Help CenterPV Calculations
Appliance priority — Critical, Essential, Comfort
Calculation3 min readUpdated: 2026-06
Enable the "Priority" toggle in the appliance table to categorise each device. Priority directly influences battery size and cost.
| Priority | Power supply | Battery impact |
|---|---|---|
| 🔴 Critical | Always — even during outage | Sets the minimum battery capacity |
| 🟡 Essential | When PV production is sufficient | Covered by panels |
| 🔵 Comfort | Surplus only | Load-shed first |
Without a smart controller, battery is conservatively sized (Critical + Essential night) to prevent deep discharge.
Auto-detected from name: "Refrigerator" → Critical, "AC unit" → Comfort, "LED lamp" → Essential.
Common mistakes
- Leaving all appliances at default priority without categorizing them
- Setting an AC unit to "Critical" when it should be "Comfort"
- Forgetting a system without a smart controller always sizes for the worst case