Modbus in Home Assistant: an easier way to connect inverters and meters

Modbus is a way for devices to exchange data. It is used by various types of equipment, including inverters, heat pumps, and meters. If a device is supported in Home Assistant, its readings can be used for home monitoring and automations.

For a household in Ukraine, this data can help track a solar system’s output or heating performance. The protocol itself does not guarantee compatibility or mean that every model can be connected without additional configuration.

Previously, setting up many Modbus devices could require manually defining a register map in YAML, Home Assistant’s configuration format. In version 2026.9, integrations that already know how to communicate with a particular device can offer it as a selection in the interface.

The update also lets those integrations share a single Modbus connection instead of competing for it. This makes setup easier for supported devices, but does not automatically add support for every inverter, meter, or heat pump.

Find the exact model of your equipment and check whether a matching Home Assistant integration is available. Also confirm which Modbus connection method the device supports and how it connects to your system: the method depends on the equipment and the infrastructure you have.

If you still need to enter parameters manually, check the manufacturer’s and integration’s documentation first. Don’t assume that devices from the same brand, or models with similar names, use the same register map.

Once connected successfully, data from a compatible device can be used in Home Assistant to monitor its operation. This is useful if you want to see readings in one place, but the available data and update frequency depend on the specific device and integration.

Start with one useful task—such as viewing inverter or meter readings—and check that it works with a supported model. Interface-based setup reduces the need to define registers manually, but it does not replace checking compatibility and verifying the readings.