Your energy,
under your control.

Because I really like owls.

That is the honest answer.

Their patient, watchful nature happens to suit MySolarOwl rather well. Maximilian keeps an eye on the home while energy prices, batteries and household demand change around him. The symbolism came naturally. The affection came first.

Yes. A good Home Assistant setup can do some impressive things, and building one can be great fun if that is your kind of fun.

I took an even less conventional route. The original SolarOwl ran on a Kubernetes server in my home lab. That suited me because I enjoy building software and already had the equipment.

Friends and family were interested in the result. They were less interested in running servers, maintaining integrations and learning the finer points of battery control. I am already the community IT person. Becoming the community energy-management person felt ambitious.

MySolarOwl is the managed route. It is for households that want a clearer view of their energy and carefully limited automation without running a Raspberry Pi, a home server or another technical project.

If you already have a home-energy setup you enjoy, that is excellent. We are fellow enthusiasts. MySolarOwl simply makes the idea accessible to more people.

Free software can be wonderful. The complete setup still asks for hardware, configuration, maintenance and time.

Enthusiasts often count those hours as part of the fun. Most households would rather spend them elsewhere.

MySolarOwl has ongoing costs too: secure hosting, data collection, provider and device integrations, monitoring, support and continued development. The service has been designed to use resources efficiently so the subscription can remain affordable.

It is also a small business and a passion project. I have a family to support, and building something dependable takes sustained work. Charging a fair subscription gives MySolarOwl the chance to keep improving without pretending that software costs nothing to operate.

A smarter energy system works best when households can see what is happening and take part.

Better information can help people understand when they use energy, make more of their own generation and respond to cheaper or cleaner periods when those opportunities are available.

MySolarOwl turns that information into a household story you can follow. Where compatible equipment and permission allow, Maximilian can also help with the routine adjustments.

Yes. Octopus is where MySolarOwl is most at home today.

The original SolarOwl was built around my own home, and I use Octopus Energy. Several Octopus-connected homes are now helping us test MySolarOwl during the closed beta.

We have applied to join the Works with Octopus programme and are awaiting feedback, so this is currently a working technical connection rather than an Octopus accreditation or partnership.

Other suppliers can still contribute energy history, while some battery and meter integrations can provide live household readings. We hope more suppliers will follow Octopus in making real-time data available to their customers.

No. A battery gives Maximilian more to do, but he can start with supplier smart-meter data.

That data can build a half-hour energy history, reveal seasonal patterns and help explain what the household has been paying. Without live whole-home readings and compatible equipment, Maximilian has less to do in the moment. He may even get a little bored.

If you are considering solar or storage, we are developing planning tools to help with questions such as:

• “What would another battery have changed?”
• “How much of my peak demand was within the battery’s output limit?”
• “How often would I have had spare solar to store?”

These will be modelled scenarios rather than promises. Product suitability, installation requirements and electrical limits still need to be confirmed for the individual home.

Where your supplier provides half-hour readings, Maximilian can show when your home used electricity and how that changed across a month, a season or a full year.

The readings usually arrive after the event, rather than in real time. Maximilian can separate peak and off-peak use, estimate what it cost and help explain the difference between energy cost, account balance and a supplier’s recommended monthly payment.

Your supplier may already show much of this, and for some households that will be enough. MySolarOwl becomes more useful when you want a longer, clearer view or want to explore how solar, storage or a different tariff might change the picture.

Only if you ask him to.

You choose which supported equipment Maximilian can control. You also set the reserve, charge target and output limits.

You might want a plug-in battery to react to cheaper periods. You might have rooftop solar and want somewhere to keep more of the energy for later. You may have two battery systems that need to behave like parts of the same home.

Maximilian watches everything you have connected. He controls only what you have authorised, within the limits you have chosen.

Boost mode allows two battery systems to support the same home.

The primary battery does most of the work. If household demand rises beyond its output limit, the booster can help fill the gap. Each battery keeps its own reserve, charge level and output limit.

The combined power still has to be suitable for the home’s electrical installation, so those limits need to be checked before Boost mode is enabled.

Once it is running, Maximilian watches both batteries and balances their contribution against what the home needs.

Maximus mode is Maximilian on high alert.

During a confirmed energy event, he checks the meter, batteries and connected devices more often. His enhanced senses help him follow changes more closely and give the household a clearer record of what happened.

He keeps the same permissions and limits throughout. Maximus is still Maximilian, only with his eyes opened a little wider.

No. Participation remains your decision.

Power Down events, free-energy periods and managed car-charging opportunities may require you to opt in, accept terms or choose a time in your provider’s app.

Once your participation is confirmed, MySolarOwl can show the opportunity and, where supported, prepare eligible storage within your settings. Maximilian can watch what happens and report the measured result.

Your provider decides whether the event qualifies and applies any reward or credit later.

MySolarOwl combines energy readings with the tariff information available for each dated charging period. Some readings and costs may still be provisional when Maximilian first receives them.

Your supplier’s billing process may later apply revised meter data, standing charges, VAT, credits, corrections or other account adjustments. The issued supplier bill remains the final financial record.

Maximilian’s job is to provide an explainable estimate. He shows the readings, tariff windows and assumptions behind it, along with the provisional status where appropriate. That view may be available before the next bill is ready.

No. MySolarOwl is hosted for you.

You provide the credentials or API keys Maximilian needs to access supported accounts and equipment. He uses that access to read your energy data and, where you have authorised it, control supported equipment within your settings.

There is no Raspberry Pi to configure, no home server to maintain and no Kubernetes cluster hiding in the cupboard.

I found building that version enormous fun. Most people have a very different idea of a pleasant weekend.

The sample home is a simulated MySolarOwl household.

Its scenarios are inspired by real household problems and proven product behaviour, but the readings, equipment identities and people are invented. It does not contain an amalgamation of customer records.

The original SolarOwl began in my own home. The public sample home lets everyone explore the ideas without exposing anybody’s private household data or controlling real equipment.