Want to make the most of your battery? In this article, we’ll go through how to set up and manage smart charging from the grid.
This article outlines how our customers use Sigenergy battery settings to charge during off-peak hours.
Disclaimer: Please make your own decisions about what is right for you, your home and your system when managing your home battery charging preferences and your retailer.
How Do I Charge My Battery From the Grid?
With certain energy retailers, you can take advantage of daily free windows that offer to charge your home battery from the grid. This enables you to use your battery’s full capacity for 365 days a year, regardless of the weather. It’s a smart back-up plan that takes advantage of free power.
How To Do This With Your Sigenergy Battery
Sigenergy batteries are designed with a smart energy management system that continuously looks for the most cost-effective way to power your home. It balances solar production, household usage, battery capacity and grid pricing to decide when charging makes sense.
Using the mySigen app, you can configure your:
- Electricity tariff details
- Off-peak or free charging windows
- Grid charging permissions and limits
Once these settings are in place, the system uses time-of-use tariffs to your advantage – charging your battery during cheaper periods such as overnight or midday free-power windows, and saving that energy for when electricity costs more.
Relevant article: How To Make Your Battery Work Smarter
How to Set Up Time-based Control in the mySigen App
To set up your time-based controls in your mySigen app, follow the steps below:
1. Open your mySigen app
2. Select “Settings”
3. Go into “Operational Mode”
4. Scroll down to “Time-based Control” and ensure this is enabled
5. Tap “+ Charging”
6. Set your charging times when tariffs are at their lowest (e.g. 11 am – 2 pm)
7. Tap “+ Self Consumption” twice. This sets the times outside your charging window as self-consumption periods
8. Tap “Next,” then “Save”
Note: Your solar feed-in will still work. Time-based control is particularly useful during winter and low-sun periods when solar production alone may not fill your battery.
Your Sigenergy battery will charge when power is cheapest and discharge later when electricity is most valuable, helping you reduce reliance on peak-rate grid power without changing how you use energy at home.
Watch the video!
How Do You Get Free Power?
Certain energy retailers in Australia offer free power during periods when the wholesale price of electricity is $0 or negative. This is also a period when customers don’t receive their solar feed-in tariff.
If this has left you feeling ripped off because you aren’t getting the same amount back for the solar you send, we have good news for you. You can use the grid to charge your battery for free, ensuring you can use it 365 days a year with ease.
What Is the Free Timeframe?
Retailers such as OVO have specific plans that offer a free timeframe that customers can take advantage of. OVO’s 3 Free plan is the perfect example, offering completely free power between 11 am and 2 pm.
Your retailer’s free timeframe and existing energy plan will inform how you set up your battery’s controls to take advantage of the free period or low-cost times and maximise your battery’s charging capabilities.
(As of the time of publishing this post in May 2026.)
The Bottom Line
Charging your Sigenergy battery from the grid for free is straightforward once your time-based controls are in place. Match your settings to your retailer’s free window and let the system take care of the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is My Battery Exporting to the Grid Before 11 am?
If your Sigenergy system has a feed-in rate set that pays you before your free or off-peak window starts, the system may decide it’s more cost-effective to export power to the grid rather than store it.
The energy management system compares what you’ll earn by exporting now against what it will cost to buy power later.
If you notice this and would prefer your battery to store more energy instead, you can adjust the feed-in rate settings in the mySigen app so the system recalculates what’s most financially beneficial for you.
Why Isn't My Battery Charging Within the Free Window (e.g. 11 am-2 pm)?
If your Sigenergy battery isn’t charging during a free-power window, it’s often because the system expects your solar to fill the battery based on current usage patterns and weather forecasts.
From the system’s perspective, it doesn’t matter whether the battery fills from solar or free grid power – the outcome is the same as long as the battery reaches the required charge level.
The real measure of success is whether your battery is filling consistently and being used effectively. If it is, the system may simply be deciding that grid charging isn’t required on that particular day.
How Can I Avoid Tripping My Power While Charging From the Grid?
Your system mustn’t draw more power than your house can supply. If you’re also using the free period to charge a car or run high-demand appliances, you can trip the power.
Make sure your import limit is appropriately set and let your installer know your intention to charge from the grid so they can review this setting with you.
To check your setup:
- Open the mySigen app
- Go to Settings and Operational Mode
- Confirm your free or off-peak period matches your retailer’s offer
- Ensure grid charging is enabled and check the system is in time-based control mode
What Are Grid Import Settings and Why Are They Important?
Grid import settings control how and when your Sigenergy battery can draw power from the grid. They determine whether the battery charges only from solar, charges from the grid or uses a combination of both.
These settings are especially important when using super off-peak or free electricity windows. When configured correctly, they allow your battery to charge when power is cheapest while still using solar efficiently throughout the day.
Why Is My Battery Not Charging Faster?
This is completely normal. As your battery approaches full capacity, the charging speed naturally slows – particularly between 90% and 100%.
Charging speed is also affected by how much electricity your home is using at the same time, your configured grid import limit and the capacity of your existing electrical infrastructure. If the house is drawing more power, the battery will charge more slowly to stay within safe limits.
Why Isn't My Battery Charging at the Expected Times?
In many cases, this can be resolved by checking your tariff settings in the mySigen app.
Make sure the correct time zone is selected, daylight savings settings are accurate and your tariff times match your retailer’s actual schedule.
Also consider the bigger picture – if your battery is still filling each day, the system may simply decide that grid charging isn’t required. You might notice more grid charging in winter than in summer.
What Happens if My Tariff Changes?
It’s your responsibility to stay up to date with any changes your electricity retailer makes to your pricing plan. Whenever your tariff changes, update the rates and time periods in the mySigen app so the system can continue to make accurate decisions.
Keeping this information current ensures you’re getting the best possible value from both the grid and your battery.
Will This Be Around for Long?
Other states across Australia have introduced a new legislative requirement that sets a minimum of three hours of free electricity every day for households in default market offer regions under the scheme known as Solar Sharer.
Even though this is not yet enforced in Victoria, acting now means you’re ready ahead of any rollout of a similar policy like the Midday Power Saver, ensuring your battery setup is configured, grid charging is enabled and you’re taking full advantage of the retail-offer timing before the rules change.
If you’d like help configuring your Sigenergy system or want to make sure you’re getting the most from your battery, get in touch with the Bluegum team. Request a callback