Managing Buildings

Buildings allow Partners to group devices by physical location, enabling better consumption tracking, billing accuracy, and optimization for users with multiple properties.

Why Use Buildings?

Organization

Group devices by physical location for clear structure

Consumption Tracking

Separate consumption data by property for accurate billing

Multi-Property Support

Manage users with multiple locations (main home, vacation house)

Self-Consumption Optimization

Optimize photovoltaic self-consumption within a building

Creating a Building

Buildings can be created at any time for a user:

curl -X POST \
  'https://app.podero.com/api/partners/v2.0/org/{org_id}/users/{user_id}/buildings' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {auth_token}' \
  -d '{
    "name": "Vacation House"
  }'

Optional Building Parameters

You can provide additional building information:

curl -X POST \
  'https://app.podero.com/api/partners/v2.0/org/{org_id}/users/{user_id}/buildings' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {auth_token}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "name": "Main Residence",
    "property_type": "single_family_home",
    "property_size_m2": 150,
    "property_age": "1990-2000",
    "num_occupants": 4,
    "occupant_type": "family",
    "space_heating": "heat_pump",
    "water_heating": "heat_pump",
    "street_and_number": "123 Main Street",
    "zip_code": "10115",
    "town": "Berlin",
    "country_iso2": "DE"
  }'

Building metadata helps the optimization algorithm make better decisions based on property characteristics.

Linking Devices to Buildings

Link During Device Creation

When creating an onboarding session, you can specify the building:

curl -X POST \
  'https://app.podero.com/api/partners/v2.0/device-onboarding' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {auth_token}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "user_id": "{user_id}",
    "building_id": "{building_id}",
    "language": "en",
    "price_zone_default": "DE",
    "success_url": "https://yourapp.com/success",
    "cancel_url": "https://yourapp.com/cancel"
  }'

Link Existing Device to Building

You can link an existing device to a building at any time:

curl -X PUT \
  'https://app.podero.com/api/partners/v2.0/org/{org_id}/users/{user_id}/heat-pumps/{device_id}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {auth_token}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "building_id": "497f6eca-6276-4993-bfeb-53cbbbba6f08"
  }'

This works for all device types: heat pumps, electric vehicles, and solar inverters.

Listing Buildings

Retrieve all buildings for a user:

curl -X GET \
  'https://app.podero.com/api/partners/v2.0/org/{org_id}/users/{user_id}/buildings' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {auth_token}' \
  -H 'accept: application/json'

Updating Building Information

Update building details as needed:

curl -X PUT \
  'https://app.podero.com/api/partners/v2.0/org/{org_id}/users/{user_id}/buildings/{building_id}' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {auth_token}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "name": "Updated Building Name",
    "num_occupants": 5
  }'

Multi-Building Optimization Scenarios

Scenario 1: Main Home + Vacation House

A user has a primary residence with a heat pump and a vacation house with solar panels and an EV:

# Create main house
main_house = create_building(user_id, {
    'name': 'Main Residence',
    'property_type': 'single_family_home'
})

# Create vacation house
vacation_house = create_building(user_id, {
    'name': 'Vacation House',
    'property_type': 'single_family_home'
})

# Link heat pump to main house
link_device_to_building(heat_pump_id, main_house['id'])

# Link solar and EV to vacation house
link_device_to_building(solar_inverter_id, vacation_house['id'])
link_device_to_building(ev_id, vacation_house['id'])

Scenario 2: Self-Consumption Optimization

When solar panels and energy-consuming devices are in the same building, Podero optimizes for maximum self-consumption:

# All devices at one location
building = create_building(user_id, {
    'name': 'Solar Home'
})

# Link all devices to same building for self-consumption optimization
link_device_to_building(solar_inverter_id, building['id'])
link_device_to_building(heat_pump_id, building['id'])
link_device_to_building(ev_id, building['id'])

The optimization algorithm will prioritize using solar energy to power the heat pump and charge the EV when they’re in the same building.

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Use clear, descriptive names (e.g., “Main Home”, “Office Building”)
Avoid generic names like “Building 1”, “Building 2”
Include location information if managing many properties

Building Assignment

Assign devices to buildings during onboarding when possible
Don’t leave devices unassigned if building information is available
Allow users to reassign devices if they move them between locations

Data Organization

Use buildings for consumption reporting and billing
Query devices by building for location-specific insights
Track building-level energy metrics for better analytics

Common Use Cases

Single Property
Multi-Property
Commercial

Even with one property, creating a building helps organize devices and enables future expansion:

# Create default building for new user
building = create_building(user_id, {'name': 'Home'})

# All devices go to this building
link_all_devices_to_building(building['id'])

Users with multiple properties benefit from separate buildings:

# Create buildings for each property
buildings = {
    'home': create_building(user_id, {'name': 'Main Home'}),
    'vacation': create_building(user_id, {'name': 'Lake House'}),
    'rental': create_building(user_id, {'name': 'Rental Property'})
}

# Assign devices based on location
assign_devices_to_locations(buildings)

Commercial users with multiple sites:

# Create buildings for business locations
locations = ['Store 1', 'Store 2', 'Warehouse', 'Office']
buildings = {
    loc: create_building(user_id, {'name': loc, 'property_type': 'commercial'})
    for loc in locations
}

Overview

Getting Started

End-User Workflows

Back-Office Workflows

API Reference

Heat Pumps

Electric Vehicles

Solar Inverters

Managing Buildings

Managing Buildings

Why Use Buildings?

Organization

Consumption Tracking

Multi-Property Support

Self-Consumption Optimization

Creating a Building

Optional Building Parameters

Linking Devices to Buildings

Link During Device Creation

Link Existing Device to Building

Listing Buildings

Updating Building Information

Multi-Building Optimization Scenarios

Scenario 1: Main Home + Vacation House

Scenario 2: Self-Consumption Optimization

Best Practices

Common Use Cases

Next Steps

Dashboard Integration

Building Parameters

Overview

Getting Started

End-User Workflows

Back-Office Workflows

API Reference

Heat Pumps

Electric Vehicles

Solar Inverters

​Managing Buildings

​Why Use Buildings?

Organization

Consumption Tracking

Multi-Property Support

Self-Consumption Optimization

​Creating a Building

​Optional Building Parameters

​Linking Devices to Buildings

​Link During Device Creation

​Link Existing Device to Building

​Listing Buildings

​Updating Building Information

​Multi-Building Optimization Scenarios

​Scenario 1: Main Home + Vacation House

​Scenario 2: Self-Consumption Optimization

​Best Practices

​Common Use Cases

​Next Steps

Dashboard Integration

Building Parameters

Managing Buildings

Why Use Buildings?

Creating a Building

Optional Building Parameters

Linking Devices to Buildings

Link During Device Creation

Link Existing Device to Building

Listing Buildings

Updating Building Information

Multi-Building Optimization Scenarios

Scenario 1: Main Home + Vacation House

Scenario 2: Self-Consumption Optimization

Best Practices

Common Use Cases

Next Steps