Smart Home Automation for Plug-In Solar: UK Guide
Use smart plugs, timers, and Home Assistant to automatically shift loads to peak solar hours and maximise your savings.
Why Automate?
Maximising self-consumption is the single biggest factor in plug-in solar savings. Smart home automation does it automatically — no daily fiddling with timers required.
Level 1: Smart Plugs with Schedules
The simplest approach. Buy 2-3 smart plugs and set schedules:
- Tapo P110 (~£15): Schedule appliances via the Tapo app. Built-in energy monitoring shows consumption.
- Shelly Plus Plug (~£20): Local control (no cloud required), advanced automation triggers, Celsius-based temperature monitoring.
- Eve Energy (~£35): Apple HomeKit native, Matter compatible.
Set your washing machine, dishwasher, and tumble dryer to only receive power during 10am-3pm solar peak hours.
Level 2: Energy-Aware Automations
Using Home Assistant or similar platforms, create automations that respond to actual solar generation:
Example automation: "Turn on the immersion heater when solar generation exceeds 400W and turn it off when it drops below 200W."
This requires feeding your solar generation data into your home automation platform. The Shelly Plus Plug is ideal for this because it supports local API access.
Level 3: Full Integration
For maximum optimisation:
- Monitor generation via your inverter app or a whole-home energy monitor
- Create priority queues — the automation tries to keep self-consumption at 90%+ by running appliances in order of priority
- Integrate with your energy tariff — on Octopus Agile, pull in half-hourly rates and only export when the rate exceeds your self-consumption value
Hardware Recommendations
| Device | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Tapo P110 | ~£15 | Budget scheduling |
| Shelly Plus Plug | ~£20 | Home Assistant integration |
| Emporia Vue 3 | ~£100 | Whole-home monitoring |
| Raspberry Pi + Home Assistant | ~£80 | Full automation hub |
- 800W dual-panel plug-in solar kit
- 600Wh battery with smart scheduling
- App monitoring with real-time generation data
- Balcony, garden & flat-roof mounts available
Do I need technical skills?
Level 1 (smart plugs) requires no technical skills. Level 2 requires basic comfort with apps and automation rules. Level 3 needs some familiarity with Home Assistant or similar platforms.
How much does automation add to savings?
Moving from passive self-consumption (50%) to automated (80%+) can add £50-80/year in savings — paying for the smart plug hardware within a year.
Can the EcoFlow STREAM app do this?
The EcoFlow app handles battery scheduling but doesn't control external devices. For whole-home automation, pair it with a separate smart home system.
Related reading
See how much plug-in solar could save you — with real data for your postcode.