33
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world

Hi guys! I'm looking to monitor/control the power consumption of some old window-hanging aircon units, that don't really mind when the power is literally cut from the wall. I'd like to be able to see how much power they consume, and also being able to turn them on and off at the socket (the IR doesn't work all that well to begin with). I was checking about the Tapo P110M, but seems these are not sharing the power consumption offline, you need to register them in the app and they only do it through a Tapo account.

What alternatives do I have?

Important, I guess: As I live off an ex-UK colony here, we do have UK-like three pronged sockets, that's the form factor (Type G, I think?) I'd be needing.

top 15 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] wraith@lemm.ee 9 points 1 day ago

If you can get IKEA where you are the INSPELNING line has Zigbee smart plugs with energy monitoring for only like $12. I believe they have a UK variant as well.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

This like most plugs in this format is not for inductive loads so it can only handle 300W with such:

It might be OK if the AC units are small enough.

[-] agile_squirrel@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

To clarify for others, that's just for motor and AC loads. Rated capacity for resistive loads is 1800 W (15 A). Aside from a portable induction stovetop and possibly portable AC units, this is likely fine for most things people will connect to it. Its probably not a good fit for OP though.

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 3 points 21 hours ago

Wow...I was not aware of this. It's not THAT small, I think 2000W rated. I'm afraid this won't do. Anyway INSPELNING seems not to be available in this location yet.

[-] thelittleblackbird@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

How the average quality from those IKEA plugs?

In my experience Ikea quality in electronics range from ok to a big ball of crap without any apparent way to distinguish in which side they are.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 2 points 20 hours ago

If you're switching low power inconsequential things like LED lights, they're OK.

[-] OminousOrange@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago

I'm not sure if they're available with UK plugs, but I've got a pack of Thirdreality Zigbee plugs that monitor energy use and have a button on them to toggle power.

I've got them connected to Home Assistant. Two do a bit of climate control in a coldroom, the others are for occupancy lighting.

[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

If you're gonna be switching AC units, you likely want a plug that can switch inductive loads. Most can't. Well they can but their relays crap out quickly. Here's an example of a unit rated for inductive loads. It's for NA and uses Z-wave so it's not what you're looking for. They explicitly call out it can be used for AC motors. Some units explicitly say they can't be used for inductive loads but many don't and you learn the hard way.

[-] seang96@spgrn.com 5 points 1 day ago

I think something like this would do? You can search the list of supported devices there. Search by exposes power.

[-] Strit@lemmy.linuxuserspace.show 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I can whole-heartedly recommend the Aqara Power Plugs. They are Zigbee, has energy monitoring, works flawlessly with Home Assistant via ZHA and come in US/EU/UK formats. I have about 10 of these and I have not been disappointed in the 5 years I have had them.

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 1 points 21 hours ago

Thanks! I'm going to look them up. Did you use them for any heavy loads?

[-] grehund@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I have some SmartThings plugs that work similarly, I think they have a UK version.

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 2 points 21 hours ago

Thanks! I'll check it.

[-] jabjoe@feddit.uk -4 points 1 day ago

You already married to ZigBee? If not, maybe don't. It causes 2.4Ghz interference. You'll need to think about WiFi channels and avoid ones that overlap with ZigBee. Either that, or use 5Ghz WiFi and repeaters to make up for the lower penertration (if an issue).

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 1 points 3 hours ago

I have a Zigbee transmitter yeah...Only a few ikea bulbs so far, but they work well and was looking to expand.

this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2024
33 points (97.1% liked)

Selfhosted

39641 readers
267 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

  1. Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.

  2. No spam posting.

  3. Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it's not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).

  6. No trolling.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS