---
title: "EMS site: Policies"
url: "https://ensights.productfruits.help/en/article/ems-site-policies"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-08-25T16:19:35.355Z"
---

# EMS site: Policies

How you tell a site what to do: storage policies with schedule blocks, inverter power caps, and the rules that keep them safe.

*Fleet Management → EMS Sites → a site → Policies*

## What a policy is

A policy is a standing instruction to the site's controller. Nothing on an EMS site moves without one: if the Dashboard shows *Active Policy: N/A*, the equipment is idle by definition, not by fault.

The tab has two sub-tabs — **Storage Policies** and **Inverter Policies** — and a footer with **Save Changes** and **Cancel**. Edits are held locally until you save, and leaving with unsaved work raises a guard dialog: *You have unsaved changes, proceed anyway?* with **Cancel** and **Discard & Close**.

![The Policies tab with its Storage and Inverter sub-tabs](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/831d7cb6-f709-4724-876c-5e52105d7e1e)

## Storage policies

**Add Policy** creates one. Until you name it the header reads *Name is missing*, which is also what stops it saving.

### The policy header

-   **Name** — name it for its job ("Night charge", "Evening peak discharge", "Summer demand management").
-   **Min SoC** and **Max SoC** (%) — the band the battery must stay inside. These are the safety rails: no schedule block will take the battery below Min or above Max, so a reserve for backup or a cycling limit for warranty is enforced here rather than in every block.
-   **Active** toggle — whether the policy is in force. Keep seasonal policies defined but inactive rather than deleting them.
-   The **⋮** menu holds per-policy actions such as duplicating or removing.

### Policy Type

-   **Fixed Operation** — the battery follows your schedule: charge, discharge or cap export at set times.
-   **Peak Demand Management** — the EMS discharges to hold site demand below a threshold, deciding the timing itself. Use this where the value is in avoiding a demand charge rather than in following the clock.

### Schedule

Choose **Monthly Recurring** — with Jan…Dec chips, so a policy can apply only in the months you select — or **Specific Dates** for a one-off window.

### Schedule blocks

Each block is one instruction:

-   **From** and **To** — the daily window (00:00–23:59 by default).
-   **Operation** — **Charge**, **Discharge** or **Grid Feed Limit**.
-   **Power** (kW) — the rate for the operation, or the cap for a feed limit.
-   **Days** — Sun…Sat chips, so weekdays and weekends can differ.

**Add Schedule Block** adds more. A normal arbitrage policy is two blocks: charge overnight at a modest rate, discharge across the evening peak. Blocks should not overlap in a way that gives the battery two contradictory instructions for the same minute.

![A storage policy open for editing, with schedule blocks](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/2333b909-94ce-458a-aca3-6e990df28c4f)

## Inverter policies

**Add Inverter Policy** creates a curtailment rule:

-   **Name**.
-   **Total Power** (kW) — the combined cap for the inverters in the policy.
-   **Inverters** — the list of the site's inverters with a checkbox and its own kW value each, plus **Select all**. This is how a total cap is shared out, or how one inverter is limited while the rest run free.

Inverter policies are what you reach for when a grid operator imposes an export cap, or when a transformer or cable section needs protecting during a fault.

## Common tasks

**Set up simple arbitrage.** Add Policy → name it → Min/Max SoC → Fixed Operation → Monthly Recurring with all months → block one: Charge 00:00–06:00 at the charge rate, Sun–Sat → block two: Discharge 17:00–21:00 → Active on → Save Changes. Confirm *Active Policy* on the Dashboard afterwards.

**Protect a backup reserve.** Raise *Min SoC* so no discharge block can eat into the reserve.

**Curtail export for a grid instruction.** Either an inverter policy with a total power cap, or a storage block with *Grid Feed Limit* — the inverter policy if generation must be held back, the feed limit if storage can absorb it.

**Run a one-off event.** Use *One-time Policy…* from the site's row menu on the EMS Sites list rather than editing a recurring policy.

**Retire a policy for the season.** Switch *Active* off and save; it keeps its configuration for next year.

## Common questions

**I saved a policy but nothing happens.**  
Check the Active toggle, that today falls inside the selected months and days, that the clock is inside a block, and that the battery is not already at its SoC limit. Then confirm the controller is connected on the *Controller* tab.

**Two policies overlap — which wins?**  
Avoid it. Overlapping instructions for the same minute make behaviour hard to predict; keep one policy active per objective and use the month and day chips to separate them.

**Why is my policy not saving?**  
An unnamed policy shows *Name is missing* in red and blocks the save.