I've got a project I'm starting that needs a smart outlet, only this one also needs energy monitoring.
I've got a couple of Sonoff Zigbee smart outlets that I've been very happy with, and I'd go with Sonoff again except they don't appear to make a Zigbee smart outlet with energy monitoring.
There are several available that I can see on Amazon:
Innr and Moes both make one with Zigbee connectivity, and a company I've not heard of before: Minoston make a Z-Wave device.
I do know the Innr and Moes names, although I've never bought products from either of them.
Keeping all this in mind, what recommendations can I get from the community here who have worked with such smart outlets.
Note that I would much rather prefer to go Z-Wave or Zigbee on this, If I do have to go WiFi, I'll probably get a Sonoff WiFi device, and just flash it with Tasmota. But needless to say, I'd really prefer a solution where I don't have to take the device apart to reflash it.
Pretty sure you are talking about what most people call "smart plugs" not to be confused with actual outlets that go into the wall.
They are very similar to Zooz, supposedly (probably) the same manufacturer so the outside looks just like Zooz. May have different hardware and firmware inside.
The Minoston or the Zooz ZEN04 are solid for Z-wave. You pay a little extra for Z-wave but you get more features usually. Zigbee typically gives only a wattage reading. If you want a less expensive but decent Zigbee option, check Third Reality.
My mistake. I'm referring to a smart plug "external plug-in" type of device.
Further down the thread, jtp10181 mentioned the Zooz ZEN04. That's exactly the sort of thing I'm after Plus I have a number of Zooz switches, so this ought to work well with them.
Many users do like ZEN04 plugs. I. have/had two of these and they are terrible for monitoring inductive loads such as refrigerators. Maybe this is fixed width latest version/firmware but something to think about. From the other side I never had any problems with Sengled plugs.
That's definitely useful information to have. In my case, I'm working with a purely resistive load, so that should not be an issue. But I do appreciate the heads up about this.
I have my oil boiler plugged into a ZEN04LR and have had no problems, knock on wood.
The burner has a motor, and the boiler has steady state of about 180 watts when running.
I also have had my fridge plugged into one, for a few days, with no problem.
I also plugged my new LG Combo washer dryer into one for a few days and it worked fine.
The safety cutoff does indeed work and is consistent.
I have a electric space heater plugged into one in a bathroom, using it only for an auto off in 30 minutes, since I'm growing forgetful, lol. I didn't look at watts, but the heater is rated at 1500 watts.
I got a new one downstairs, and it apparently has some kind of ramped usage, or maybe this is typical of resistive loads and the one upstairs is more anemic, where it initially uses more than the 1875 W cutoff of the plug.
The plug cuts off consistently when the heater is started up on high. If I start the thing on low, and then transition to high, it does its 1500 W rating, with the plug continuing to be energized.
Very good for you.
I have/had only one and tried it for monitoring freezer. Power reporting was very sporadic plus few times cut off feature turned freezer off. It simply could be a bad one or the firmware was not fine tuned at that time (it was one of the first advertised with a big discount).
There have been erroneous power/amp readings (internal to the device) in the past that shut it down.
The safety shutdown, can be a blessing or a curse.
Maybe it's improved, I don't know.
I put it on the boiler as well as the other equipment just to get a feel for their operation, but I'm not traveling, or something.
I don't think I would rely on any plug for a critical function, over time and unattended, just because of the erroneous shutdowns I've experienced.
I have read of others with a similar experience with zigbee plugs.
