Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jul. 31, 2016
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Registrant Name	ECHELON CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000031347
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		4,430,055