hass.tibber_prices/docs/user/versioned_docs/version-v0.29.0/sensors.md

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Sensors

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

Entity ID tip: <home_name> is a placeholder for your Tibber home display name in Home Assistant. Entity IDs are derived from the displayed name (localized), so the exact slug may differ. Example suffixes below use the English display names (en.json) as a baseline. You can find the real ID in Settings → Devices & Services → Entities (or Developer Tools → States).

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.<home_name>_price_today', 'price_median') %}
          {% set mean = state_attr('sensor.<home_name>_price_today', 'price_mean') %}
          {% set current = states('sensor.<home_name>_current_electricity_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.<home_name>_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.<home_name>_current_electricity_price') | float %}
          {% set median = state_attr('sensor.<home_name>_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.<home_name>_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.<home_name>_current_electricity_price') | float %}
          {% set trailing_avg = state_attr('sensor.<home_name>_price_trailing_24h', '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)

Volatility Sensors

Volatility sensors help you understand how much electricity prices fluctuate over a given period. Instead of just looking at the absolute price, they measure the relative price variation, which is a great indicator of whether it's a good day for price-based energy optimization.

The calculation is based on the Coefficient of Variation (CV), a standardized statistical measure defined as:

CV = (Standard Deviation / aAithmetic Mean) * 100%

This results in a percentage that shows how much prices deviate from the average. A low CV means stable prices, while a high CV indicates significant price swings and thus, a high potential for saving money by shifting consumption.

The sensor's state can be low, moderate, high, or very_high, based on configurable thresholds.

Available Volatility Sensors

Sensor Description Time Window
Today's Price Volatility Volatility for the current calendar day 00:00 - 23:59 today
Tomorrow's Price Volatility Volatility for the next calendar day 00:00 - 23:59 tomorrow
Next 24h Price Volatility Volatility for the next 24 hours from now Rolling 24h forward
Today + Tomorrow Price Volatility Volatility across both today and tomorrow Up to 48 hours

Configuration

You can adjust the CV thresholds that determine the volatility level:

  1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Tibber Prices.
  2. Click Configure.
  3. Go to the Price Volatility Thresholds step.

Default thresholds are:

  • Moderate: 15%
  • High: 30%
  • Very High: 50%

Key Attributes

All volatility sensors provide these attributes:

Attribute Description Example
price_coefficient_variation_% The calculated Coefficient of Variation 23.5
price_spread The difference between the highest and lowest price 12.3
price_min The lowest price in the period 10.2
price_max The highest price in the period 22.5
price_mean The arithmetic mean of all prices in the period 15.1
interval_count Number of price intervals included in the calculation 96

Usage in Automations & Best Practices

You can use the volatility sensor to decide if a price-based optimization is worth it. For example, if your solar battery has conversion losses, you might only want to charge and discharge it on days with high volatility.

Best Practice: Use the price_volatility Attribute

For automations, it is strongly recommended to use the price_volatility attribute instead of the sensor's main state.

  • Why? The main state of the sensor is translated into your Home Assistant language (e.g., "Hoch" in German). If you change your system language, automations based on this state will break. The price_volatility attribute is always in lowercase English ("low", "moderate", "high", "very_high") and therefore provides a stable, language-independent value.

Good Example (Robust Automation): This automation triggers only if the volatility is classified as high or very_high, respecting your central settings and working independently of the system language.

automation:
  - alias: "Enable battery optimization only on volatile days"
    trigger:
      - platform: template
        value_template: >
          {{ state_attr('sensor.<home_name>_today_s_price_volatility', 'price_volatility') in ['high', 'very_high'] }}          
    action:
      - service: input_boolean.turn_on
        entity_id: input_boolean.battery_optimization_enabled

Avoid Hard-Coding Numeric Thresholds

You might be tempted to use the numeric price_coefficient_variation_% attribute directly in your automations. This is not recommended.

  • Why? The integration provides central configuration options for the volatility thresholds. By using the classified price_volatility attribute, your automations automatically adapt if you decide to change what you consider "high" volatility (e.g., changing the threshold from 30% to 35%). Hard-coding values means you would have to find and update them in every single automation.

Bad Example (Brittle Automation): This automation uses a hard-coded value. If you later change the "High" threshold in the integration's options to 35%, this automation will not respect that change and might trigger at the wrong time.

automation:
  - alias: "Brittle - Enable battery optimization"
    trigger:
      #
      # BAD: Avoid hard-coding numeric values
      #
      - platform: numeric_state
        entity_id: sensor.<home_name>_today_s_price_volatility
        attribute: price_coefficient_variation_%
        above: 30
    action:
      - service: input_boolean.turn_on
        entity_id: input_boolean.battery_optimization_enabled

By following the "Good Example", your automations become simpler, more readable, and much easier to maintain.

Rating Sensors

Rating sensors classify prices relative to the trailing 24-hour average, answering: "Is the current price cheap, normal, or expensive compared to recent history?"

How Ratings Work

The integration calculates a percentage difference between the current price and the trailing 24-hour average:

difference = ((current_price - trailing_avg) / abs(trailing_avg)) × 100%

This percentage is then classified:

Rating Condition (default) Meaning
LOW difference ≤ -10% Significantly below recent average
NORMAL -10% < difference < +10% Within normal range
HIGH difference ≥ +10% Significantly above recent average

Hysteresis (default 2%) prevents flickering: once a rating enters LOW, it must cross -8% (not -10%) to return to NORMAL. This avoids rapid switching at threshold boundaries.

stateDiagram-v2
    direction LR

    LOW: 🟢 LOW<br/><small>price ≤ 10%</small>
    NORMAL: 🟡 NORMAL<br/><small>10% … +10%</small>
    HIGH: 🔴 HIGH<br/><small>price ≥ +10%</small>

    LOW --> NORMAL: crosses 8%<br/><small>(hysteresis)</small>
    NORMAL --> LOW: drops below 10%
    NORMAL --> HIGH: rises above +10%
    HIGH --> NORMAL: crosses +8%<br/><small>(hysteresis)</small>

The 2% gap between entering (10%) and leaving (8%) a state prevents the sensor from flickering back and forth when prices hover near a threshold.

Available Rating Sensors

Sensor Scope Description
Current Price Rating Current interval Rating of the current 15-minute price
Next Price Rating Next interval Rating for the upcoming 15-minute price
Previous Price Rating Previous interval Rating for the past 15-minute price
Current Hour Price Rating Rolling 5-interval Smoothed rating around the current hour
Next Hour Price Rating Rolling 5-interval Smoothed rating around the next hour
Yesterday's Price Rating Calendar day Aggregated rating for yesterday
Today's Price Rating Calendar day Aggregated rating for today
Tomorrow's Price Rating Calendar day Aggregated rating for tomorrow

Ratings vs Levels

The integration provides two classification systems that serve different purposes:

Ratings Levels
Source Calculated by integration Provided by Tibber API
Scale 3 levels (LOW, NORMAL, HIGH) 5 levels (VERY_CHEAP → VERY_EXPENSIVE)
Basis Trailing 24h average Daily min/max range
Best for Automations (simple thresholds) Dashboard displays (fine granularity)
Configurable Yes (thresholds) Gap tolerance only
Automation attribute rating_level (always lowercase English) level (always uppercase English)

Which to use?

  • Automations: Use ratings (3 simple states, configurable thresholds, hysteresis)
  • Dashboards: Use levels (5 color-coded states, more visual granularity)
  • Advanced automations: Combine both (e.g., "LOW rating AND VERY_CHEAP level")

Key Attributes

Attribute Description Example
rating_level Language-independent rating (always lowercase) low
difference Percentage difference from trailing average -12.5
trailing_avg_24h The reference average used for classification 22.3

Usage in Automations

Best Practice: Always use the rating_level attribute (lowercase English) instead of the sensor state (which is translated to your HA language):

# ✅ Correct — language-independent
condition:
    - condition: template
      value_template: >
          {{ state_attr('sensor.<home_name>_current_price_rating', 'rating_level') == 'low' }}          

# ❌ Avoid — breaks when HA language changes
condition:
    - condition: state
      entity_id: sensor.<home_name>_current_price_rating
      state: "Low"  # "Niedrig" in German, "Lav" in Norwegian...

Configuration

Rating thresholds can be adjusted in the options flow:

  1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Tibber Prices → Configure
  2. Navigate to Price Rating Thresholds
  3. Adjust LOW/HIGH thresholds, hysteresis, and gap tolerance

See Configuration for details.

Level Sensors

Level sensors show the Tibber API's own price classification with a 5-level scale:

Level Meaning Numeric Value
VERY_CHEAP Exceptionally low -2
CHEAP Below average -1
NORMAL Typical range 0
EXPENSIVE Above average +1
VERY_EXPENSIVE Exceptionally high +2

Available Level Sensors

Sensor Scope
Current Price Level Current interval
Next Price Level Next interval
Previous Price Level Previous interval
Current Hour Price Level Rolling 5-interval window
Next Hour Price Level Rolling 5-interval window
Yesterday's Price Level Calendar day (aggregated)
Today's Price Level Calendar day (aggregated)
Tomorrow's Price Level Calendar day (aggregated)

Gap tolerance smoothing is applied to prevent isolated level flickers (e.g., a single NORMAL between two CHEAPs → corrected to CHEAP). Configure in options flow.

Min/Max Sensors

These sensors show the lowest and highest prices for calendar days and rolling windows:

Daily Min/Max

Sensor Description
Today's Lowest Price Minimum price today (00:0023:59)
Today's Highest Price Maximum price today (00:0023:59)
Tomorrow's Lowest Price Minimum price tomorrow
Tomorrow's Highest Price Maximum price tomorrow

24-Hour Rolling Min/Max

Sensor Description
Trailing Price Min Lowest price in the last 24 hours
Trailing Price Max Highest price in the last 24 hours
Leading Price Min Lowest price in the next 24 hours
Leading Price Max Highest price in the next 24 hours

Key Attributes

All min/max sensors include:

Attribute Description
timestamp When the extreme price occurs/occurred
price_diff_from_daily_min Difference from daily minimum
price_diff_from_daily_min_% Percentage difference

Timing Sensors

Timing sensors provide real-time information about Best Price and Peak Price periods: when they start, end, how long they last, and your progress through them.

stateDiagram-v2
    direction LR

    IDLE: ⏸️ IDLE<br/><small>No active period</small>
    ACTIVE: ▶️ ACTIVE<br/><small>In period</small>
    GRACE: ⏳ GRACE<br/><small>60s buffer</small>

    IDLE --> ACTIVE: period starts
    ACTIVE --> GRACE: period ends
    GRACE --> IDLE: 60s elapsed
    GRACE --> ACTIVE: new period starts<br/><small>(within grace)</small>

IDLE = waiting for next period (shows countdown via next_in_minutes). ACTIVE = inside a period (shows progress 0100% and remaining_minutes). GRACE = short buffer after a period ends, allowing back-to-back periods to merge seamlessly.

Available Timing Sensors

For each period type (Best Price and Peak Price):

Sensor When Period Active When No Active Period
End Time Current period's end time Next period's end time
Period Duration Current period length (minutes) Next period length
Remaining Minutes Minutes until current period ends 0
Progress 0100% through current period 0
Next Start Time When next-next period starts When next period starts
Next In Minutes Minutes to next-next period Minutes to next period

Usage Examples

Show countdown to next cheap window:

type: custom:mushroom-entity-card
entity: sensor.<home_name>_best_price_next_in_minutes
name: Next Cheap Window
icon: mdi:clock-fast

Display period progress bar:

type: custom:bar-card
entity: sensor.<home_name>_best_price_progress
name: Best Price Progress
min: 0
max: 100
severity:
    - from: 0
      to: 50
      color: green
    - from: 50
      to: 80
      color: orange
    - from: 80
      to: 100
      color: red

Automation: notify when period is almost over:

automation:
    - alias: "Warn: Best Price Ending Soon"
      trigger:
          - platform: numeric_state
            entity_id: sensor.<home_name>_best_price_remaining_minutes
            below: 15
      condition:
          - condition: numeric_state
            entity_id: sensor.<home_name>_best_price_remaining_minutes
            above: 0
      action:
          - service: notify.mobile_app
            data:
                title: "Best Price Ending Soon"
                message: "Only {{ states('sensor.<home_name>_best_price_remaining_minutes') }} minutes left!"

Trend Sensors

Trend sensors help you understand where prices are heading. They answer the question: "Should I use electricity now, or wait?"

The integration provides two families of trend sensors for different use cases:

Simple Trend Sensors (1h12h)

These sensors compare the current price with the average price of the next N hours:

Sensor Compares Against
Price Trend (1h) Average of next 1 hour
Price Trend (2h) Average of next 2 hours
Price Trend (3h) Average of next 3 hours
Price Trend (4h) Average of next 4 hours
Price Trend (5h) Average of next 5 hours
Price Trend (6h) Average of next 6 hours
Price Trend (8h) Average of next 8 hours
Price Trend (12h) Average of next 12 hours

:::info Same Starting Point — All Sensors Use Your Current Price All trend sensors share the same base: your current 15-minute price. They differ only in how far ahead they average. The windows overlap — the 3h average includes ALL intervals from the 1h and 2h windows, plus one more hour.

This means:

  • price_trend_3h shows "current price vs. average of the entire next 3 hours" — not "what happens between hour 2 and hour 3"
  • If 1h shows falling but 6h shows rising: near-term prices are below your current price, but looking at the full 6h window (which includes expensive evening hours), the overall average is above your current price
  • Larger windows smooth out short-term fluctuations — a 30-minute price spike affects the 1h average more than the 6h average :::

States: Each sensor has one of five states:

stateDiagram-v2
    direction LR

    SF: ⬇️⬇️ strongly_falling<br/><small>2 · future ≤ 9%</small>
    F: ⬇️ falling<br/><small>1 · future ≤ 3%</small>
    S: ➡️ stable<br/><small>0 · within ±3%</small>
    R: ⬆️ rising<br/><small>+1 · future ≥ +3%</small>
    SR: ⬆️⬆️ strongly_rising<br/><small>+2 · future ≥ +9%</small>

    SF --> F: price recovers
    F --> S: approaches average
    S --> R: future rises
    R --> SR: accelerates
    SR --> R: slows down
    R --> S: stabilizes
    S --> F: future drops
    F --> SF: accelerates
State Meaning trend_value
strongly_falling Prices will drop significantly -2
falling Prices will drop -1
stable Prices staying roughly the same 0
rising Prices will increase +1
strongly_rising Prices will increase significantly +2

Key attributes:

Attribute Description Example
trend_value Numeric value for automations (-2 to +2) -1
trend_Nh_% Percentage difference from current price -12.3
next_Nh_avg Average price in the future window 18.5
second_half_Nh_avg Average price in later half of window 16.2
threshold_rising_% Active rising threshold after volatility adjustment 3.0
threshold_rising_strongly_% Active strongly-rising threshold after volatility adjustment 4.8
threshold_falling_% Active falling threshold after volatility adjustment -3.0
threshold_falling_strongly_% Active strongly-falling threshold after volatility adjustment -4.8
volatility_factor Applied multiplier (0.6 = low, 1.0 = moderate, 1.4 = high volatility) 0.8

Tip: The trend_value attribute (-2 to +2) is ideal for automations — use numeric comparisons instead of matching translated state strings.

Current Price Trend

Entity ID: sensor.<home_name>_current_price_trend

This sensor shows the currently active trend direction based on a 3-hour future outlook with volatility-adaptive thresholds.

Unlike the simple trend sensors that always compare current price vs future average, the current price trend represents the ongoing trend — it remains stable between updates and only changes when the underlying price direction actually shifts.

States: Same 5-level scale as simple trends.

Key attributes:

Attribute Description Example
previous_direction Price direction before the current trend started falling
price_direction_duration_minutes How long prices have been moving in this direction 45
price_direction_since Timestamp when prices started moving in this direction 2025-11-08T14:00:00+01:00

Next Price Trend Change

Entity ID: sensor.<home_name>_next_price_trend_change

This sensor predicts when the current trend will change by scanning future intervals. It requires 3 consecutive intervals (configurable: 26) confirming the new trend before reporting a change (hysteresis), which prevents false alarms from short-lived price spikes.

Important: Only direction changes count as trend changes. The five states are grouped into three directions:

Direction States
falling strongly_falling, falling
stable stable
rising rising, strongly_rising

A change from rising to strongly_rising (same direction) is not reported as a trend change — only actual reversals like risingstable or fallingrising.

State: Timestamp of the next trend change (or unavailable if no change predicted).

Key attributes:

Attribute Description Example
direction What the trend will change TO rising
from_direction Current trend (will change FROM) falling
minutes_until_change Minutes until trend changes 90
price_at_change Price at the change point 13.8
price_avg_after_change Average price after change 18.1
threshold_rising_% Active rising threshold after volatility adjustment 3.0
threshold_rising_strongly_% Active strongly-rising threshold after volatility adjustment 4.8
threshold_falling_% Active falling threshold after volatility adjustment -3.0
threshold_falling_strongly_% Active strongly-falling threshold after volatility adjustment -4.8
volatility_factor Applied multiplier (0.6 = low, 1.0 = moderate, 1.4 = high volatility) 0.8

How to Use Trend Sensors for Decisions

:::danger Common Misconception — Don't "Wait for Stable"! A natural intuition is to treat trend states like a stock ticker:

  • "It's falling → I'll wait until it reaches stable (the bottom)"
  • "It's rising → too late, I missed the best price"
  • "It's stable → now is the perfect time to act!"

This is wrong. Trend sensors don't show a trajectory — they show a comparison between your current price and future prices. The correct interpretation is the opposite:

State What the Sensor Calculates Correct Action
falling Current price higher than future average WAIT — cheaper prices are coming
strongly_falling Current price much higher than future average DEFINITELY WAIT — significant savings ahead
stable Current price ≈ equal to future average Timing doesn't matter — start whenever convenient
rising Current price lower than future average ACT NOW — it only gets more expensive
strongly_rising Current price much lower than future average ACT IMMEDIATELY — best price right now

"Rising" is NOT "too late" — it means NOW is the best time because prices will be higher later. :::

Basic Automation Pattern

For most appliances (dishwasher, washing machine, dryer), a single trend sensor is enough:

# Example: Start dishwasher when prices are favorable
trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id: sensor.my_home_price_trend_3h
condition:
  - condition: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.my_home_price_trend_3h
    attribute: trend_value
    # rising (1) or strongly_rising (2) = act now
    above: 0
action:
  - service: switch.turn_on
    target:
      entity_id: switch.dishwasher

Combining Multiple Windows

When short-term and long-term trends disagree, you get richer insight:

1h Trend 6h Trend Interpretation Recommendation
rising rising Prices going up across the board Start now
falling falling Prices dropping across the board Wait
falling rising Brief dip, then expensive evening Wait briefly, then start during the dip
rising falling Short spike, but cheaper hours ahead Wait if you can — better prices coming
stable any Short-term doesn't matter Use the longer window for your decision

Dashboard Quick-Glance

On your dashboard, trend sensors give an instant overview:

  • 🟢 All falling/strongly_falling → "Relax, prices are dropping — wait"
  • 🔴 All rising/strongly_rising → "Start everything you can — it only gets more expensive"
  • 🟡 Mixed → Compare short-term vs. long-term sensors, or check the Best Price Period sensor

Trend Sensors vs Average Sensors

Both sensor families provide future price information, but serve different purposes:

Trend Sensors Average Sensors
Purpose Dashboard display, quick visual overview Automations, precise numeric comparisons
Output Classification (falling/stable/rising) Exact price values (ct/kWh)
Best for "Should I worry about prices?" "Is the future average below 15 ct?"
Use in Dashboard icons, status displays Template conditions, numeric thresholds

Design principle: Use trend sensors (enum) for visual feedback at a glance, use average sensors (numeric) for precise decision-making in automations.

Configuration

Trend thresholds can be adjusted in the options flow:

  1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Tibber Prices
  2. Click Configure on your home
  3. Navigate to 📈 Price Trend Thresholds
  4. Adjust the rising/falling and strongly rising/falling percentages

The thresholds are volatility-adaptive: on days with high price volatility, thresholds are widened automatically to prevent constant state changes. This means the trend sensors give more stable readings during volatile market conditions.

Diagnostic Sensors

Chart Metadata

Entity ID: sensor.<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.<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.<home_name>_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.<home_name>_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