Does anyone have experience how hard it is to add something like this to an existing EU breaker panel? I'd love to have this but, since I'm living in a rented flat, I'm not very optimistic about being able to retrofit it.
IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
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Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#52Just an FYI that your home may already have a grid-connected meter outside, and it may already have a wireless interface. For example, if you're a ComEd customer in the Chicago area, your smart meter is Zigbee-enabled and works with a handful of approved devices: https://www.comed.com/WaysToSave/ForYourHome/Pages/SmartMete... The information won't be as finely detailed since it's not sensing every circuit in the home…
And even meters that don't have zigbee might be readable using an RTL-SDR. You do have to figure out which one is yours and which are your neighbors, though.
Pretty sure that the datastream is encrypted. Being able to sniff your neighbor's power consumption from far away is a pretty large security hole.
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
And even meters that don't have zigbee might be readable using an RTL-SDR. You do have to figure out which one is yours and which are your neighbors, though.
Pretty sure that the datastream is encrypted. Being able to sniff your neighbor's power consumption from far away is a pretty large security hole.
I imagine it depends on location, but there are places where it's wide open.
"Using a cheap RTL-SDR, it didn’t take long for [k-roy] to tap into this transmission and stumbled across the power readings for his entire neighborhood using a simple command"
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/21/read-home-power-meters-with-...
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#54Super cool stuff, anyone who's dug into this know how the integration for the actual measurement works? Would it be possible to use with some shunts or hall effect sensors for DC applications with a little electrical shoehorning? I run about half my stuff off DC directly for increased efficiency and save that this would be perfect.
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#55cool need to integrate this
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#56I literally installed this last week. It's awesome to monitor individual circuits and track with awesome detail what's using electricity. Yup... a hot tub in winter SUCKS.
Other than that... easy install, great instructions.
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#57Would love to know if there's a docker [compose] setup for the influxDB+grafana setup.
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
I track my usage with the tesla powerwall unofficial api and have since learned not to worry about my fridge, it's my dryer that really eats up all the power (and my furnace fan). Also realized leaving my lights on vs off doesn't change my usage at all so I'm not worried about turning them off like I used to.
Beauty of leds lighting I assume?
The real cost comes from when they're on for too long, generating a lot of sustained heat, or when the DC power supply stops working. Would love for PoE-based lights to take off for residential use but that's probably a pipe dream.
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
And even meters that don't have zigbee might be readable using an RTL-SDR. You do have to figure out which one is yours and which are your neighbors, though.
Pretty sure that the datastream is encrypted. Being able to sniff your neighbor's power consumption from far away is a pretty large security hole.
At least the ones I have seen are not. I am able to read the all the power meters in my building with a cheap USB SDR and this software.
https://github.com/bemasher/rtlamr
I have not gotten around to figuring out which one is mine or a good way to system to store/display the data but I certainly can read the date.
In the grand scheme of things it is a minor to medium security flaw, power usage could be used to infer which houses contain valuable items and when people are home. I'd say medium at most since a lot of other things Visible curbside indicate this as well (lights, cars in the driveway, etc.). On the other hand, electronics are pretty efficient. A wealthy house with all the lights on is still using less electricity than a small apartment using an electric stove. But I guess if you were really interested in stealing electric cars then it would be really useful.
Re: IoTaWatt Open Source WiFi Electric Power Monitor
#60Is there anything simpler/cheaper that can go into a wall socket and be queried over bluetooth? (or join an existing wifi network)
There are a lot* of cheap 2.4Ghz wireless outlets that can be flashed with custom firmware that supports power usage & outlet control over MQTT & other protocols. Keep in mind that these devices have to be manually configured & calibrated.
https://github.com/arendst/tasmota/
* Some new versions of these outlets come with firmware that can not be patched/flashed so do some research.
Also most of these are limited to 10 amps of restive load... inductive loads like motors, compressors, and to an extent power supplies, will have peak loads 3-4x there 'real' consumption which can damage the relay if its not rated for the high initial load. If anyone knows of a cheap alternative or cheap DIY that can handle +20A I would be very interested as it would be nice to be able to control things like fridges without worrying the outlet will fail closed & my food will spoil.