Home Assistant Whole House Power Monitoring: NZ Options

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106 posts

Master Geek

#2767178 26-Aug-2021 19:54

I just got my 3EM directly from Shelly.Cloud. Took about the weeks to get here.

I recently got a quote from Harrison's for solar but to expensive for us...not that we can't afford it, but if I assume a power bill of $15 a week for just the connection charge and little else then it would take 22 years to break even, and that assumes that I'd otherwise have kept the money under a mattress as if I assume as much as a 0.5% interest return on the money is never break even. Main problem is that there's a limit to how much I can use during the day, a low export limit on returning to the grid, and a crappy buy back rate, meaning I'd need a battery... And if I go Tesla that's a cool $18K... And I doubt I'll get 25 years out of that so that just makes it worse. :-(

Maybe if batteries get super cheap and/or there are subsidies and good buy back rates of might get viable.... But for now as much as I like the idea I'm out...

phrozenpenguin

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3099694 4-Jul-2023 15:02

I'm just wondering if there are any updates to this in mid 2023? Is there an easy "off the shelf" option for NZ - ideally certified, affordable, available and integrates into Home Assistant etc? Has that Shelly 3M now got its "SDOC" or the relevant paperwork - I can see it for sale in AU and in EU, but not in NZ.

Or, is there an alternative to consider?

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#3099702 4-Jul-2023 15:26

Hi,

Not the most elegant but Home Assistant Glow could do that for you, assuming you're not trying to monitor specific circuits separately.

In short, it looks at the LED on moost smart meters to infer the current power usage. I have had mine going for close to a year and bar the odd disconnection, it has been working quite well.

phrozenpenguin

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3099704 4-Jul-2023 15:30

gcorgnet:

Hi,

Not the most elegant but Home Assistant Glow could do that for you, assuming you're not trying to monitor specific circuits separately.

In short, it looks at the LED on moost smart meters to infer the current power usage. I have had mine going for close to a year and bar the odd disconnection, it has been working quite well.

Thanks. How do you power the Glow device; I don't have a standard socket out by my meter?

gcorgnet

1078 posts

Uber Geek

#3099730 4-Jul-2023 15:53

phrozenpenguin:

Thanks. How do you power the Glow device; I don't have a standard socket out by my meter?

Great question.. and yeah.. how ironic that you have all that power by the meter but can't safely tap into it... 🙄

The Glow required a micro USB power lead and in my case, I opted to get an Ethernet run past the meter box and used PoE and a converted to get that micro USB.
Otherwise, a powerbank will get it powered for a while not sure how long for, depending on capacity)

hairy1

3332 posts

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#3099749 4-Jul-2023 16:53

smarthome.com.au ship to New Zealand for a good rate. I am using the Shelly EM with two clamps. Works really well.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

eonsim

398 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#3099769 4-Jul-2023 17:52

phrozenpenguin:

I'm just wondering if there are any updates to this in mid 2023? Is there an easy "off the shelf" option for NZ - ideally certified, affordable, available and integrates into Home Assistant etc? Has that Shelly 3M now got its "SDOC" or the relevant paperwork - I can see it for sale in AU and in EU, but not in NZ.

Or, is there an alternative to consider?

See https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=73&topicid=272374&page_no=27 a lot of their older stuff is now covered.

Here is the link for the Shelly EM (2 channels not the 3 channel/3phase 3EM).

https://equipment.erac.gov.au/Public/Profiles.aspx?ApplicationID=4d6aec63-7cbc-4d72-86df-6fd619642cb5

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Bewildered

106 posts

Master Geek

#3099887 4-Jul-2023 19:13

I've got two Shelly 3EMs installed now - The first one in the meterboard tracking two phases + hot water, the second in the distribution board tracking heat pumps, kitchen appliances (stove/oven), and the kitchen circuits in general (toaster, jug, fridge/freezer etc). I've got the relay in the 3EM controlling a contactor for the hot water so I can ensure that only runs on cheap power.

Long story short the 3EM works, sparkies will install it as it has EU certification, and it just goes. In hot water running cost savings (at night @10c versus day at 15c/21c) it has already paid for itself....

cruxis

480 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3099895 4-Jul-2023 19:32

How much did the sparky charge to install, I am also interested getting some.

Bewildered

106 posts

Master Geek

#3100112 5-Jul-2023 10:53

About $200 from memory - but you need to see that in context as I also had to get the contactor which he provided and they are about $100....so the job itself was $100. Scope:

Install breaker for Shelly
Install Shelly - three voltage leads, three CTs on circuits of your choice
Install contactor, wire to shelly, route H/W through the contactor
Wait for you to pick up the shelly and add to WiFi
Test readings and contactor
Inevitably turn the CTs around so the readings are positive :-)

As always though it is best if you have some other work to do at the same time as getting an electrician is always a pain....so bundling work is always cheaper....

SpookyAwol

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3100539 6-Jul-2023 12:37

Dont let the obsession to monitor all your equipment take over ;-)

Ge0rge

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#3100546 6-Jul-2023 13:01

SpookyAwol:

Dont let the obsession to monitor all your equipment take over ;-)

I'm envious! What are you using to do the monitoring?

SpookyAwol

626 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3100547 6-Jul-2023 13:17

Ge0rge:

I'm envious! What are you using to do the monitoring?

Mostly Shellys, PM's and EM's.
Some are just calculated values (on smart switches with no power monitoring)
ie - if switch on, add 50w / bulb value

The main power monitoring or load, comes from the solar unit hence I can view the power thats still unmonitored
(And try and work out where it is!)

phrozenpenguin

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3100815 7-Jul-2023 00:13

Bewildered:

I've got two Shelly 3EMs installed now - The first one in the meterboard tracking two phases + hot water, the second in the distribution board tracking heat pumps, kitchen appliances (stove/oven), and the kitchen circuits in general (toaster, jug, fridge/freezer etc). I've got the relay in the 3EM controlling a contactor for the hot water so I can ensure that only runs on cheap power.

Long story short the 3EM works, sparkies will install it as it has EU certification, and it just goes. In hot water running cost savings (at night @10c versus day at 15c/21c) it has already paid for itself....

Thanks - this is just what we needed to know. I want to do exactly the same with the contactor on the HWC. It looks like I should grab a 3EM and chat to a friendly sparky! In the world of contactors, is there a lot of choice / things that one needs to know?

Bewildered

106 posts

Master Geek

#3100840 7-Jul-2023 07:56

Your electrician will know what you need but you'll probably end up with one of these:

https://www.se.com/nz/en/product/A9C15030/ict-plus-20a-1p-uc-230vac/

The shelly turns the contactor on and off so it's no load on the shelly and the contactor does the heavy lifting.

You don't necessarily need a Shelly 3EM unless you want to track power....if you want a cheap solution you can use a Shelly 1 (with dry contacts) to operate the contactor. Both the Shelly 1 and 3EM have the same timer/schedule function, both work from the Shelly app, and both work the same in HA. So you only need the more expensive 3EM if you want the energy consumption data....so there is an option to do this cheaper if that is desirable.

Edit for clarity:

This Shelly: https://www.shelly.cloud/en/products/shop/shelly-1/shelly-1-2-pack

or the new version: https://www.shelly.cloud/en/products/shop/shelly-plus-1

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