Energy Dashboard incorrect assumptions for Grid Power

Home Assistant 2025.12 adds a new setting in the energy dashboard for “Grid Power”, but it defines this power sensor as “Positive values indicate importing electricity from the grid, negative values indicate exporting electricity to the grid.”

SolarEdge inverters with an Export+Import meter provide a negative value when importing from grid and positive values when exporting to grid (positive for excess solar generation). This is the opposite of Home Assistant’s assumption for grid power.

I’m planning to add new sensor to my integration that inverts the existing meter AC power setting so that HA can use it (Add inverted power sensor for HA 2025.12 energy dashboard by WillCodeForCats · Pull Request #928 · WillCodeForCats/solaredge-modbus-multi · GitHub) but it would be better if HA had a setting that allowed the user to choose, because the fixed assumption for grid power may be wrong.

Agreed. The HA assumption for me is the inverse of what I already have (Solis inverter) - grid power and battery power.

Necessitates creating two new template sensors just to invert a value.

Two steps forward, one step backwards.

I did a bit of digging after writing this (also after testing my own PR to add an inverted power sensor) and found that there is a frontend PR to add an option in HA to address this:

1 Like

When the very first ‘battery’ was invented, and ‘current’ electricity was discovered, the scientists decided that electricity flowed, and went from A to B, hence one terminal of the battery was called “positive” and the other “negative” as in the electricity flowed from positive to negative.

It was only when the electron was discovered, that we found out that the electron was a particle and was actually going from negative to positive, hence electrons are now “negative”.

Only had a 50-50 chance of getting it right.

It does seem like it was a random choice where everyone involved in that choice has never used a grid tie solar system. Being forced to create templates is a step backwards for user friendly.

I don’t really like adding the inverted power sensor either because that opens up questions about why there’s two sensors for the same thing, and how does the user know which one to pick, extra documentation, etc. But at least it doesn’t have the extra steps of being forced to create a template sensor.

They’ve declined to fix the issue in HA and are sticking with their way as the right way.