Hi folks,
I need a smart plug to measure power consumption when I plug my car to a common 220V socket and synchronize the data from the plug, when I connect it close to (preferably more than one) known wifi network(s). So the plug needs to have its internal memory.
However, at least TP-LINK 115 needs to be connected to the internet in order to record the power consumption to its cloud. I did not check others but it seems to me that such use case might not be common.
I didn’t think TP-Link / Kasa needed to be cloud-based…? I thought they could be accessed locally or via binding to the cloud? I would expect anything Zigbee or Z-Wave will not require a cloud connection, particularly if connected to a radio integrated directly into Home Assistant.
The requirement is not to be cloud independent, but any network independent. I want to have it as a meter in my car when I charge it at someone’s home. I cannot have it constantly connected to home assistant - it’s a car.
So home assistant does not accept “old” data? I thought that some plugs save the power data on themselves and these data could be accessed by bluetooth for example. Connection to home assistant is the bonus in this use case. Most importantly I need to know how much my car consumed out of my home.
That’s been my experience with the Hubitat integration. Haven’t paid close attention to their data in HA.
EDIT - that may be the Hubitat driver recording the data as it comes in, now that I think about it. Not sure I can say for sure it’s stored on the device.
Ok, so virtually every plug that is compatible with esphome/tasmota can do this as it allows full control over the device including integrate values over time and save them to flash
While technically not “synchronizing” but just delivering the latest total to HA this is easily possible with a device running esphome. You can define multiple wifi networks like described in the docs and even check for a active api (HA) connection and in case that’s not present (because your device is not in your home network were your HA server is located) you can conveniently have the value updated in HA via a webhook from every on the globe
This worries me as most plugs cannot handle this big a load, let alone continuously for hours on end. Especially the Chinese stuff I would not trust do live up to those specs.
How about an OBD dongle that tracks the data that the car quite likely reports about charging?
I use the TP-LINK 115 at my mother’s house, but that’s there at her home assistant, fixed in the network. The plug is fine with the load. 12A, 1,2kW and it took even 3,4kW - the 220V maximum. However, long time charging overheats the common schuko 220V plug which is detectable by the car AC/DC transformer and it breaks the line for safety. So the TP-LINK is visibly better than normal plug at the end of a cable that overheats.
Aan ODB dongle reads information from the car onboard computer - it is a maintenance port that all modern cars have. It reads all data the car provides, so also things like the odometer showing how much you drove.
You’re proving my point. The voltage has been 230V for a long time now, and 3.4kW is 14.8A, not 12A, so you are exceeding the specs. Also, most plugs have strict conditions under which the maximum rating is allowed, in terms of thpe of load, etc. If you pull big loads for a long time, the plug may overheat, causing fire. The fact that it didn’t catch fire till now is not proof that it is safe. The fact that it didn’t shut down proves that it is not well protected to prevent loads that are bigger than the maximum rating.
I’m also pretty sure your car charger will have safety instructions saying there should be nothing in between the socket and the charger. Also you’ll probably not be insured for damage when things go bad and they determine the cause of the fire.
The car can be set to 60/90/100% charging power. Using 100% proved to me to be risky on 230V source (proving your point) and I use it only with the 11/22kW chargers. When charging at home, I strictly use 60%, which makes load 1,4kW, which is certainly fine. 12A shines on the 220V charger probably without any reference to the real current and if I am guessing correctly, it could refer to 90% charging power - therefore the maximum safe charging power at home but still with some risk of reaching the maximum.
The OBD dongle, I googled it, looks pretty. However, I am using KIA/Hyundai hacs integration to get all the sensors as they are provided to the KIA app. There’s no power or energy available.
I also expect that if such values are available on the local OBD socket in your car that it might differ (quite) from the values you could measure with a AC power plug (or other non-contact AC method to don’t introduce unnecessary resistance). Could be that the car just tells you what charge was put into the battery but not what energy actually was necessary to and up with that charge level
AFAIK 12A is the specified continuous power draw defined for schuko sockets while the 16A is peak power. You should be totally fine and don’t melt any sockets/plugs when setting your charging current to 12A
That’s probably as true as saying all people in the Netherlands collaborated with the Nazis. The reality is different and as the European market is totally depended on Chinese products they are quite good delivering all qualities (and quantities) requested (from low to high). It could be quite challenging nowadays to buy a product which does not contain Chinese materials/products - specially cars or electronics in general The best power tool I can call my own is made in china (belgium company)
I would suggest that if planning to do anything significant with the smart outlet, i.e. what many would consider “heavy-duty” use, it would be best to get the input from electricians from the same locale… Not to say they haven’t already contributed… but still… anecdotal evidence will not save you from an electrical fault… Just my 2c…
I’ll qualify my statement by saying I have used a KP115 on my washing machine… so not necessarily following my own advice…
Ok, so let’s get back to the question of this thread.
I did not ask about sockets toughness that would withstand the load of car charging. I believe that car manufacturers are capable to follow EU regulations and standards to charge a car from a common 220/230V socket using their charger as wel as smart plugs manufacturers allowed to sell their products have tested them on respective load that still visibly have enough reserves. Even the maximum at 3,4kW simply cannot burn your house because the manufacturer would be responsible.
The problem is how to measure energy consumption when I am out of my home assistant and my network. Thanks.
