I have broadlink RM pros in most of my rooms and have been using them to turn my room heaters (multiple split AC and one gas heater). This has worked well using my android box with tasker/ifttt to turn them on by voice or trigger. I now moving my things to hubitat and got them all working well.
Although it would be good to report the status of the A/C and Gas heater to hubitat for cases where they are switched on manually.
I was thinking the Aqara vibration sensor, or perhaps there is a secret device somewhere that could detect the beeping of the A/C. The vibration one could detect an on state continuously I think (assuming that the vibrations keep triggering the sensor and it reporting back every few minutes. Although I'm a little concerned music may also trigger the vibration sensor although I'm hoping the sensitivity can be adjusted to suit.
I could consider an esp8266 device perhaps and use hubduino (my blinds are connected this way). I'm also using some esp8266 devices to detect power to some of my lights but they plug in (led downlights) so they were easier to do this way (the a/c and gas heater can't be done this way).
Another way could be using hubduino and Temperature Measurement (DHT22 because I already have some that I didn't implement into another application) or perhaps a aqara temperature sensor placed in the right location. Could detect a sudden temperature change (heat in winter and cool in summer) from the outlet of the A/C and gas heater.
Any suggestions of a good way to do this? All ways I listed above are reasonably cheap, with the vibration one or the aqara temp sensor being far easier so leaning towards them.
Here is a list and my initial thoughts. Leaning toward battery operated options ideally due to the location of the heaters and ac. Although the photo resistor option is tempting due to it being quite reliable but getting power is a challenge.
Aqara Vibration Sensor
Easy to implement
Reasonably cheap
May not be sensitive enough to detect the vibration
Battery life may be reduced if often triggered
Esp8266 with dht22 temperature sensor
Really cheap
Needs power supplied to it which is a reasonable challenge to do discretely
A little bit of work
Fairly confident it will detect turning on
Aqara temp sensor
Similar to above but a lot less work
No power supply required so easy to mount and discrete
Sensor component is a little larger than esp8266 and dht option
Sound level detection
Haven't found an option for this yet
Light detection using an esp8266 and photoresistor
Already have these so very cheap
All but the gas heater can be reasonably discretely done (photoresistor covers the operation light)
Should be quite reliable and minimal false triggers
I think electricity metering will be the best move because more reliable.
I can manage the way my geothermal unit works by only measuring 2 parameters: temperature and Amps.
To keep my explanation simple:
Current < 1 A: stand-by
2A < Current < 3A : blowing (fan only)
Current > 10A : running (fan + exchanger)
I measure the dT to see if my unit is cooling or heating. Some programming and Voilà !
And measuring the current can show you more indirect events. If the blower is nearly defective, the amps increases dramatically. If the filter is to be replaced (dirty), the amps of the blower increases too (the fan must run harder to blow the air through the filter), etc. Plus quantify the money spent on heating/cooling.
So keep searching the right power monitor, worth the purchase and independant of external events (external vibrations, noise around). Aeotec ? Qubino ?
For the pic, I know it's ugly. I'm colorblind and I work with plc with very tiny amount of memory...
Mike
OK thanks for the feedback. I have installed 2x esp8266 with photo resistor today as I already had them and I'm on leave so found some time to get them working OK.
I will look into power management for the future though, as I am sure its more reliable and offers far more information.
