Sensors

Note: This guide is under construction. For now, please refer to the main README for available sensors.

Tip: Many sensors have dynamic icons and colors! See the Dynamic Icons Guide and Dynamic Icon Colors Guide to enhance your dashboards.

Binary Sensors

Best Price Period & Peak Price Period

These binary sensors indicate when you're in a detected best or peak price period. See the Period Calculation Guide for a detailed explanation of how these periods are calculated and configured.

Quick overview:

• Best Price Period: Turns ON during periods with significantly lower prices than the daily average
• Peak Price Period: Turns ON during periods with significantly higher prices than the daily average

Both sensors include rich attributes with period details, intervals, relaxation status, and more.

Core Price Sensors

Average Price Sensors

The integration provides several sensors that calculate average electricity prices over different time windows. These sensors show a typical price value that represents the overall price level, helping you make informed decisions about when to use electricity.

Available Average Sensors

Sensor	Description	Time Window
Average Price Today	Typical price for current calendar day	00:00 - 23:59 today
Average Price Tomorrow	Typical price for next calendar day	00:00 - 23:59 tomorrow
Trailing Price Average	Typical price for last 24 hours	Rolling 24h backward
Leading Price Average	Typical price for next 24 hours	Rolling 24h forward
Current Hour Average	Smoothed price around current time	5 intervals (~75 min)
Next Hour Average	Smoothed price around next hour	5 intervals (~75 min)
Next N Hours Average	Future price forecast	1h, 2h, 3h, 4h, 5h, 6h, 8h, 12h

Configurable Display: Median vs Mean

All average sensors support two different calculation methods for the state value:

• Median (default): The "middle value" when all prices are sorted. Resistant to extreme price spikes, shows the typical price level you experienced.
• Arithmetic Mean: The mathematical average including all prices. Better for cost calculations but affected by extreme spikes.

Why two values matter:

# Example price data for one day:
# Prices: 10, 12, 13, 15, 80 ct/kWh (one extreme spike)
#
# Median = 13 ct/kWh    ← "Typical" price level (middle value)
# Mean = 26 ct/kWh      ← Mathematical average (affected by spike)

The median shows you what price level was typical during that period, while the mean shows the actual average cost if you consumed evenly throughout the period.

Configuring the Display

You can choose which value is displayed in the sensor state:

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Tibber Prices
2. Click Configure on your home
3. Navigate to Step 6: Average Sensor Display Settings
4. Choose between:
   • Median (default) - Shows typical price level, resistant to spikes
   • Arithmetic Mean - Shows actual mathematical average

Important: Both values are always available as sensor attributes, regardless of your choice! This ensures your automations continue to work if you change the display setting.

Using Both Values in Automations

Both price_mean and price_median are always available as attributes:

# Example: Get both values regardless of display setting
sensor:
  - platform: template
    sensors:
      daily_price_analysis:
        friendly_name: "Daily Price Analysis"
        value_template: >
          {% set median = state_attr('sensor.tibber_home_average_price_today', 'price_median') %}
          {% set mean = state_attr('sensor.tibber_home_average_price_today', 'price_mean') %}
          {% set current = states('sensor.tibber_home_current_interval_price') | float %}

          {% if current < median %}
            Below typical ({{ ((1 - current/median) * 100) | round(1) }}% cheaper)
          {% elif current < mean %}
            Typical price range
          {% else %}
            Above average ({{ ((current/mean - 1) * 100) | round(1) }}% more expensive)
          {% endif %}

Practical Examples

Example 1: Smart dishwasher control

Run dishwasher only when price is significantly below the daily typical level:

automation:
  - alias: "Start Dishwasher When Cheap"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: binary_sensor.tibber_home_best_price_period
        to: "on"
    condition:
      # Only if current price is at least 20% below typical (median)
      - condition: template
        value_template: >
          {% set current = states('sensor.tibber_home_current_interval_price') | float %}
          {% set median = state_attr('sensor.tibber_home_average_price_today', 'price_median') | float %}
          {{ current < (median * 0.8) }}
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_on
        entity_id: switch.dishwasher

Example 2: Cost-aware heating control

Use mean for actual cost calculations:

automation:
  - alias: "Heating Budget Control"
    trigger:
      - platform: time
        at: "06:00:00"
    action:
      # Calculate expected daily heating cost
      - variables:
          mean_price: "{{ state_attr('sensor.tibber_home_average_price_today', 'price_mean') | float }}"
          heating_kwh_per_day: 15  # Estimated consumption
          daily_cost: "{{ (mean_price * heating_kwh_per_day / 100) | round(2) }}"
      - service: notify.mobile_app
        data:
          title: "Heating Cost Estimate"
          message: "Expected cost today: €{{ daily_cost }} (avg price: {{ mean_price }} ct/kWh)"

Example 3: Smart charging based on rolling average

Use trailing average to understand recent price trends:

automation:
  - alias: "EV Charging - Price Trend Based"
    trigger:
      - platform: state
        entity_id: sensor.ev_battery_level
    condition:
      # Start charging if current price < 90% of recent 24h average
      - condition: template
        value_template: >
          {% set current = states('sensor.tibber_home_current_interval_price') | float %}
          {% set trailing_avg = state_attr('sensor.tibber_home_trailing_price_average', 'price_median') | float %}
          {{ current < (trailing_avg * 0.9) }}
      # And battery < 80%
      - condition: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.ev_battery_level
        below: 80
    action:
      - service: switch.turn_on
        entity_id: switch.ev_charger

Key Attributes

All average sensors provide these attributes:

Attribute	Description	Example
price_mean	Arithmetic mean (always available)	25.3 ct/kWh
price_median	Median value (always available)	22.1 ct/kWh
interval_count	Number of intervals included	96
timestamp	Reference time for calculation	2025-12-18T00:00:00+01:00

Note: The price_mean and price_median attributes are always present regardless of which value you configured for display. This ensures automation compatibility when changing the display setting.

When to Use Which Value

Use Median for:

• ✅ Comparing "typical" price levels across days
• ✅ Determining if current price is unusually high/low
• ✅ User-facing displays ("What was today like?")
• ✅ Volatility analysis (comparing typical vs extremes)

Use Mean for:

• ✅ Cost calculations and budgeting
• ✅ Energy cost estimations
• ✅ Comparing actual average costs between periods
• ✅ Financial planning and forecasting

Both values tell different stories:

• High median + much higher mean = Expensive spikes occurred
• Low median + higher mean = Generally cheap with occasional spikes
• Similar median and mean = Stable prices (low volatility)

Statistical Sensors

Coming soon...

Rating Sensors

Coming soon...

Diagnostic Sensors

Chart Metadata

Entity ID: sensor.tibber_home_NAME_chart_metadata

✨ New Feature: This sensor provides dynamic chart configuration metadata for optimal visualization. Perfect for use with the get_apexcharts_yaml action!

This diagnostic sensor provides essential chart configuration values as sensor attributes, enabling dynamic Y-axis scaling and optimal chart appearance in rolling window modes.

Key Features:

• Dynamic Y-Axis Bounds: Automatically calculates optimal yaxis_min and yaxis_max for your price data
• Automatic Updates: Refreshes when price data changes (coordinator updates)
• Lightweight: Metadata-only mode (no data processing) for fast response
• State Indicator: Shows pending (initialization), ready (data available), or error (service call failed)

Attributes:

• timestamp: When the metadata was last fetched
• yaxis_min: Suggested minimum value for Y-axis (optimal scaling)
• yaxis_max: Suggested maximum value for Y-axis (optimal scaling)
• currency: Currency code (e.g., "EUR", "NOK")
• resolution: Interval duration in minutes (usually 15)
• error: Error message if service call failed

Usage:

The tibber_prices.get_apexcharts_yaml action automatically uses this sensor for dynamic Y-axis scaling in rolling_window and rolling_window_autozoom modes! No manual configuration needed - just enable the action's result with config-template-card and the sensor provides optimal Y-axis bounds automatically.

See the Chart Examples Guide for practical examples!

---

Chart Data Export

Entity ID: sensor.tibber_home_NAME_chart_data_export Default State: Disabled (must be manually enabled)

⚠️ Legacy Feature: This sensor is maintained for backward compatibility. For new integrations, use the tibber_prices.get_chartdata service instead, which offers more flexibility and better performance.

This diagnostic sensor provides cached chart-friendly price data that can be consumed by chart cards (ApexCharts, custom cards, etc.).

Key Features:

• Configurable via Options Flow: Service parameters can be configured through the integration's options menu (Step 7 of 7)
• Automatic Updates: Data refreshes on coordinator updates (every 15 minutes)
• Attribute-Based Output: Chart data is stored in sensor attributes for easy access
• State Indicator: Shows pending (before first call), ready (data available), or error (service call failed)

Important Notes:

• ⚠️ Disabled by default - must be manually enabled in entity settings
• ⚠️ Consider using the service instead for better control and flexibility
• ⚠️ Configuration updates require HA restart

Attributes:

The sensor exposes chart data with metadata in attributes:

• timestamp: When the data was last fetched
• error: Error message if service call failed
• data (or custom name): Array of price data points in configured format

Configuration:

To configure the sensor's output format:

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Tibber Prices
2. Click Configure on your Tibber home
3. Navigate through the options wizard to Step 7: Chart Data Export Settings
4. Configure output format, filters, field names, and other options
5. Save and restart Home Assistant

Available Settings:

See the tibber_prices.get_chartdata service documentation below for a complete list of available parameters. All service parameters can be configured through the options flow.

Example Usage:

# ApexCharts card consuming the sensor
type: custom:apexcharts-card
series:
    - entity: sensor.tibber_home_chart_data_export
      data_generator: |
          return entity.attributes.data;

Migration Path:

If you're currently using this sensor, consider migrating to the service:

# Old approach (sensor)
- service: apexcharts_card.update
  data:
      entity: sensor.tibber_home_chart_data_export

# New approach (service)
- service: tibber_prices.get_chartdata
  data:
      entry_id: YOUR_ENTRY_ID
      day: ["today", "tomorrow"]
      output_format: array_of_objects
  response_variable: chart_data