# Home Assistant: sending Zonneplan One stats to PVOutput **Date:** 2024-09-16 **Author:** Kees C. Bakker **Categories:** Automation **Original:** https://keestalkstech.com/home-assistant-sending-zonneplan-one-stats-to-pvoutput/ ![Home Assistant: sending Zonneplan One stats to PVOutput](https://keestalkstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/evgeniy-alyoshin-2ASQyjafflo-unsplash.jpg) --- Last year, I got some Zonneplan solar panels. My colleagues and I got hooked on comparing stats, so we decided to upload our solar panel stats to PVOutput and build a Telegram bot to keep score: ![Screenshot of our private Telegram channel. Our bot posts automatic messages to inform us about the score.](https://keestalkstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WhatsApp-Image-2024-09-16-at-20.19.27-1.jpeg) *Screenshot of our private Telegram channel. Our bot posts automatic messages to inform us about the score.* As a .NET developer, I built a .NET application that connected to the Zonneplan API and posted the data to PVOutput every 5 minutes. It worked, but I couldn’t achieve a stable performance. Whenever there was a hiccup, I would lose the key and have to reconnect. Therefore, I decided to migrate my setup to Home Assistant. Apparently the automation definition has changed in Home Assistant. The code is now compatible with Home Assistant version `2024.10.3`. ## What's the idea? We'll do this: 1. Add the Zonneplan integration. 2. Add Visual Studio Code add-on. 3. Use `secrets.yaml` to store the PVOutput API Key and SystemId. 4. Use `configurations.yaml` to add a [RESTful command](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/rest_command/) that sends the Zonneplan sensor data to PVOutput. 5. Use `automations.yaml` to trigger the command. 6. Restart & enjoy. The beauty of this way is that you don't need Bash or Python, it is just YAML. ## Home Assistant + Zonneplan The first step is to install the Zonneplan integration in your Home Assistant. Make sure [HACS](https://www.hacs.xyz/docs/use/configuration/basic/) is installed and add the repository [](https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/hacs_repository/?owner=fsaris&repository=home-assistant-zonneplan-one)[https://github.com/fsaris/home-assistant-zonneplan-one](https://github.com/fsaris/home-assistant-zonneplan-one), by hitting this button: [![Direct link to Zonneplan in HACS](https://keestalkstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hacs-button.svg)](https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/hacs_repository/?owner=fsaris&repository=home-assistant-zonneplan-one) After restarting your Home Assistant, you can set up the integration, by hitting this button: [![Open your Home Assistant instance and start setting up Energy sensors.](https://keestalkstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hacs-button.svg)](https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/config_energy/) After completing the setup, you'll see data flowing in. [More information can be found here](https://github.com/fsaris/home-assistant-zonneplan-one). ## Preparation: install VS Code in Home Assistant We're going to edit some Home Assistant YAML files, so it is nice to have a good editor. Let's install Visual Studio Code into your Home Assistant by hitting this button: [![Open this add-on in your Home Assistant instance.](https://keestalkstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/hacs-button.svg)](https://my.home-assistant.io/redirect/supervisor_addon/?addon=a0d7b954_vscode&repository_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fhassio-addons%2Frepository) ## Secrets First, we need to add some secrets, so let's click on the Studio Code Server tab to and open the `secrets.yaml`. Here we'll add the secrets for our PVOutput call: ```yaml pvoutput_api_key: 003044-your-pvoutput-api-key-92aa93 pvoutput_system_id: 1244-your-system-id-234 ``` ## Command Next, you'll need to add the command to `configuration.yaml` and add the command. We're going to fire an `addstatus.jsp` request. [The docs specify the following parameters](https://pvoutput.org/help/api_specification.html#add-status-service): - v1 = energy generation in watt hours - v2 = power generation in watts Notice how Zonneplan will return `zonneplan_yield_today` in `kWh`, so we need to multiply with `1000` to convert the value to watts. Paste the following to your `configuration.yaml`: ```yaml rest_command: post_pvoutput_data: url: "https://pvoutput.org/service/r2/addstatus.jsp" method: POST headers: X-Pvoutput-Apikey: !secret pvoutput_api_key X-Pvoutput-SystemId: !secret pvoutput_system_id payload: > {{ "d=" ~ now().strftime('%Y%m%d') ~ "&t=" ~ now().strftime('%H:%M') | urlencode ~ "&v1=" ~ states('sensor.zonneplan_yield_today') | float * 1000 | int ~ "&v2=" ~ states('sensor.zonneplan_one_omvormer_last_measured_value') | int }} content_type: "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" ``` ## Trigger Last but not least, we'll need to create something that *triggers* the command. Let's trigger *before* and *after* sunset. PVOutput allows us to upload something every 5 minutes, so let's stick to that. Let's offset the time with 20 seconds to make sure we have received the update from Zonneplan. These stats lead to the following automation: ```yaml - id: post_to_pvoutput alias: "Post to Zonneplan every 5 minutes during the day." trigger: - trigger: time_pattern minutes: "/5" seconds: 20 condition: - condition: sun before: sunset before_offset: "00:30:00" - condition: sun after: sunrise after_offset: "-00:30:00" actions: - action: rest_command.post_pvoutput_data ``` *Note: adding an `id` makes the automation editable in the Home Assistant UI.* All you now need to do is restart your Home Assistant and you'll be done. ## Debugging Debugging a rest command is a pain in the ***. We have some options in Home Assistant to see what's going on. - *Logs*: **Settings** > **System** > **Logs**. - *Automation traces*: trace every run with a nice UI, go to **Settings** > **Automations & Scenes** > **Post Zonneplan data to PVOutput when the data changes** > **Traces** (top right corner): ![Debug the automation run from the Home Assistant traces UI.](https://keestalkstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image.png) *Debug the automation run from the Home Assistant traces UI.* - *Command*: If you want to trigger the *command*, you can execute it from the UI as well. Navigate to **Developer Tools** > **Actions** > **RESTful Command: post_pvoutput_data** and hit the **Perform Action** button. ![Debug the command itself through the Home Assistant UI.](https://keestalkstech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-1.png) *Debug the command itself through the Home Assistant UI.* ## Changelog - 2024-10-22: This code works with the new automation definition of Home Assistant version `2024.10.3`. - 2024-10-02: Changed the trigger to a cron to make an easier setup. - 2024-09-17: Changed the command into a multi-line command using `~` templating. - 2024-09-17: Added debug sections. - 2024-09-16: Initial article.