I have a non-smart tower fan by Lasko. I can control it with an IR blaster that is controllable through HA. It can also be turned on via a button. I was hoping to track the state of the fan in HA; is it on, or is it off? I know I can track based on the toggle button I’ve made, but what about if someone pushes the button on the top (which I often do)?
I think I need some kind of smart plug that measures the power draw of the fan. If it’s drawing a lot of power I can infer that it’s on (or it’s shorting out and about to start a fire, I guess).
Is a smart plug the right approach to this? Or should I figure out a different way? I had other, less workable ideas around detecting noise or wind speed or something.
Yup - that’s what I’d do.
And it is by far easiest thing to set up in your case.
If it’s only a fan and not a space heater you should be fine.
With a space heater you’d have to ensure that the smart plug is rated for the overall power draw.
Please please please make sure you buy a smart plug that can handle an inductive load like a fan. It’s not the same kind of load that is drawn by a space heater. You risk introducing a serious fire hazard into your home with the wrong smart plug controlling a fan.
What should I look out for w/r/t handling the inductive load? I’m not going to pretend to be an electricity expert, but do you mean something about how the motor takes more energy to start than to keep running? Is that measured in some way that translates to characteristics I should look for in a smart plug?
I’ve heard over time that the things to look for are a rating for inductive loads or for high inrush currents, and that overload or overheat protection is a needed feature. But I’m also not an electrician, and my uncertainty about what smart plug is suitable has for now kept me from using that configuration. (I have some smart fans that integrate into HA, so the need just hasn’t arisen for me to do the research.)
These are a little pricey, and you have to have Z-Wave on your HA. But my absolute favorite for trouble-free handling of heavy-duty loads (even washing machines, dishwashers, etc.) is the Zooz Zen-15 smart switch.
