Rising electricity prices and the desire for greater transparency in energy consumption are making smart meters increasingly popular. With the OBI ENERGY TRACKER* The DIY chain OBI offers an optical reader for digital electricity meters that directly reads the current electricity consumption and visualizes it in an app. However, the device becomes particularly interesting in combination with... Home Assistant, because thanks to community integration, the measured values can also be integrated into the platform.
With a regular price of around €30 and frequent offers for under €15, the OBI ENERGY TRACKER is one of the most affordable solutions of its kind. But how well does the integration with Home Assistant really work? What data is available, and can this inexpensive smart meter compete with established solutions like... FRITZ! Smart Energy 250* Keep up?
We have already the FRITZ! Smart Energy 250 Extensively tested and shown how it can be integrated into Home Assistant.
Scope of delivery
The OBI ENERGY TRACKER comes with a clear and concise package containing all the components needed for setup. The box includes the sensor itself, a data transmission bridge, and a USB cable. Depending on the selected operating mode, the sensor can be powered either by two AA batteries or continuously via the USB-C port. However, the batteries are not included in the delivery..
The package contains the following items:
- OBI ENERGY TRACKER Sensor
- Bridge for data transmission
- Metal adhesive ring for electricity meters without magnetic mounting
- Spacers for mounting on the top side
- Quick Guide
Easy installation on the digital electricity meter
The OBI ENERGY TRACKER consists of a sensor and a bridge. The sensor is attached to the optical D0 interface of the digital electricity meter and reads the measured values provided there. This interface can be located on the front or top of the electricity meter. The bridge then connects the sensor to the home Wi-Fi network and transmits the data, encrypted, to the heyOBI app.
OBI recommends a compatibility check before setting up the system. On the Product page Users can check whether their digital electricity meter is supported. For some meter models, a PIN from the respective network operator is also required to unlock the complete data set of the electricity meter.
Easily analyze electricity consumption
The ENERGY TRACKER is set up and used via the free heyOBI app for Android and iOS. The app clearly displays the meter readings and analyzes them over various time periods. This gives users a better overview of their energy consumption and allows them to track how their electricity usage develops over the course of a day, week, or month.
Integration with Home Assistant possible
Besides the official use via the heyOBI app, there is already a Community solution for Home Assistant. The OBI ENERGY TRACKER can already be integrated into Home Assistant via a custom integration for the Home Assistant Community Store (HACS). This integration uses data from the heyOBI account and makes the meter readings directly available as sensors in Home Assistant.
This allows consumption data to be used, for example, in the Energy Dashboard It can be used or integrated into automation systems. This allows current electricity consumption to be combined with balcony power plants, battery storage systems, or other devices and used for intelligent energy management.
Currently, the community integration for Home Assistant only provides electricity consumption or meter readings as a sensor. Other measurements that the OBI ENERGY TRACKER records and displays in the heyOBI app are not yet available in Home Assistant. We hope that a future official integration from OBI will expand the functionality and provide additional measurements directly in Home Assistant.
The following can be used as a reference: FRITZ! Smart Energy 250 This would be beneficial, as Home Assistant already provides significantly more measured values. In addition to current power consumption, it also displays voltage, current, and meter readings for electricity consumption and – with a compatible bidirectional meter – the feed-in from a balcony power plant or photovoltaic system. A comparable range of functions would also significantly enhance the OBI ENERGY TRACKER in Home Assistant.
Encrypted data transmission
According to OBI, the electricity meter data recorded by the sensor is transmitted to the backend in encrypted form. Only technically necessary information, such as network access data and certificates, is stored on the device itself. The actual consumption data is processed on the servers and then visualized in the heyOBI app.
Conclusion
With a RRP of €29.99 counts OBI ENERGY TRACKER* Among the most affordable smart meters on the market. Especially for beginners or owners of a Balcony power plantThis system offers a relatively inexpensive entry point into monitoring one's own electricity consumption. Integration with Home Assistant is already available, but currently does not offer the full range of functions as with the more expensive version. FRITZ! Smart Energy 250*.
Possible alternatives can be found here:
FRITZ!Smart Energy 250
Intelligent power sensor, electricity consumption meter for optimizing energy costs, compatible with FRITZ!Box via DECT, energy consumption via app or FRITZ!OS
IOmeter SmartMeter
Smart meter electricity meter reading with IR read head, WLAN and app – with battery or USB-C – Home Assistant compatible
Tasmota electricity meter
Read electricity meters via Wi-Fi, using Tasmota software for smart home integration
Homematic IP Smart Home interface for smart meters and household meters
Measure energy consumption and save costs, monitor electricity with an app, automate your smart home.
Source/Photo: ( Obi / Amazon / Chrissmart / city of Bremerhaven )
My name is Christian, and I founded this blog in 2024. I'm a trained communications electronics technician, a tech enthusiast, and a smart home aficionado with many years of experience in the field of networked household appliances. I passionately follow current developments and regularly test new products to provide clear insights and practical recommendations.
==b Thanks for the article about the OBI Energy Tracker.
Can such a reading head also detect and total energy generation values/signals from balcony solar systems recorded by a simple, 'backward-locked' digital electricity meter with the gear-and-tick symbol? Unfortunately, these meters only display feed-in wattage figures with a minus sign, but do NOT total them. Therefore, it's impossible to know exactly how many watt-hours are being given away to the metering point operator each year!
Which trackers or read heads can truly be used without (Chinese/US) cloud dependency? Only without the cloud can transmission energy and unnecessary data, as well as sensitive information and security vulnerabilities, be used more safely and without increasing the risk to the home network infrastructure.