MAINT-04: refuse a maintenance charge the ceiling cannot deliver

config.yaml shipped max_w 2000 against maintenance_charge_w 2500. The
cheap-window shaping files Claim.limit(hi = -maintenance_charge_w) against
the supervised SAFETY limit's lo = -max_w, so lo > hi - the arbiter's
clause 3, correctly resolved to 0 W and logged as a CONTRADICTION.
Maintenance silently never charged in a cheap window on a default install,
and the only evidence read like a bug in the arbiter rather than like the
two numbers the operator set.

validate_startup_config() now refuses maintenance_charge_w > max_w, the
same shape as CFG-01's sign_disagree_w >= max_w. Equality is reachable
(-max_w is a single valid point) and is not refused. Demonstrated by
starting the add-on on the pre-fix pair: exit 78 and the refusal banner.

maintenance_discharge_w was checked rather than assumed and is NOT the same
case: the drain phase OWNS the actuator (Claim.set at P_MAINTENANCE), so
the ceiling clamps it to +2000 W and the arbiter's explain() names the
clamp every cycle. Loud, and it still moves energy - warned, not refused.

The shipped maintenance rates drop to 2000 so the defaults pass the rule;
max_w was deliberately not raised, because it is the supervised safety
ceiling. test_validate.py now reads config.yaml itself, so a default the
validator refuses cannot ship again.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_015VXjA3LWccN1rJsk3okyPC
This commit is contained in:
glenn schrooyen
2026-08-30 02:28:09 +02:00
co-authored by Claude Opus 5
parent bb64f8fdd7
commit 878a6ce452
6 changed files with 276 additions and 8 deletions
+50
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@@ -1,5 +1,55 @@
# Changelog
## Unreleased
**Cheap-window maintenance charging was unreachable at the shipped defaults, and
now the config that makes it unreachable is refused (MAINT-04).** `config.yaml`
shipped `max_w: 2000` against `maintenance_charge_w: 2500`. The cheap-window
shaping files `Claim.limit(hi = -maintenance_charge_w)` against the supervised
SAFETY limit's `lo = -max_w`, so `lo > hi` — the arbiter's clause 3, correctly
resolved to **0 W** and logged as a CONTRADICTION. **Maintenance silently never
charged in a cheap window on a default install**, and the only evidence read
like a bug in the arbiter rather than like the two numbers an operator set.
Measured against the real arbiter, loop asking +500 W:
```
max_w=2000 hi=-2500 -> +0 W contradiction=True
max_w=2500 hi=-2500 -> -2500 W limited by supervised(max_w)
max_w=3000 hi=-2500 -> -2500 W limited by maintenance(cheap-window charge)
```
`validate_startup_config()` now refuses `maintenance_charge_w > max_w` (rule 6),
the same shape as CFG-01's `sign_disagree_w >= max_w`: a number the operator set,
overridden by a layer they cannot see. Equality is reachable (`-max_w` is a
single valid point) and deliberately not refused. Verified by starting the
add-on on the pre-fix pair: exit 78, the refusal banner, no traceback.
**`maintenance_discharge_w` was checked, not assumed, and it is NOT the same
case.** The shaping is not symmetric. The drain phase does not shape the loop,
it OWNS the actuator — `Claim.set(P_MAINTENANCE, +discharge_w)` — and a SET is
*clamped* by the limits above it rather than contradicted by them. 2500 against
a 2000 W ceiling emits **+2000 W**, and the arbiter's own `explain()` prints
`maintenance -> 2000 W, limited by supervised(max_w)` every cycle. Nothing is
silent and energy still moves; the cycle completes slower (13.8 kWh usable at
2000 W is ~6.9 h against the 720 min drain timeout). **Warned about, not
refused.**
**The shipped defaults changed so the validator does not reject them.**
`maintenance_charge_w` and `maintenance_discharge_w` are now **2000**, at the
shipped `max_w`. `max_w` was deliberately NOT raised instead: it is the
supervised safety ceiling and raising a default upward ships more power to every
new install. Raising `max_w` (the reference install runs 5000) is what unlocks a
faster maintenance cycle — raise it first, then these. `test_validate.py` now
reads `config.yaml` itself and asserts the shipped numbers pass the rule, so a
default that the validator refuses cannot ship again.
⚠️ **Known, deliberately left, and worth a follow-up:** `main.py` and
`maintenance.py` still fall back to **2500** when the key is absent from the
options dict, while `config.yaml` and `validate.py` now say 2000. Unreachable on
a Supervisor install (every key is always supplied) and reachable only from
tests/`sim`. The real fix is one source of truth for option defaults, which is
bigger than this ticket and touches files another ticket is in.
## 0.5.1
**SAFETY-02's latch now survives an add-on restart, which is the difference