Most of the time it really depends on your provider. We have spectrum for internet, and a powerwall2 for backup. More often than not when we lose power, Spectrum does to, so we will lose internet. Since my router is on a circuit backed up by the Powerwall I still have Wi-Fi, so my local devices and automations still work normally. Thats one reason I haven't been very enthusiastic about including the few cloud dependent devices i have in to my hubs.
Humm good question, the short attention span side says all at once, the save a little juice side says staggered. I think that voice is screaming loudest at the moment. Staggered it is!
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Have to knock out a few honey do’s this weekend, but should be able to look at it next week.
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Well if you wouldn't mind paying the 20 a month fee, you could get a cellular modem for failover. As soon as the router realizes it can't get to it's primary gateway it will failover to the cellular line.
That has hit my radar a few times, and it's still a possibility. Generally, the only cloud dependent things I have are my Racho irrigation controller, and an Ecobee thermostat. I can still control the ecobee directly at the device if needed, but since the HVAC will drain the Powerwall pretty fast, it really doesn't matter if I have cloud or local control. When the power goes out, I usually shut down those circuits (any ideas how I could automate THAT without replacing the entire electrical box?) So far, I've been happy enough to more or less use them independently. If I do decide to integrate them, it probably won't happen until the new hub comes out (assuming it has the rumored external antenna's) and I have to rebuild my meshes anyway. If that happens, I'll integrate the cloud devices to my existing devices hub. It's just not a priority right now.
Well you could get a honeywell z-wave t6 pro instead then on power failure lower or turn off the AC/HEAT.
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@thebearmay I have an Aeotec Smart Energy Switch (outlet) that reports voltage. Can this device type be added to the app so it can be selected as one of the PowerSource devices to detect/verify power outage (i.e. when voltage drops to zero or below certain number)?
I want to use this device as a secondary check to a Ring Extender to confirm that power is really out and not simply a failure of the RIng Extender.
Is it using capability VoltageMeasurement or EnergyMeasurement? (or both)
I use voltage as power always appears as zero.
In a power outage? The switch has a battery backup?
No battery. This device reports input (house power) voltage regardless of the switch state (on or off). It would not operate in a power outage so could not be used as a primary trigger, only as a secondary.
Use case:
When a Ring Extender (with battery) reports power switches from mains to battery triggering a hub shutdown in x minutes, this device on the same house electrical circuit could cancel the pending shutdown IF the voltage is in normal range (e.g. 110-125v. US). This would prevent unnecessary shutdown in case of faulty Extender.
Also could be used by HE if it is still active, not shutdown, to confirm that power has been restored (again as secondary to Extender power status).
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So a question, if you remove power from it, does the voltage attribute actually go to zero or stay at it’s last state?
Don’t know. I assumed value would not be persistent. I will test later today.
@thebearmay you could consider leveraging the RM API and invoke the actions on the selected rules. This would open up endless possibilities vs having tons of logic built into your app.
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The last voltage value when powered persists. Nevermind. Request withdrawn. Sorry for the detour.
Once the device loses power, it presumably can’t report anything…
v0.2.0 Changes
- Adds capability to select devices to turn off when outage detected
- Adds capability to select devices to turn on when power is restored
- Defaults to the devices selected for outage
- Has option to split into 2 lists with different delays to allow staggered power up
- Adds options to run RM Rules at outage or power restoration
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As far as battery condition goes, I wonder if I could plug a sensor with a USB power option, like a Zooz motion, into a TalentCell that has USB output, and get something meaningful out of it. I have both outside and inside versions, and recall that they behave differently when changing parameters.
Any other suggestions for monitoring backup battery charge level? There has to be something off the shelf for this, you'd think.
edit: I started another topic after I thought of it, but ideally, I suppose, it'd be nice if the voltage the hub is seeing could be accessed, similarly to temperature.
edit2: I think the Zen29 Outdoor Motion Detector will work whereas the ZSE18 won't. The 29's usb power supply powers a frame that replaces the 3-battery holder. Might not report in a timely manner though.
If you can afford a power wall. Lol. Maybe pick up an apc smart ups smtxxxx with a net card and use my smart ups driver to detect power outage and monitor ups battery level to shut down the hub cleanly when it gets low.
I was able to get the ZSE29 to wake up and report battery status every 10 minutes. I plugged it into the TalentCell, which still has all lights showing despite powering the Hub since 9 last night. I'm going to let it run down and see what the battery reporting does. Not too neat, for sure. There has to be a better way.
On a side note, we had a power outage earlier today, and starting and stopping a couple of generators, several power cuts and restores-the stuff of likely db corruption-that is, without battery backup. 
