Understanding the numbers in your app

kW, kWh, import, export and state of charge explained, so you can tell what your system is doing.

Your monitoring app shows four things moving around your home: your solar, your home, your battery and the grid. Once you know what the numbers mean, it's easy to see what your system is doing.

Power and energy

You'll see	What it means
W or kW (watts, kilowatts)	Power: how fast electricity is being made or used right now. A kettle uses about 2 to 3 kW while it's on.
kWh (kilowatt hours)	Energy: power over time. It's what your bill and your battery are measured in. Using 1 kW for one hour is 1 kWh.
kWp (kilowatts peak)	Your panels' size: number of panels × their watts ÷ 1000. Ten 475W panels make a 4.75 kWp system.

The four flows

Solar (or PV, or generation): what your panels are making.
Home (or load, or consumption): what your house is using.
Battery: whether it's charging or discharging, and its state of charge (SoC), how full it is as a percentage.
Grid: import is electricity you're buying. Export is spare electricity going out to the grid.

Your system powers your home first, then fills your battery, then exports anything left over. In the evening, the battery covers your home until it reaches its minimum level.

Your apps

Make	App
Fox ESS	FoxCloud
Duracell Energy	Duracell Energy (setup uses a separate app, Dura-i)
Tesla Powerwall	Tesla
Growatt	ShinePhone

Things that look odd but are normal

Low or no solar early, late, on dull days and through winter. December can be around a fifth of June.
The battery sitting at 10% or 20% in the evening. See Why does my battery stop at 10%?.
Small amounts of import even when the battery has charge. Inverters balance second by second and a little import or export is normal, especially when something switches on.
Figures that differ slightly from your smart meter. The app and your meter measure in different places, so they rarely match exactly.