I'm looking for a power sensing smart plug that I can use to trigger an action when it senses power.
For example, when I turn my projector on it will sense power is being utilized at the AC outlet, and then I can have a rule to turn off the room lights then turn on and dim the accent lights. Then when I turn off the projector, it will sense this and I can turn off the accent lights and turn on the room lights.
I know this type of device exists because I have seen it demonstrated in a YouTube video. Now I just need to find it.
I'v had good luck with the Zooz plug designed for appliances. Currently have one on a dehumidifier and it has been very reliable. Suggest configuring it so that it reports less frequently than the defaults, though, or it creates a lot of traffic.
I'm a big fan of the first gen Aeon HEM for this purpose. I don't have restrictions on a typical amperage that the circuit can draw, and I don't have the typical issues where the hub goes nuts because a power monitoring plug is being overly chatty on the Z-Wave network.
They're still available on eBay for around $70, so since they can independently monitor two different circuits of any normal household amperage for $35 a circuit, it's a steal.
I use this driver from @mike.maxwell that @ogiewon ported to HE, and I modified to add button pushes 3 & 4 to indicate when devices start too. It still works great. I rarely use the button push capabilities of the driver anymore, but instead just use the custom attributes of the driver in RM rules. I just do a find in the driver and replace the names "washer" and "dryer" for the name of the devices I'm controlling so it shows up that way in the driver and I don't get confused later when I'm troubleshooting or setting up new rules.
I use the Salus SP600 smart outlets. I have these wired in to my bathroom and EN Suite exhaust fans.
When shower turns on, plug detects power increase and turns on fan.
Haven't had a single issue with them and they make good repeaters.
It's been a while but I think I had some issues with this one - something about having to have both plugs in use or you always get some current going to the one being used - net result for me was a lamp with an LED bulb never went off completely just dimmed very low. It could have been a defective unit though.
When your shower comes on your smart outlet detects power and turns on the fan?
I'm not following you here. What power is generated by your shower? And are you referring to your bathroom fan controlled by a wall switch? How are you using a smart plug to turn on the bathroom fan when the shower comes on?
The shower units I use have a pump and automatically adjust the temperature to it's preset level. Because my hot water pressure is low I need a pump. These are mounted in the loft space above the shower heads. They were hard wired. I cut the wiring and fitted a plug and socket. I then plugged the smart outlet into the socket and the plug into the smart outlet.
When the shower is turned on manually the outlet detects the power going above a certain level and then turns on the exhaust fan.
I also have a humidity sensor fitted and when the humidity drops below a certain level it turns off the exhaust fan only if the shower is off.
I also turn the exhaust fan off 30 minutes after the shower being turned off regardless of humidity level as a belt and braces.
I have two brand new Peanuts and there is a field for power monitor but not working. I was hoping being new they would not need to be updated for that functionality. I was apparently wrong....
So there used to be a hub/router called the HomeScreen router that was the same as the old Almond router. You could install the Almond firmware and then use it to update the plugs. No longer available on Amazon but maybe Ebay..
Yep, some work out of the box, and some need the update. Both of mine needed the update to report power.
I still advise people to avoid the Peanut plugs whenever possible. Lots of reports of problems with them killing the mesh. There are much better options at this point.
Lovely, that's not good. Luckily I only purchased a few. So hard to get a grip on stuff, I saw how great some people felt they were in other postings. Shame I tossed the boxes... Guess time to research better option. After previous research, I thought these were just that though haha. Price is too good for them to be too good haha.. Thanks for that information!
Pondered that. Thank you. But I guess not worth it for a couple units and with the risk they may potentially introduce issues.
Looks like they are going for $20 or more on Ebay. Might be able to make out good here. Maybe I should sell my two plugs and the Homescreen router that I purchased to update the plugs!
