I always wanted to have energy monitoring for my house, but I had been putting this off because it seemed so intimidating for obvious reasons.
The good news is there is no rewiring needed. I bought an Emporia Vue energy monitor which installs in the home’s electrical panel using CT sensor clamps that go around mains and the other circuits I wanted to monitor. It probably took me less than 30 minutes to set this up including setting up the wireless connection and mobile app. It comes with a great mobile app, but my primary goal was to integrate the energy monitoring with Home Assistant.
Integrating energy monitoring with my Home Assistant setup gives me the ability to track everything from one location. I can associate cost with energy usage, and track historical usage. It also lets me create virtual sensors for appliances and monitor their statuses, so I can write automation around them.
Automations
- Announce when the washer, dryer or dishwasher is complete
- Alert when oven, A/C, or furnace has been left on for extended time or when noone is home
- Track EV charging cost
Check out my other posts under Home Assistant for more automation ideas.