Athom Smart Plugs (Reliability / Lifetime / Time to failure) [please contribute]

ESPHome
98

I just put 16V 680uF

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99

I wonder if V3 includes any reliability / lifetime improvements…

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100

Saw that. Not available for UK yet. Ironically my plugs are still working but I might stress test the new version on higher rated appliances (if released in UK format).

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101

The Athom forum is full of people complaining about the same issues we are here.

So I would would hope they are improving the product with each iteration. They are certainly focusing on price.

102

I’m not willing to waste any more money on them… i thought the prices were really good when i ordered them… till i worked out it was USD not AUD! didn’t know until i checked the bank statement.

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103

I started dabbling with these…

104

i have quite a few of those arlec ones around the house, although i opened them up and replaced the tuya modules with esp ones and flashed them with tasmota. they have been pretty rock solid for the last few years.

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105

Im not sure about the availability outside the USA but, ive been a big fan of Kauf outlets and bulbs. Hes one of us, a HA hobbyist and sells products made for HA or more specifically Esphome.

They are a little more expensive than Athom but, come on! Pay the extra little bit and support a guy trying to make products for us HA users.

I cant speak for the quality of Athom as i dont have any but, i have lots of Kauf bulbs and outlets. They are very good quality and work great.

https://kaufha.com/products/

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106

Localbytes sells esphome plugs in the EU and UK and @AAllport is also one of us :wink:

107

I didnt know that. Thats good to know though. I always try to support small businesses or community vendors like these 2. Ill spend the extra couple dollars and support them every single time if my choice is that or the den of thieves Aliexpress.

108

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109

IMG_0591

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110

I have 8 Arlec PC191HA’s around the house for almost a year and none have died. Most are just for monitoring low power devices but one on the dryer, the dishwasher, and the washing machine. The dryer pulls about 2000W, device is warm, but hasn’t missed a beat.

I also have some Athom plugs that have been working without issue. Low power going through them and, like the Arlec’s, generally not switching under load. All my devices have been modded onto esphome.

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111

Talking about reliability, I not happy with my Meross Smart Plug with Energy Monitor,
I had about 7 of these, an about 4 have died over a couple of years. One was on a freezer, and I did not notice for a few days.

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112

Ouch ! I followed advice i saw before and added an automation to monitor the power usage of our downstairs chest freezer, and notify if the power is on too long (potential door left open) or off too long (possible motor or Wi-fi failure).

Then I noticed the freezer was on for minimum 1 hour, and off for max 30 minutes per cycle - and quite a lot longer on if we had opened the freezer. Seems a lot of power … so i queried Westinghouse/Electrolux, who only offered to arrange a serviceperson to visit. I did some calculations and worked out that a full year’s power consumption (kWh) would work out at about the freezers 2.5 Energy Star rating. I now have my notification set to 2 hours on - but just ignore it if we have opened the freezer.

113

Three plugs up to 16 months and another three at 6 months. Some spares when they eventually expire!!

For those updating ESPHome firmware to 2024.2.0, the latest has a breaking change on CSE7766 power sensor; to build your firmware you will need to alter the YAML; comment out update_interval and use a throttle average instead.

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114

Thanks @JulianDH , I have exactly this issue, where do I update the YAML?

INFO ESPHome 2024.2.0
INFO Reading configuration /config/esphome/athom-smart-plug-v2-de0700.yaml...
INFO Detected timezone 'Australia/Brisbane'
Failed config

sensor.cse7766: [source /data/packages/43f53298/athom-smart-plug-v2.yaml:86]
  platform: cse7766
  
  [update_interval] is an invalid option for [sensor.cse7766]. Please check the indentation.
  update_interval: 10s
  current: 
    name: Current
    filters: 
      - lambda: if (x < 0.060) return 0.0; else return x;
  voltage: 
    name: Voltage
  power: 
    name: Power
    id: power_sensor
    filters: 
      - lambda: if (x < 3.0) return 0.0; else return x;
  energy: 
    name: Energy
    id: energy
    unit_of_measurement: kWh
    filters: 
      - multiply: 0.001
    on_value: 
      then: 
        - lambda: |-
            static float previous_energy_value = 0.0;
            float current_energy_value = id(energy).state;
            id(total_energy) += current_energy_value - previous_energy_value;
            previous_energy_value = current_energy_value;

When I hit edit in ESPHome,

Screenshot 2024-02-22 10.56.57

I can modify this file, but I cannot locate update_interval:

substitutions:
  name: athom-smart-plug-v2-de0700
  friendly_name: Smart Plug V2
packages:
  Athom_Technology.Smart_Plug_V2: github://athom-tech/athom-configs/athom-smart-plug-v2.yaml
esphome:
  name: ${name}
  name_add_mac_suffix: false
  friendly_name: ${friendly_name}
api:
  encryption:
    key: XXXXXXX


wifi:
  ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
  password: !secret wifi_password
115

Your config points to a more detailed config online which it downloads and uses.

Either you need to copy the online config into yours and change it, or Athom will probably adjust the config sometime (or maybe provide old/new versions of the URL).

116

Sorry for the dumb question, but what is a “throttle average” and how does one use it?

117

average value over the specified time period

it is a sensor filter settings and the full range of filters are below

Note the comment of @Mahko_Mahko above. This is only relevant if you are compiling your own firmware from a full YAML