Data sources - PilotWatt

Source	Data	Refresh	Cache TTL
FoxESS Cloud API	Battery SoC, solar kW, grid import/export, work mode	~5 min (API limit)	State 5 min; schedule get 60 s
Octopus Energy API	Agile export rates (48h), settled export consumption, IO window (GraphQL)	Rates ~30 min	30 min (rates + IO window); longer for historical slots
Open-Meteo	Hourly shortwave radiation → estimated kWh	~1 hour	1 hour per user

FoxESS

Auth: API key + signed requests
Used for: live dashboard, manual override, EV import inference, scheduler push

Octopus

Auth: personal API key (Basic)
Used for: rates chart, earnings, optimiser scoring
Requires export MPAN + meter serial
Export earnings data typically lags 24–48 hours behind real time. PilotWatt shows the most recent settled data available.

Open-Meteo

No API key
Location from your Settings / onboarding postcode
kWh estimate: (radiation × panel area × efficiency) / 1000 using env defaults unless customised

Degraded mode

If an upstream API fails, PilotWatt shows the last cached value with a stale timestamp and retry where possible. The recommendation may switch to “insufficient data” if inputs are too old.