Home Assistant Energy Dashboard: Tracking Real Usage (2026)

Most people have no idea where their electricity money goes. They see a monthly bill and shrug. Home Assistant’s Energy Dashboard changes that by showing you exactly which devices consume what, when, and how much it costs. I set it up six months ago, discovered my “off” appliances were costing me $35/month in phantom loads, and cut my bill by 20%.

The Energy Dashboard is built into Home Assistant. It does not require any add-ons. You just need the right sensors feeding it data.

What the Energy Dashboard Tracks

Home Assistant’s Energy Dashboard tracks four categories:

Electricity consumption: How much power your home uses, broken down by device or circuit
Electricity production: If you have solar panels, how much you generate
Gas consumption: If you have a smart gas meter
Water consumption: If you have a smart water meter

The dashboard shows daily, weekly, and monthly totals with clear graphs. You can see exactly when your consumption spikes, which devices cost the most, and whether your solar panels are offsetting your usage.

What You Need: Sensors

The Energy Dashboard needs sensor data. Here are your options, from simple to comprehensive:

Option 1: Whole-Home Energy Monitor (Easiest)

A single device clamps onto your main electrical feed and measures total home consumption.

Device	Price	Accuracy	Installation	HA Integration
Emporia Vue Gen 2	$35-50	Very good	Clamp-on, DIY	Local via ESPhome flash
Shelly EM + 50A Clamp	$25	Good	Clamp-on, DIY	Built-in MQTT
Sense Energy Monitor	$300	Good	Clamp-on, DIY	Cloud API
Aeotec Home Energy Meter	$80	Good	Clamp-on, DIY	Z-Wave

My recommendation: The Emporia Vue Gen 2 ($35-50) is the best value. It includes 16 circuit-level clamps plus 2 main feed clamps. Flash it with ESPhome firmware (free, takes 15 minutes) for fully local control. Our best energy monitoring devices guide has more options.

Option 2: Per-Device Smart Plugs

Smart plugs with energy monitoring track individual devices. Good for targeted monitoring.

Device	Price	Protocol	Best For
Shelly Plug S	$18	WiFi/MQTT	Any plug-in device
Sonoff S31	$10	WiFi	Budget option
IKEA Inspelning	$12	Zigbee	IKEA ecosystem
TP-Link Tapo P110	$15	WiFi	Easy setup

Option 3: Smart Meter Reader (If Available)

Some utilities provide smart meters with local data access. Home Assistant can read this data directly.

P1 port (Netherlands/Belgium): DSMR integration reads your smart meter directly
Smart Meter HAN port (US/UK): Various integrations available
Octopus Energy (UK): Direct API integration

Setting Up the Energy Dashboard

Step 1: Add Your Sensors

Your energy sensors must be configured in Home Assistant before you can assign them to the Energy Dashboard.

For whole-home monitors like the Emporia Vue (flashed with ESPhome):

Flash ESPhome firmware (follow the ESPhome documentation)
Add the device to Home Assistant via ESPhome integration
You will see entities like sensor.total_power (watts) and sensor.total_energy (kWh)

For smart plugs like Shelly Plug S:

Set up the plug in Home Assistant (MQTT or Shelly integration)
Verify you have a kWh energy entity (not just instantaneous watts)

Step 2: Configure the Energy Dashboard

Go to Settings > Energy
Click Add Consumption under “Electricity grid”
Select your energy sensor (must be a kWh sensor, not watts)
Set the name (e.g., “Total Home Consumption”)
Optionally add a cost: enter your electricity rate per kWh

For per-device breakdown:

Click Add Consumption under “Individual devices”
Select each device’s energy sensor
Name them clearly (e.g., “Washing Machine”, “Server Rack”)

For solar (if applicable):

Click Add Solar Production
Select your solar inverter’s energy sensor

Step 3: Wait for Data

The Energy Dashboard needs at least 1 hour of data to show anything useful. For meaningful daily patterns, wait 1-2 days. For monthly analysis, wait a full billing cycle.

Reading Your Energy Dashboard

Once data flows in, you get several views:

Monthly Overview

Shows total consumption, total cost, and comparison to previous months. This is the high-level view: “Did I use more or less than last month?”

Daily Consumption Graph

Shows consumption hour by hour for any day. This reveals patterns:

Morning spikes from the kettle, shower, and heating
Midday dips when the house is empty
Evening peaks from cooking, laundry, and entertainment
Overnight baseline (fridge, networking gear, standby devices)

Device Breakdown

If you added individual devices, you see exactly which ones consume the most. This is where the money insights come from.

My device breakdown after 3 months:

Device	Monthly kWh	Monthly Cost	% of Total
Heat pump	320	$64	42%
Electric water heater	120	$24	16%
Server rack	85	$17	11%
Washing machine	35	$7	5%
Dryer	30	$6	4%
Refrigerator	28	$5.60	4%
Standby loads (combined)	45	$9	6%
Other	92	$18.40	12%
Total	755	$151	100%

The standby loads ($9/month for things that are “off”) were the biggest surprise. Our how much smart home saves electric bill article has more on reducing standby power.

Cost Tracking

If you enter your electricity rate, the dashboard shows actual dollar costs. For variable rate plans, you can set different rates for peak and off-peak hours.

Advanced: Automations Based on Energy Data

The real power of the Energy Dashboard is combining it with automations.

Shift Usage to Off-Peak Hours

automation:
  - alias: "Run dishwasher at off-peak"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "22:00:00"
    condition:
      - condition: state
        entity_id: input_boolean.dishwasher_ready
        state: "on"
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: switch.dishwasher

Alert on Unusual Consumption

automation:
  - alias: "Unusually high energy alert"
    trigger:
      - platform: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.daily_energy_consumption
        above: 30
    action:
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          title: "High Energy Usage"
          message: "Today's consumption is {{ states('sensor.daily_energy_consumption') }} kWh, above your 30 kWh threshold"

Solar Self-Consumption Optimization

automation:
  - alias: "Charge battery when solar excess"
    trigger:
      - platform: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.solar_production
        above: 3000
        for: "00:15:00"
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_on
        target:
          entity_id: switch.ev_charger

For more automation ideas, see our best smart home energy saving automations.

Reducing Your Energy Bill

Once you can see where energy goes, you can reduce it. Common wins:

Standby loads: Use smart plugs to cut power to devices that draw standby power (TVs, game consoles, chargers). Save $5-15/month.
Shift usage: Run dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers during off-peak hours if you have time-of-use pricing. Save $10-30/month.
Heating/cooling optimization: A smart thermostat with occupancy sensors saves 15-20% on HVAC costs. Our smart thermostat savings calculator has real numbers.
Water heater timing: Heat water during off-peak or when solar is producing. Save $5-15/month.
LED lighting: If you still have incandescent or halogen bulbs, switching to LED pays for itself in months.

Our true annual cost of smart home article breaks down all the costs and savings.

FAQ

How much does it cost to set up energy monitoring in Home Assistant?

$25-50 for a whole-home energy monitor like the Emporia Vue or Shelly EM. Per-device smart plugs cost $10-18 each. The Energy Dashboard itself is free and built into Home Assistant. Total setup cost for basic monitoring: $25-50 plus your time.

Do I need a special electricity meter?

No. You can use clamp-on current transformers (CTs) that wrap around your existing electrical wires without any modification to your meter. Devices like the Emporia Vue and Shelly EM use CTs and install in your electrical panel. If you are not comfortable working in your electrical panel, an electrician can install them for $50-100.

Can I track solar panel production?

Yes. If your solar inverter has a local API or Modbus interface, Home Assistant can read production data directly. Many inverters (SolarEdge, Fronius, Huawei, Growatt) have dedicated integrations. The Energy Dashboard has a separate “Solar Production” section that tracks generation alongside consumption.

How accurate is the Energy Dashboard?

It is as accurate as the sensors feeding it. Whole-home CT monitors like the Emporia Vue are typically within 2-5% of your utility meter. Per-device smart plugs are within 1-3%. The dashboard itself is just a data visualizer, so accuracy depends entirely on sensor quality.

Can I use the Energy Dashboard with a battery system?

Yes. Home Assistant supports battery systems like Tesla Powerwall, Sonnen, and custom battery setups. You can track charging, discharging, and state of charge alongside solar production and grid consumption. The dashboard shows net grid import/export and self-consumption percentage.