The short answer
Yes — and the reason is worth understanding, because it's what makes every option below possible. Your PVS5 or PVS6 gateway already collects your production data and holds it locally, on your own network. It doesn't need a cloud service to know what your panels are doing; it needs one only to show you remotely. So anything that can read the gateway on your home network can show you your data, subscription or not.
In fact the local interface exposes more than the official app ever displayed: per-panel output, per-panel temperature and voltage, meter production and consumption, and battery state of charge where a battery is fitted.
Option 1 — Do it yourself, free
If you're comfortable with a Raspberry Pi or a Home Assistant server, this route costs nothing but your time. The established projects:
krbaker/hass-sunpower— the most widely used Home Assistant integration.smcneece/ha-esunpower— an actively maintained alternative.thomastech/SunPower-Web-Monitor— a standalone web dashboard.pypvs— a Python library for the gateway, maintained under SunStrong-Management.
What it really costs you. Setup usually needs an isolated network segment so the gateway's DHCP doesn't fight your router. Polling too often can destabilise the gateway, which was never built for sustained requests. And you're maintaining it: the March 2025 server-URL change and the September 2025 firmware authentication change each broke working setups until the community caught up. If that sounds like a fun weekend, this is a genuinely good option and we'd rather you knew about it.
Option 2 — SunStrong's free Basic tier
SunStrong's rebuilt app includes a free tier with real-time power flow and a system-health indicator. If all you want is confirmation that the system is on, it may be all you need.
What's behind the $9.99/mo paywall is the part most owners actually want: history and panel-level data. Without history you can't answer "is this year worse than last year?", and without panel-level data you can't find the one dead panel that's quietly costing you money.
Option 3 — A plug-in monitor with a free tier
The middle path: hardware that does the local reading for you, with no subscription required to see your system.
Watt Hacker's Kilowatt plan is free forever — live production and per-panel status, no card on file. You pay once for the monitor ($50, list $100) and nothing after that. Megawatt at $8/mo or $72/yr adds the memory: full history, year-over-year comparison, and alerts when a panel drops — but the free tier is a real product, not a trial.
Which should you pick?
| DIY | SunStrong Basic | Kilowatt (free tier) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Up-front cost | Pi + your time | $0 | $58 to start |
| Live production | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-panel view | Yes | Premium only | Yes |
| Long history | Yes, if you host it | Premium only | Megawatt |
| You maintain it | Yes | No | No |
There's no wrong answer here. If you're technical and enjoy it, DIY gives you everything for free. If you want it to just work and keep working, that's what a packaged monitor is for.
Where Watt Hacker fits
Watt Hacker is a small monitor that plugs into your existing SunPower PVS5 or PVS6 gateway on your own home network and reads it directly. It doesn't rely on SunPower's or SunStrong's servers, because for owners like you those are either gone or behind a paywall. No electrician and no rewiring.
- The monitor is $50 once (list $100), with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Kilowatt is free forever — live power and per-panel status, no card on file. $58 to start (monitor + $8 shipping).
- Megawatt adds full history, dollar-framed alerts and reports: $8/mo, or $72/yr ($6/mo). 1 month free with a monitor, free shipping, cancel anytime.
- Built by one person, not a company that can be sold out from under you. Who's behind it.
Common questions
Can I monitor SunPower panels without paying a monthly fee?
Yes. Your PVS5 or PVS6 gateway exposes your production data locally on your own network, so it can be read without any subscription. You can do this yourself for free with open-source software such as the Home Assistant SunPower integrations, or use a plug-in monitor that does it for you.
Does the SunStrong app have a free tier?
Yes. SunStrong's rebuilt app has a free Basic tier with real-time power flow and system health. Historical data, panel-level monitoring and analytics sit behind Premium at roughly $9.99 a month or $99 a year.
Is reading my own solar gateway allowed?
It's your equipment, on your own home network, producing data about your own house. Reading it locally does not depend on any SunPower or SunStrong service.