--- title: "MQTT Broker for Smart Energy & EV Charging | ConnectMQ" description: "A managed MQTT broker for smart meters, EV chargers, inverters and batteries — readings to monitoring and billing in parallel, commands on dedicated topics, TLS throughout." url: "https://connectmq.com/energy-utilities/" language: "en" --- Smart Energy # MQTT for Smart Energy Smart meters, EV chargers, inverters and batteries report readings and receive control commands. Publish/subscribe lets billing, monitoring and control systems consume the same data independently. [Try it free](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [Quickstart](https://connectmq.com/developers/) No card required What you can build ## Build your energy platform on ConnectMQ You build the applications, ConnectMQ moves the data. Meters, chargers and inverters publish once; monitoring, billing, grid analytics and your customer app each subscribe in parallel, and commands go back on dedicated topics. Your sites **Smart meters**energy/{site}/meter-{id}/readings **EV chargers**energy/{site}/charger-{id}/session **Solar inverters**energy/{site}/inverter-{id}/power **Battery storage**energy/{site}/battery-{id}/soc **ConnectMQ** - TLS on 8883 - per-device ACL - QoS 0, 1 and 2 - retained messages What you build on top **Monitoring & SCADA** **Billing** **Grid & load analytics** **Customer app** What you get ## Smart Energy on ConnectMQ - Readings flow to monitoring and billing in parallel - Commands to chargers and inverters on dedicated topics - TLS for data that matters to customers and operators - Access control between sites and device types example topic design ``` energy/site-12/meter-03/readings energy/site-12/charger-07/session energy/site-12/charger-07/commands ``` Publish once ## One reading, every system in parallel A meter publishes its reading once. Monitoring, billing and analytics each subscribe on their own — none of them polls the meter, and adding a new consumer never touches the device. Commands to chargers travel back on their own topic, with their own permissions. **Fan-out** **Smart meter**energy/site-12/meter-03/readings`{"kWh":18452.6,"kW":7.4}` **ConnectMQ** **Monitoring**live load curve **Billing**15-minute intervals **Grid analytics**forecasts and peak shaving **Commands go back on their own topic**`energy/site-12/charger-07/commands``{"maxKw":11}` Real-life example ## Stay under the grid limit while every car charges Dynamic load management, one of the most common MQTT setups in energy: the site meter publishes its load, the charging backend subscribes, and charger commands go back on their own topics. Site and backend both connect out to ConnectMQ over TLS. Charging site 12 → ConnectMQ → Charging backend. Publishes the site load every few seconds. Another car plugs in and the site reaches 38.5 kW. Subscribed through ConnectMQ: it sees the 35 kW connection limit exceeded and lowers charger 07. Reduces its power and reports the new session state. Gets a notification: the site is back under its limit, and every car keeps charging.ConnectMQMQTT broker · TLS 8883Limit exceeded → lower charger 0727.4 kW38.5 kW34.2 kW≤ 35 kWCharging backendLoad management · subscribedSite load27.4 kW38.5 kW34.2 kWLimit 35 kW110522707Charging site 12Meter + chargers · 35 kW grid limitenergy/site-12/meter-03/readings {"kW":38.5}energy/site-12/meter-03/readings {"kW":38.5}energy/site-12/charger-07/commands {"maxKw":7}energy/site-12/charger-07/commands {"maxKw":7}energy/site-12/charger-07/session {"kW":7}Site 12 · nowBack under 35 kW — charger 07 at 7 kWCharging site 12 → ConnectMQ → Charging backend. Publishes the site load every few seconds. Another car plugs in and the site reaches 38.5 kW. Subscribed through ConnectMQ: it sees the 35 kW connection limit exceeded and lowers charger 07. Reduces its power and reports the new session state. Gets a notification: the site is back under its limit, and every car keeps charging.ConnectMQMQTT broker · TLS 8883Limit exceeded → lower charger 0727.4 kW38.5 kW34.2 kW≤ 35 kWCharging backendLoad management · subscribedSite load27.4 kW38.5 kW34.2 kWLimit 35 kW110522707Charging site 12Meter + chargers · 35 kW grid limitenergy/site-12/meter-03/readings {"kW":38.5}energy/site-12/meter-03/readings {"kW":38.5}energy/site-12/charger-07/commands {"maxKw":7}energy/site-12/charger-07/commands {"maxKw":7}energy/site-12/charger-07/session {"kW":7}Site 12 · nowBack under 35 kW — charger 07 at 7 kW 1. 18:04 **Site meter** Publishes the site load every few seconds. Another car plugs in and the site reaches 38.5 kW. `energy/site-12/meter-03/readings → {"kW":38.5}` 2. 18:04 **Charging backend** Subscribed through ConnectMQ: it sees the 35 kW connection limit exceeded and lowers charger 07. `energy/site-12/charger-07/commands → {"maxKw":7}` 3. 18:04 **Charger 07** Reduces its power and reports the new session state. `energy/site-12/charger-07/session → {"kW":7}` 4. 18:05 **Site operator** Gets a notification: the site is back under its limit, and every car keeps charging. **Billing never misses a reading:** it subscribes to `energy/site-12/+/readings` on its own, with its own credentials — load management and billing never get in each other’s way. [Python code sample](https://connectmq.com/code-samples/python/) [Go code sample](https://connectmq.com/code-samples/go/) Platform ## Features that help with Smart Energy [ ### Dashboard & monitoring Live topic cards, signals and ISA-95 workspace Learn more](https://connectmq.com/monitoring/)[ ### Rules & alerts Threshold rules, alert log and notifications Learn more](https://connectmq.com/rules-alerts/)[ ### Connectivity MQTT 3.1.1 and 5 over TCP, TLS, WS and WSS Learn more](https://connectmq.com/connectivity/) Solutions ## Other ways teams use ConnectMQ [ ### Industrial IoT & Smart Manufacturing Machines, PLC gateways, OEE and quality data ](https://connectmq.com/industrial-iot/)[ ### Smart Home Hubs, sensors and Home Assistant setups ](https://connectmq.com/smart-home/)[ ### Fleet Telematics Vehicle tracking, telematics and cold chain ](https://connectmq.com/fleet-logistics/)[ ### Connected Products & Smart Hardware Smart devices you ship to your own customers ](https://connectmq.com/connected-products/)[ ### Connected Robots & Physical AI Robot fleets talking to fleet managers and AI pipelines ](https://connectmq.com/robotics/)[ ### Data Center Monitoring Power, cooling and rack environment ](https://connectmq.com/data-centers/)[ ### Smart City Streetlights, parking, air and waste sensors ](https://connectmq.com/smart-city/)[ ### Smart Agriculture Soil probes, weather stations and irrigation ](https://connectmq.com/smart-agriculture/)[ ### Prototyping & Education From first ESP32 to classroom labs ](https://connectmq.com/prototyping-education/) Industries & use cases ## Where teams use Smart Energy ### Industries - [Automotive](https://connectmq.com/industries/automotive/) - [Oil & Gas](https://connectmq.com/industries/oil-gas/) - [Utilities](https://connectmq.com/industries/utilities/) - [Renewable Energy](https://connectmq.com/industries/renewable-energy/) ### Use cases - [Predictive Maintenance](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/predictive-maintenance/) - [Asset Performance Tracking](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/asset-performance-tracking/) - [Energy Management](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/energy-management/) - [EV Charging Management](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/ev-charging-management/) - [Remote Asset Monitoring](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/remote-asset-monitoring/) - [Smart Metering](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/smart-metering/) - [Solar & Wind Farm Monitoring](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/solar-wind-farm-monitoring/) - [Smart Store Operations](https://connectmq.com/use-cases/smart-store-operations/) Pilot ## Pilot one site this week Start on the Free plan with no card. Basic covers up to 100 concurrent connections — enough for the meters, chargers and inverters of a pilot site. Move to Scale when you roll out. [Start for free](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [See pricing](https://connectmq.com/pricing/) ## Articles [All articles](https://connectmq.com/blog/) Managed MQTT Cloud ### [How to Choose an IoT MQTT Broker: 12 Criteria and the Questions to Ask Your Vendor](https://connectmq.com/blog/how-to-choose-an-iot-mqtt-broker/) A practical 12-point checklist for choosing an IoT MQTT broker, a table of questions to ask every vendor, and a five-minute hands-on test you can run against broker.connectmq.com. September 21, 20269 min read MQTT Security ### [MQTT Security Best Practices: A 12-Point Checklist for IoT Teams](https://connectmq.com/blog/mqtt-security-best-practices/) A hands-on MQTT security checklist covering TLS, credentials, client IDs, topic design, payload validation, rate limits and certificate checks, plus how ConnectMQ handles each point. September 28, 202611 min read Industrial IoT ### [Sparkplug B and the Unified Namespace: Structuring Industrial IoT Data on MQTT](https://connectmq.com/blog/mqtt-sparkplug-b-unified-namespace/) Sparkplug B gives industrial MQTT a strict session and payload model, while a Unified Namespace gives your plant data a single, readable home. Here is how they fit together, with topic design tips and live examples. August 26, 20269 min read