I have searched but I am not clear if I could use a "normal" Zwave or Zigbee switch for my dishwasher. First off, I don't understand why the dishwasher is on a switch. Second, i have no access to see if it is in fact plugged into an outlet or hardwired. I assume hardwired since it's a switch.
This is the manufacturer tag. Can i use a typical switch or is there an appliance-specific switch option? If there is such a thing, I can't find it.
The automation that I am planning would be a HUGE help to my SAF.
EDIT: I need power consumption also for the automation.
If you don't have access to it, it should be hardwired, but I am not sure that matters much. The bigger question would be, is it the only thing on that circuit, or at least the only device past the switch?
If it is the only device on the circuit you could use a power clamp meter like Aeotec Home Energy Monitor inside the electric panel. If it is the only device past the switch you could use a switch with power meter capabilities. If there is another device past the switch it'll get harder to isolate the power usage.
I am not an electrician, but my guess is the switch is there to be able to kill the power to the dishwasher if needed without turning off the rest of the circuit. This may actually work in your favor. Without it, the switch power meter would not be an option. I would turn the switch off and test everything else to make sure the dishwasher is the only thing behind the switch. Find out how much amperage you dishwasher draws and make sure the switch you purchase is rated over it.
Dishwashers, at least where I am are pretty much required to be on their own circuit. I suppose it could be on a switch outlet, but unless there is some odd code requirement where you are, I'm not sure why. I've never seen a built-in that wasn't hardwired, but apparently that option exists.
@TechMedX not sure about installing power monitoring devices in the panel. I know that here it is strictly prohibited. Here at least, we're also not allowed to splice wires in the panel (which of course isn't an issue with clamp-on), double lugging is also not allowed. They're pretty strict about what can be done inside the enclosure. The second part to this would be the potential for electrical noise and the metal structure shielding the signal.
I installed a GoControl FS20Z-1 appliance control (20A capacity) in a junction box, in the basement ceiling underneath the dishwasher. 20A is far more than necessary, it is only Z-Wave, nor does it power monitor. But, I don't worry too much about individual appliance draw. When the dishwasher is full, they get cleaned. There's not really any other factor in this.
The whole purpose behind installing this is to cut power in the event of a leak. Sometimes leaks are detected because of a drain problem and not a water supply issue. This way, when a leak is detected, it shuts down water to the house and cuts power to appliances that use water. This way a drainage leak won't result in the machine continuing to pump water all over in that instance.
I see they have the external antenna. That solves some of the problem. I'm still confident we wouldn't get away with it here. Some areas may permit this. Just a matter of checking local code.
If in fact you do have a switched receptacle, and are up for writing a DH, you could always install a Swidget.
These reportedly monitor power on each receptacle. One of the two is switched. Modules can be swapped depending on what options you're looking for.
I have one of these installed, with the Z-Wave + Guide Light. It pairs as a generic device so because there is no custom handler, I can't see the power consumption. Not some thing that can't be overcome.
Mine is plugged into an Iris V1 outlet under my sink and I am getting power consumption. I don’t think the type of plug/switch matters because we replaced an LG with a Miele dishwasher last year and we used the same outlet for both and haven’t had any issues.
It looks like the dishwasher and disposal are on their own 20amp circuit each with their own switch. Would a Shelly 1PM meet my needs? The tag on dishwasher says it's 9.9amps and the Shelly 1PM is rated for 16 amps. I already have a couple of Shelly 1s and like them.
Of course using what you have and like is always a good plan. But if you cannot use them and can use just a simple smart switch, Sinope are really good quality, on the HE compatible devices list and have power monitoring.
Good little robot. We've had ours since 2009 and you can barely tell it's not just a year or so old. Just don't use the harsh detergents in it. That was our initial mistake and it caused the seal to leak on the motor. We use the "natural" branded stuff. A little more expensive, but a lot cheaper than the Miele branded stuff and no services call since. That was 2010.
The model we bought has the door that opens a few inches when the cycle completes to improve the drying cycle, but I wouldn’t call that smart. I could attach a contact sensor to the side of the door to smarten it up a bit however my wife wouldn’t appreciate me modifying her high dollar dishwasher..
I didn't want to do anything to ours either. Installed it myself and I know what a pain to get at that plug. So I monitor the dedicated circuit with an Aeon HEM and I tucked a Xiaomi motion sensor on the backside, under the insulation at the bottom of the door. Sits nicely in there, but maybe that's not an option on newer models. The sensor drops on HE, so I'm hoping the driver that @markus is working on will solve that. It's not at all far from the hub, but still unreliable.
For now the sensor's on the Aqara hub, but HomeKit doesn't give info about the sensors position, so that limits what I can do.
Obviously you know your dishwasher, but it doesn’t have a toe panel? How would one remove the dishwasher since step one after cutting of the breaker would be unplugging or disconnecting the hardwired connection?
Dishwashers like my year old Bosch come with a modular power plug that snaps into the back of the machine; it is attached to an included junction box that gets mounted at installation time (which is then hard wired or can be replaced by a wall plug). It also sits on kind of a built-in drip tray base (part of some kind of leak detect/stop system) that unfortunately prevents you from seeing anything behind the toe kick. With my old dishwasher I could at least peak under there to verify everything was dry.
I'm not certain about your model, but many of the recent models are electronic, so you'd not be able to actually turn it on, unless you have a mechanical dial one, where you set the dial to wash, and it would in fact turn on when power is applied, and make sure it was loaded with soap and the door latched before all that.
Not a canidate for automation for me, but I'd be curious to see how you make out.
