Grid Power Detailed widget
What this widget is for
The Grid Power Detailed widget is a richer version of the Grid Power live status icon. As well as the live kW and kVA values, it tells you direction (importing vs exporting) and how close to the grid connection's rated capacity the site is operating right now, with a visual fill bar.
Use it on sites where the grid relationship matters — exporting under a feed-in tariff, dancing around demand charges, or watching a constrained connection that you don't want to exceed. For a compact "just the number" tile use the Grid Power icon; for energy totals over a period use the Grid Flow chart.
Companion guides
- Dashboard overview — how to add, move, resize, and remove widgets.
- Live status icons — the compact single-value sibling of this widget (Grid Power).
- Grid Flow and Battery Flow charts — for grid totals (kWh) over a day, month, or year.
- Power Flow widget — the animated diagram including grid as part of the whole system.
Where to find it
Open the Dashboard, click the pencil icon to enter edit mode, then click Add New Widget. Search the picker for Grid Power Detailed and click Add Widget.
The widget at a glance
The widget shows:
- A status label — Importing or Exporting, depending on the live grid power's sign.
- Live power values in kW and kVA.
- A fill bar showing the current grid power as a percentage of the configured rated capacity. The bar fills toward the right when importing and toward the left when exporting; the percentage label sits next to it.
- The configured rated power in kW underneath.
If rated power isn't set, the bar reads "Set Rated Power in Config" — the live values still show, you just don't get the percentage.
Configuring rated power
Open the gear icon. The single setting is:
- Rated Power in kW — the grid connection's nameplate capacity (the kW limit of the supply / inverter / contract).
Setting it accurately turns the fill bar into a "headroom" gauge: a half-full bar means the site is using half its grid capacity right now. Without it, the percentage isn't meaningful.
Reading the directions
- Importing — positive grid power; site is drawing from the grid. The percentage shown is current import as a fraction of rated capacity.
- Exporting — negative grid power; site is sending energy back. The percentage shown is current export as a fraction of rated capacity.
- Zero / near zero — balanced; not much going either way.
Who can do what
- Any signed-in user can add the widget, set the rated power, and read the live values. The widget is read-only — it never sends a command back to a device.
Common issues
- The percentage is "stuck" at zero. Either rated power is set to 0, or the grid power itself is at zero. Confirm by adding a Grid Power icon next to it — if that's also at zero, the live data has gone quiet.
- The percentage looks too high (over 100 %). Either rated power is set lower than reality, or the grid connection is genuinely being over-utilised — check the actual nameplate kW and update the setting.
- The bar swings rapidly between Importing and Exporting. Normal on battery-equipped sites near balance — the grid takes up small differences as the battery cycles. Watch the Grid Flow chart for the overall pattern over time.
Tips and gotchas
- Set rated power once and forget. Use the connection's actual rated kW value; the bar then reads correctly without further attention.
- Pair with Grid Flow for context. This widget tells you "right now"; Grid Flow tells you "across a day / month / year". Side by side, they give the full grid picture.
- The widget refreshes with the dashboard. When Auto Update is on in your View Settings, this widget picks up the latest readings as the dashboard ticks.