Set passive mode power

Use this action to directly command a Sofar inverter’s battery and grid power in passive mode: how much power to draw from (or export to) the grid, and the battery power window the inverter is allowed to use to get there. All three values are signed and go out to the inverter as one write. Only available on inverters with battery storage.

Set a passive-mode timeout as well, so the inverter falls back to normal behavior if nothing sends a new command in time.

Only users with administrator rights can run this action.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To set the passive-mode setpoints from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. From the search box, search for and select Sofar: Set passive mode power.
6. Select the Inverter, the Grid power, and the Minimum battery power and Maximum battery power.
7. Select Save.

This action does not support targets. In the UI, you are not prompted to choose an area, device, entity, or label.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as sofar.set_passive_mode_power. A basic example looks like this:

action: sofar.set_passive_mode_power
data:
  config_entry_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4
  grid_power: 1000
  battery_power_min: -2000
  battery_power_max: 2000

This asks the inverter to draw 1000 W from the grid, while allowing the battery to swing between exporting 2000 W and drawing 2000 W to get there.

Options in YAML

Good to know

• This action is only available on inverters with battery storage. If the config entry you select doesn’t serve the passive-mode registers, the action fails with an error instead of doing nothing silently.
• Always pair this with Set passive mode timeout. Without a timeout in place, a command from a script that stops running unexpectedly keeps holding.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Settings > Tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

More examples

Real scenarios where this action shows up in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: charge the battery from cheap grid power

Draw a fixed amount of power from the grid to charge the battery during a known cheap-rate window, then let the inverter return to its normal behavior once the passive-mode timeout expires.

• Trigger: Time, 02:00
• Action: Sofar: Set passive mode power

alias: "Charge Sofar battery from cheap grid power"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "02:00:00"
actions:
  - action: sofar.set_passive_mode_timeout
    data:
      config_entry_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4
      timeout: 3600
      action: return_to_previous_mode
  - action: sofar.set_passive_mode_power
    data:
      config_entry_id: a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4
      grid_power: 2000
      battery_power_min: 0
      battery_power_max: 2000

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

Explore related actions:

• Set passive mode timeout: Sets how long a passive-mode command holds, and what the inverter does when it expires.

• Set feed-in limit: Limits how much power the inverter exports to the grid.

• Set active power limit: Caps the inverter’s own output as a percentage of its rated power.