HA "sensor.solcast_helper is longer than 255, falling back to unknown" when restarting

[anthonws]

HA 2025.12.5, but have seen this message for a while now.

I believe this only happens on restart. Is this expected? Anything that I might be doing wrong?

TY!!

2025-12-31 13:28:26.656 ERROR (MainThread) [homeassistant.core] State [{'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 0, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 0, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 1, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 1, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 2, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 2, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 3, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 3, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 4, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 4, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 5, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 5, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 6, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 6, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 7, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 7, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 8, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.2259, 'pv_estimate10': 0.1502, 'pv_estimate90': 0.3347}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 8, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 2.017, 'pv_estimate10': 2.017, 'pv_estimate90': 2.017}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 9, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 2.4025, 'pv_estimate10': 1.733, 'pv_estimate90': 2.6713}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 9, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 2.4075, 'pv_estimate10': 1.9361, 'pv_estimate90': 2.7527}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 10, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.9981, 'pv_estimate10': 0.6046, 'pv_estimate90': 2.4554}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 10, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.9453, 'pv_estimate10': 0.788, 'pv_estimate90': 1.1721}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 11, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 1.2272, 'pv_estimate10': 0.7916, 'pv_estimate90': 2.8398}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 11, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 1.1793, 'pv_estimate10': 0.8829, 'pv_estimate90': 2.5634}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 12, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 2.621, 'pv_estimate10': 0.8329, 'pv_estimate90': 4.6189}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 12, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 3.857, 'pv_estimate10': 2.333, 'pv_estimate90': 4.7524}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 13, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 4.299, 'pv_estimate10': 2.4934, 'pv_estimate90': 4.8758}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 13, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 3.6687, 'pv_estimate10': 1.7584, 'pv_estimate90': 4.6794}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 14, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 3.2236, 'pv_estimate10': 1.3374, 'pv_estimate90': 4.3895}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 14, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 3.2622, 'pv_estimate10': 1.2763, 'pv_estimate90': 4.0818}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 15, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 3.1263, 'pv_estimate10': 1.0303, 'pv_estimate90': 3.5743}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 15, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 2.6716, 'pv_estimate10': 0.5979, 'pv_estimate90': 3.0447}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 16, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 1.8909, 'pv_estimate10': 0.1835, 'pv_estimate90': 2.3523}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 16, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 1.0588, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0714, 'pv_estimate90': 1.6081}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 17, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0445, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0083, 'pv_estimate90': 0.1243}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 17, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 18, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 18, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 19, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 19, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 20, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 20, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 21, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 21, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 22, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 22, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 23, 0, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}, {'period_start': datetime.datetime(2025, 12, 31, 23, 30, tzinfo=zoneinfo.ZoneInfo(key='Europe/Lisbon')), 'pv_estimate': 0.0, 'pv_estimate10': 0.0, 'pv_estimate90': 0.0}] for sensor.solcast_helper is longer than 255, falling back to unknown

[BJReplay]

Hi @anthonws, Happy New Year!

It looks like you are (or something is) trying to stuff the entire state of the retrieved forecast into a template sensor that you have created called Solcast Helper (sensor.solcast_helper) and HA is complaining.

Now, the content looks a bit like the DetailedForecast attribute of any of the forecast sensors, but with the period_start timestamps converted to datetime helpers.

This looks like something that is done by something outside of this integration.

[autoSteve]

Yeah, that's not our ugly baby, BJ. A templated something, or a different integration.

[BJReplay]

At a guess, maybe EMHASS, or EVCC, or similar.

[anthonws]

Unsure why I ended up creating the sensor templates in YAML files. I removed them, but heck, I don't recall why or how they got there in the first place :D

TY all for shining the light on my stupidity!

Happy New Year to all of you!!!

[BJReplay]

SLAGIATT: the explanation for all digital cruft.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.