Outlet to replace wemo insight switch

[Rorschach1960]

Now that I've joined the Hubitat world, I would like to begin moving away from WiFi devices and go with Z-Wave or Zigbee. The first to go will be a Wemo Insight switch.

What would be a good unit to replace this switch? It would need to be a plug-in device with 3 states... ON, OFF and STANDBY... that reports power draw. It is used as a trigger to turn on other switches when the device plugged into it comes on.

Looking forward to your responses and inevitable debate.

[csteele]

@Rorschach1960

First to go... Wemo Insight switch

https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Aeon-Labs-ZW096-ZW096/dp/B00VQISOCG/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1545154974&sr=1-4&keywords=aeon+smart+switch

Aeon is ZWave.

https://www.amazon.com/Dome-Automation-Monitoring-Extender-DMOF1/dp/B01M1BY4KQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1545155018&sr=1-4&keywords=dome+smart+switch

Dome is ZWave

https://www.amazon.com/IKEA-303-561-69-Trådfri-Wireless-Control/dp/B07KM9ZC31/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1545155110&sr=1-4-fkmr1&keywords=ikea+tradfri+switch

Tradfri is Zigbee
As is:
https://www.amazon.com/Securifi-compatible-Remotely-Monitor-Appliances/dp/B00TC9NC82/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1545155163&sr=1-2&keywords=peanut+switch

[Ryan780]

I'm sorry, but 3 states for an outlet? How are you differentiating between off and standby?

[Rorschach1960]

The switch can be on or off and is considered to be in standby state when the switch is on but the device plugged into it is turned off.

[Ryan780]

That would be a function of the driver, not the device itself. The device would only report energy usage back to the hub. You would have to use a custom driver or app that translated energy into something else meaningful. I don't believe any device has the function that you mention natively.

The almond device above does not report energy usage except to Almond routers I believe. I know they don't report to ST.

[Rorschach1960]

The Wemo Insight does exactly what I am describing. I'm using one in this way right now. I would simply like to replace it with a zwave unit.

[Ryan780]

What driver are you using for the insight?

[Rorschach1960]

The Aeotec looks promising. Do you have any actual use experience with this outlet?

[Rorschach1960]

jason0x43/hubitat/blob/master/drivers/jason0x43-wemo_insight_switch.groovy

See this post... at the bottom...

Wemo switch and insight smart plug

@jason0x43 Suggestion for code change on all DHs for correct polling. def poll() { log.debug 'poll()' if (device.currentValue('switch') != 'offline') { runIn(3, setOffline) } parent.childGetBinaryState(device) } Original was 30 which turns out to poll every 30 minutes. At least with the Insight you need more polling for energy state so I placed this as 3 so I wouldn’t have to make a RM to refresh every 3 min. Just a suggestion.

[bobbles]

Don't get rid of it though.
I use mine, connected to the WeMo app, to turn off/on my hub remotely should there be issues.

[Ryan780]

And that device reports back 3 states? I'm only seeing on and off in the code you posted. It reports back power usage but it would be up to an app to interpret that into the state of something else.

[GatVlieg]

Errrrm, am I missing something?

If it actively reports power usage when in use, it is ON
If it is NOT actively reporting power usage, and it has that capability, it is OFF
If it merely reports the total power used to date, state can be either on or off, as state of the switch is immaterial to the total number reported to date.

In my book that still means 2 states for the switch (on/off), and a value being reported, either real time or as a static (for lack of a better description.)

J

[Rorschach1960]

You may be technically correct there. I am using the change in power as a trigger. I used to use an Android app called WemoManager which indicated 3 states... On Off and Standby.

[Ryan780]

That makes a LOT more sense. Thanks.

[csteele]

@Rorschach1960

The Aeotec looks promising. Do you have any actual use experience with this outlet?

Yes, I have one of each of those that I pasted. Aeon, Dome, Iris and Peanut.

They all work as switches, no surprise there. My Zigbee use is minimal and at this moment, the Iris and Peanut are running the inside christmas lights. So... no, I'm not monitoring those.

The Aeon and the Dome are used on my Laundry washer and gas Dryer (dome). Dome has a slightly lower max amps and my washer hits that and it shuts. So I put it on the gas Dryer and the Aeon on the Washer. Both are being monitored by Rules and an app. to send "laundry is done" type messages.

I've had to Refresh them however. They do not appear in Z-Wave Poller and I have neglected to mention that to Hubitat. I'm using a rule instead to get a reasonable resolution on the power use.

[Ryan780]

Just to clarify...you do have a gas dryer, correct?

[kevin]

@Rorschach1960

Now that I've joined the Hubitat world, I would like to begin moving away from WiFi devices and go with Z-Wave or Zigbee.

Sorry to be contentious but I think that is a bad decision.

@Rorschach1960

The first to go will be a Wemo Insight switch.

That however may be a good decision. Wemo devices have never been reliable for me and as a company they’ve been lacking in addressing the problems.

For me both the major promoted RF mesh offerings (ZigBee ZWave) create problems.. not just because the technology is troublesome but because it is unpedictable. WiFi is pretty robust and I use MQTT extensively. It just works ... every time. If it doesn’t you know about it immediately. I think you should reconsider.

I believe the future is with IP based devices - especially if they have a power source.

[Ryan780]

If you're going to have battery operated devices (contact sensors, motion sensors) they are going to be zigbee or Zwave, not wifi. Wifi is a very power hungry protocol. It requires the device to keep a constant connection with the AP. Zwave and zigbee do not. And if you're going to have wireless zigbee and Zwave devices, they need to have repeaters in most cases. Of which, all of these mentioned are. I question the statement that it's not a good idea to use zigbee or Zwave devices. Most of the devices on this forum fall into those two categories. What do you have connected to your hub?

[Rorschach1960]

At this point, I have 5 wemo minis, 1 wemo insight, 1 leviton dimmer , 3 Smartthings multipurpose sensors (connected to Smartthings hub) and 4 hue bulbs ( connected to hue hub).

[Navat604]

@Ryan780

The almond device above does not report energy usage except to Almond routers I believe. I know they don't report to ST.

The almond plug does report energy but only with the newest firmware and even that. It's not very accurate so you are correct. It's close to not reporting.