Skip to content

Heating Curve Optimizer

Intelligent Heating Optimization for Home Assistant

Minimize electricity costs while maximizing comfort using dynamic programming and predictive algorithms

What is Heating Curve Optimizer?

Heating Curve Optimizer is a sophisticated Home Assistant custom integration that automatically adjusts your heating system to minimize electricity costs while maintaining optimal comfort. It uses advanced algorithms to predict and optimize heating based on:

  • Weather Forecasts - Temperature and solar radiation predictions
  • Electricity Prices - Dynamic pricing for consumption and production
  • Heat Pump Efficiency - Real-time COP (Coefficient of Performance) calculations
  • Building Characteristics - Your home's thermal properties

Key Features

📈 Cost Optimization

Dynamically adjust heating curves to minimize electricity costs while meeting heat demand. The optimizer shifts heating load to periods with lower electricity prices when possible.

☀ Solar Integration

Automatically accounts for solar gain through windows and solar production, creating a thermal buffer that reduces heating requirements.

🧠 Smart Predictions

Uses a 6-hour planning horizon with dynamic programming to find the optimal heating strategy considering: - Variable electricity prices - Weather forecast (temperature, solar radiation) - Heat pump efficiency curves - Building thermal mass

🌡 Comfort Constraints

Maintains supply temperature within configurable limits while respecting maximum rate-of-change constraints to prevent system stress.

How It Works

graph LR A[Weather Forecast] --> D[Optimization Engine] B[Electricity Prices] --> D C[Building Model] --> D D --> E[Optimal Heating Curve] E --> F[Home Assistant] F --> G[Your Heat Pump] style D fill:#ff6b35,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px style E fill:#f7931e,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

The integration continuously:

  1. Fetches weather forecasts and electricity price predictions
  2. Calculates heat demand based on your building's thermal properties
  3. Optimizes heating curve offsets using dynamic programming
  4. Outputs optimal supply temperature adjustments
  5. Adapts in real-time as conditions change

Quick Start

Get started in minutes:

  1. Install via HACS (Home Assistant Community Store)
  2. Configure your building parameters (area, energy label, window sizes)
  3. Connect your electricity price sensors
  4. Deploy and enjoy automated optimization!

Get Started View Examples

Architecture Overview

graph TD subgraph "Data Sources" A1[Open-Meteo API] A2[Price Sensors] A3[Production Sensors] end subgraph "Core Sensors" B1[Outdoor Temperature] B2[Heat Loss] B3[Solar Gain] B4[Net Heat Loss] end subgraph "Optimization" C1[Dynamic Programming] C2[COP Calculation] C3[Buffer Tracking] C4[Constraint Validation] end subgraph "Outputs" D1[Heating Curve Offset] D2[Optimized Supply Temp] D3[Heat Buffer State] end A1 --> B1 A2 --> C1 A3 --> B3 B1 --> B2 B1 --> B3 B2 --> B4 B3 --> B4 B4 --> C1 C1 --> C2 C1 --> C3 C1 --> C4 C2 --> D1 C3 --> D3 D1 --> D2 style C1 fill:#ff6b35,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px style D1 fill:#f7931e,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

What Makes It Special?

Dynamic Programming Approach

Unlike simple threshold-based heating controls, this integration uses dynamic programming to solve the multi-period optimization problem. This means it considers:

  • Future electricity prices
  • Predicted weather changes
  • Heat pump efficiency variations
  • Building thermal inertia

The result is a globally optimal heating strategy, not just locally optimal decisions.

Real Physics Modeling

The integration uses actual thermal engineering principles:

  • Heat Loss: \(Q_{loss} = U \times A \times \Delta T\)
  • Solar Gain: Based on radiation intensity and window orientation
  • COP Modeling: \(COP = (COP_{base} + \alpha \times T_{outdoor} - k \times (T_{supply} - 35)) \times f\)

This ensures realistic predictions and reliable optimization.

Production-Aware Optimization

When you have solar panels or other production:

  • Negative net prices are handled correctly
  • Thermal buffer is created from excess solar gain
  • Optimization prefers heating during production peaks

Supported Configurations

  • ✅ Air-to-water heat pumps
  • ✅ Ground-source heat pumps
  • ✅ Hybrid heating systems
  • ✅ Dynamic electricity pricing
  • ✅ Fixed electricity pricing
  • ✅ Solar production integration
  • ✅ Multi-zone buildings (with appropriate configuration)

Documentation Structure

Community & Support

  • GitHub: Report issues
  • Home Assistant Community: Share your experiences
  • Buy me a coffee: Support development

Built with ❤️ for the Home Assistant community