HomeSeer is happy to introduce Jean-Jaccques Filby and his SWOpti system in this first issue of our Customer Highlights blog. SWOpti is a new way to improve your smart home system through green tech and optimizing solar energy production, adding additional value to your HS4 System.
Who is Jean-Jacques Filby
About
Jean-Jacques Filby is a home automation and solar energy enthusiast living in France. He is currently in his late fifties, and before moving into software development, he has worked as a transportation industry controller and later as a translator (primarily patents and tech documents).
Over the years he has developed his home automation system to improve his home for his family and children. He is a husband and has six children, the youngest is now 17 and the oldest (twins) are 24. Managing such a large household naturally comes with its complications such as chores and appointments, but there is also room for special interests, such as announcing major earthquakes when they occur. From there he has been steadily developing more features so that his system can evolve alongside the needs and practicalities of his family.
Entry to Home Automation
Around 2010, Jean-Jacques began experimenting with smart automation. The prescient needs of the time were figuring out how to control a fish tank pump, automate reminders for household chores to coordinate such a large family, and automating small repetitive tasks. As time progressed he developed a fondness and appreciation for home automation and began to steadily expand his scope. Through this process he began to research more advanced systems, and it was through that process he initially found and later decided on HomeSeer. Starting with HS3, he made his decision. In his own words, “HomeSeer stood out from the options available at the time; it was a robust platform capable of handling both simple automation and highly complex logic. Its scripting capability was particularly important, allowing full customization, so any features it did not have out of the box I could design on an as-needed basis”. After his initial adoption of HS3, he has continued to build on his system for 15 years now.
What is the SWOpti System?
Inspiration
In 2021, Jean-Jacques installed solar panels to offset ever-increasing energy costs. One summer day, he noticed a problem. On particularly cloudy days his hot water tank would switch to the grid for electricity for about an hour. Later, when sunlight returned, there would be abundant free energy, but the opportunity had already been missed. This led to a key insight: appliances should operate only when free solar energy is actually available. After research he found that existing solutions were cloud-based, severely limited, based on weather forecasts or not truly real-time. None matched what he wanted: a fully local system reacting to real conditions on the roof, minute by minute. The solution he developed would later become SWOpti.
In a nutshell SWOpti is a program that is based off of HomeSeer’s HS4 system that monitors and directs solar energy usage, it integrates automations and conditions to maximize personal solar energy production so that it is utilized in the home as opposed to inefficiently sending it to the electrical grid. It comes with its own data display interface to keep users up to date on performance and conditions and allows you to track historical energy use. It allows users to have all the same power of the traditional HS4 software but allows them to intelligently manage their solar systems, utilize smart chargers, and coordinate peripheral smart technology for renewable energy ecosystems. And all this, automatically.
What SWOpti does
SWOpti is designed to maximize self-consumption of renewable energy (solar or wind) by actively controlling household electricity usage.
It continuously measures:
- Energy production
- Household consumption
- Grid import/export
- Battery usage (if present)
It then decides in real time whether to activate devices (because extra solar power is available) or pause them (because you are starting to draw power from the grid).
It can control:
- Hot water tanks
- Electric boilers and radiators
- EV chargers
- Heating and cooling systems
- Washing machines, dryers, dishwashers
- Pool heating/filter pumps
- Fuel pumps and many other electrical loads
Devices can also be designated as monitored only, ensuring SWOpti never interferes with sensitive appliances, such as an oven.
What is in store for SWOpti?
At present SWOpti is currently being used across Europe, mainly in France, growing primarily through word of mouth rather than large-scale advertising. However, development continues, and is driven by real user feedback. Jean-Jacques, in the same vein as his initial home automation development, is always increasing features to match new needs as they arise.
The most recent innovation added to SWOpti is “multiple power level” appliance management, developed in partnership with LOWTECH and its electric boiler brand Thermogroup (based in Strasbourg, France). This allows intelligent rotation of heating elements in electric boilers, improving efficiency and extending equipment lifespan. If SWOpti is already managing an EV charger, and your charger supports multiple power levels, SWOpti can now use the new feature with your charger to fully exploit solar production, as it varies, in real time. In the near future a major interface redesign is planned to improve ease of use while keeping the system fully automated. After that, a new notification system will be deployed that will allow users to define conditions and receive alerts via email, SMS, voice, or HomeSeer’s whole-home audio system.
As a company SWOpti aims to grow across both Europe and the United States, with a strong focus on awareness. The U.S. version is designed for DIY users, especially HomeSeer enthusiasts, who can install and configure the system themselves using compatible modules. Thanks to a “bridge” plugin, Home Assistant enthusiasts can now also benefit from SWOpti.
Where to learn more
SWOpti
Jean-Jacques personally manages development, support, and communication. Social media updates are published when meaningful developments or demonstrations are available, rather than on a fixed schedule.
To learn more or to get a SWOpti system of your own, go to www.swopti.fr
For any questions or inquiries please reach out to contact@swopti.fr
Support is available in English and French, and phone consultations can be arranged on request.
Social presence:
LOWTECH and Thermogroup
For more information on multi power level boilers, go to www.thermogroup.com or contact them at contact@thermogroup.com.
Do you want your system featured in a HomeSeer Blog?
Are you a long time HomeSeer enthusiast? Are you proud of the time and effort you have put into your home? Let us know! We want to see all of the cool and innovative ideas you have. Share and be featured on the blog so your fellow HomeSeer fans can join you in appreciation!
Reach out to Jordan at: jordan@homeseer.com
