I’m trying to think of different ways to detect if my clothes dryer is running or not. The obvious way is to monitor the power usage, but I haven’t found a cheap/easy way to do that yet.
What I thought of that might be cheap/easy was a temperature sensor on the dryer exhaust pipe. If the temperature is sharply rising, the dryer has just turned on; if the temperature is sharply falling, the dryer has just turned off. I have air temperature sensors around my house, but I think I would need a surface temperature sensor instead of an air sensor for this job.
Are there any cheap/easy surface temperature sensors that play well with Home Assistant?
@tom_l I looked into the vibration sensor, but my washer right next to it sets it off as well. Is there a vibration sensor that can go inside the dryer drum and take that kind of heat?
@templeton_nash I use an energy-monitoring smart plug for my dishwasher and that works very well. Going from 120V to 240V, there seems to be an issue with the US availability of compatible energy-monitoring smart plugs, though.
Are there no recommendable affordable (cheap) HA-friendly probe-based or surface temperature sensors?
@val1 Nice! I have a few similar Govee devices around the house, but all are geared toward air temperature. I’m hoping to get the precise temperature of the exhaust vent through direct contact with the probe sensor and pipe instead of placing an air thermometer directly on top of the vent pipe. Good suggestion, though!
I did just have a thought: What about a Bluetooth meat thermometer?
They have a dedicated probe and high temperature range. I’ve found several online, but they seem to have a relatively short battery life (days) compared to regular air thermometers (~1 year). Any suggestions for a long-lasting always-on Bluetooth meat thermometer?
