Why I build integrations for devices I don't own — and how it benefits the community

I develop eedc (Energy Efficiency Data Center), an open-source Home Assistant add-on for PV system analysis. One question I get regularly: “Why do you keep adding support for inverters and devices you don’t even have?”

The answer is the anonymous Community Benchmark at https://energy.raunet.eu.

The idea

PV system owners can anonymously compare their key metrics — self-consumption ratio, autarky, specific yield, ROI, heat pump COP — against similar installations. No registration, no tracking, fully anonymous.

Why device diversity matters

A benchmark is only as good as its data. If only one brand of inverter is represented, the comparison is meaningless. Every new integration lowers the barrier for another participant — and another data point that makes the benchmark more useful for everyone.

Currently supported data sources:

  • Cloud import: SolarEdge, Fronius, Huawei, Growatt, Deye/Solarman
  • Local connectors: SMA, Fronius, Kostal, Shelly, OpenDTU, sonnenBatterie, Tasmota, go-eCharger
  • HA sensors and MQTT inbound as universal bridges (works with any setup)
  • Portal import: SMA Sunny Portal, Fronius Solar.web, EVCC

The HA sensor mapping and MQTT path mean that technically any device already in your Home Assistant can feed data into eedc — the dedicated connectors and cloud imports just make it more convenient.

How you can help

  • Try the benchmark and see how your system compares: https://energy.raunet.eu
  • Share API documentation for your inverter/battery if it’s not yet supported
  • Report issues or contribute on GitHub: 4. Reddit r/homeassistant (English, casual, concise)
    Title: Why I keep adding inverter support for devices I don’t own

I maintain eedc, an open-source HA add-on for PV analysis. People sometimes ask why I build integrations for Fronius, Huawei, Growatt, etc. when I only have SMA myself.