If you are working with IoT devices, you know they generate a huge amount of data every second. Without proper visualization, it’s difficult to understand device performance, energy usage, or machine health.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to create IoT monitoring dashboard in Grafana step by step. This beginner-friendly tutorial will help you set up, customize, and manage dashboards for IoT projects.
Why Use Grafana for IoT Monitoring?
Grafana is one of the best open-source tools to visualize IoT data because:
- It supports real-time monitoring
- Works with databases like InfluxDB, Prometheus, and MySQL
- Allows interactive dashboards with multiple panels
- Offers alerts and notifications for device health
👉 If you’re new to Grafana, check our guide on how to visualize data in Grafana before starting with IoT dashboards.
Step 1: Install Grafana
Download and install Grafana from the official Grafana site.
It works on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Docker.
Step 2: Connect IoT Data Source
IoT devices usually send data to a time-series database like InfluxDB or Prometheus. To connect:
- Go to Configuration → Data Sources
- Select database type
- Enter connection details
- Save & Test
Step 3: Create IoT Dashboard
- Click + → Dashboard → Add New Panel
- Choose your IoT data source
- Write query to fetch data (e.g., temperature, voltage, machine status)
- Select visualization type (line graph, gauge, table)
- Save dashboard
Step 4: Customize Dashboard Panels
For IoT, some useful panels are:
- Gauge Panel → For temperature or humidity
- Bar Chart → For energy consumption
- Time Series Graph → For sensor trends
- Status Panel → For device online/offline state
Step 5: Setup Alerts & Notifications
IoT monitoring dashboards should have alerts. For example:
- Temperature above 80°C → Trigger email
- Power usage exceeds threshold → Notify Slack/Telegram
Best Practices
- Use filters & tags to organize devices
- Keep dashboards clean and lightweight
- Optimize queries for faster response
- Secure dashboards with role-based access
FAQs
Q1: Can I use Grafana for multiple IoT devices?
Yes, you can connect different IoT devices and visualize all in one dashboard.
Q2: Do I need coding to create IoT dashboards?
No, most of the work is UI-based. Basic query knowledge helps.
Q3: Which database is best for IoT data in Grafana?
InfluxDB is the most popular for time-series IoT data.
Conclusion
Grafana makes it easy to create IoT monitoring dashboards even if you are a beginner. With just a few steps, you can install Grafana, connect IoT data sources, build panels, and set alerts.
👉 For more details, check our full guide on how to visualize data in Grafana.
