What are peoples experiences with smart kettles and what to buy. I see quite a few struggling with the Tuya stuff, so probably easiest to be avoided.
Suggestions please
Mine is a Kogan one
Thanks, tbh I have a Kogan Kettle, but I noticed on the smart life app that when I turn the kettle on manually it doesn’t register the on/off status. I found the method you mention above, but my primary reason for wanting it on OpenHAB is that I have solar and a pool. I turn the pool pump off if the grid power to my house goes positive. I just want to make an exception for when I turn on the kettle. So it is important for me to get the status back from the kettle, even when manually activated.
Instead of a smart kettle, I have an “urn” style kettle. It holds 4L of water that’s kept warm at all time. For frequent hot water users, this could be just as energy efficient because it’s insulated, similar to a thermos. The advantage of this is no waiting for the kettle to boil when I want to have a cuppa. The one I have is the Tiger brand.
There’s no automation / smarts on this kettle, but it doesn’t seem necessary since it’s always hot. Just have to top it up every now and then, but with a 4L capacity this only needs to be done once every few days.
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I wonder what the tipping point is before one becomes more efficient than the other. I only boil water 1-2 times a day (though I always end up boiling a little more than I actually need), so I’m guessing it wouldn’t be that efficient for me. I do love the idea of having boiling-hot water on demand, though.
What’s interesting is that it’s the exact same argument as hot water tanks versus tankless water heaters, but on a smaller scale.
Yeah it is funny having these sorts of discussions.
My Nana that live through the great depression and was a widow most of her life would measure out how much water to boil as boiling more water than you needed just wasted energy/money.
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