How to Track Energy Use in Real Time with Alexa and Home Assistant

Learn how to track energy consumption in real time with Alexa and Home Assistant to boost your energy efficiency.

Posted by Jared Stone on October 05, 2025 · 6 mins read

How to Track Energy Use in Real Time with Alexa and Home Assistant

In our quest for a more energy-efficient home, tracking energy usage in real time can feel like an overwhelming task. Luckily, integrating Amazon Alexa and Home Assistant offers a straightforward and enjoyable way to monitor your energy consumption. Imagine walking into your living room and simply asking Alexa to provide updates on how much energy your devices are using. Sounds great, right? Let’s dive into how to set this up with step-by-step instructions that even beginners can follow.

Step-by-Step Setup Guide

1. Gather Your Tools

To start tracking energy usage, you’ll need a few essential items:

  • Amazon Alexa device: This can be any Alexa-enabled device, like an Echo Dot.
  • Home Assistant installation: You can run Home Assistant on Raspberry Pi, a virtual machine, or a server. Make sure it’s up and running.
  • Energy monitoring device: Smart plugs or dedicated energy monitoring devices that integrate well with Home Assistant are ideal (e.g., TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug or Shelly).

2. Connect Your Energy Monitoring Device to Home Assistant

Once you have your monitoring device set up:

  1. Add the device to Home Assistant: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to connect it to your home Wi-Fi network.
  2. Integrate it into Home Assistant: If your device is compatible, it should automatically show up in the Home Assistant interface. If not, you might need to manually configure it within your configuration.yaml.

For instance, if you’re using the TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug, you could add the following lines to your YAML file:

yaml tplink: discovery: true

3. Install and Set Up Node-RED

Node-RED is an incredibly powerful tool that allows you to automate tasks within Home Assistant. Here’s how to get it:

  1. Installation: If you’re running Home Assistant, you may have already installed Node-RED as an add-on. If not, you can find installation instructions on the Node-RED official site.

  2. Create a Flow for Monitoring Energy: In Node-RED, create a flow that triggers when energy usage data is received from Home Assistant and sends it to Alexa.

    • Use the events: state node from Home Assistant to monitor your energy usage.
    • Use the call service node to send this data to your Alexa device.

Example Flow:

  • A Home Assistant node subscribing to the energy sensor.
  • A function node formatting the message.
  • An alexa node sending a notification.

You can find Node-RED flow examples to see how others have done it.

4. Set Up the Alexa Node

To get Alexa to announce your energy status, you’ll use Node-RED with an Alexa integration. If you haven’t already, you can look at the various options for the alexa node red integration.

  1. Create a new flow that links to your device’s current state.
  2. Ensure you include nodes for both getting the data from your monitoring device and sending output to Alexa.

5. Test Your Configuration

After creating your flow:

  • Deploy it in Node-RED.
  • Ask Alexa for your energy usage, such as “Alexa, what’s my energy consumption?” to test if everything works as expected.

Helpful Tip Block

  • Use Routines: Set up an Alexa routine that announces your energy consumption at specific times or triggers alerts when usage exceeds a certain limit.
  • Build a Dashboard: You can create a simple Home Assistant dashboard to visualize real-time energy usage, enhancing your overall home automation experience.
  • Integrate with Other Devices: Use Node-RED to connect other smart devices, such as your thermostat, for broader energy management across your home.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Issue: Node-RED Doesn’t Communicate with Home Assistant

  • Solution: Ensure the Home Assistant server is reachable by Node-RED. Check the server URL in the Node-RED settings and make sure the API token is correctly set.

Issue: Alexa Doesn’t Respond to Energy Consumption Queries

  • Solution: Double-check your Node-RED flow for any misconfigurations, especially with the alexa nodes. Ensure you’ve deployed the flow after making changes.

Issue: Real-Time Data Feels Slow

  • Solution: Depending on your setup, there may be a lag. Consider optimizing your flow by reducing the frequency of data polling or using more efficient nodes.

Final Thoughts

Tracking energy use in real time with Alexa and Home Assistant opens doors to a smarter, more efficient home. It not only provides valuable insights into your energy usage patterns but can also lead to substantial savings on your utility bills. With a bit of effort in setting up your devices and crafting the right flows in Node-RED, you can achieve a seamless energy monitoring experience. Remember, as you integrate these technologies, patience and practice make perfect. Enjoy your journey into smart home automation!

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