Outdoor outlet with power monitoring?

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1

Does anyone know of an outdoor outlet (zigbee or zwave) that also reports power usage?

I use a GE outdoor outlet on my pool bleach pump, and while it is working fine I thought it would be extra nice to have power monitoring as a second verification that bleach injection is actually happening. So thought I would investigate.

I would just replace the outlet with a smart one, but it is a GFCI outlet.

2

I'm assuming the current outlet is 110 volts. Have you thought about using a Zigbee or Z-Wave smart plug with power monitoring capability? You could plug it into the current GFCI outlet and use it to control your bleach pump and check power wattage levels. The bad thing, is that the smart plug would stick out a few inches from the outlet so you'd have to find a way to enclose it to weatherproof the setup. I'm currently using a Centralite smart plug and a Securifi Peanut smart plug for power monitoring, both of which work great.

3

Yeah, that is technically possible too. Would just need to think through what I could fit / how much re-work I want to do.

Good point, though.

4

Use your desired smart outlet, but change the breaker to a GFCI one. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Square-D-Homeline-15-Amp-Single-Pole-Plug-On-Neutral-Dual-Function-CAFCI-and-GFCI-Circuit-Breaker-HOM115PDFC/204844660

Certainly not the cheapest option, but probably the least amount of "rigging".

5

That's a pretty good idea!

Not sure why I didn't think of that.... I'll think on that, but that might be a winner.

Thanks.

6

Just check the operating temps on some of these devices. Some of them are not designed for outdoor use and don't have the temperature range tolerances to go through hot summers or freezing winters.

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