# Gridual

> Supported steering: batteries, PV, imbalance market

Source: https://voltmasters.io/en/docs/external-signal/gridual/

[Gridual](https://gridual.ai) is an external energy partner that operates the connected assets by sending steering signals to the EMS. Gridual optimizes per site rather than per portfolio: it continuously weighs the value of a market trade against the cost the site avoids by consuming the energy locally.

**Supported steering:** batteries, PV, imbalance market.

### Connection method

Gridual connects over a secure, **certificate-based MQTT** connection.

### What we need to connect

The following must be provided by Gridual and configured in the project's energy trading settings:

| Setting | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Host** | The Gridual MQTT broker host |
| **Port** | The MQTT broker port |
| **Certificate** | Client certificate (`.crt` / `.pem`) |
| **Private key** | Client private key (`.key` / `.pem`) |
| **Root key** | Root CA certificate (`.pem`) |