Ideas needed to detect if AC is running

Hardware
22

I had no idea that existed, looks perfect, thanks

23

A reed switch could work, but i’m not sure if there are moving vents in my system that open when it is on. The zone vents are manually adjusted.

24

I had a look in the roof, and the power details on the unit say:
Normal 3600W, 16A
Max 4850W, 21A

Now I have a sonoff POW R2 lying around, but that is only rated to 16A.

Are there any other power monitors available that could handle this?

25

If you only want to know if it is on or off you don’t need to monitor the power or current, only voltage.

26

Ever considering energy monitoring with some CT clamps?

27

I just had a look into these and have ordered one!
It looks like they are what the shelly 1EM uses (suggested by other), but much cheaper to DIY. (the cheapest I could find the Shelly 1Em in here was AU$150.)
So, looks like I should be able to rig something up with just the SCT-013, An ESP8266, and a few resistors/capacitors.
Thanks

28
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29

I see no end of issues with that ESPHome component.

The Shelly EM is very good. I use it to monitor my whole house power.

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30

I have had this running on ESP32s for my whole house power and server power for over a year, no issues.

For the server power, I had to remove some outer sheath (not the insulation on the actual wire !) to access the live wire to wrap the sensor around

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31

How?

Voltage measuring range: 10-100V

32

Obviously a mistake on their advert, posted another one, shows 80-260V

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33

Yeah I just came across the specs lower down in their own advertisement that says 80-260V

Neat module at a good price. I’ve bookmarked it for future use. Thanks.

1 Like
34

To clarify, I used this method instead of a power plug as I once had the server power off on wifi interruption and it turned my server off. This way, the supply to the server cannot be not interrupted

35

Depending on the model of LG air conditioner, you may be able to this integration:

I’m able to control my window model LW1517IVSM with it and it’s great!

36

A CT clamp on the blower motor plus a Wemos D1 Mini to send a status via MQTT sounds like a perfect solution.

37

Sounds like it, but check the forums, a lot of people have trouble with this component.

38

Challenge accepted.

39

My CT clamp finally arrived today. Works like a charm!
Hooked it around one of the wires in the AC roof control box, and setup a boolean sensor in homeassistant to indicate whether the AC is on or off based off the reading this CT sensor gets. (Over 0.5A , assume it is on)
I then created a couple of scripts, AC_ON and AC_OFF, which checks the boolean sensors state, and only activates the IR Power command if it needs to. Effectively giving me separate ON/OFF buttons.
All this would have been much easier if LG just provided 2 distinct commands for On/Off in the first place, rather than a toggle IR signal.

Icing on the cake, I’ve added the script to Google Home, so I can turn on the AC using voice commands from in bed, without even leaving the covers on a cold morning to have to reach over and get my phone.

Anyway, its been a fun journey! Thanks for everyones help.

40

What are you monitoring the CTs with?

41

Monitoring? They are hooked up to a wemos D1 mini running ESPHome.