Devices and connections

The energy equipment in Texture, and how it gets there

A device is a piece of energy equipment connected to Texture. Each device belongs to a workspace and is usually linked to a site. Most devices arrive through a connection to a manufacturer account.

Device types#

For the manufacturers Texture supports, see Devices and OEMs. To ask about a device that isn't supported yet, contact us.

Connections#

A connection is Texture's access to a manufacturer account, such as a customer's Tesla or Enphase account. Texture uses it to collect device data and send commands. There are two ways to create one:

• A customer connects their own account with a Connect link. Their Connect Sessions appear on their contact page.
• You connect your fleet's manufacturer accounts in Integration Hub.

One connection can bring in several devices. For example, a customer who connects a Tesla account might bring in a Powerwall, a solar inverter, and a vehicle. Every device from a connection shares the connection's reference ID, the identifier you give it to match your own records.

When Texture loses that access, for example because a customer revokes it, the connection's devices become disconnected. Texture stops getting their data and can't send them commands.

What a device reports#

Texture collects each device's current state from the manufacturer, usually every 5 or 15 minutes, depending on the manufacturer. State depends on the type: a battery's charge level, a thermostat's mode and temperature, or an inverter's power output. Texture keeps the history.

You can't change how often Texture collects data. If you need a different interval, contact us.

For the fields each type reports, see the data models for batteries, chargers, vehicles, inverters, and thermostats.

Online and connected#

A device has two separate states:

• Connected: whether Texture still has access through the device's connection. Program Monitoring counts connected and disconnected devices this way.
• Online status: whether the device itself is reachable: online, asleep (for example, a parked vehicle), offline, or unknown. Texture records when it was last online.

A connected device can still be offline, for example when a battery loses its internet connection. Both states show at the top of the device's page.

What you can do with a device#

Send commands#

Commands can start now or at a set time, and end at a set time. Use Send Command on the device's page, or the API. See Commands.

Schedule#

Batteries, thermostats, and chargers can run on a schedule, for example a thermostat setback overnight. Set a device's schedule in the Schedule section of its page. To schedule a group of devices by tag, use the API. See Schedules.

Tag#

Tags group devices. Use them to target program events, send commands to a group, or schedule a group. Edit a device's tags in its Device information section.

The device page#

Open a device from Devices or from its site. Its page shows, depending on the device type:

• Now: current state
• History: state over time (Demand for meters)
• Voltage and Grid hierarchy, for meters
• Device information: manufacturer, model, serial number, tags, and more
• Program enrollments
• Schedule and Commands
• Emissions: charging emissions, for batteries
• Alerts and Recent activity

The page header shows online status and connection, with Send Command, Move to Site, and Delete Device.

Devices can't be moved between workspaces. See Organizations and workspaces.