PowerNight

Automated off-peak grid charging for your Tesla Powerwall.

PowerNight is a lightweight Docker-based application with a web interface that automates Tesla Powerwall backup reserve management. Schedule reserve percentage changes to optimize energy costs by charging from the grid during cheaper off-peak hours and discharging during expensive peak hours.

My Personal Use Case: Charge from grid overnight at low rates (in my case 0,16 EUR/kWh) and use the battery during peak hours (0,26 EUR/kWh).

Table of Contents

• Features
• Usage
• Quick Start
• Installation
  • Docker Hub
  • Synology NAS
• Security
• Build Process
• FAQ & Links

Features

• 🔐 Tesla Cloud Integration - Secure cloud authentication via Tesla.com
• 🗓️ Intelligent Scheduling - Daily task execution at specified times with timezone support
• 📊 Real-time Dashboard - Live Powerwall status, battery level, power flow visualization
• 🌍 Multi-Site Support - Manage multiple Powerwall installations (experimental)
• 🐳 Docker-First Design - Multi-stage builds, non-root user, security hardening
• 🏗️ Multi-Architecture - Supports AMD64, ARM64, ARM/v7 (Raspberry Pi compatible)
• 💾 Persistent Storage - SQLite database with Docker volume mounting
• 🔄 Auto-Recovery - Circuit breaker pattern, exponential backoff, health monitoring
• 📱 Modern Web UI - React SPA with responsive design
• 📜 Structured Logging - JSON logs with component filtering and real-time updates

Usage

Access the web interface at http://ip-address:8020 or http://localhost:8020.

Dashboard

Powerwall status with battery level, power flow, and system information

• System Information: Site name, ID, operating mode, battery level
• Power Data: Real-time grid, home, battery, solar power readings
• Grid Settings: Backup reserve percentage, grid charging status, export mode
• Last Updated: Timestamp of latest data fetch

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Planner

Task management UI for scheduling backup reserve changes

• Task Management: Create, edit, delete scheduled tasks
• Manual Execution: Test tasks immediately
• Execution Tracking: View last execution time and status

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History

Execution logs with timestamps and task results

• Structured Logging: JSON-formatted logs with filtering
• Real-time Updates: Auto-refresh for live monitoring

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Settings

Tesla Account configuration, site selection, and timezone settings

• Tesla Cloud Configuration: Authorize and manage Tesla Access
• Site Selection: Switch between multiple Powerwall installations
• Timezone Configuration: Set scheduling timezone
• System Information: Version, build date, runtime environment

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CLI Commands

PowerNight CLI commands

# Get Powerwall status
powernight status

Quick Start

1. Install & Run PowerNight Docker Container

   docker run -d \
     --name PowerNight \
     -p 8020:8020 \
     -v ./PowerNight-Data:/data \
     zaaicom/powernight:latest

2. Open web interface Navigate to http://localhost:8020 in your browser

3. Set your Timezone under Settings Navigate to Settings → Configure your local timezone

4. Authenticate with your Tesla account on the Settings page Click "Authorize with Tesla" and complete OAuth flow

5. Check Powerwall data on the Dashboard and compare with the Tesla Mobile App Verify battery level, power flow, and operating mode match

6. Create your tasks under Planner Navigate to Planner → Add tasks with time and reserve percentage

7. Start a manual task execution Test a task immediately to verify connectivity

8. Verify successful execution on the History page Check execution logs for success/error status

Installation

Docker Hub (Recommended)

Docker Hub is recommended for most users, especially Synology NAS deployments.

# Run with volume mount (IMPORTANT for data persistence)
docker run -d \
  --name PowerNight \
  -p 8020:8020 \
  -v ./PowerNight-Data:/data \
  zaaicom/powernight:latest

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always use volume mounts (-v ./PowerNight-Data:/data) to persist OAuth tokens, database, and configuration. Without volumes, data is lost after container restart.

GitHub CR (Container Registry)

Alternative registry hosted on GitHub Packages.

# Pull from GHCR
docker pull ghcr.io/zaai-com/powernight:latest

# Run with volume mount
docker run -d \
  --name PowerNight \
  -p 8020:8020 \
  -v ./PowerNight-Data:/data \
  ghcr.io/zaai-com/powernight:latest

Docker Compose

Recommended for production deployments - ensures persistent volumes are always configured.

1. Download docker-compose.yml file

2. Start the application:

docker-compose up -d

Synology NAS

Optimized for Synology DSM Docker integration:

1. Install Synology Container Manager from Package Center

2. Create Folder /docker/PowerNight-Data via File Station and add Read&Write permission to 'SYSTEM' user

3. Pull image from Docker Hub via Synology DSM UI: Go to Registry tab → Search for zaaicom/powernight → Download latest tag

4. Create container with:

   • Port Settings: Local Port 8020 → Container Port 8020
   • Volume: /docker/PowerNight-Data → /data
   • Auto-restart: Enable

5. Access via http://synology-ip:8020

6. Additional Synology Notes

   • Docker Hub recommended (native DSM UI integration)
   • GHCR requires manual pull via SSH
   • Use Synology Task Scheduler for automatic updates
   • Consider DSM Firewall rules for access control

Local Development

For contributors and developers:

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/ZAAI-com/PowerNight.git
cd PowerNight

# Install Python dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Install Node.js dependencies
npm install

# Build frontend (with version metadata)
./build.sh --no-docker

# Run application
python -m powernight.main

Access at http://localhost:8020

Security

Local Access Only

PowerNight is designed for trusted local networks only

• 🏠 Local Network Only: Deploy within your home/private network behind a firewall
• 🔓 Web UI Access: The web interface is NOT password protected
• ❌ Do NOT expose to internet: Never expose port 8020 directly to the public internet
• 🔐 Network Security Required: Use firewall rules, VPN, or reverse proxy for access control

Warning: Exposing PowerNight to the internet without additional security could allow unauthorized control of your Tesla Powerwall.

For detailed security guidance, see SECURITY.md.

Data Persistence

⚠️ CRITICAL: Always use volume mounts for production deployment!

Why Volumes Are Critical:

• docker run WITHOUT -v → Data lost on container restart
• Tokens stored in /data → Re-authentication required
• SQLite database in /data → All schedules lost

Data Backup:

# Backup entire data directory
tar -czf powernight-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz PowerNight-Data/

# Restore from backup
tar -xzf powernight-backup-20251022.tar.gz

Build Process

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always use the build script for production builds!

# Complete build with Docker image
./build.sh

# Build without Docker (faster for development)
./build.sh --no-docker

# Frontend only (version info won't update - NOT RECOMMENDED)
npm run build

Build Script Features:

• Generates fresh build timestamp (UTC)
• Creates version-info.json with build metadata
• Copies version info to dist/ for web access
• Builds frontend with Vite
• Optionally builds Docker image with OCI labels

FAQ & Links

For troubleshooting common issues, debugging, and log analysis, see FAQ.md.

License

• MIT License - Copyright (c) 2025 Manuel Gruber
• See LICENSE.md for full license text.

Acknowledgments

• PyPowerwall: jasonacox/pypowerwall - Tesla Powerwall API library
• Flask: Web framework for Python
• React: Frontend library
• Vite: Frontend build tool
• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework

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Made with ⚡ by Manuel

GitHub: ZAAI-com/PowerNight | Docker Hub: zaaicom/powernight | GHCR: ghcr.io/zaai-com/powernight