Hi everyone, I’m new to openhab but have set up a server running openhabian to control two Sonoff Pow R2 switches I flashed with Sonoff-Tasmota. I’m impressed so far, and now I’d like to integrate some more bits and pieces around the house.
The aim is to monitor devices that use a lot of energy or money.
I don’t want to use any devices that send data to a third party server.
The two smart switches/power monitors I currently have are connected to:
- Heat storage cooker (like an aga but electric)
- Immersion heater
I might add more smart switches for the washing machine, dish washer and tumble dryer.
Areas where I could do with some advice are:
Oil level monitoring
We can’t get mains gas in our house so we have an oil boiler, and a 1500L oil tank outside.
The oil level is monitored with a Watchman Sonic oil level monitor, which displays the oil level on a remote that is connected wirelessly (not wifi, I’m not sure what frequency).
Does anyone know if it’s possible to display data from the Watchman in openhab (is there a receiver for the right frequency I could connect to the server)?
Boiler programmer
Our boiler is a grant oil boiler. The programmer is a Honeywell ST9400A.
Is there a modification I could make to it to integrate the existing programmer with openhab? If that’s not possible, are there cheap programmers I could swap it for that would do the same job?
Hot water storage tank temperature
We have a hot water storage tank in the airing cupboard upstairs. Water in the tank is heated by:
- The oil boiler
- Hot water solar panels
- Immersion heater
At the moment, the boiler is off - I don’t want to heat a whole tank of water at the start of the day if the solar panels would have done the job later for free. I’m monitoring the power consumption of the immersion heater, and it looks like the solar panels are doing the job on their own at the moment (little to no energy used by the immersion heater).
I’d like to monitor the temperature in the tank directly, to get a feel for how much effect the solar panels are having. That information will help me decide when to turn the boiler back on.
There are two thermostats on the tank already - one is connected to the new Honeywell programmer and I think there’s another one that used to be connected to the old programmer and is still connected to the solar pump.
Smart Meter
I’m monitoring the energy usage of individual appliances, but the overall meter is an analogue one. I’d like to know the overall usage for completeness.
I came across this Peacefair energy monitor linked in a previous thread. Has anyone used something similar? I’m hoping I’d be able to use it similarly to the Sonoff Pow R2 but clip it around the incoming live wire.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!