Confused by Energy Dashboard

Energy
1

I am struggling to understand how the Energy dashboard is useful. Specifically, by only showing energy and excluding power. I am also seeing errors in the energy-distribution graph.

I have a new solar-system. 10kw of Panels, 50kwh battery, large 15kw inverter. I was hoping to use the Energy dashboard & distribution chart to answer basic questions: “How are my panels perfoming right now”, “where is my energy coming from right now?”

But it seems the energy dashboard can’t do that, because it only does energy and now power?

Here are a few issues/question I have about the dashboard.

  1. Energy consumption chart.

My Inverter is reporting:
10W from Grid
2547W from Solar
1225W into the battery
1109 W Load
image

That matches what Solar Assistant is reporting: (minor variance due to timing)

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And that matches what I’m seeing in MQTT (minor variance due to timing)
image
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So why is the Energy Distribution Reporting:
image

Grid is charging the battery: Wrong
Grid is supporting the load: Wrong
No way to see that right now my house is entirely supported by my own PV.

Furthermore, My inverter reports 2.6 kWh of PV today, but the Energy Distribution chart is only showing 1 Kwh.
Inverter: image Dashboard: image (major difference not due to timing)

Here is my dashboard configuration:

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  1. Energy Use chart colors are horribly confusing:
    image
    Charging the battery is Red, but Discharging the battery is Light Blue.
    And Load is Dark Blue.

Typically red colors are used for ‘bad’, so shouldn’t grid-in be red, if anything?

Could the chart be configured so that the battery has two shades of the same color for charging /discharging? Or at least don’t take two completely different things and give them two shades of the same color (battery discharge, total load)

This chart is impossible to read, there’s not even a legend.

  1. This chart assumes everyone does net-metering. I get zero money for grid-sell, so I avoid it and instead charge my battery. The chart is effectively useless, but I see no way to remove the chart. Can it be removed?
    image

Am I off base that the energy dashboard is useless for monitoring home PV systems? Or am I totally doing this wrong?

2

As you noted, this is the energy dashboard, not power dashboard. Do you understand the difference? The data it shows is for a specified period, could be for example a day or a month. It’s not power, it does not show the current power data.

If that’s what you need, you need to build your own dashboard. There are some custom cards in HACS that may help your with that, to show a graph similar to the one in energy dashboard, but with power. I’m not using them though, so can’t say how good they are exactly.

Now that you can also include the cards from the energy dashboard in your custom dashboard, though they are not customizable. But that way you could mix and match what you need.

3

Given the attention the dashboard was given, I’m a bit stunned at the lack of flexibility.

The table colors are wrong.
The energy distribution chart doesn’t match the source values
The setup asked for location to calculate CO2, but never displays it.

And yes, I understand the difference between energy and power. Why would you ask that question right after acknowledging that I had even already mentioned it?

I guess I’d like to hear if anyone is using this tool for monitoring their home PV system? it seems entirely useless for that purpose, but like I said - maybe I’m doing it wrong? I’d love to hear it, if so.

4

It seems you have expectations and these are not met by the purpose of the energy dashboard. Lots of people, myself included are happy with it. It uses statistics data and thus never the ‘current’ where I do admit that the energy distribution chart with the movings dots seems to indicate it is real time… it is not, dot-end :slight_smile:
Values are matching for me: the total (day) energy via PV and Net and other do match
That CO2 is not displayed may be related to the source provider (or your location), HA can only wotk with provided data…no magic.
Wrt to monitoring PV system, also that is open for interpretation, fo my use it is fine with the energy board. I do have one sensor that I am using to see when I am generating more than consuming so I can trigger ‘things’

5

Yeah, I’m stunned by the lack of flexibility. Very unlike the rest of Home Assistant. Good thing that I can built my own.

Perhaps they could remove the 'Now" button/label from the top of the page, as that also reinforces that values are current.

The CO2 data provider works fine through their website. Don’t know.

So the energy dashboard is not a power dashboard. Clearly understood… but it includes water?

Anyways, off to other things now.

6

Yeah, well… I am not too happy about all the hardcoded bits as well, do note that each of the graphs have a separate ‘graph’ too which you can add to your own dashboard

7

Have a look here f.e.
Custom energy dashboard: how to place energy-date-selection card in header? - Configuration / Frontend - Home Assistant Community (home-assistant.io)

8

Because you compare power values you have with the energy values in the dashboard. So it does seem you do not understand the difference. There is no error if current power is X, yet energy for today is Y.