GivEnergy Charge Schedule Setup — Complete Configuration Guide
Getting your GivEnergy charge and discharge schedules right is what turns an expensive battery into one that actually saves money. This guide covers all four schedule types — Timed Charge, Timed Discharge, Timed Export, and Eco Mode — with exact settings for the most common UK tariffs, the midnight boundary rule that catches everyone out, and how to prevent schedule conflicts from breaking battery behaviour.
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If you've configured the schedule and the battery still isn't charging or discharging as expected, a remote session reviewing your active slots and portal monitoring data usually pinpoints the issue within an hour.
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GivEnergy schedule types — what each one does
GivEnergy uses named modes rather than a simple charge/discharge calendar. Each mode controls a specific direction of energy flow. Most homeowners use a combination of Timed Charge and Timed Discharge, with Eco Mode during non-scheduled hours.
Charges the battery from the grid during a set window. Used to fill the battery during cheap-rate periods (overnight, Economy 7, Octopus Go). Set a start time, end time, and target SoC. The inverter draws from the grid at full rate until the target is reached, then stops charging for the rest of the window.
Discharges the battery to power the house during a set window. Used to avoid peak-rate grid import in the evening. Set a start time, end time, and target SoC (the minimum the battery discharges to). The battery powers house loads first; grid makes up the difference if house demand exceeds battery output.
Discharges the battery to the grid during a set window. Used on export tariffs (Octopus Flux peak export, high SEG periods) to sell stored energy at above-average rates. The battery exports at its rated output rate. Note: the house still imports from the grid during a Timed Export window — the battery output goes to the meter, not the house.
Automated mode — the inverter manages charge and discharge based on solar production and household demand without fixed time windows. Solar surplus charges the battery; battery discharges when solar is unavailable. No cheap-rate charging or fixed evening discharge. Use Eco Mode outside of your Timed Charge and Discharge windows for best results.
Setting up Timed Charge — overnight cheap-rate charging
In givenergy.cloud: My Inverter → Settings → Timed Charge. In the app: tap the inverter → Settings → System Mode → Timed Charge. You will see up to 3 time slot entries.
Start and End time should match your cheap rate window exactly. Target SoC is the battery level to charge to — 100% for a full charge, or lower if you want to leave headroom for solar in the morning (80–90% is common for systems with good solar production). If your window crosses midnight, see the midnight rule below.
The slot toggle must be in the ON position — a slot can be created and saved but inactive if the toggle is off. Confirm the slot appears in the active schedule list. The system mode will switch to Timed Charge during the window and revert to Eco Mode outside it.
Setting up Timed Discharge — powering the house from the battery
Navigate to the same Settings area as Timed Charge. Timed Discharge slots are separate from Charge slots — both can coexist as long as their time windows do not overlap.
Start Time: when you want the battery to start powering the house (typically 16:00, after solar production drops). End Time: when you want the battery to stop discharging (typically 23:00 or 23:30, before your overnight cheap window starts). Target SoC: the minimum battery level to stop discharging at — set to 10–15% for maximum use, or 20–30% if you want to keep a small EPS reserve.
Leave at least 1 minute between your Timed Discharge end and your Timed Charge start. If the Octopus Go cheap window starts at 00:30, end the Timed Discharge at 23:59 (or use Slot 1 of the midnight split). This ensures the inverter correctly transitions between modes.
The midnight boundary rule — the most common scheduling mistake
GivEnergy's schedule system uses a single-day clock. It does not support time slots that cross the midnight boundary in a single entry. If your cheap rate starts before midnight (e.g., 23:30 on Octopus Go), you must split the window into two slots. This catches out the majority of GivEnergy users on time-of-use tariffs.
❌ Incorrect — single slot crossing midnight
This slot ends at 23:59 on the same day. The charge does not continue past midnight. Battery charges from 23:30 to 23:59 only — less than 30 minutes of cheap charging.
✓ Correct — two slots, split at midnight
Two slots with the same target SoC create a continuous charge window from 23:30 to 05:30, correctly spanning midnight.
Recommended settings by tariff
These are starting-point configurations. Adjust based on your household consumption and solar production.
Octopus Go (00:30–05:30 cheap window)
Recommended setupEconomy 7 (varies — typically 00:30–07:30)
Octopus Go Faster (23:30–05:30 cheap window)
Midnight split neededCommon GivEnergy scheduling mistakes
A Timed Charge and Timed Discharge slot active at the same time — charge takes priority and the battery charges from grid during your intended discharge window. Review all slots across both schedule types for any time overlap.
The slot is saved and time is set but the enable toggle is off. The schedule view looks correct but nothing happens. Check every slot for the enabled indicator — it's separate from the save button.
Timed Discharge target SoC set to 80% when the battery starts at 85% — only 5% usable capacity. The battery stops discharging almost immediately. Set target to 10–15% for a full evening discharge.
Firmware updates can reset schedule slots to inactive. Always verify all settings after a firmware update notification — especially the enable toggle on each slot and the system mode setting.
Schedule is correct but battery still doesn't charge — causes and fixes.
Discharge schedule active but battery not powering the house.
Energy provider is overriding your charge schedule — how to identify and stop it.
All GivEnergy fault guides, configuration pages, and services.
GivEnergy charge schedule questions
For Octopus Go (cheap rate 00:30–05:30): go to givenergy.cloud → Settings → Timed Charge. Create Slot 1 from 00:30 to 05:30 with target SoC 100%. Enable the slot and save. Since the window starts after midnight, no split is needed. Also set up Timed Discharge: Slot 1 from 16:00 to 23:59 with target SoC 10–15%. This fills the battery overnight at cheap rates and uses it to power the house through the expensive evening period.
GivEnergy schedules use a single-day clock and don't automatically span midnight. A slot from 23:30 to 05:30 only runs until 23:59. Create two slots instead: Slot 1 from 23:30 to 23:59 and Slot 2 from 00:00 to 05:30 — both with the same target SoC and both enabled. This creates a continuous window across midnight.
No — overlapping charge and discharge windows cause problems. The charge instruction takes priority and the battery charges from the grid during what you intended as a discharge window. Always review both schedule types to ensure their time windows don't overlap. A common mistake is leaving an old afternoon charge slot active that overrides evening discharge.
Timed Discharge sends battery energy to power the house — reducing grid import. Timed Export sends battery energy to the grid at the export rate — earning SEG payments. During Timed Export, the house still imports from grid because the battery output goes to the meter's export clamp, not the house circuit. Use Timed Discharge to save on peak bills; use Timed Export if you have a high export rate (Octopus Flux, Agile high-price periods) and want to earn from selling stored energy.
Schedule set up correctly but still not working as expected?
If you've followed the steps above and the battery still isn't charging or discharging on schedule, a remote session reviewing your portal settings and overnight monitoring data usually resolves it in an hour. We can also optimise your schedule for your specific tariff and consumption pattern.