I’d be VERY wary about running critical appliances from smart sockets. I lost an entire fridge / freezer full of food due to a Kogan plug failing when we were 1000’s of Kms away for 4 days.
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I tend to agree, I have had bad experiences with smart plugs resetting my server.
Although now I write this post I realise I am still running critical appliances on smart plugs.
I wanted to monitor long term power draw on one of my servers but sometime after i installed the smart plug it kept randomly turning off. it turned out to be my smart plug resetting because of things like wifi dropout or being very sensitive to electrical disruption/surge/brownout (it was behind a ups that didn’t detect anything).
Even though the esphome was set to “power on” on reboot the relay would cycle for long enough to turn the server off. The server was set to default power on as well but these still kept it off. Only figured it out one day when i heard the relay click then checked the server and it was off. Before figuring out the cause being the smart plug i was beginning to think my server had a dying mainboard.
removed the smart plug and havent had an issue since.
I do still have some smart plugs on fridges etc. but i have automations to monitor that they are on and turn them on if they are off for any reason. I also use xiaomi temperature sensors to alert about the internal fridge freezer.
I would love to find an AU certified plugin power monitoring only device but i cannot see that device ever existing as the market would be uneconomical. I have considered soldering a bridge across the relay to make them always on power monitors but that would make them non compliant.
For some background I have some gen1 aeotech zwave power monitoring switches that I have had on my kitchen fridge, washing machine and garage freezer and they haven’t missed a beat in 8+ years.
Honestly depends on the plug. Some have an option some don’t
Re: Shelly certifications
It looks like both Shelly1 and Shelly 1PM are now certified to meet Australia standards
https://public.global-mark.com.au:8443/certificate.nsf/1/EB06B04CFFBFBD0DCA2585C60055B73A/$file/Attachment.pdf
https://public.global-mark.com.au:8443/certificate.nsf/1/BD9BB60D651C2425CA2585C60055B70E/$file/Attachment.pdf
Both these link say the document has been deleted.
Searching Certificate Search | Global-Mark with any of their information (found in https://shelly.cloud/documents/certificates/Shelly_1PM_AS_NZS.pdf) I can’t get a result for them either.
Something happen I have missed?
I searched for the company name (Allterco Robotics) and both certificates show up, just with a different link:
https://public.global-mark.com.au:8443/certificate.nsf/1/50D6DFD66B08B9CDCA2585F8005013E4/$file/Attachment.pdf
https://public.global-mark.com.au:8443/certificate.nsf/1/6E9BEFD9067DAB41CA2585F8005013B5/$file/Attachment.pdf
And over the weekend someone on Facebook indicated that “Shelly 2 and 2.5 have received approval and are awaiting certificate to be issued”.
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You could change the wifi reboot setting in ESPhome. They default to reboot the node if the wifi isn’t connected for x time which can cause issues if the wifi signal is poor to that device.
Yeah, the z-wave gear (especially Aeotec) are pretty rock solid, hence they are far more expensive than things like Kogan plugs. I have a few of them around the place that I converted to plug-in devices. Since I’m an electrician and used all compliant equipment they are still considered ‘approved’.
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Perhaps build something with a CT clamp. If you don’t have to control the circuit, it should be compliant.
You do have to beak the outer insulation on the power cord to clamp the CT clamp around either neutral or phase though.
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I had considered a CT based solution but ideally I just wanted a plugin solution for individual monitoring.
I have an iotawatt with CT that monitors most circuits on my house so I already have good visibility on my power usage.
How about a box with a power lead on it, and a power socket.
Inside the box is a CT clamp and an esp8266, and a 240/3.3v power supply, and drive it with esphome.
You just plug the appliance into it like you would an extension cord. You get readouts of power consumption in HA.
You could also put a little oled display to get instant readout.
But I am getting away from certified hardware.
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I fixed the WiFi reset issue in a few ways, I created an ap specific ssid that I use for some smart plugs that refuse to connect to the closest ap, I changed the esphome rest timeout and I started to use the captive portal when WiFi drops.
I still need to do some further testing/investigating one day but the kogan smart plug that was on my server would reset sometimes when I would plug other devices into a power board in the same server cupboard.
Not sure if it was just the server being to sensitive to relay cycles as only one server had the issue, this is not likely as is was a small form factor desktop with low power draw. If there is a faulty power board but it was before the ups (and the smart switch after) but the apc ups diagnostics didn’t detect anything. Or if it is a faulty/sensitive smart plug and an isolated issue.
There was a time when I would do that in a heartbeat but these days with a family I only have time for quick and reliable solutions. This usually means something off the shelf so if it breaks I just take it back and get another one.
Also, with HA now a critical part of my home these days I have to make sure it works whenever it is supposed too.
I probably value my time better these days and realize that cheaper doesn’t always mean cheaper.
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Well here’s a thought, just open the Kogan or other AU certified monitor smart plug, bypass the AC relay, and be using it as a monitor only 
You probably don’t even need to remove the relay, just solder one reasonable gauge wire link cross the N/O contacts…
And it’ll no longer be certified 
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And you will also be bypassing the power measuring components making the whole excercise pointless.
No, the relay contact does not do the power monitoring, but as this will certainly void certification I wouldn’t recommend it. The Kogan plugs (first version) from my experience have been flaky at best. I’ve had 6 of 8 fail in the last year.
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Do you have unusually high voltage or temperature?
I’ve got 20+ of them going strong for a year.
Currently my IoTaWatt is reporting 244V. Temp is definitely not the issue either.
Occupational curse, then. Plumber’s taps, and all that
Same, I’ve been switching out all my v1 plugs with v2 as the fail.
The v2 Plugs with the 2 USB on top have been working without issue for some time. I have them on the Dishwasher, Dryer, Washing Machine, Fish tank power board. No failures so far.
I have a 4 pack of the v2 units on the way so will see how they fair…and if they Tuya-convert OTA or not…