I was just realizing that I have introduced an failure in my home because I put energy monitoring on things like my fridge, freezer and furnace. This introduced the following:
- After Power Failure Plug does not default to the On state
- An automation with bad logic or targeting turns the virtual switch off
- Someone or something hits the power button on the plug
- The energy monitoring hardware dies
These are all real things that can happen just because I want to know how much energy my freezer is using. This also excludes other things that could make my freezer die like
- Compressor Goes
- Door left open
- Temps rise for some random reason
So I wanted to create an automation for each device so that if anything does happen it’s self monitoring and can alert with any problems it cannot fix.
So some solutions to some of these problems are as follows:
The entire top list can be prevented if you just don’t put an energy sensor INLINE with your freezer power. But of course we want to monitor energy usage so how do we do that if not inline. A CT clamp is the answer but now you have to decide where to put it. If you have multi items on the same circuit then putting it at the electrical panel won’t give you a true reading of just the freezer but it is an option. You can make or buy an AC line Splitter so that you can measure the energy at the device. The problem with these solutions is that to calculate energy consumption you must know the voltage. Sure you could just say 120 but it will really throw off your monthly calculations but to each their own I guess if that bothers you or not. you will need a power supply or a battery for the CT clamp. IT is just a real huge PITA but some people say its 100% worth it for peace of mind. They are not wrong but everyone’s comfort level is different. I am perfectly okay with this others will think I am crazy for introducing a failure point. To me because I am protecting for this failure also allows me to protect for things that I didn’t introduce like compressor failures or other issues. Also MAKE sure in the settings for your device that you set your plugs to auto turn on after a power loss. Most Zwave devices have this. I have Kasa TP-Link plugs that also have this feature but you have to use their app to set it!
On to the solution
My first trigger is if the device becomes unavailable for more than 15 minutes. I don’t care what the previous state was, all i care is that its current state is unavailable. I gave it a Trigger ID of “Freezer is Unavailable”
Then I create another trigger so that it is triggered when the plugs state changes to “off”. Again give it a nice Trigger ID
Now to actions:
Because I used “Trigger IDs” above this allows me to use the choose option to do something based on what trigger ID was triggered. This allows you to create a single automation that can do multipool things based on what triggered it keeping your automations grouped if you like.
Also by using descriptive names above it makes the choose statement almost read like english and it is very easy to see what it is doing
The one for if triggered by Freezer is Off is simple… just turn it back on!
Now the one for if the Freezer is Unavailable is a little more complex. We could just send a single message and hope for the best but there is $500 of food in the freezer if we miss that message so it’s a little more important to make sure the user get this message. We setup a loop so that every 5 minutes it will send us a message until it has resolved (aka freezer is on again) or till we disable the automation
I do have Google Home speakers in the house I might add some audible alerts and as well I have Inovelli switches that have bar leds on them that I also might pulse red…
To also address the other issues that might arise with the freezer I have a ESPHome Temp probe for the freezer that will alert me in the same ways in the same automation. If temp goes above -5c for more than 15 minutes do the same alerts to my phone. I personally create one automation for each critical device in my house! I don’t want to lump all critical devices so that a failure in one does not prevent a failure in another!
Would love to hear feedback what else I should be monitoring for on the freezer or if there is better logic to use for detected off or unavailabel!
PS I just found out you can get ESP Energy Monitor plugs with NO relays in them!! With these there is no possibility to have them accidently turned off but there is still a possibility that they can fail so the automation is still worth having. Also not sure if they use the same housing for both because the photos do show a power button but my guess it does nothing? I am still waiting for confirmation form them!
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Over 5 year journey with esphome devices and despite many power outages over the years everything does behave exactly like expected/configured 
