Energy and solar boards

An energy board shows your solar power, the energy that you use and the carbon that you save. The numbers are Live figures. You can type them, or a Data Source can send them from a meter or a Google Sheet.

Use the Energy Dashboard template, or Energy Dashboard (Portrait) for a tall screen. Or, in the board builder, add the Energy block.

Set up the figures

1. Make a Live figures set, for example "Roof solar".
2. Add a figure for each number. Give each figure a unit.
3. Use kW for power now, kWh for energy today and kg CO2e for carbon.
4. Use clear words in each label, for example "Solar now" or "Energy used today".

The board finds each figure from its unit and its label. A target on the solar figure is the size of your solar panels, for example 10 kW.

The Energy block

1. In the board builder, add the Energy block to a space.
2. In Live figures, select your set.
3. In Style, select Dial and tiles, Tiles only or Dial only.
4. In Compare with, select trees, miles in a car, kettles boiled or phones charged.

The dial shows how much of the power in use now comes from solar. With no figure for power in use, it shows solar power against the target.

If the block finds the wrong figure, select the correct figure number in Solar power now and the fields below it.

How the board calculates

• Carbon saved, with no carbon figure: solar energy today × 0.207 kg CO2e for each kWh. This is the UK Government 2024 factor for grid electricity.
• One tree takes in about 21.8 kg of CO2 in one year.
• One mile in an average car makes about 0.27 kg CO2e.
• One full kettle needs about 0.17 kWh. One phone charge needs about 0.015 kWh.

These numbers are approximate. Use them to show your progress, not for a report.