Helios connects your solar panels, home battery and charging station and makes them work together. By combining real-time forecasts of solar production and energy consumption with live price data, Helios ensures your returns are always maximised — without you having to think about it.
Consume when prices are low
Sell surplus power when prices are high
Keep unnecessary peak and grid costs under control
Why Helios?
Built for Belgium: made for our unique market. Helios handles the complex capacity tariff and grid costs fully automatically for the lowest possible bill.
Future-proof: rules change halfway? Helios installs remote updates so the return on your investment stays maximised.
Free choice: invest with confidence. Switching brands or expanding later? Helios is brand-independent. No money wasted on systems that don't talk to each other, but one smart connection that always works.
A unique blueprint: no standard profile, but control based on the heartbeat of your home. Helios uses your unique consumption and production profile.
💡 Download: download the full Helios product sheet for detailed specifications at the bottom of the page.
How does Helios forecast solar production? (irradiance mapping)
The Helios production forecast is based on a deterministic model that correlates local system parameters with global meteorological irradiance data.
During commissioning, the static characteristics of the photovoltaic system are recorded in the central database: the geometric orientation (azimuth), the tilt of the panels, the nominal peak power (kWp) and the specific system efficiency of the inverter infrastructure. Environmental factors such as shading masks (from surrounding buildings or vegetation) are also integrated numerically into the model.
The system retrieves high-frequency irradiance data from international data sources, forecasting the global horizontal irradiance at the GPS coordinates of the installation. A calculation module translates this global data into the effective irradiance on the tilted plane of the panels. The result is a quarter-hour production forecast for a 72-hour horizon, adjusted every fifteen minutes. This forecast is a critical input for the daily energy planning and the control of the storage systems, taking both direct and diffuse irradiance into account.
How does Helios calculate the real electricity price?
The economic optimisation relies on a continuous exchange of data with the relevant energy markets, focused specifically on the Belgian context.
The system synchronises daily with EPEX Spot market data as soon as the Day-Ahead prices are released. Helios combines these spot prices with the end user's contract details: every quarter-hour block is enriched with all additional cost components that determine the final invoice price — federal and regional excise duties, the renewable energy contribution, distribution grid tariffs and the applicable VAT rates.
A dedicated algorithm monitors the Belgian capacity tariff. Helios analyses the real-time data from the digital meter (via the P1 interface or a connected energy meter) to calculate the average quarter-hour peak, applying proactive peak-shaving logic: when the load approaches the configured threshold, controllable consumers (such as electric vehicles or thermal buffer storage) are immediately reduced or switched off. This keeps the balance between maximum self-consumption and minimum grid costs.
Why a local-first architecture?
Helios differs fundamentally from cloud-based management systems by running the control logic entirely locally on the gateway.
Assets such as inverters, battery inverters and charging stations are connected via physical interfaces or the local network (LAN), using standardised industrial protocols such as Modbus RTU (via RS485) and Modbus TCP. This eliminates the dependency on manufacturers' external clouds, which often suffer from high latency and are sensitive to internet outages or server downtime — scenarios in which cloud systems can no longer send control commands.
The local-first architecture guarantees that all critical decisions and the storage of measurement data take place within the physical perimeter of the home. This safeguards the privacy of consumption data and lets the system respond within milliseconds to fast load changes or variations in solar intensity. Even during a complete internet outage, the gateway remains operational based on the most recently obtained market data and local sensor input.
Hardware specifications (Industrial Control Unit)
The hardware unit is designed for continuous use in industrial and residential distribution cabinets:
Processor: quad-core ARM Cortex-A76, 64-bit CPU, selected for parallel data streams and local AI calculations.
Memory: 4GB LPDDR4X-4267 for real-time data buffering and 64GB eMMC onboard flash for the operating system and local database storage.
Enclosure: metal CM IO Case
Power: 5.1V DC / 5.0A via USB-C (27W)
Connectivity: 1x Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 Mbps, RJ45), 2x USB 3.0 Type-A
Dimensions (W x D x H): 105 mm x 75 mm x 35 mm
Weight: 466 g
Operating conditions: temperature range -20°C to +50°C, protection class IP20.
Scalability and system integrity
The Helios software stack is modular, allowing future updates and new device drivers without disturbing the core logic. The system supports an unlimited number of assets within the limits of the hardware capacity and is prepared for Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) and other emerging smart-grid technologies. All communication between the gateway and external monitoring servers is secured with end-to-end encryption.