WattBattle: An Open Source Web App to Compare IAMMETER Solar Data with Friends
WattBattle: An Open Source Web App to Compare IAMMETER Solar Data with Friends
What is WattBattle?
WattBattle is a lightweight, open-source web app that lets you compare your solar PV system performance with your friends—using real-time data from your IAMMETER energy meter.
This fun tool is built entirely on the IAMMETER Cloud API, allowing users to visualize and rank key energy metrics such as solar generation, energy consumption, exported energy, and self-use rate.
Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or a developer, WattBattle demonstrates how easily you can create your own apps or dashboards with IAMMETER's open and developer-friendly ecosystem.
How the Idea Started
We came across an Amazon review of the IAMMETER WEM3050T that said:
“The free cloud tier is plenty for daily tracking, and the month-long Pro trial gave me charts I actually showed off to friends (never thought I’d brag about watts).”
This inspired us to explore how IAMMETER users might share or even show off their solar energy data in a more interactive way. We first created a blog post to highlight IAMMETER's sharing features:
👉 Let IAMMETER Help You Show Off Your Solar PV System to Friends
Then we built WattBattle, a simple web app to make solar comparisons fun. The full source code is open-sourced on GitHub:
🔗 https://github.com/lewei50/iammeter/tree/master/WattBattle
You can try the live demo here:
🌐 http://laoliu.iammeter.com:3000/
Why This Matters (Even for Beginners)
WattBattle was built by someone with a background in C programming, with zero prior Node.js experience. Thanks to ChatGPT and IAMMETER’s clear API, it only took a few hours to get this up and running.
This proves that you don't need to be a professional web developer to create awesome tools using IAMMETER data. If you have an idea, the IAMMETER Cloud API can help bring it to life!
How WattBattle Works
WattBattle uses the IAMMETER-Cloud API to:
- Accept a user’s IAMMETER
tokenandSN. - Fetch kWh values by calling IAMMETER’s API twice—once for the latest reading and once for the first reading of the day (using the
rtctimeparameter). - Calculate daily metrics (solar generation, energy consumption, exported energy) based on the user’s selected phase types (
inverterorgrid). - Compare results with other users and display rankings.
- Rankings reset daily to encourage continuous participation.
How to Play the Solar Ranking Game
1. Input Device Info
Enter your IAMMETER SN and token. If you're just testing, click "Use Demo".
2. Configure Your Meter
In the Data tab, choose each phase type as inverter or grid. These selections determine how your data is categorized.
3. View and Compete
Head to the Summary tab to see your daily performance, then click "Compare Now" to enter the leaderboard.
4. Check the Rankings
See where you stand among other IAMMETER users!
Join the IAMMETER DIY Developer Community
WattBattle is just one example of what you can build using the IAMMETER API and real-time energy data from IAMMETER energy meters.
If you're a web developer, feel free to fork the repo and improve it!
If you're a hobbyist or beginner, let your creativity flow—ChatGPT and IAMMETER will help you get started.
If you’ve built a tool, game, visualization, or anything fun using IAMMETER, we’d love to hear from you!
👉 Tell us about it, and we’ll reward you with IAMMETER reward points!
Build Your Own IAMMETER App
Want to make your own solar app, home energy dashboard, or comparison tool like WattBattle?
Explore the IAMMETER Cloud API:
🔗 https://www.iammeter.com/docs/system-api
Get real-time data from IAMMETER energy meters, visualize it your way, and share it with the world.
Together, let’s grow the IAMMETER developer community!
