Monitoring My Energy Usage in Home Assistant
It’s about time I figured out exactly where our energy is going.
After starting a new job, I’ve found myself thinking more about our consumption patterns—when we use the most, what our biggest "vampire" loads are, and how to trim the fat from our bills.
The Home Assistant Energy Dashboard is the perfect tool for this. It’s incredibly powerful, but getting the data into it without a native smart meter integration can be a puzzle.
The "Glow" Solution
I’ve settled on the Hildebrand Glow Stick/Display. It’s the most elegant, non-invasive solution for a renter.
- Why it works: It connects directly to the Data Communications Company (DCC) network via your existing smart meter. No need to mess with the fuse box or replace every socket in the flat.
- Home Assistant Integration: By using the local MQTT broker, you can pull real-time data directly into Home Assistant without relying on the cloud-delayed API. It’s a clean, local-first setup that’s easy to port over when we eventually move into our own home.
The "Future Home" Roadmap
While the Glow Stick handles the whole-home view, I’m already researching the granular upgrades for when we have our own place:
- Circuit-Level Monitoring: For the consumer unit, I’m eyeing devices like the Shelly Pro 3EM or the Emporia Vue Gen 3. These use CT clamps to measure individual circuits, giving you that "at-a-glance" room-by-room breakdown.
- Smart Sockets: I’m still cautious about swapping out every socket, but for heavy appliances (washer, dryer, fridge), energy-monitoring smart plugs remain the easiest path to seeing if our consumption figures match the smart meter’s report.
- The Dimmer Hunt: I’m still on the lookout for a UK-style smart switch that handles dimming without a neutral wire. It’s the "holy grail" for a polished, Mrs-Jim-approved finish.
Moving Forward
My plan is to start with the Glow Stick. Once that’s live, I’ll have a baseline for our "untracked" consumption. From there, I can slowly introduce individual monitoring on our biggest appliances to see where the real savings are hiding.
