I built a simple in-home display dashboard for my Powerwall system
Hi r/Powerwall,
I'm a Powerwall 3 owner with solar and I've been obsessed with monitoring my system ever since it went live. The Tesla app is (just about) adequate, but I wanted something I could glance at and immediately see everything at once: solar generation, battery state, grid flow, home consumption, without having to interact with the screen.
I use Netzero for its automations and much prefer its main graphical view, but I wanted something more simple which I could leave on permanently in the home for my wife and kids to be able to understand without the potential for any settings being inadvertently changed.
To that end, I started by building a web-based dashboard using the Netzero API. I hosted this on a Raspberry Pi so it could be viewed from any device on the local network. I shared some screenshots with others and they expressed interest, but didn't have the technical knowledge to get it running for themselves.
So, that led me to develop Zap Panels - a mobile app (and moving to the Tesla Fleet API) which is now available across iOS and Android. Thanks to the feedback I've received, the feature set has grown somewhat, but it's still primarily aimed at a UK audience since that's where I am. It should work worldwide, but this isn't something I can test for myself.
Briefly, the app offers:
- read-only view of your home energy demands, grid interaction, solar and Powerwall status
- customisable display (light/dark mode, font sizes, keep display on, system polling frequency)
- localised weather forecast
- ideal for running on an old device as a permanent dashboard
Core features are free to use, but a one-off £4.99 in-app purchase (14-day free trial - no subscription) unlocks:
- daily solar generation forecast
- net cost figures
- Octopus Agile support
- Octopus IOG support
If there's anybody outside of the UK willing to join the iOS or Android test group, I could look to improve the app's non-UK support.
The app is free to download:
- Apple App Store - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/zap-panels/id6762159840
- Google Play Store - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wleedev.zappanels
To find out more, please visit https://zappanels.com.