The Vue energy monitor can track solar generation, grid import, and net metering in the Emporia app. This article covers installing your Vue with solar, setting up solar in the app, and how the app displays generation data.

Safety: Working inside an electrical panel can cause serious injury or death. Installation should be performed by a licensed electrician or other qualified professional, following the installation guide and your local electrical code. Service mains remain energized even with the main breaker off.

Where your CT sensors go depends on how your solar connects to your panel: breaker-fed or line-side tap.

The solar steps are in the Emporia Vue 3 Home Energy Monitor Installation Guide (also available in French), starting at Step 5, page 16. First step is downloading this guide. It covers correct sensor placement specific to solar setups and is the primary reference for getting your system configured accurately.

Depending on your setup, you’ll use:

Note: The CT sensors included with the Vue measure AC (Alternating Current) lines only. They can’t measure DC power from the panels to the inverter. To monitor solar generation, the sensor must be placed on the AC output line after the inverter.

Not sure which you have? Check your solar install paperwork or ask your installer.

Follow page 17, Step 5(c) of the installation guide, which shows where the mains CTs go.

Placement rule: Place the mains CTs upstream of the solar connection so the Vue can net your solar against grid flow (current flow). If that isn’t possible, you’ll need a 50A CT on the solar circuit. See Do I need to install 50A branch sensors on solar? and When to use Circuit Type "Included in Mains" below. This compares your monitored solar production to your total usage to determine your net usage.

This walkthrough covers Line-side tap installs only: installing the 200A CTs, the 50A CTs, and the app onboarding steps.

Follow page 16, Step 5(b) of the installation guide, which shows where the CTs go for a breaker-fed solar connection.

With a breaker-fed connection, your mains CTs sit upstream of the solar automatically.

Usually not, if your mains CTs are upstream of the solar. It depends on where the mains CTs sit and what you want to see.

Typically, you can use one 50A CT on one solar line, then set a multiplier on that circuit in the app so the reported production covers all lines. Using a CT on each line is considered the most accurate, although solar is typically a balanced load.

Installing the 50A CT is covered in the installation guide, page 30, Step 9. If you use one, the circuit settings are described in Step 4 under Setting Up Solar in the App below.

Panels come in many shapes and sizes, so we can’t cover every layout here. Some panels can’t have their mains monitored with CTs because of how they’re designed. If your install doesn’t match the setups above, or you’re not sure, contact our Customer Support team and we’ll take a look.

If your solar is installed on a panel that can’t pull from the grid, contact our Customer Support team before installing. The app calibrates using solar as the load and marks that flow as consumption, which can’t be changed in the app. Our team can help with the setup needed so solar reads as generation.

After the physical install, set up solar in the app during first-time onboarding. For the full reset and recalibration steps, see Resetting Your Vue. The video above under Line-side tap also briefly walks through the onboarding steps, starting at 4:07. Onboarding is the same for every install type.

You can download the app via iOS App Store or Google Play Store and set up your Emporia Energy account. The initial connection to your device cannot be done through a laptop or desktop.

The app needs to see real grid consumption to calibrate. During onboarding, the Vue initially marks any power it sees as consumption, so it needs actual grid draw to establish direction.

Turn off the solar disconnect, or run setup after dark. Running a couple larger appliances such as a dryer and range helps ensure higher grid usage. Keep solar off until onboarding is complete.

This step focuses on grid draw only and a battery can complicate this. Make sure your battery isn’t set to load follow during onboarding.

If you are monitoring a solar-only panel that is unable to consume grid power, contact our Customer Support team.

Once your account is created, you'll be prompted to add a device. You can also add a new device by going to the Menu in the lower right hand corner and selecting + Add a new device. Bluetooth and location permissions should be allowed to connect properly to your device. You will need a 2.4GHz internet network available.

After connecting, you’ll be able to name your device. Next, the app will ask “Does your system generate its own energy?” Select Yes. The app will tell you to turn off your solar or any additional alternate power, hit Continue.

The app will verify your setup. Once it says your Vue was successfully added, hit Done. You can then turn back on your solar or alternate power.

If you installed a 50A CT on your solar or generation line, set up its circuit in the app:

Always turn on Bidirectional for solar, even if you believe your system never imports. Unidirectional saves raw data as positive values and the software forces it to show as generation in the app. A later install change could cause problems. Bidirectional saves raw data as negative and measures current flow. A system that never imports simply never flips to consumption.

If you set the direction incorrectly, toggle the setting back to unidirectional and then back to Bidirectional. You’ll be prompted to confirm the direction again.

Note: If you switch an existing solar or generation circuit from unidirectional to Bidirectional, its earlier history may show as positive values in the Emporia Energy App and CSV exports. To correct CSV exports, multiply the affected values by −1.0. Other circuits are unaffected.

Found in the same circuit settings, set the Multiplier on that circuit:

If you are using one CT per line, you will want the multiplier set to 1.0 (default). You can also merge the circuits together for a combined total usage.

Included in Mains is a circuit type that calculates the difference between your solar production and your total home usage monitored by the Main 200A CT sensors. This is the solution for installations where the 200A CTs had to be installed downstream. The app will then determine your in and out to grid.

Net Production or Net Usage shows at the top of the circuit list. Your solar circuit shows in green while producing, and your mains show in green when exporting.

When a circuit is configured as a Solar or generation type, the app shows the following values:

Consumed power is shown in blue and recorded as a positive value. Generated power is shown in green and recorded as a negative value. In graphs, consumption appears in blue above the x-axis and generation in green below it.

Import and export are netted within each 15-minute interval, not accumulated separately. For example, if your home exports 0.8 kWh and imports 0.3 kWh in one interval, 0.5 kWh Out to Grid and 0 kWh In from Grid are reported for that interval.

If you only see Net Usage, make sure your solar is producing more than your home is using, since Net Production only appears when solar is producing more than the total home usage. If you never see Net Production even when you’re certain you’re exporting, ensure your 200A CTs are upstream of your solar tap. If they’re downstream and you’re not able to move them upstream, use a 50A CT on your solar with the Included in Mains circuit type.

If you don’t see either Net Usage or Net Production, that means your device was not calibrated for solar production. You will want to recalibrate by going to the device settings (Menu > Manage Devices > Your Vue monitor). You can recalibrate remotely, so you don’t need to reconnect or be near the device. See Reset and Recalibrate with Solar or Generation in Resetting Your Vue for a step-by-step guide.

Likely reasons your generation is showing as consumption:

Balance is a calculated remainder (Mains − Branch Circuits 1–16). It shows as a negative number, in green, when your monitored branch circuits add up to more than the mains reading. That doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong. Common situations:

If your readings still look wrong, or don’t match your utility, see Bad Balance, Utility Mismatch, and Net Metering Issues for troubleshooting.

When Excess Solar is enabled for your EV charger, your home must also be exporting (Net Production) at least 1.5 kW for roughly 3 consecutive minutes before it starts. Once it does, it adjusts the charge rate dynamically based on your excess solar production. See Excess Solar and Troubleshooting Excess Solar Charging for additional information.

This knowledge base is continuously updated to provide the most helpful guidance for Emporia customers. If you found this article unclear or have suggestions for improvement, please contact our Customer Support team.