Home Assistant Solar: Track, Automate, and Optimize Your Solar Energy

SolarEdge

Search volume: "solaredge home assistant" gets 810+ monthly searches. This is the most popular inverter brand in the HA community.

SolarEdge has an official Home Assistant integration that pulls data from the SolarEdge monitoring API. You need your site ID and API key from the SolarEdge monitoring portal. Setup takes about five minutes.

What you get: Current power output, daily/monthly/yearly energy production, lifetime energy, peak power today. The integration polls the cloud API, so there is a slight delay (updates every 15 minutes on the free tier).

Going local: For real-time data without cloud dependency, you can use SolarEdge Modbus TCP. Enable Modbus on your inverter's web interface (connect via Ethernet), then use the HA Modbus integration or the HACS "SolarEdge Modbus" custom component. This gives you second-by-second updates.

Pro tip: If you have a SolarEdge battery (StorEdge), the Modbus method also exposes battery state of charge and power flow, which the cloud API does not always provide reliably.

Enphase

Enphase microinverters use the Envoy gateway as their local hub. Home Assistant has an official Enphase Envoy integration that communicates locally with your Envoy over your network. No cloud needed.

What you get: System production, consumption (if you have CTs installed), per-panel production (IQ7/IQ8), grid import/export, battery state (Enphase IQ Battery).

Setup: Go to Settings, Devices and Services, Add Integration, search "Enphase Envoy." Enter your Envoy's IP address. For newer firmware, you will need your Enphase account credentials for the initial token. After that, all communication is local.

Pro tip: Enphase Envoy updates every 5 seconds locally. This makes it one of the best inverter integrations for real-time automations like "start the EV charger when solar surplus exceeds 2 kW."

🇦🇹 Fronius

Fronius inverters have an official Home Assistant integration that connects via the local Solar API on your inverter. Completely local, very fast updates.

What you get: AC power, DC power, daily energy, total energy, voltage, current, frequency. If you have a Fronius Smart Meter, you also get grid import/export and consumption data.

Setup: Connect your Fronius inverter to your network via Ethernet. Find its IP, then add the Fronius integration in HA. The Fronius Solar API v1 is enabled by default on most models.

🇨🇳 Huawei FusionSolar

Search volume: "fusionsolar home assistant" pulls 350+ monthly searches and growing fast as Huawei gains market share.

Huawei inverters connect via the HACS "Huawei Solar" integration, which uses Modbus TCP to communicate locally with the inverter. This is one of the best maintained community integrations in HACS.

What you get: Real-time production, daily yield, battery state of charge (Luna 2000), grid power, consumption. You can even control the battery charging mode: force charge from grid during cheap rates, or force discharge during expensive peaks.

Setup: Connect your Huawei inverter via Ethernet (the Wi-Fi dongle does not support Modbus). Install "Huawei Solar" from HACS, enter the inverter IP. If you have a DTSU-666 power meter, enable it in the integration config for full energy flow visibility.

Other Inverter Brands

Step-by-Step Energy Dashboard Setup

1. Go to Settings > Dashboards > Energy (or navigate to the Energy panel in the sidebar)
2. Under Electricity Grid, add your grid consumption sensor (the one that measures kWh imported from the grid) and your grid return sensor (kWh exported)
3. Under Solar Panels, click "Add Solar Production" and select your inverter's total energy production sensor (it must be a cumulative kWh sensor, not instantaneous watts)
4. If you have a battery, add it under Home Battery Storage with the battery charge and discharge energy sensors
5. Optionally add Forecast.Solar to see predicted production overlaid on actual production
6. Add individual devices if you have smart plugs tracking specific appliances (like your EV charger or heat pump)
7. Set your electricity prices (fixed rate or dynamic via an integration like Tibber or Octopus Energy)

Important: The Energy Dashboard needs cumulative energy sensors (kWh that count up over time), not power sensors (watts). Most solar integrations provide both. Pick the one with "energy" or "kWh" in the name, not "power" or "W."

What the Dashboard Shows You

Setting Up Forecast.Solar

1. Go to Settings > Devices and Services > Add Integration
2. Search for "Forecast.Solar" and add it
3. Enter your latitude and longitude (auto-filled from your HA config)
4. Set your panel azimuth (0 = south, 90 = west, -90 = east, 180 = north)
5. Set the tilt angle of your panels in degrees (flat roof = 0, typical pitched roof = 30 to 40)
6. Enter your total panel capacity in kWp (kilowatt peak)
7. Optionally set a damping factor to account for shading, dirt, or inverter losses (start with 0.9)

What You Get

The integration creates several sensors:

• Estimated Energy Production Today (kWh total for the day)
• Estimated Energy Production Tomorrow
• Estimated Energy Remaining Today (how much more to expect)
• Estimated Power Now (predicted wattage at this moment)
• Hourly forecast data (available as attributes for advanced automations)

Multiple roof faces? If your panels face different directions (e.g., east/west split), add the integration twice with different azimuth values. Then create a template sensor that adds them together.

Forecast.Solar: Free vs Paid

The free tier updates every 60 minutes and gives basic forecast data. That is plenty for most automations. The paid plans ($3 to $8/month) offer 15-minute updates, longer forecast horizons, and historical accuracy data. Start free. If your automations need tighter timing, upgrade later.

1. Start the Washing Machine When Solar Surplus Hits 1.5 kW

Instead of guessing when to run appliances, let HA watch your solar surplus and notify you (or trigger a smart plug) when there is enough free energy. A typical washing cycle uses 1 to 2 kWh. Running it on solar saves about $0.30 to $0.60 per load.

alias: "Solar: Run Washing Machine on Surplus"
trigger:
  - platform: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.solar_surplus_power
    above: 1500
    for: "00:10:00"
condition:
  - condition: time
    after: "09:00:00"
    before: "16:00:00"
  - condition: state
    entity_id: input_boolean.washing_machine_queued
    state: "on"
action:
  - service: switch.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: switch.washing_machine_plug
  - service: input_boolean.turn_off
    target:
      entity_id: input_boolean.washing_machine_queued
  - service: notify.mobile_app
    data:
      message: "Washing machine started. Solar surplus: {{ states('sensor.solar_surplus_power')}}W"

Tip: Create a template sensor for solar surplus: solar_production - home_consumption. If you do not have separate sensors, your inverter integration or a CT clamp can provide these values.

2. Charge the EV Only from Solar

EV charging is the single biggest energy consumer in most homes. Charging at 7 kW for 4 hours uses 28 kWh, which can cost $7 to $10 from the grid. Shifting to solar hours slashes that cost to nearly zero.

alias: "Solar: EV Charge on Surplus"
trigger:
  - platform: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.solar_surplus_power
    above: 2000
    for: "00:05:00"
condition:
  - condition: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.ev_battery_level
    below: 80
action:
  - service: switch.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: switch.ev_charger
  - service: notify.mobile_app
    data:
      message: "EV charging started on solar surplus ({{ states('sensor.solar_surplus_power')}}W available)"

Advanced: Use the HACS "OpenEVSE" or "go-e Charger" integration to dynamically adjust charging amps based on available solar surplus. This way the car charges faster when the sun is strong and slower when clouds roll in, but never pulls from the grid.

3. Pre-Heat or Pre-Cool Based on Tomorrow's Forecast

If Forecast.Solar predicts a cloudy day tomorrow, pre-heat your home tonight using off-peak electricity. If tomorrow is sunny, skip the pre-heating because your heat pump will run on free solar. This one automation can save $50+ per month in winter.

alias: "Solar: Pre-Heat on Cloudy Forecast"
trigger:
  - platform: time
    at: "22:00:00"
condition:
  - condition: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.energy_production_tomorrow
    below: 5
action:
  - service: climate.set_temperature
    target:
      entity_id: climate.heat_pump
    data:
      temperature: 22
      hvac_mode: heat
  - service: notify.mobile_app
    data:
      message: "Low solar forecast tomorrow ({{ states('sensor.energy_production_tomorrow')}} kWh). Pre-heating the house tonight."

4. Battery: Charge from Grid During Cheap Hours

If your electricity provider offers time-of-use rates (or dynamic rates like Tibber or Octopus), charge your battery during the cheapest hours and discharge during peaks. Some users report saving 30 to 50% on their electricity bill with this strategy alone.

alias: "Battery: Force Charge During Off-Peak"
trigger:
  - platform: time
    at: "02:00:00"
condition:
  - condition: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.battery_soc
    below: 30
  - condition: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.energy_production_tomorrow
    below: 8
action:
  - service: number.set_value
    target:
      entity_id: number.battery_max_charge_power
    data:
      value: 5000
  - service: select.select_option
    target:
      entity_id: select.battery_charging_mode
    data:
      option: "Force Charge"

Note: Battery control entities vary by brand. The example above uses Huawei Solar entities. SolarEdge, Victron, and others have similar but differently named services.

5. Daily Solar Production Report

Get a notification every evening with your solar performance summary. Know how much you produced, consumed, exported, and saved. Satisfying and useful for spotting issues (a sudden drop in production could mean a faulty panel or inverter problem).

alias: "Solar: Daily Production Report"
trigger:
  - platform: time
    at: "21:00:00"
action:
  - service: notify.mobile_app
    data:
      title: "Solar Report"
      message: >
        Today's solar: {{ states('sensor.solar_energy_today')}} kWh
        Self-consumed: {{ states('sensor.self_consumed_today')}} kWh
        Exported: {{ states('sensor.grid_export_today')}} kWh
        Grid imported: {{ states('sensor.grid_import_today')}} kWh
        Forecast was: {{ states('sensor.energy_production_today')}} kWh
        Tomorrow forecast: {{ states('sensor.energy_production_tomorrow')}} kWh