No way I can get two side by side in my old double GPOs. I did this hack with a double adapter to deal with that and the button access:
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Replying to my own question - perhaps it will help others who are trying to flash esphome to their Arlec TW-092CHA downlight, given I couldnāt find any instructions online.
the fix for the setting a minimum brightness, (in my case just above the point where it starts flickering) but still being able to turn off the light is as follows - in the output platforms for the cool and warm white.
min_power: 0.05
max_power: 1
zero_means_zero: True
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You could also probably fit two Athoms in one of these?
Then youād still have button access + your other GPO.
Weāre starting to like those old warning adverts saying ādonāt do this!ā
And here we are touting āsmartā plugs. Hang on - to use them just load your wall plate with all sorts of plug in critters. Is this really the future of home automation?
is that multiple point soldering v2?
I reckon I probably have 5 x the number of devices which need power to gpoās in some locations (especially office desk and living area).
I tend to have at least one powerboard plugged into each dual gpo.
Can anyone enlighten me on how they manage this if they have similar?
Do you use quality overload protected powerboards etc? Certain brands? Keen to see pics of peopleās setupās where they need to power lots of devices so I can confirm if mine is up to snuffā¦ It probably isnāt so Iād like to improve it.
Whatās concern with the double adapter other than it looking ugly? Is it that each gpo is 10A max and the two can do 10A (16A?) each? Cheers.
Whether or not you are using a smart plug, common sense applies to how/when you use double adapters or power board extenders for powering appliances. The twin GPO outlet I have is designed for powering the two appliances connected, one to each outlet. The use of the adapter does not change that, simply moves one appliance out a bit.
You just have to make sure the appliances/devices being powered do not collectively exceed the load rating of the GPO / circuit powering them, nor the adapter or power board being used.
If the board has a 10 A rating then do not plug in devices which collectively will draw any more than that.
e.g. 1 x 65 W (230 V AC) charger is approximately going to draw ~ 0.3 A, so you can have several of those plugged in without concern. Well within the capacity of the board, GPO and circuit.
But a plug-in heater might draw 10 A, so donāt use it with anything else.
Unfortunately itās the nasty side-effect of people not wanting to spend too much. The better option is to replace the outlets with smart varieties rather than plugging in smart plug unitsā¦ but that needs to be done by an electrician (legally) and so people run the cheaper alternative. Not only can be ugly but it can potentially prove hazardous.
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Yeah Iām pretty mindful whenever I plug in power hungry devices (heating/cooling/large screens/powerful kitchen appliances etc).
But Iāve also got gpoās that are just loaded with lots of pretty low powered electronics, and everytime Iāve done back of calc total power estimates or measured it has been fine.
So just trying to understand if thereās other sensible stuff to do / not to do in this modern world of lots of devicesā¦
Iām curious about how the quality/safety of smart outlets differ from smart plugs?
Do they have similar components or are they quite different? I have no clue but am curious.
In my mind I would expect them to be āroughly the sameā but one is in a mobile form factor?
What are the differentiating hazards between the two?
Itās more about the bulkiness of them hanging from an outlet and then potentially having a poor connection to the outlet terminals which causes heat due to the high resistance.
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Right. Yeah definitely get my fair share of that.
Will watch that oneā¦
There is definitley an opportunity there for a reasonable price double gpo with connectivity and power monitoring. To retrofit using current approved models is about $3000. Not happy Jan
For your entire houseā¦?
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Ive got a big place.
Sure, but you donāt need to swap all of them for smart outletsā¦
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This is normally a low risk IMO as these outlets (while bulky) arenāt very heavy and even with a normal plug are unlikely to place a huge strain on the socket. If you plug it into a socket with other constantly removed plugs next to it this is a different story as you are more likely to jostle/stress the plug/socket connection.