FYI, I bought a 4-pack of the Arlec Smart plug-in socket with energy meter (model PC191HA) from Bunnings for Aus$65.oo.
I followed instructions in the video at Get your Tuya Device Local Key - YouTube to get the Local key and Device specification attributes:
Having installed in the Tuya phone app, I used my router to associate the device MAC addresses to specific IP addresses (which happen to be blocked by the firewall).
I have installed each using the TuyaLoacal integration:
Select the new device from Device ID or IP Address, with Platform of “switch” then as shown:
UN-tick the “Do not add any more entities” box, select “number”, Submit, then select dp_id of 9, name “countdown” and range 0 to 86400 (from memory, number of seconds in 1 day).
Same for dp_id 38, relay_status with enumerated values “off”, “on”, and “last”.
no more entities to add, so leave the “Do not add any more entities” box ticked.
The switch works, as does the countdown timer. The relay_status does not - but I can live without it for now.
I see current, current_consumption and voltage values are attributes of the “switch” entities - however they aren’t automagically made available to report on.
I had to add the YAML code from the “Energy monitoring values” section of LocalTuya documentation to my HA configuration.yaml, and they are now reporting correctly (using the custom:multiple-entity-row frontend available in HACS)
I also recently bought a bunnings 4-pack of these AC plugs.
Thanks to your help I’ve got it to the point where it can be controlled on/off, and report Current / Power / Voltage correctly.
I’d love to be able to accurately measure the electricity usage over time, which the Tuya app can do, and I noticed one of the device attributes is “add_ele”
Which monitored over time, does change value:
It says that it is measured in kW.h, with a scale of “3” and a step of “100”
…whatever that means
Maybe someone out there with better understanding, and some good math’s can turn this value into a energy consumption meter?
I think You need to convert to kWh then run a utility meter for the daily sum. This will then usable in the energy dashboard.
#Convert W on the GPO's to kWh
- platform: integration
source: sensor.po_master_bed_power
name: po_master_bed_power_k
unit_prefix: k
round: 2
method: left
utility_meter:
daily_energy_po_master_bed:
source: sensor.po_master_bed_power_k
name: PO Master BED kWh Daily
cycle: daily
I also have a number of these devices integrated into Home Assistant using Local Tuya.
Yesterday I plugged another into a pool pump to measure its usage.
All working well but noticed something very odd regarding the Current details provided.
The current output is incorrect, this isn’t just isolated to Home Assistant but also to the Smart Life App/Tuya.
Comparing your figures above also show the incorrect value for charger device.
Your dinning_table values seem to be correct.
ie: 240volt using 5.7W should be around 0.023amps not 0.07a
Sorry, but I don’t feel able to answer your queries
In the image I posted above, “charger” and “dining_table” were using TP-Link Kasa plugs (which report Amps rather than milliAmps). Since then I have rearranged where each plug is used, and separated fridge/freezers and washer/drier onto separate lovelace cards to make the comparisons more consistent.
I have also found that my wi-fi AP only allows 15 devices connected, so some have been dropping off from time to time.
Moreover I found that my PC191HA switches are always showing Voltage, but only sometimes show non-zero values for Current and Amps; as described in this post.
I am currently waiting for a drayTek AP802 (32 wifi connections per band); and intend to do more thorough testing once all has settled down. Renaming devices has of course also played havoc with HA history, and I’m wondering if it’s a good time to start from scratch again on a new SD card.
I have two of these (2x different models), unfortunately they arent very sensitive at low power consumption (IE, 5w lights).
Recommend if you do use them, target your larger applicances (fridge, washing machine, etc).
You’re method would work, if maybe every 30 mins a script can request their “add_elec” value directly from the AC plug, but I don’t know if that’s possible
It took me some time to figure out how to get the current, power, voltage setup as sensors rather than the default attributes with Tuya Loca with the Arlec Grid connect plug-in sockets. A step by step guide;
Interesting. I also have defined entities for the voltage, current and power when adding the Arlec plug-in socket to see what differences between using entities or attributes.
I do notice a few differences with your screen shots though. In your steps 8, 10 and 12 your images show a “Scaling factor” field which I don’t have. In your step 14 you show a “Sensors” category, where all my entities are listed under the “Controls”.
Both approaches seem to record history, and are easy to work with. After problems with HA getting flooded by messages I have reduced the number of devices connected, removed some of the lovelace cards that may have been taking more CPU time, and gone back to adding sensor templates in configuration.yaml (as in the “Energy monitoring values” section of LocalTuya documentation ) to reduce the amount of network messages needing to be processed.
that … and that I have noticed that my 3 Arlec smart plugs regularly disconnect and immediately reconnect to my shiny new ASUS RT-AX55 wifi AP - despite being located 2m from the AP with line of sight; and other devices with worse rssi remaining online >200 hours.
But, the weird thing is that it happens regularly at 25 past the hour, most hours, and only affects the Grid connect devices (with up-to-date Tuya firmware).
I have a few Gridconnect Smart Plugs (Energy Monitoring) that appear in the Tuya intergration but not the Local Tuya integration. In the Local Tuya instance - no devices are appearing.
API server region = eu
Client ID = Project client id
Secret = Project secret
User ID = Linked device uid
Do I need to manually add the devices? Or is something not working?
This was prompted by the teardown https://www.elektroda.com/rtvforum/topic3944452.html by jessemclachlan, which put me onto CloudCutter. CloudCutter not only works with the Tuya WB2S module (and several of the other newer chips Tuya have swapped to) but does it OTA, so no having to pry the units open and apply a soldering iron !
I used CloudCutter to cut it from Tuya cloud leaving the Tuya firmware; and then later used CloudCutter, LibreTuya and the libretuya-esphome fork of ESPHome to install a basic ESPHome firmware.
Still more to be done to give the same results as the Tuya firmware (especially calibrating the voltage reading ) but hopefully ESPHome will be more reliable than LocalTuya was for me.
esphome:
name: pc191ha-108
libretuya:
board: wb2s
framework:
version: dev
# Enable logging
logger:
# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
encryption:
key: !secret esphome_api_encryption
ota:
password: !secret esphome_ota_password
wifi:
ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
password: !secret wifi_password
use_address: 192.168.1.108
# Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
ap:
ssid: "pc191ha-108 Fallback Hotspot"
password: "v8ag08b0GTNj"
captive_portal:
web_server:
port: 80
#
# PC191HA configuration
binary_sensor: # button (bt1_pin: 11)
- platform: gpio
pin: P11
name: "pc191ha-108_button"
id: pc191ha_108_button
device_class: window
on_press:
then:
- switch.toggle: pc191ha_108_relay # toggle the relay
light: # LED in the button (led1_pin: 26)
- platform: status_led
name: "pc191ha-108 Switch state"
id: pc191ha_108_led
pin: P26
switch: # relay (rl1_pin: 6)
- platform: gpio
pin: P6
name: "pc191ha-108_relay"
id: pc191ha_108_relay
on_turn_on:
then:
- light.turn_on: pc191ha_108_led
on_turn_off:
then:
- light.turn_off: pc191ha_108_led
# Example configuration entry for device BL0937 using inverted SEL pin functionality
sensor:
- platform: hlw8012
model: BL0937
sel_pin:
inverted: true
number: P24
cf_pin:
inverted: true # the logic of BL0937 is opposite from HLW8012
number: P7
cf1_pin:
inverted: true # the logic of BL0937 is opposite from HLW8012
number: P8
current:
name: "pc191ha-108 Current"
voltage:
name: "pc191ha-108 Voltage"
power:
name: "pc191ha-108 Power"
update_interval: 10s
change_mode_every: 3
Update: I converted two units of the same device, and have them running.
On one unit I added reporting the wi-fi signal strength (I have previously had devices drop off my WLAN), added restoring the previous state when powered on; and was refining the calibration of the Voltage and Amperage readings … when the I noticed that the firmware configuration wasn’t changing !
Firmware still appeared to compile and load OTA. But even when I trimmed it down to wifi only, it still reported the power readings and operated the switch !!!
I tried asking for help on discord, but that wasn’t helpful. I don’t want to lock up my other devices, if that is what has happened to the one which now wont update firmware.
So I have put this whole issue aside for a while. Maybe Libretuya-esphome will be updated soon, and maybe I’ll try from scratch again after a fresh install of Ubuntu 23.04.
Hi Don, I’ve managed to flash one of mine with a basic yaml, I was about to try and re flash with your yaml. Any progress on the more advanced yaml and overcoming the re-flashing bug?
Edit: I used what ever version of code for cloud cutter, ESPHome / libretuya was available yesterday. I can confirm although the OTA esp home update appears successful, on reboot the old firmware is still in place.
I now have a basic firmware (with no useful config like buttons and switches) on the device. Basically useless
My frustration with this issue and the response I received on discord resulted in me deciding to put the whole thing aside for a while.
After a week of being powered off; I powered them on again, and the new setting took ! I guess that I was being impatient and not giving enough time for the units to properly reset after flashing.
The result is that I have 2 units running ESPHome and returning values - but the values are not in the correct range, and so I have not modified my automations or flashed my other 3 arlec power plugs.
I guess its time I got back and experimented with the values for voltage_divider and current_resistor. This time giving each unit a full power cycle after flashing. I saw that someone suggested a method for draining the capacitor more quickly
I was planning to wait till I got reasonable values for voltage_divider and current_resistor (accepting that each unit would need individual calibration to be properly accurate anyway) before posting my final code, but I may as well post my current firmware yaml now. Hopefully my comments and researching the options I found and incorporated will be useful to others. Note that my device names include the last number of IP address (eg pc191ha-108) and so I have used yaml substitutions, so that I only need to change the value of deviceIP once at the top when I copy the yaml code to a different unit.
#
# Arlec PC191HA - power plug with energy monitoring
# Uses a Tuya WB2S module with BL0937 for measuring power consumption
#
# Note: My devices are named including the last part of their IP address (eg pc191ha-108),
# and so I have used sustitutions so that I can easily copy this yaml
# and need only change the deviceIP. You do not need to do this.
substitutions:
deviceIP: "108"
devicename: pc191ha-$deviceIP
deviceID: pc191ha_$deviceIP
esphome:
name: $devicename
libretuya:
board: wb2s
framework:
version: dev
# Enable logging
logger:
# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
encryption:
key: "HgoRlyg+sp+PXuiZ0h8fcSCxq+HxVp9hvmCAPwzMnW8="
ota:
password: !secret esphome_ota_password
wifi:
ssid: !secret wifi_ssid
password: !secret wifi_password
use_address: 192.168.1.$deviceIP
fast_connect: True
# Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
ap:
ssid: "pc191ha Fallback Hotspot"
password: "v8ag08b0GTNj"
captive_portal:
web_server:
port: 80
#
# PC191HA basic switch operation - button, relay and LED
#
# Pressing the button activates the switch, and the switch controls the light.
#
# Notes:
# - Button is momentary on - shows "on" in HA except for the moment the button is being pressed
# - LED should have same on/off state as the relay
# - Switch and relay are different names for the same thing
# - Home Assistant uses the status of the switch (also called relay), and so
# no point also exposing button and LED to HA - use internal: true option
# - There is also a wifi_LED, but it is not seen from outside the case
binary_sensor: # button (bt1_pin: 11)
- platform: gpio
pin: P11
name: $devicename button
id: ${deviceID}_button
device_class: window
# when button is pressed, toggle the switch on/off
on_press:
then:
- switch.toggle: ${deviceID}_relay # toggle the relay / switch
internal: True
switch: # relay (rl1_pin: 6)
- platform: gpio
pin: P6
name: $devicename relay
id: ${deviceID}_relay
restore_mode: RESTORE_DEFAULT_OFF
# synchronise the LED with the relay
on_turn_on:
then:
- light.turn_on: ${deviceID}_led
on_turn_off:
then:
- light.turn_off: ${deviceID}_led
- platform: restart
name: $devicename Restart
light: # LED in the button (led1_pin: 26)
- platform: status_led
name: $devicename Switch state
id: ${deviceID}_led
pin: P26
restore_mode: RESTORE_DEFAULT_OFF
internal: True
#
# PC191HA sensors - power monitoring
#
sensor:
# I found i can add reporting the wi-fi signal strength received by the device,
# which may be different from the wi-fi signal received by the Access Point.
# May help me in debugging wi-fi issues. Not necessary for operation of pc191ha.
- platform: wifi_signal
name: $devicename WiFi Signal
id: ${deviceID}_wifi_signal
update_interval: 50s # how often to report wifi signal strength
# PC191HA includes a BL0937 chip for measuring power consumption
# and BL0937 is a variation of hlw8012, but using inverted SEL pin functionality
- platform: hlw8012
model: BL0937 # note that the model must be specified to use special calculation parameters
sel_pin: # I believe that cf_pin reports either Voltage or Current depending on this select pin
inverted: true
number: P24
cf_pin: # current or voltage (ele_pin: 7)
inverted: true # the logic of BL0937 is opposite from HLW8012
number: P7
cf1_pin: # Power (vi_pin: 8)
inverted: true # the logic of BL0937 is opposite from HLW8012
number: P8
update_interval: 15s # How often to measure and report values
# PC191HA measures and returns Voltage OR Current according to the value of sel_pin,
# but it can change the value of sel_pin periodically
change_mode_every: 4 # how many times to report before swapping between
# reporting Voltage or Current.
# Note that the first value reported should be ignored as possibly inaccurate
# Adjust according to the actual resistor values on board to calibrate the specific unit
voltage_divider: 740 # LOWER VALUE GIVES LOWER VOLTAGE
current_resistor: 1.00 # HIGHER VALUE GIVES LOWER WATTAGE
# power is simply current x voltage, so needs no separate calibration
# how the power monitoring values are returned to ESPHome
current:
name: $devicename Current
id: ${deviceID}_current
unit_of_measurement: A
accuracy_decimals: 4
voltage:
name: $devicename Voltage
id: ${deviceID}_voltage
unit_of_measurement: V
accuracy_decimals: 1
power:
name: $devicename Power
id: ${deviceID}_power
unit_of_measurement: W
accuracy_decimals: 4
I have been pulling my hair out two, just read your post and shorted the main input pins and put a load on it to discharge the cap and now ota update works.
with the voltage is this not giving peak to peak instead off rms?
*** Edit ***
This discharge don’t work, it’s is random on times. But the new firmware from Libretiny now does OTA.
Just flashed and refreshed 10 devices.
Also if a device is bricked from this don’t do a manual flash institute, remove the wb2s. (RIP buspriate)
After a couple of days of trial and error attempting to calibrate one PC191HA against the TP-Link HS110 which is monitoring my freezer, I have come to the following values which give values <5% different:
voltage_divider: “779”
current_resistor: “0.00225”
It’s a tedious process …
using HA’s LibreTuya-ESPHome dashboard, I edit the .yaml file and install by OTA
5 to 10 minutes later the device comes back online, but still using the values in the previous firmware
turn power OFF and leave for >5 minutes (I haven’t tried to work out the exact time)
power ON and wait
5 to 10 minutes later the device comes back online, this time using the values in the installed firmware
Just updated my other PC191HA device. Same procedure, but only around 3 minutes for each delay. Maybe my first one is faulty ?
Notes re calibration:
I don’t have an any device for accurately measuring power usage, so tried comparing with another uncalibrated power plug.
I used the freezer because it has a load, though in my testing the load remained fairly constant. I plugged the freezer into PC191HA, into TP-Link HS110 (not calibrated), into wall power socket. I assume the difference between the actual load on the two plugs should be negligible.
I took screen dumps of the lovelace page showing values from both power plugs. I realise that they are not reporting to HA simultaneously, introducing some discrepancy.
I understand that Power (Watts) is Volts * Amps … but there is a major difference between the Wattage reported by both devices - the PC191HA shows about half the Watts for the same Volts and Amps !!! Not sure whether I should re-calibrate for Amps or Watts.
When the freezer motor is not working, the HS110 shows 0.03A and 1.7W - yet the PC191HA with above parameters shows 0.0000A and 0.0000W. I wonder if this is an indication of rounding error when doing arithmetic on very small numbers.
