Energy management systems and control of washing machine, dryer, and property

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback.

For example, you can pretty much turn any modern TV into a hotel TV in no time so that it turns on without the remote control and gains additional specific functions. The same works with household appliances as well.

How exactly/concretely? That would be interesting now... Does anyone have experience with this? It annoys me a lot that in the year 2022 we still don’t have such functions/interfaces standard in all devices... Every cheap smartwatch, every cheap phone for 100€ has plenty of sensors and great possibilities to play around with software/apps and can be controlled via remote maintenance tool (e.g., Teamviewer for the phone), and a new washing machine/dryer for 800€ can do nothing but wash/dry and choose from a dozen unnecessary programs...

Somehow I'm skeptical whether the extra effort is really worth it compared to a washing machine that simply starts at noon when the sun usually fits

It is indeed inconvenient if you always have to remember to load the washing machine in the morning so that it runs at noon when photovoltaic power is at its peak. Decisions are also annoying, like: Is it more important for me to save electricity or that my children have clean and dry clothes at a certain time :) Or: The dishwasher always starts when I want to take a nap in the living room at noon, etc. Making more decisions is definitely more stressful.

Keep in mind that the laundry then also sometimes lies wet in the machine for half a day because the Pi doesn't empty the thing. Therefore, I see the purpose of white goods more in the dryer and the dishwasher.

It is indeed inconvenient if you always have to remember in the morning to fill the washing machine so that it runs at noon when maximum power from the photovoltaic system is available.

Even if the energy management starts the washing machine when there is surplus photovoltaic power, I would recommend filling it beforehand. Simple-minded people like me also set the machine to start with a few hours lead time on such occasions ;)

Or: the dishwasher always starts when I want to take a nap in the living room at noon, etc.

So the energy management must additionally take your sleeping habits into account besides the photovoltaic forecast :)

Is it more important to me to save electricity or that my children have clean and dry clothes at a certain time.

Hmm, so please automate the sun to shine as evenly as possible as well :cool: It isn’t running that smoothly for us yet... so far in January we had three days with photovoltaic surplus. I therefore admit to being a shadow-washer.

What I mean is: there simply aren’t enough situations where any kind of energy management really benefits you. You run the dishwasher when it’s full (and can vary at most by half a day). Laundry can be stored a bit longer until the sun shines again, but even then you have to unload the washing machine and possibly load the dryer. And the weather does what it wants anyway.

And what does that bring over the year? A hundred machine runs that you could optimize? One cycle consumes approx. 1 kWh in modern machines. With a 30 cent difference between feed-in and self-consumption, that would be 30€.

Forecast-based control really only makes sense for large consumers like electric cars, pool heating, etc. The classic household appliances thankfully consume very little energy and also have only limited variability in usage profile (you hardly want to store dirty dishes for three rainy weeks until the next sunny day).

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback. How exactly/concretely? That would be interesting now... Does anyone here have experience with that? It annoys me a lot that in 2022 we don’t already have such functions/interfaces as standard in all devices... Every cheap smartwatch, every cheap phone for 100€ has tons of sensors and great possibilities to play around with software/apps and can be controlled by remote maintenance tools (e.g. Teamviewer for the phone), and a new washing machine/dryer for 800€ can do nothing except wash/dry and the option to select a dozen unnecessary programs...

My son has a Siemens washing machine that can be controlled remotely via an app. But in my opinion, that makes absolutely no sense, just like energy management for washing machines, because you have to load and unload them. If I’m at home, I can turn it on if I want. If I’m out all day anyway, I look at the weather forecast early in the morning, and if it’s supposed to be sunny, I load the machine. If it’s not sunny after all, I unload the machine again in the evening so that the laundry doesn’t sit in the machine for days? Or it was sunny and when I come home, the laundry has been washed and sitting for hours in the closed machine. Aside from the fact that I can only wash one load per day, and if we have weather like in December/January, I might not be able to wash for three weeks. No, that would be too much effort for me for just a few cents saved.

Way too complicated thinking.


That's how it looks, and of course no one is forced to align their habits with the sun. But running dishwashers and dryers with "free" electricity does have its appeal for certain people.

It is indeed cumbersome if you always have to remember in the morning to load the washing machine so that it runs at midday when the photovoltaic system produces maximum power. Also, decisions are annoying like: Is it more important for me to save electricity, or that my children have clean and dry clothes at a certain time :) Or: The dishwasher always starts when I want to take a nap in the living room, etc.
Making more decisions is definitely more stressful.

It is indeed that the average consumer immediately thinks: one must become a slave to household appliances and technology. This is not the case. You continue living your usual life and suddenly have opportunities here and there that you never thought of.

How exactly/concretely? That would be interesting now... Does anyone here have experience with that?

Software updates, manufacturer/communication interfaces, hidden menus, etc. That also applies to white goods, projectors, A/V receivers, and so on.

It annoys me a lot that in 2022 we don’t already have such functions/interfaces as standard in all devices... J

Sure, they are on board. But unknown to the usual user or protected against external access. But not always. Furthermore, the average Joe lacks the tools and experience.

Washing machine, it is remotely controllable via an app.
But in my opinion, that makes absolutely no sense,

Yes, indeed one of the useless functions there is. Logically considered, the washing machine should just work by itself. If I have to pick up the phone again for it, why bother at all? If in the end, a person is still needed to turn the device on, then you might as well do it by hand.

If I’m out of the house all day anyway, I look at the weather forecast in the morning, and if the sun is supposed to shine, I load the machine.

Really? That would be too much effort for me. I load the appliances when I want/must and not when the weather forecast predicts sun. However, that does not mean I don’t like saving money on energy and would not want to run the devices preferably when electricity comes from the roof.

Apart from the fact that then I can only wash one load per day, and if we have weather like in December/January, then I can’t wash for 3 weeks at all.

Thinking error (by the way, a classic). Nothing will stop you from washing your laundry whenever you want, with or without EMS.