Hardware Matrix

Is HLW8012 Power Monitor Module Compatible with Home Assistant (ESPHome)?

Verdict Badge
VERDICT: [ COMPATIBLE (MANUAL CONFIG REQUIRED) ]
Protocol: Pulse Frequency / 5V Logic
Bridge Needed: NO
⚡ DANGER: MAINS VOLTAGE PRESENT

This installation carries line voltage capable of causing severe electric shock, injury, or fire. Disconnect power at the breaker before wiring, verify with a non-contact voltage tester, and consult a qualified electrician if you are not confident working with mains circuits. Do not rely on this page as your only reference — confirm terminal assignments against the manufacturer's own documentation.

Electrical Specifications

Always confirm pin assignments against the manufacturer datasheet before wiring.

📖 Source: Hiliwei HLW8012 datasheet
Power Input5V DC supply (built-in 2.43V reference; resets below 4V); samples the mains line via onboard shunt and divider
GPIO Logic VoltageSEL/CF/CF1 logic at the 5V supply rail
Ingress ProtectionNone — exposed board at line potential, enclosure required

Compatibility Overview

The energy metering chip inside the original Sonoff POW on a bare breakout: samples the mains line through an onboard shunt and divider and reports as pulse frequencies on CF/CF1.

Wiring

Terminal assignments for this device

Terminal diagram not shown.

This device carries mains voltage, and its terminal markings vary by model and revision. Publishing a generic AC terminal diagram here would risk you wiring live conductors from a drawing that does not match the part in your hand — so we do not print one. Use the manufacturer's own installation sheet for terminal identification.

Technical Specification Matrix

Feature / Attribute Specification / Status
Hardware Protocol Pulse Frequency / 5V Logic
Bridge Required NO
Border Router Needed None
Hardware Capabilities & Peripherals
Power (W) Current (A) Voltage (V) Energy (kWh)

Note: these entities come from the ESPHome configuration you flash — each one needs its matching component in that YAML before it appears.

Pairing Complexity Advanced
Factory Reset Instruction Hold BOOT button for 3s.

Wire, Flash, Adopt, Check

1

Wire it up

Follow the bus reference above. The host pins in the configuration are defaults — any free GPIO of the right kind will do, as long as the YAML names the pin you actually used.

2

Flash the configuration

Create a new device in the ESPHome dashboard (the Home Assistant add-on) and paste the configuration below into it, or save it as emb_esp32_hlw8012_esphome.yaml and run esphome run emb_esp32_hlw8012_esphome.yaml. The first flash goes over USB. If it is not detected, hold BOOT button for 3s to put it in download mode. Every update after that is over the air.

3

Adopt it in Home Assistant

Settings → Devices & Services. A node on the same network shows up as a discovered ESPHome device within a minute of joining Wi-Fi; choose Configure and enter the API encryption key from your secrets.yaml. If discovery does not find it, add the ESPHome integration by hand with the node's IP address.

4

Check it works

The entities on this page appear under the device in Home Assistant and update at the configured interval. The ESPHome log (Logs in the dashboard, or esphome logs) reports the setup of each component and any bus scan results at boot.

ESPHome Configuration

Starting configuration for HLW8012 Power Monitor Module on ESP32. Untested on hardware — verify wiring and pins against your own board.

# ESPHome configuration for HLW8012 Power Monitor Module
# Host: ESP32. Pin numbers below are host-side defaults — any free
# GPIO will do, and you should change them to match your own wiring.

esphome:
  name: emb_esp32_hlw8012_esphome
  friendly_name: "HLW8012 Power Monitor Module"

esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

logger:

api:
  encryption:
    key: !secret api_encryption_key

ota:
  - platform: esphome
    password: !secret ota_password

wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password

# current_resistor and voltage_divider defaults match the Sonoff POW;
# a bare module needs the values of ITS shunt and divider or every
# reading is silently scaled wrong.
sensor:
  - platform: hlw8012
    sel_pin: GPIO5
    cf_pin: GPIO14
    cf1_pin: GPIO13
    current:
      name: "Current"
    voltage:
      name: "Voltage"
    power:
      name: "Power"
    energy:
      name: "Energy"
    update_interval: 60s

Before you flash: the !secret values come from your secrets.yaml, and the GPIO numbers are host-side defaults rather than properties of this part — change them to match how you actually wired it.

🛠️ Hardware Correction & Field Contributions

Report a Pinout Error or Submit Tested Code Snippets

Found a pin mapping quirk or built a custom ESPHome YAML driver for HLW8012 Power Monitor Module? Submit a pull request or report corrections to our index.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does HLW8012 Power Monitor Module work without an internet connection?
100% local pulse-frequency decoding.
How is HLW8012 Power Monitor Module powered and wired to the host board?
5V VCC; SEL=GPIO5 CF=GPIO14 CF1=GPIO13; board sits at line potential — isolate before wiring and enclose before energising.
How does the host board reach Home Assistant (ESPHome)?
Wi-Fi 2.4GHz.

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