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Energy Control Pro includes a pre-built Lovelace dashboard that provides real-time visualization of your energy flow, grid status, and optimization decisions.

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Dashboard Overview

The dashboard is located in the source repository: 
dashboards/energy_control_pro_overview.yaml
It displays:
  • Power snapshot: Current values for solar, load, grid import/export, and surplus
  • 24-hour history graph: Power flows over the last day
  • Grid status card: Live import/export state with dynamic messages

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Importing the Dashboard

1

Locate the dashboard file

If you installed via HACS, the dashboard file is in your custom components directory:
/config/custom_components/energy_control_pro/dashboards/energy_control_pro_overview.yaml
Alternatively, download it from the GitHub repository.
2

Open the file contents

Copy the entire contents of energy_control_pro_overview.yaml.
3

Create a new dashboard in Home Assistant

  1. Navigate to Settings → Dashboards
  2. Click Add Dashboard (bottom right)
  3. Choose New dashboard from scratch
  4. Enter a title: Energy Control Pro Overview
  5. Click Create
4

Switch to YAML mode

  1. Click the pencil icon (Edit Dashboard)
  2. Click the three-dot menu (top right)
  3. Select Raw configuration editor
5

Paste the dashboard configuration

  1. Replace all existing content with the copied YAML
  2. Click Save
  3. Exit the editor

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Dashboard Components

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Power Snapshot Card

Displays current power values from all integration sensors: 
- type: entities
  title: Power Snapshot
  show_header_toggle: false
  entities:
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_solar_w
      name: Solar
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_load_w
      name: Load
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_import_w
      name: Grid Import
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_export_w
      name: Grid Export
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_surplus_w
      name: Surplus
Sensors shown:
  • Solar: Current solar production (W)
  • Load: Current home consumption (W)
  • Grid Import: Power being imported from grid (W, 0 when exporting)
  • Grid Export: Power being exported to grid (W, 0 when importing)
  • Surplus: Solar - Load (can be negative)

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Power Flows History Graph

Visualizes 24 hours of energy data: 
- type: history-graph
  title: Power Flows (24h)
  hours_to_show: 24
  refresh_interval: 60
  entities:
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_solar_w
      name: Solar
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_load_w
      name: Load
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_import_w
      name: Grid Import
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_export_w
      name: Grid Export
Features:
  • Shows trends over the past day
  • Refreshes every 60 seconds
  • Overlays all power flows for easy comparison
  • Helps identify patterns in solar production and consumption

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Grid Status Card

A dynamic markdown card showing real-time grid interaction: 
- type: markdown
  title: Grid Status
  entity_id:
    - sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_import_w
    - sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_export_w
  content: >
    {% set imp = states('sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_import_w') | int(0) %}
    {% set exp = states('sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_export_w') | int(0) %}
    {% if imp > 0 %}
    **Status:** Importing from grid ({{ imp }} W)
    {% elif exp > 0 %}
    **Status:** Exporting to grid ({{ exp }} W)
    {% else %}
    **Status:** Balanced (0 W import/export)
    {% endif %}
Dynamic messages:
  • Importing: Shows when drawing power from grid with exact wattage
  • Exporting: Shows when sending power to grid with exact wattage
  • Balanced: Shows when grid interaction is minimal (< 100W)

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Customizing the Dashboard

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Adding Optimization Controls

Include the optimization switch and strategy selector: 
- type: entities
  title: Optimization Control
  show_header_toggle: false
  entities:
    - entity: switch.energy_control_pro_optimization
      name: Optimization Enabled
    - entity: select.energy_control_pro_strategy
      name: Strategy
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_last_action
      name: Last Action
Provides:
  • Toggle to enable/disable optimization
  • Dropdown to change strategy in real-time
  • Display of the most recent optimization decision

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Adding Energy State Information

Show current energy state and duration: 
- type: entities
  title: Energy State
  show_header_toggle: false
  entities:
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_energy_state
      name: Current State
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_import_duration_min
      name: Import Duration (min)
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_export_duration_min
      name: Export Duration (min)
Shows:
  • Current state: importing, exporting, or balanced
  • How long the current import condition has persisted
  • How long the current export condition has persisted

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Adding Load Status Cards

Monitor your controlled loads: 
- type: entities
  title: Controlled Loads
  show_header_toggle: false
  entities:
    - entity: switch.boiler
      name: Water Heater
    - entity: switch.pool_pump
      name: Pool Pump
    - entity: switch.ev_charger
      name: EV Charger
Replace entity IDs with your actual load entities configured in the integration.

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Changing Time Range

Adjust the history graph duration: 
- type: history-graph
  title: Power Flows (48h)  # Changed from 24h
  hours_to_show: 48          # Changed from 24
  refresh_interval: 60
  # ... entities ...
Common ranges:
  • 12: Half day
  • 24: Full day (default)
  • 48: Two days
  • 168: Full week

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Mobile Optimization

The default dashboard works on mobile, but you can optimize it:

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Stack Cards Vertically

Use a vertical stack for better mobile viewing: 
- type: vertical-stack
  cards:
    - type: entities
      title: Power Snapshot
      entities:
        # ... sensors ...
    
    - type: markdown
      title: Grid Status
      # ... content ...

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Reduce History Graph Height

- type: history-graph
  title: Power Flows (24h)
  hours_to_show: 24
  refresh_interval: 60
  card_mod:
    style: |
      ha-card {
        height: 200px;
      }
  entities:
    # ... sensors ...

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Monitoring Optimization State

The dashboard helps you understand when and why the integration takes action:

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Watch for Actions

sensor.energy_control_pro_last_action updates with messages like:
  • "Turned ON switch.boiler (surplus 1100W for 10 min)"
  • "Turned OFF switch.pool_pump (import 900W for 10 min)"
  • "No actions yet" (initial state)
  • "Optimization OFF" (when disabled)

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Correlate with Energy State

Observe how sensor.energy_control_pro_energy_state changes:
  1. Solar increases → State becomes exporting
  2. Export duration reaches 10 min → Integration turns ON a load
  3. State returns to balanced or importing
  4. Import duration reaches 10 min → Integration turns OFF a load

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Use Duration Sensors

Track how long conditions persist:
  • sensor.energy_control_pro_import_duration_min: Resets when state leaves importing
  • sensor.energy_control_pro_export_duration_min: Resets when state leaves exporting
Actions only trigger after these durations exceed your configured duration_threshold_min (default: 10 minutes).

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Troubleshooting Dashboard Issues

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Entities not found

Problem: Dashboard shows “Entity not available: sensor.energy_control_pro_solar_w” Solution:
1

Verify integration is loaded

Go to Settings → Devices & Services and check that Energy Control Pro is configured.
2

Check entity names

Open Developer Tools → States and search for energy_control_pro. Verify sensor names match the dashboard.
3

Restart Home Assistant

If the integration was just added, restart to ensure all entities are created.

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Graph not showing data

Problem: History graph is empty or shows no lines. Solution:
1

Wait for data collection

Home Assistant needs at least a few minutes of data before the graph displays.
2

Check recorder

Ensure the recorder integration is enabled and not excluding energy_control_pro sensors.
3

Verify sensor updates

Check that sensors are updating in Developer Tools → States. Look for recent last_changed timestamps.

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Grid status shows incorrect state

Problem: Status says “Balanced” when clearly importing or exporting. Solution: The threshold for “balanced” is 100W (defined in const.py:35 as DEFAULT_STATE_THRESHOLD_W). If import or export is below 100W, the integration considers it balanced. This is intentional to avoid noise from minor fluctuations. To see the exact values, look at the Power Snapshot card, which always shows precise numbers.

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Advanced Dashboard Features

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Energy Flow Sankey Diagram

Create a visual flow diagram using the Sankey Chart card: 
- type: custom:sankey-chart
  sections:
    - entities:
        - entity_id: sensor.energy_control_pro_solar_w
          children:
            - sensor.energy_control_pro_load_w
            - sensor.energy_control_pro_grid_export_w

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Apex Charts for Advanced Visualization

Use ApexCharts card for more detailed graphs: 
- type: custom:apexcharts-card
  header:
    title: Energy Balance
    show: true
  graph_span: 24h
  series:
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_solar_w
      name: Solar
      color: orange
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_load_w
      name: Load
      color: blue
    - entity: sensor.energy_control_pro_surplus_w
      name: Surplus
      color: green

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Next Steps

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