Looking for advice: which P1-reader

Energy
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Last week, my 10-year old, home made P1-reader (based on an Arduino Mega and some Aliexpress chip) died, so I am looking into a new way of extracting the data from the P1-port and would like to start using HA as my main data-collector.

I’ve looked around, and there are a couple of options, and I would like to know which of the options you think would be the best. My router is in the same closet as my smart meter. I have a Kamstrup-model, which (if I am correct) uses DSMR 2.2. My Raspberry Pi 4 that runs Home Assistant is in my living room, so a direct connection from the P1-port to the RPi is not a real possibility.

I saw a couple of ESP-based solutions (e.g. Zuiderwijk) that are extremely cheap. I also saw some other systems like Homewizard and SmartGateways.nl, and also some that are (as far as I understand) nothing more than some cables that pass on the raw data and let HA figure out the rest.

What I do find very important is that my data is not shared with a supplier. That was also the reason I made my own reader 10 years ago.

Does anybody have any advice, or (even better) experience with any of these solutions? Are they easy to set up (since I just started using HA, I don’t have a ton of experience with it), and do they work reliably?

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And a personal tip:

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Is this doable for someone who has never messed with ESPHome-devices?

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Slimmelezer yes, it is well described

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3 years ago I bought a P1 reader from SmartGateways.nl and to this day I am very satisfied with it.
Simple, accurate and the data runs via MQTT.

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Thanks for the reply! I’m struggling to find the differences between the SmartGateways-one and the SlimmeLezer. I understand that they are on different platforms,but I don’t know what the advantages and drawbacks are of those…

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If youre using homeassistant I advise esphome (slimmelezer). Mqtt is more “complex”

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And I should say, if you are using HA then I advise SmartGateways, because MQTT is a more robust communication protocol. :smiley:

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I understand that everybody will have their own preference, but could you say why MQTT is more robust, and also why it is more complex?

I’m sorry for the asking what is probably obvious for a lot of people here, but in this technology I’m really new.

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Okay, so it is a protocol that is quite specifically for applications like this.

@sender can you say why it is more complex?

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Because of mqtt in the middle, extra components.

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Okay, thanks!

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I would go with something MQTT based. If you pick MQTT make sure the the implementation contains retain support, otherwise on each restart of HA you have some missing values for while.

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i buy :https://www.homewizard.com/fr-be/p1-meter/

The P1 meter plugs into the P1 port of your smart meter and tells you your home’s electricity and gas consumption. The P1 meter is compatible with all smart meters in the Netherlands and Belgium,

very easy (no mqtt)

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Do NOT order at smartgateways.
I had the sensor for 2 years with only connection problems.
After ordering a new sensor for the 3rd year, this one did not work either. After returning it, you do not get the shipping costs reimbursed.
They are crooks. In addition, they tell all kinds of lies to cover up the fact that they sell a bad product. You will only find bad reviews on the homeAssistant community with both the product and their service.
Better to order this type of sensor elsewhere via HomeWizard. Works very well, is reliable and also much cheaper with top customer service.

And yes they have your data. They retract the license at any time they want making the product unusable.

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I ordered the SmartGateways P1 Reader on March 2021 and one year later the Watermeter and till today they work very well. Never ever had any problems with them.

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So I have gotten the SmartGateways one after this topic. Works like a charm!

I did have 1 issue after a firmware update, but after a couple of emails it was fixed with their help.

And I’m sorry to break it to you, but there are not only bad reviews of it. In this exact same topic, it was even recommended. Also in other places there are positive reviews.