Common Questions

No, and you don't need one. EcoWatch fetches the prices itself over your Wi-Fi. Settings are changed on a web page the clock serves on your home network: open http://ecowatch.local (or the clock's IP address) in any browser.

During the installation of the clock, you connect it to your home network. Once the clock has a functional internet connection, it retrieves information about today's electricity prices from our cloud service. Every hour, the clock updates itself so that you can see the electricity price for the current hour and the next 11-23 hours.

Green is cheap, yellow is medium, red is expensive, judged by the colour mode you choose (daily average by default). You can also see blue for negative prices if you enable it, orange for your tariff hours, and purple for hours with no price data yet, usually around 13:00 when tomorrow's prices are being published. All colours can be changed on the settings page.

You choose how EcoWatch decides what is cheap. Daily average: below today's average is green. Extended average: compare with the last 1–7 days. Own limits: set your own price thresholds. Green hours: the N cheapest hours of the day are always green. Flexible average: the daily average plus a margin you set.

The day-ahead market publishes the next day's prices around 13:00 CET. EcoWatch fetches them shortly after, normally by 13:15. Until then, hours after midnight can show purple (no data).

EcoWatch does support 15 minute prices. Each model handles the display differently.
Julia 12 hour model: Each pixel show each 15 minute interval
Julia 24 hour model: Each pixel show the average of the two 15 minute intervals. First pixel is quarter 1 and 2, second pixel is quarter 3 and 4.
Ida: Each pixel show the average of all quarters in that hour.
Johanna: The first pixel is quarter 1. The second and third pixel is quarter 2. The fourth and fifth pixel is quarter 3. The last pixel is quarter 4.

The 12-hour version shows the current hour and the next eleven with one LED per quarter hour, which is the most detailed view and reads like a normal clock. The 24-hour version shows the whole day at once with two LEDs per hour, which is better if you plan ahead (EV charging, laundry tomorrow morning). Most households pick 12-hour; planners pick 24-hour.

18 areas: Sweden SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4; Finland; Norway NO1–NO5; Denmark DK1, DK2; Germany; Netherlands; Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania; France. Prices can be shown in SEK, EUR, NOK or DKK, and the settings page is available in Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, German and English.

Yes. Add Shelly smart plugs or relays (Gen1, Gen2, Gen3 and Gen4 models, including Plug S, Plug M, Plus 1PM and Pro series) on the clock's Devices page and give each one a rule: on during green hours, on during green and yellow, off during tariff hours, on below a price you set, or on/off depending on your measured power with a P1 meter. The clock switches them locally over your Wi-Fi, no cloud needed.

Yes. Enter your MQTT broker on the clock's API page and EcoWatch appears in Home Assistant automatically with the current price, the price zone (green/yellow/red), a price-area selector and brightness control. The full MQTT topic list is in the API documentation.

Power the clock on. If it cannot reach its old network it opens its own network, named EcoWatch-Julia-xxxx (or Ida/Johanna). Connect to it with your phone, and the setup page opens (or go to 192.168.4.1). Choose your Wi-Fi and enter the password.

Switch the power off and on five times in a row, waiting for the blue progress ring each time. After the fifth time the clock blinks four times to confirm and restarts with factory settings, including Wi-Fi.

No. Prices come from Waltrix's own price service at no cost, and firmware updates are free and automatic.

Partly. The colours show the market price, which does not change your bill on a fixed contract. But many grid companies now charge time-based or peak-based grid fees, and EcoWatch's tariff display can mark those hours. And when your fixed contract ends, you already have the habit.

Electricity prices can vary significantly throughout the day, and the difference between the cheapest hour and the most expensive is usually around 1-3 SEK per kWh. This means that you can save 3-12 SEK per dishwasher/ washing machine cycle if you use them during a green hour instead of a red one. Other examples of savings:
10-minute shower: Save 1€
Filling a bathtub (150 liters): Save 2€
Charging an electric car (50 kWh): Save 15€

The clock has settings that are easily adjustable through a webbapp, both when you install the clock for the first time and once it's already on the wall. If you find our standard colors challenging, you can find some that work for you. If you're unsure, contact us for assistance.

Our clocks consume 1W at standard brightness, equivalent to a typical LED lamp found in the ceiling. At the highest brightness settings, our large clocks can draw up to 4W.