Can I use Alva LINK if I don't have solar panels?

Yes and for most homes, the heat pump is where the biggest savings are, not solar.

This is one of the most common misconceptions in home energy. Many people assume you need solar panels to benefit from smart energy management. In reality, a heat pump is by far the largest controllable electricity load in a home — typically consuming 8,000–15,000 kWh per year. That's where the savings opportunity lives.

Here's what Alva LINK does for a home with only a heat pump and a dynamic electricity tariff (like Tibber):

• ★Shifts heating to cheap hours. Your heat pump runs harder when electricity costs 0.01–0.03 €/kWh, then reduces output when prices hit 0.10–0.20 €/kWh. Your home's thermal mass — the heat stored in floors, walls, and water — bridges the gap.
• ★Pre-heats before cold snaps. Autopilot reads weather forecasts and pre-heats your home before temperatures drop, rather than waiting for the cold to arrive and running the heat pump at peak demand (and peak price).
• Prevents fuse overloads. If you have a heat pump and an EV charger on the same main fuse, Alva LINK coordinates their loads so they don't run simultaneously at full power. This is a safety feature that works even on the free Basic tier.
• ★Learns your home. Over weeks, Autopilot builds a thermal model of your specific house: how fast it heats, how fast it cools, which rooms hold heat longest. This makes the optimization sharper over time.

Estimated savings with a heat pump only: €122–€282 per year (depending on your home size, insulation, climate zone, and tariff structure). For most households, the heat pump savings alone more than cover the subscription cost.

If you later add solar panels, a battery, or an EV charger, you simply add another Alva LINK for each new asset. The system gets smarter because it can coordinate across more devices, but you don't need to wait for a full setup to start saving.