How To Configure The Energy Monitor Widget?

[gcoupe]

Can someone please give me a clue as to how I use the Energy Monitor widget on the default Dashboard? I'm seeing power usage data being reported in Dashboard notifications, but cannot for the life of me see how to pipe them through to the Energy Monitor widget.

Also, can I create additional instances of the widget, so that I can (for example) total the power usage of separate groups of switches?

I'm sorry to have to ask for the idiot's guide to using the widget, but clearly I'm an idiot.

[gcoupe]

Hello, surely someone must know how to deal with the Energy Monitor? I still haven't got a clue...

[bkenobi]

If you enter a value on a module for power usage, HG will increment the energy widget over time.  If you want to use an actual energy monitor (e.g., HEM, TED, etc), you would need to use a script to determine the energy usage and pipe that to the energy usage metric.  There are some threads on the forum that discuss how to do this, but it depends on your desired approach and hardware you will be using.

[gcoupe]

If you enter a value on a module for power usage, HG will increment the energy widget over time. 

I assume you mean the "VM Watt" field? But how, precisely, is this supposed to work? I've tried it with two switch modules, one set to 1 and the other set to 2. As far as I can see, both are getting aggregated into a single line in the single Energy Monitor display. Is that what is supposed to happen? For I see no way to create two separate "Energy Monitor 1" and an "Energy Monitor 2" VMs.

I suppose I'm spoiled by Domoticz - there all the hard work has been done for me and I have a wonderful energy graph which charts high and low electricity tariff usage, and also the energy generated by our solar panels (see the attachment). There's also a separate graph for gas usage.

[bkenobi]

I don't have the energy monitor enabled because I didn't have anything entered into the fields (lights don't use that much power compared to furnace, water heater, oven, range, etc).  I am planning on incorporating a whole house meter into my setup in the next few days/weeks so I will be more familiar with setting things up very soon.  I'm just waiting on the RF receiver which should be here tomorrow.