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146 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
146 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
# Understanding Relaxation
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:::tip Entity ID tip
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`<home_name>` is a placeholder for your Tibber home display name in Home Assistant. Entity IDs are derived from the displayed name (localized), so the exact slug may differ. **Can't find a sensor?** Use the **[Entity Reference (All Languages)](sensor-reference.md)** to search by name in your language.
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:::
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Relaxation is the automatic filter-loosening mechanism that ensures your [Best/Peak Price periods](period-calculation.md) always find results — even on days with unusual price patterns.
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---
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## What Is Relaxation?
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Sometimes, strict filters find too few periods (or none). **Relaxation automatically loosens filters** until a minimum number of periods is found.
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## How to Enable
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<details>
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<summary>Show YAML: Enable Relaxation</summary>
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```yaml
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enable_min_periods_best: true
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min_periods_best: 2 # Try to find at least 2 periods per day
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relaxation_attempts_best: 11 # Flex levels to test (default: 11 steps = 22 filter combinations)
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```
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</details>
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**Good news:** Relaxation is **enabled by default** with sensible settings. Most users don't need to change anything here!
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Set the matching `relaxation_attempts_peak` value when tuning Peak Price periods. Both sliders accept 1-12 attempts, and the default of 11 flex levels translates to 22 filter-combination tries (11 flex levels × 2 filter combos) for each of Best and Peak calculations. Lower it for quick feedback, or raise it when either sensor struggles to hit the minimum-period target on volatile days.
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## Why Relaxation Is Better Than Manual Tweaking
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**Problem with manual settings:**
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- You set flex to 25% → Works great on Monday (volatile prices)
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- Same 25% flex on Tuesday (flat prices) → Finds "best price" periods that aren't really cheap
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- You're stuck with one setting for all days
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**Solution with relaxation:**
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- Monday (volatile): Uses flex 15% (original) → Finds 2 perfect periods ✓
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- Tuesday (flat): Escalates to flex 21% → Finds 2 decent periods ✓
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- Wednesday (mixed): Uses flex 18% → Finds 2 good periods ✓
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**Each day gets exactly the flexibility it needs!**
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## How It Works (Adaptive Matrix)
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Relaxation uses a **matrix approach** - trying _N_ flexibility levels (your configured **relaxation attempts**) with 2 filter combinations per level. With the default of 11 attempts, that means 11 flex levels × 2 filter combinations = **22 total filter-combination tries per day**; fewer attempts mean fewer flex increases, while more attempts extend the search further before giving up.
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**Important:** The flexibility increment is **fixed at 3% per step** (hard-coded for reliability). This means:
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- Base flex 15% → 18% → 21% → 24% → ... → 48% (with 11 attempts)
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- Base flex 20% → 23% → 26% → 29% → ... → 50% (with 11 attempts)
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### Phase Matrix
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For each day, the system tries:
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```mermaid
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flowchart TD
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Start["Start: base flex<br/><small>(e.g. 15%)</small>"] --> A1
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subgraph Attempt1["Attempt 1 — flex 15%"]
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A1["Your filters"] -->|not enough| A2["Level = any"]
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end
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A2 -->|not enough| B1
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subgraph Attempt2["Attempt 2 — flex 18%"]
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B1["Your filters"] -->|not enough| B2["Level = any"]
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end
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B2 -->|not enough| C1
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subgraph Attempt3["Attempt 3 — flex 21%"]
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C1["Your filters"] --> C2["Level = any"]
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end
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C1 -->|"✅ enough"| Done
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A1 -->|"✅ enough"| Done
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A2 -->|"✅ enough"| Done
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B1 -->|"✅ enough"| Done
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B2 -->|"✅ enough"| Done
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C2 -->|"✅ / not enough → next …"| Done
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Done["✅ Done<br/><small>stops at first success</small>"]
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style Start fill:#e6f7ff,stroke:#00b9e7,stroke-width:2px
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style Done fill:#e6fff5,stroke:#00c853,stroke-width:2px
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style Attempt1 fill:#f0f9ff,stroke:#00b9e7
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style Attempt2 fill:#fff9e6,stroke:#ffb800
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style Attempt3 fill:#fff0f0,stroke:#ff8a80
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```
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Each attempt adds +3% flexibility and tries two filter combinations. The system **stops as soon as enough periods are found** — it doesn't keep trying the full matrix.
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## Choosing the Number of Attempts
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- **Default (11 attempts)** balances speed and completeness for most grids (22 combinations per day for both Best and Peak)
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- **Lower (4-8 attempts)** if you only want mild relaxation and keep processing time minimal (reaches ~27-39% flex)
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- **Higher (12 attempts)** for extremely volatile days when you must reach near the 50% maximum (24 combinations)
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- Remember: each additional attempt adds two more filter combinations because every new flex level still runs both filter overrides (original + level=any)
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## Per-Day Independence
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**Critical:** Each day relaxes **independently**:
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<details>
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<summary>Show formula: Each day relaxes independently</summary>
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```
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Day 1: Finds 2 periods with flex 15% (original) → No relaxation needed
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Day 2: Needs flex 21% + level=any → Uses relaxed settings
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Day 3: Finds 2 periods with flex 15% (original) → No relaxation needed
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```
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</details>
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**Why?** Price patterns vary daily. Some days have clear cheap/expensive windows (strict filters work), others don't (relaxation needed).
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## Diagnosing Relaxation Behavior
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Check the period sensor attributes to understand what happened:
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<details>
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<summary>Show YAML: Diagnosing Relaxation Behavior</summary>
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```yaml
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# Entity: binary_sensor.<home_name>_best_price_period
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relaxation_active: true # This day needed relaxation
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relaxation_level: "price_diff_18.0%+level_any" # Found at 18% flex, level filter removed
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min_periods_configured: 2 # Your target
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period_count_today: 3 # What was actually found today
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```
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</details>
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| Attribute | Meaning |
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|-----------|---------|
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| `relaxation_active: false` | Original filters were sufficient |
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| `relaxation_active: true` | Filters were loosened to find enough periods |
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| `relaxation_level` | Shows exactly which flex% and filter combo succeeded |
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| `relaxation_incomplete: true` | All attempts exhausted, still short of target |
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| `flat_days_detected: 1` | Uniform prices → target reduced to 1 (expected) |
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**See also:** [Period Calculation — Troubleshooting](period-calculation.md#troubleshooting) for more diagnostic guidance.
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