Amazing, this is so much good info! I’ll do some digging - I’ve already got some ESP32s sitting around for other projects - I’m not very good at soldering so they’re waiting for me to get something small to practice on so I don’t accidentally damage them! Maybe I’ll put one aside for this project for next time we get a sparky out.
Thanks again so much!
Another option is to get something like a Shelly switch installed in place of the existing timer. You can then have power monitoring included but given that a hot water heater is purely resistive, this can easily be calculated based on run time anyway.
Ah, a shelly would be able to do that? We’ve already got a bunch of shelly relays in for our lights and love them, especially since they’re local. I take it we’d need something a bit more beefy than the standard relay 1 that we got?
You could make it neat and use a Shelly din mounted relay control the higher capacity contactor.
No power monitoring as it would only tell you what the contractor is drawing not the circuit.
I am going to do something similar with the Shelly pro devices in my new build to better control the circuits in blackout mode to preserve battery based on remaining charge.
I plan on having some manual switches beside the sub board to provide direct control / override of the Shelly just in case the automations are down.
For you water heater you could make a momentary “boost” button using the Shelly internal automation control.
That’s a pretty good deal. As long as the water heater load is less than 16A that would be the way to go just using it directly without a contactor.
That does sound like a way to do it. So, just to confirm because it’s still early that just replaces the fuse I’ve got, right? Or does it sit somewhere else in the box? But then all I need is to set a timer automation, maybe with some kind of backup to make sure it works? And if we ever need a boost I can press a button and have it boost for x time to get some more water heated for us if we ever need it again
No. You still need a circuit protective device: a fuse or circuit breaker before the Shelly.
This would replace the existing timer unit that you had a photo of earlier (similar I know not the exact one)
Exactly.
I was at my sisters the other day and noticed an android tablet on the wall for their HVAC. It was super clean. Give the tablet a quarter turn and it popped off to reveal this picture. Has anyone seen these for sale?
It’s from this company https://www.advantageair.com.au/
Ive been searching around on ebay and aliexpress but cant seem to find anything similar.
Its a POE wireless wall mounted charger. The puck on the back is stuck on and slots into a reciever in the wall. I should have got more photos
They pop up on Facebook marketplace a reasonable amount. Just do a search at each capital city 500km radius. I am unsure how customisable for home assistant it would be?
These are the ones I have seen on Facebook. AirTouch 5 - Smart Air Conditioning & Zoning - WiFi & App Control
Just buy one of these LinknLink iSG: The Next Generation All-in-One Super Smart Home Gateway
Or these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006660242013.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.1.7fecUVGXUVGX9x&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40000.327270.0&scm_id=1007.40000.327270.0&scm-url=1007.40000.327270.0&pvid=2317fcec-22fb-4ce8-9e1f-ca9703a03d3c&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40000.327270.0,pvid:2317fcec-22fb-4ce8-9e1f-ca9703a03d3c,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238109%231935&pdp_npi=4%40dis!AUD!860.55!481.91!!!4092.00!2291.52!%40210321dc17183226713247176e2ca0!12000037948452452!rec!AU!3413029910!&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller|query_from%3A
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006660242013.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.1.7fecUVGXUVGX9x&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40000.327270.0&scm_id=1007.40000.327270.0&scm-url=1007.40000.327270.0&pvid=2317fcec-22fb-4ce8-9e1f-ca9703a03d3c&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40000.327270.0,pvid:2317fcec-22fb-4ce8-9e1f-ca9703a03d3c,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238109%231935&pdp_npi=4%40dis!AUD!860.55!481.91!!!4092.00!2291.52!%40210321dc17183226713247176e2ca0!12000037948452452!rec!AU!3413029910!&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller|query_from%3A
Google comes up with a few similar PoE wireless chargers. Not that exact one but close enough to do the same job.
I could but these pucks are basically wireless chargers for tablets. A tablet would be far suprior and easy upgradeable in the future. The part you can see in the picture is stuck to the back of a 8 inch tablet
Do you have a link?
Hey mate, I’m an electrian in SE Melbourne. Send me a PM if you like.
That R1 is apparently “Perfect For All Secotrs”
Beautiful Engrish.
Another option is to simply use a PoE to USB adaptor and a regular wireless charging pad.
I just use a belkin qi puck at the PC’s in the office for staff to use when they are at it to keep phones charged up. Does the job. (for those curious, yes HA does detect when your phone is either plugged in or using a wireless charger at the time via the charger type sensor option).
Huh ?
By definition “Power over Ethernet” sends power over the Ethernet wires - but “wireless” means no wires – mutually exclusive !!
Ahhh … the penny finally dropped. To avoid the need to have an ugly wire plugged into the tablet’s USB power socket. Use PoE to deliver power (but not data) to a “wireless charging” puck glued to the back of the tablet.
Back in the day when “wireless charging” was new I added an aftermarket charging coil to my samsung galaxy S6 (I think) … but my next phone didn’t have replaceable battery and didn’t support wireless charging … and since then I’ve never seen it mentioned as a feature - so assumed it never gained marketing traction. I’ll give it a go with my current devices.
No, none of my phones or tablets seem to do wireless charging 
I tried adding wireless charging to my PC’s wireless keyboard so I didn’t have to plug it in every few days (it’s backlit).
If anyone knows of a DIY wireless charging method that does not require the device to aligned to the nearest angstrom to work please let me know.
Less DIY but if you need a kit there is the Logitech G PowerPlay Wireless Charging System - Australia but I am doubtful it works with anything but the products from Logitech.
The main stuff that comes to mind is https://www.wi-charge.com/aircord-technology that said that I have been keeping an eye on from when I first heard of it.
