🚀 Virtual v0.10.0-alpha.5 — Modular Hardware Ecosystem Configurations & Examples Reorganization

⚠️ Alpha Release & Community Testing Notice

Virtual v0.10 is an active alpha pre-release.

If you encounter any bugs, regressions, or configuration issues, please open a GitHub issue with your configuration snippet and debug logs.

(Legacy v0.9 documentation is archived in README_v9.md).

🌟 What's New in v0.10.0-alpha.5

1. Home Assistant Energy Dashboard Support (Sensor state_class)

• VirtualSensor now automatically assigns appropriate state_class attributes required by Home Assistant's native Energy Dashboard and long-term statistics:
  • class: energy and class: gas: automatically declare state_class: total_increasing.
  • class: power, temperature, humidity, voltage, battery, etc.: automatically declare state_class: measurement.
  • Supports manual state_class: overrides in YAML.
• Added Sol-Ark Battery Energy In and Sol-Ark Battery Energy Out sensors to complete Home Assistant's Energy Dashboard battery tracking.
• Added linked_power configuration option to sensor.py:
  • Virtual energy sensors now automatically integrate companion power sensors into cumulative kWh without requiring Riemann sum helpers in Home Assistant.
  • Added companion energy sensors to all sockets in virtual-sonoff.yaml, virtual-climate.yaml (HVAC energy), and virtual-examples.yaml (Water Heater energy).
• Added deadband hysteresis (default 0.4°C) to ThermalHvacSimulation to run authentic heating and cooling cycles and eliminate rapid 10-second short-cycling.
• Added battery_strategy option (backup vs self_consumption):
  • In backup mode (default), the battery is held at 100% float charge for emergencies while grid power is healthy. Deficits pull from cheap grid power.
  • When grid voltage drops (<= 25 V), the inverter automatically enters island mode, powering the home from solar and battery.
• Added reactive grid voltage tracking (grid_voltage_sensor) allowing seamless blackout testing using standard virtual.set.

2. Inverter Baseload Tracking & Battery Polarity

• Base Load Power & Energy Sensors: The Sol-Ark simulation now exposes base_load_power_sensor and base_load_energy_sensor, allowing you to add baseline home draw to Individual Devices and eliminate "unaccounted for energy" on the Energy tab.
• Simulation State Persistence: The simulation engines now restore their exact battery State of Charge, cumulative energy meters (kWh), and gas consumption (m³) across Home Assistant restarts, ensuring seamless continuity on Energy Dashboard charts without resetting counters to zero.
• Battery Power Polarity Fix: Corrected single-sensor battery polarity in solar_inverter.py to match Home Assistant's standard convention (negative = charging, positive = discharging), ensuring charging power is properly shown entering the battery.

3. Modular Hardware Ecosystem Configurations (examples/)

Added ready-to-import virtual device configuration files partitioned by simulated hardware brand:

• examples/virtual-sonoff.yaml (6 devices):
  • 5 power-monitoring smart sockets: TV (with dynamic jitter), Audio Amplifier, Chest Freezer (15m/45m cyclic compressor), Washing Machine, and Heat Pump Tumble Dryer.
  • Master Bedroom 3-speed ceiling fan controller & on/off light kit.
• examples/virtual-hue.yaml (6 devices):
  • Dimmable warm white bulbs for bedrooms and closet.
  • Multi-colored ambiance lights for front porch and back deck (supporting HS color, Kelvin color temp, and dynamic effects).
• examples/virtual-zwave.yaml (25 standalone devices):
  • Motorized Schlage deadbolt with battery reporting and 2s transit delay.
  • 5 Standalone door contact sensors (front, back, garage, shed, basement).
  • 8 In-wall light switches.
  • 11 PIR motion sensors with auto-clearing off_delay: 20 countdown timers.

4. Dedicated Climate & Multi-Platform Example Files

• examples/virtual-climate.yaml:
  • Dedicated configuration file containing the closed-loop thermal HVAC system (Thermostat + Indoor Temp + Outdoor Weather Sync + Power Meter) and a standalone basic thermostat.
• examples/virtual-examples.yaml:
  • Renamed from virtual-umbrella.yaml and streamlined to showcase diverse multi-platform devices (Security Alarm Panel, Action Button, Dropdown Select, Text Input, Media Player Speaker, Camera with HLS Streaming, TV Power Socket, and Gated Driveway Security Camera).