So I’ve been borderline obsessed with power monitoring since we started our solar panel installation – and to an extent before that. I installed an Efergy Elite several years ago and figured out how to tap into its RF signal and pull that data into my Home Assistant instance to track power usage.
But recently I decided I’d like to be able to get alerts when our washer/dryer finished a load. They are incredibly basic appliances – no buzzer or any other indication that they are done other than they shut off. It became apparent that monitoring their power use was one of the only feasible approaches.
To that end I went about designing a PCB that would let me plug in some current transformers and get their readings into an ESP32 which can feed that data into Home Assistant. From there I can log it and create notifications based on usage trends.
I sent the boards to JLCPCB for manufacture and they’ve been shipped off earlier this week. Hopefully I’ll see them this month.
The ESP32 S2 can support up to 20 ADC inputs, so if my 3-input design works, I will likely expand it to more inputs and monitor a number of circuits in my house.