Homey has introduced a new product. The company behind the smart home hub of the same name has now added the Homey Energy Dongle to their product range. It is a small device for monitoring a household’s power usage with the goal of saving electricity and thus money.
The Homey Energy Dongle can be preordered directly from the manufacturer for €39 (around US$41). Currently, Homey is only accepting orders from the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania and Hungary. Please check the official website for availability in your region.
The Homey Energy Dongle is designed to be plugged into a smart meter's P1 port. According to Homey, this port is only present on smart meters in the aforementioned countries. Homey offers a compatibility check on their website. Even if the P1 port on your smart meter is occupied another device (e.g. a dongle from your energy provider), you can still use the Homey Energy Dongle thanks to its built-in splitter.
Once installed, the Homey Energy Dongle will send information about your household power consumption straight to Smart Home. One requirement is the presence of a Homey Pro (early 2023 or later, available on Amazon for around US$350). This smart home hub uses the data received to provide an analysis and overview of your home power usage. There are also plans for integration with dynamic electricity tariffs starting in early 2025.
Amongst other things, smart automations can run based on the data collected. For instance, those who own a rooftop or balcony PV system can automate the activation of electrical loads, such as charging electric vehicles and bikes, when energy is being fed into the grid. The company also says that the Homey Energy Dongle can be combined with smart gas and smart water meters for tracking their usage.