Frequently Asked Questions

The Octopus Home Pro connects to your SMETS2 smart meters via the Home Area Network (HAN) using a secure Zigbee connection. This allows it to read data directly from both your electricity and gas meters in real-time without requiring any physical connections to the meters themselves.

The device simply needs to be within range of your smart meters (typically within 10-15 meters). Once connected, it will continuously receive updates on your energy consumption.

While the Octopus Home Pro is designed to work seamlessly with Octopus Energy tariffs and services, it can be used by customers of any energy supplier as long as you have compatible SMETS2 smart meters installed in your home.

However, some features that integrate directly with Octopus Energy tariffs (such as Agile price monitoring or automated Octopus Go optimization) would only be available to Octopus Energy customers.

The Octopus Home Pro comes with a standard 5V/3A USB-C power adapter. It should be connected to a continuous power source as it's designed to run 24/7 to monitor your energy usage and run apps.

The device itself is energy-efficient, typically consuming less than 5W during normal operation, which amounts to less than £1 per month in electricity costs.

The Octopus Home Pro features a standard 40-pin GPIO header that's compatible with most Raspberry Pi HATs. This includes display HATs, sensor HATs, relay controllers, and many others.

There are some limitations on HATs that require specific Raspberry Pi hardware features not present in the Octopus Home Pro, or that use excessive power. Generally, HATs that work with a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 should be compatible.

Yes, you can connect external sensors to the Octopus Home Pro in several ways:

• Via Zigbee - connect compatible Zigbee sensors like temperature, humidity, door/window, motion, etc.
• Via USB - many USB sensors can be connected directly
• Via GPIO - connect sensors directly to the GPIO pins
• Via Pi HAT - use sensor HATs that combine multiple sensor types

This allows you to extend the monitoring capabilities beyond just energy usage to include environmental factors, presence detection, and more.

The Octopus Home Pro comes with several pre-installed applications:

• Energy Monitor - The core application for viewing real-time and historical energy usage
• App Store - For browsing and installing additional apps
• Device Manager - For connecting and managing Zigbee devices
• Settings - For configuring the device and connections
• Developer SDK (optional) - Can be installed for those interested in developing their own apps

No, you don't need any programming experience to use the Octopus Home Pro for its main functions. The device works out of the box as an energy monitor and smart home hub.

However, if you want to develop custom apps or modify existing ones, you would need some programming knowledge. The SDK uses JavaScript, which is relatively accessible for beginners. We also provide example code and templates to help you get started.

To develop your own apps for the Octopus Home Pro:

1. Install the Developer SDK app from the App Store on your device
2. Install VS Code on your computer
3. Install the Octopus Home Pro CLI tool: npm install -g @octopus/home-pro-cli
4. Create a new app project: home-pro-cli create my-app
5. Develop your app using the SDK and API documentation
6. Test and deploy to your device

For more detailed information, visit the Developers section of our website.

Yes, the Octopus Home Pro integrates well with Home Assistant. There are two main ways to connect:

1. Home Assistant Bridge App - Install this app from the Octopus App Store to automatically expose your energy data and connected devices to Home Assistant via the local API.
2. Manual Integration - You can add the Octopus Home Pro as a custom integration in Home Assistant using its local API endpoints.

Once connected, your energy data will appear as sensors in Home Assistant, and you can use it in automations, dashboards, and more.

The Octopus Home Pro doesn't have direct native integration with Apple HomeKit or Google Home, but there are several ways to establish connectivity:

• Use the Home Assistant Bridge app and then connect Home Assistant to these platforms
• Install third-party bridge apps from the App Store that provide connectivity
• Develop your own bridge app using the SDK

The Octopus development team is working on official bridge apps for major smart home platforms, which will be available in the App Store in the future.

Yes, the Octopus Home Pro can integrate with solar panels and battery storage systems in several ways:

• GivEnergy Integration - Direct integration with GivEnergy battery systems via the GivEnergy app in the App Store
• Solar Inverter Connection - Many common solar inverters can be monitored via their APIs using apps from the App Store
• Smart Meter Data - For solar setups with export capability, the smart meter data can show export values
• Custom Integration - Develop custom apps to integrate with specific solar or battery systems

These integrations allow for intelligent management of battery charging/discharging based on energy prices, solar production, and household consumption.