QUICKSTART.md

Quick Start Guide

This guide will help you get the Ista Energy Monitor integration up and running quickly.

Installation Steps

1. Copy Files to Home Assistant

Copy the custom_components/ista folder to your Home Assistant configuration directory:

# Navigate to your Home Assistant config directory
cd /config

# Create custom_components directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p custom_components

# Copy the integration
cp -r /path/to/ista-plugin/custom_components/ista custom_components/

2. Restart Home Assistant

Restart Home Assistant to load the new integration:

• Go to Settings → System → Restart
• Or use the service: homeassistant.restart

3. Add the Integration

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click + Add Integration (bottom right)
3. Search for "Ista Energy Monitor"
4. Click on it to start the setup

4. Enter Credentials

Enter your Ista portal credentials:

• Email or Username: Your Ista account email (e.g., your@email.com)
• Password: Your Ista account password

Click Submit.

5. Verify Installation

After successful setup, you should see:

• A new device called "Ista (your@email.com)" in Devices & Services
• Sensors appearing in Developer Tools → States:
  • sensor.ista_total_consumption
  • sensor.ista_[room_name] (for each room)

First Steps

Check Your Sensors

1. Go to Developer Tools → States
2. Filter by "ista"
3. You should see all your sensors listed
4. Initial values may show "unknown" until the first update (can take up to 1 hour)

Force an Update

To force an immediate update:

1. Go to Developer Tools → Services
2. Select service: homeassistant.update_entity
3. Target: sensor.ista_total_consumption
4. Click Call Service

Add to Dashboard

Create a simple dashboard:

1. Go to Overview (or your main dashboard)
2. Click the three dots → Edit Dashboard
3. Click + Add Card
4. Choose Entities card
5. Add your Ista sensors:
   • sensor.ista_total_consumption
   • sensor.ista_living_room
   • sensor.ista_bedroom
   • etc.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid credentials" error

• Double-check your email and password
• Try logging into mijn.ista.nl manually first
• Make sure you're using the correct account

Sensors show "unknown"

• Wait for the first update (up to 1 hour)
• Check if data is available at mijn.ista.nl/Home/Data
• Check Home Assistant logs for errors

Integration not appearing

• Make sure you copied the files to the correct location
• Restart Home Assistant
• Check Home Assistant logs for loading errors

Check Logs

View logs in Home Assistant:

1. Go to Settings → System → Logs
2. Filter by "ista"
3. Look for error messages

Or check the log file directly:

tail -f /config/home-assistant.log | grep ista

Next Steps

Set Up Automations

Check the examples/automations.yaml file for automation ideas:

• High consumption alerts
• Daily reports
• Weekly summaries

Customize Your Dashboard

Check the examples/lovelace.yaml file for dashboard card examples:

• Gauge cards
• Statistics graphs
• Bar charts
• Custom cards (Mushroom, ApexCharts, etc.)

Monitor Energy Usage

Use the sensors to:

• Track heating consumption trends
• Identify rooms with high usage
• Set up alerts for unusual consumption
• Create energy-saving automations

Getting Help

If you need help:

• Check the full README.md
• Review the CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed information
• Open an issue on GitHub
• Check Home Assistant logs for detailed error messages

Advanced Configuration

Change Update Interval

Edit custom_components/ista/const.py:

UPDATE_INTERVAL = 1800  # 30 minutes instead of 1 hour

Remember to restart Home Assistant after making changes.

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging in configuration.yaml:

logger:
  default: info
  logs:
    custom_components.ista: debug

Enjoy!

You're all set! The integration will now automatically update your heating consumption data every hour. Use the sensors in your automations and dashboards to monitor and optimize your energy usage.