Smart Plugs

[ian]

TP-Link has been around for a while and the plugs we have cost about £8 each, so even if they stop supporting them, it's a minimum cost and set up involved plugging them in and tapping a few buttons in Alexa so I can shout 'let there be light' and thusly there is. In my view, life is too short to be flashing firmware.

[andyoxon]

One thing that's a bit carp about the tapo P110 energy monitoring, is that there appears to be no simple set counters to zero option.  One has to factory reset the plug.     Once I worked how to reconnect the unit again by pressing "+" to add a new device, rather than attempting to use the previous 'ghost' plug app icon... not too bad.

[FifeingEejit]

Turns out the remote control thingy I liked the look of was from CostCo.
They no longer do them and all options require needless appery.

[SoreTween]

no timer, no app, no wank basically.

Can you cope with a bit of that as part of the setup process? The 4 sockets I modified above are set up as a group, push the on/off button on any one and the other 3 follow suit. No software/app involved at all in use and groups are just a basic tasmota (the software they run) function. The tasmota ready sockets Kim found will be able to do it.

If a tasmota ready physical switch with the right aesthetic can be found it should do what you seek. Setup is via a web page, no app required at any stage. Could you cope with the room light switch not matching the rest in the house? If so there's this:
https://templates.blakadder.com/athom_SW112EU.html

Mrs Weevil wants something better than reaching down to one socket to control hers.  A remote would get lost and I couldn't cope with a mismatched wall switch. So I'm investigating a shelly buried behind the room light switch changing the single switch plate for a double.

[DaveReading]

I've just invested in a boxful of smart switches from LocalBytes.  For the time being I'm mainly interested in the power monitoring capability, so I'm using mostly the dashboard screen until I write an application that can poll the device at interval from an HTTP client, passing commands in the URL.

Setup was a dawdle, or so I thought.  That was until I started playing with my hub to reassign my 4 plugs with sequential IP addresses (so I can remember them).  Three of the 4 worked fine, but then I stupidly told the fourth one to connect to the SSID for the hotspot on my BT hub, rather than the regular SSID.

Now the plug seems to be in no-mans-land - I don't have a clue what IP address it's now using, so I can't get at it with a browser.  I naively thought that holding down the button until it flashes would reset the device so that I get at the configuration page again, but that proved not to be the case.

The button does, however, toggle the power output on and off, so I'll be using it as a dumb plug instead unless I can figure it out.   

[robgul]

We've had Hive on our heating for a while together with some plug/sockets and light bulbs - all works pretty well . . . I'm just waiting for delivery on a Hive thermostatic radiator valve to try - reviews are mixed but that seems to be the TRV side that's the problem rather than the simple "on/off" which is what I want them for - to isolate specific rooms at scheduled times (e.g bedrooms during the day)   We'll see if they're any good.

I did try an Eqiva valve that doesn't require a hub as it's Bluetooth - after 4 hours of trying to set it up. it doesn't so it's winging it's way back to Mr Bezos.

We'll see on the Hive - not cheap but it's part of the overall single system.

Update on the Hive TRV - installation was pretty simple and our desired use as simply an on/off mechanism for the radiator in one room works fine - at the moment it's set at the same temperature as the rest of the house and comes on from 1415 and goes off at 1545 ... to coincide with my wife using the room from 1500-1600 (yoga!)

The one annoyance, which nowhere does it tell you, is that the TRV control ONLY works on the Hive phone/tablet app and not the PC/browser which is my preferred method.

A further update after the purchase of another couple of Hive TRVs - we now have "timed zone control" in one bedroom and sitting room (2 rads) that is only used from about 1900-2200 each evening - all works a treat and fuel consumption seems to be down/under control.   Together with a few Hive plug/sockets I'm hoping to keep costs under control.

I did give in and fire up the heating today - I was hoping for another week at least!

[Kim]

Setup was a dawdle, or so I thought.  That was until I started playing with my hub to reassign my 4 plugs with sequential IP addresses (so I can remember them).  Three of the 4 worked fine, but then I stupidly told the fourth one to connect to the SSID for the hotspot on my BT hub, rather than the regular SSID.

Now the plug seems to be in no-mans-land - I don't have a clue what IP address it's now using, so I can't get at it with a browser.  I naively thought that holding down the button until it flashes would reset the device so that I get at the configuration page again, but that proved not to be the case.

The button does, however, toggle the power output on and off, so I'll be using it as a dumb plug instead unless I can figure it out.   

Tasmota recovery: https://tasmota.github.io/docs/Device-Recovery/#recovery-techniques

Does the BT hub not give you some sort of logs for WiFi associations and/or DHCP leases which might give a clue?

If it's on the same subnet as a computer, you should be able to discover its IP address with "arp -a"

Worst case, you can spudger the cover open and re-flash the firmware by soldering wires to the AJW-02_8285 ESP module, then glue the cover back in place.

[robgul]

Sort of related to this thread - I'm looking for suggestions/recommendations for a basic plug-in energy monitor for about £20/25 . . . 

What I want to do is just plug in various appliances for, say, 7 days and see how much juice they have consumed in Kwh (I'm not interested in entering the Kwh price - I did arithmetic at primary school so can work out the costs myself) - most of the units I've seen seem to focus on the unit costs rather than the usage in Kwh.

Any suggestions please?

[DaveReading]

Tasmota recovery: https://tasmota.github.io/docs/Device-Recovery/#recovery-techniques

Cycle the power 7 times in a row - how come I never thought of that !!   

Joking aside, it did indeed do the trick, noted for future reference.

Many thanks for your help.

[AllyCat]

Hi,

Sort of related to this thread - I'm looking for suggestions/recommendations for a basic plug-in energy monitor for about £20/25 . . . 

Most (but not all) of the "Smart Switches" as in this thread can do Energy Monitoring and much more "advice" could be given if you want to follow that path.  However, you would probably prefer an integrated display type, such as have been sold by Lidl/Aldi and Maplin (I have both). IMHO the former are typically German, too many functions on a few buttons, with a tiny display, and of course Maplin shops are long gone.  So a quick google has produced two other suggestions:

The Energenie ENER007 looks interesting (< £20), available from Screwfix/Toolstation/CPC, etc. and even Maplin (except they're out of stock, as are Localbytes for the Tasmota Plug in the thread above).  Another possibility (with a backlight) is Here but note that only the https://www.onbuy.com/gb/shop/low-energy-supermarket-ltd/ seller appears to be shipping directly from the UK.

Cheers,  Alan.

[robgul]

Hi,

Sort of related to this thread - I'm looking for suggestions/recommendations for a basic plug-in energy monitor for about £20/25 . . . 

Most (but not all) of the "Smart Switches" as in this thread can do Energy Monitoring and much more "advice" could be given if you want to follow that path.  However, you would probably prefer an integrated display type, such as have been sold by Lidl/Aldi and Maplin (I have both). IMHO the former are typically German, too many functions on a few buttons, with a tiny display, and of course Maplin shops are long gone.  So a quick google has produced two other suggestions:

The Energenie ENER007 looks interesting (< £20), available from Screwfix/Toolstation/CPC, etc. and even Maplin (except they're out of stock, as are Localbytes for the Tasmota Plug in the thread above).  Another possibility (with a backlight) is Here but note that only the https://www.onbuy.com/gb/shop/low-energy-supermarket-ltd/ seller appears to be shipping directly from the UK.

Cheers,  Alan.

You're right - I want a standalone unit to use as a "tool" from time to time.  I had looked at the Energenie but the chap at Screwfix said that lots that they sell are returned as being useless - and reviews in various places are a bit mixed.

The Energenie also seems to be available with lots of rebadged versions (or vice versa) - the second item you linked is remarkably similar?   

Given the ease of returns at Screwfix/Toolstation (both within about 3/4 mile of home) I might give the Energenie a go anyway.

. . .  I think OnBuy.com is the same sort of outfit in China as Aliexpress and Banggood (delivery time for the item was about 3 weeks which suggests that's the case) - that said I've bought stuff from both of them with no issues.

[AllyCat]

Hi,

Personally, I prefer ebay to aliexpress, etc. (or even to some Amazon "Marketplace" sellers), because they seem more "up front" about typical/latest delivery times and the VAT surcharge, etc..  There are some Chinese sellers who do keep UK stock, or bulk ship (aeroplane) within a week (sometimes marked "posted from UK"), and the "SpeedPAK" service is impressive (usually tracked) at a modest price.  So I always look carefully at the predicted delivery window. 

The two Energy Monitors that I linked do seem to be quite different, just as the various (apparently identical) "cylindrical" smart switches of this thread can have quite different features and software, sadly almost impossible to identify from their listing/descriptions (except for the Tasmotas).   Of the DIY shops, I usually start at the Screwfix webpage because they have Q&A and Customer Review pages (but object that it defaults to all the 5* reviews first, not in sequence of posting).  Their reviews seem mainly positive but I see that they have no stock of the Energenie in any of my local branches (but Toolstation have ).  There are contradictions whether it has/needs a battery, because another of my objections to the Lidl device is that it has a coin cell battery which its manual suggests may expire quite quickly unless it is left plugged in.

Cheers,  Alan.

[robgul]

Hi,

Personally, I prefer ebay to aliexpress, etc. (or even some Amazon "Marketplace" sellers), because they seem more "up front" about typical/latest delivery times and the VAT surcharge, etc..  There are some Chinese sellers who do keep UK stock, or bulk ship (aeroplane) within a week (sometimes marked "posted from UK"), and the "Speedpack" service is impressive (usually tracked) at a moderate price.  So I always look carefully at the predicted delivery window. 

The two Energy Monitors that I linked do seem to be quite different, just as the various (apparently identical) "cylindrical" smart switches of this thread can have quite different features and software, sadly almost impossible to identify from their listing/descriptions (except for the Tasmotas).   Of the DIY shops, I usually start at the Screwfix webpage because they have Q&A and Customer Review pages (but object that it defaults to all the 5* reviews first, not in sequence of posting).  Their reviews seem mainly positive but I see that they have no stock of the Energenie in any of my local branches (but Toolstation have ).  There are contradictions whether it has/needs a battery, because another of my objections to the Lidl device is that it has a coin cell battery which its manual suggests may expire quite quickly unless it is left plugged in.

Cheers,  Alan.

Thanks - the local TS has stock of the Energenie so I'll probably pick one up (and unpack it carefully just in case!) and give it a go.