If you forget the washed clothes in the washing machine, a simple automation within the Home Assistant can be useful, which will bombard you with notifications until you hang the clothes. A socket for 370 CZK will be enough.
The Home Assistant platform combines smart home elements from different manufacturers and using different protocols into one central point. You shouldn’t leave the automations aside either – they do without programming and provide endless possibilities of use. As an example, we will show how we can transform a twenty-year-old washing machine into a smarter model thanks to a cheap switch socket for less than four hundred.
Power measurement in action
Our goal will be only one – to have a notification sent to your phone the moment the washing machine finishes so that we don’t forget the clothes in the washing machine. At the same time, everything should be completely automated, so a simple minute on the phone depending on the length of the washing program will not be enough. I used a switched socket Shelly Plug S, 1 which I had left after buying a bargain set of five pieces. One piece of socket normally costs over five hundred, but the manufacturer often offers discounts that are also available in domestic e-shops. During these events, the Plug S costs only CZK 369.
Of course, you can reach for any other socket that, in addition to switching, also manages the continuous measurement of the power consumption of the connected device. I just wouldn’t risk it with cheap Chinese sockets in this case: at the maximum power of the washing machine, a current of over 10 A can flow through the socket, which in the worst case can lead to the socket melting or even catching fire. Shelly Plug S has a limit of 2.5 kW.
Connection with the phone
This automation will work in Home Assistant in any type of its installation – the version running in Docker, for example on a NAS, will be fully sufficient. Even before configuring the socket itself, it is necessary to connect the phone to the Home Assistant. So download the official application from the App Store or Play Store and enter the login data for the Home Assistant. From now on, your phone is another device integrated into a smart home with the possibility of connecting it to automations. 2 At this moment, connect the washing machine through the smart socket and start any washing program.
This article is part of the PREMIUM+ package
Unlock exclusive content and ad-free videos on nine sites.
Try it for CZK 1 Or separate Live Premium
2023-07-15 06:45:06
#Instructions #turn #ordinary #washing #machine #smart #socket #settings
