preceding execution's value; Memory makes that delay explicit.

Check, preview and activate

The editor checks the design after changes. Select Check to validate it again, then inspect Problems. Clicking an issue brings you to the relevant block or connection. Resolve errors before activation; a design with errors can be stored, but it will not run.

Live values shows the values calculated by the controller. Green means true, red means false and grey means no value. Unsaved changes are evaluated as a preview with dashed markings and Would command output descriptions. The preview itself does not command devices or send messages. Check the status bar and timestamp to distinguish preview values from those of the saved logic.

Save stores the design and restarts the controller's control loop to run it. Review the resulting live values afterwards. Where several output blocks request the same device setting, their block priorities determine which request takes precedence; configured grid limits still apply.

Edit and reuse a design

Use Undo, Redo, Duplicate and Delete while editing, and Zoom in, Zoom out or Fit to screen to navigate. Help explains the editor, signal types and shortcuts.

Export downloads the current design as a JSON file, including unsaved edits but excluding passwords. Import loads a file into the editor; it does not activate it. Check device selections, parameters, required credentials and Problems, then use Save when ready. Keep an export of a working design before making substantial changes.