So my power company recently "upgraded??" my power meter. I guess I had a "dumb" meter, and they wanted to replace with a "smart" meter. I guess they know what my power consumption should be better than I do... sigh.
Anyways, since they replaced the meter, I have been having quick blackouts at least once a day. I finally noticed it last night, sitting at computer, son on video game, and power cycles. It's only a second or two, and it comes right back on.
I called the power company... "Huh? Hmm, that's weird. We don't see anything on our end. Everything looks great. Sorry for your inconvenience. You can go back to a dumb meter for a $75 a month surcharge.". No thanks.
So... what device can I use to monitor power at my main circuit panel? Or, I would think even a plug might work, since it is the entire home that power cycles. But what I need is something that can identify when the power goes out, log that information for later graphing and checking trends, and possibly send me an alert notification when it happens.
The Ring Z-Wave extender will generate events when it is switched from “Mains” power to “Battery” power and vice-versa. I would recommend this in your situation.
Excellent. So this item plugs into the wall, but also has a battery backup? And it will still function (without interference) although I have zero other ring devices?
Do you have a public utilities commission in your state?
I'd suggest making a complaint to them.
The utility should be bound to investigate this issue.
The PUC can light a fire under its ■■■.
Honestly, I have no idea. I'll have to research. I live in Kentucky, in Jefferson County. My utility company is LG&E (Louisville Gas and Electric).
I do plan on calling and raising some H-E-Double Hockey sticks... but I'd like to see exactly what is happening first, so I will know if they are trying to BS me.
The issue it's causing me, is that it power cycles my two servers. Both servers have a boot issue (I'll try to fix at some point), that requires human intervention whenever it is powered down and back on.
I guess I should also investigate backup power supplies.. as that would probably band-aid the issue for now. And just connect one to each server.
Yes.. you would think, wouldn't you I think it's all relatively new, and they are experiencing some growing pains. But, don't reduce my quality, and continue to charge me full price. And at the very least, offer me some type of reconciliation... not just an apology.
If I needed a range extender or a power outage detector, I'd spend the extra couple dollars for the ZAC38 over the Ring extender for the support alone, and the additional functionality.
Yeah... the Zooz is speaking a little more loudly to me between the two. I think I'm going to try that one first.
Thank you, both. I know both of you are power users here, and I 100% respect your time and assistance. I'll post back after I have installed it and received my first report.
Thanks for creating this thread! I already have 3 Ring Range Extenders in use as power status monitors/triggers, but I just ordered 1 of the Zooz to try out. I had no idea the Zooz was out there as a product.
Assuming it works for that purpose (and -obviously- there's no reason to think it won't,) I like the Zooz over the Ring because it's a 'native' device, designed to be used on HE (and other) hubs, and not like the Ring where we're just 'borrowing' it for our use. (Which is what the 'support' comment was driving at, I'm sure.)
Make sure your Hubitat hub is also on a UPS, otherwise the Ring Range Extender will not be able to share the power status from LINE to BATTERY. Also, make sure to plug in the Ring Range extender device near the Hubitat hub, so it will have a direct Z-Wave connection. Otherwise, when your other mains-powered Z-Wave repeating devices lose power, the Ring Extender will not be able to communicate with the hub.
I don't know where I got this from (but probably a failure within my own house,) or whether or not it's still needed, but I added a rule that when the hub restarts, my range extenders (and a few other devices) get an automatic refresh. That helps in the case where the hub doesn't catch the change in status. (Doesn't help for your exact problem, but I thought I'd point it out.)
I agree with the above post that your hub should be on a UPS* and the range extender is close enough to have a direct connection.
*Your hub should be on a UPS, anyway, as to not possibly corrupt the database with spurious, uncommanded shutdowns.
I don't know how likely an explanation this is, but it might push them to agree to come back out to your house to take a look at least.
I would call them back and tell them you're concerned that the meter upgrade has caused a "floating neutral" condition. I'm not an electrician, but I believe that is what occurs when a neutral wire is partially or completely disconnected, and it can occur on your side of the meter, or the utility company's. It is potentially very dangerous and must be fixed asap, if present.
The symptoms, as I understand them, are intermittent and variable. Lights flickering and overloaded (i.e. fried) electronic equipment are more typical, from what I've read. But the utility company can't just "check" something on their end over the phone to rule out that floating neutral condition, particularly if it's a loose/intermittent connection issue.
There are also services like Sense and Ting, which gather data on power conditions in your house and then through the magic of AI, claim to be able to alert homeowners to all kinds of abnormal or dangerous faults. I have a ting, which says my wiring is fine, but take any claims from companies like this with a grain of salt.
I think it's all relatively new, and they are experiencing some growing pains. But, don't reduce my quality, and continue to charge me full price. And at the very least, offer me some type of reconciliation... not just an apology.
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