Here is what I came up with:
There is a commercial Zwave power outage sensor that is noted above in this thread. Based on that, I realized (or someone mentioned) that the Ecolink Door/Window sensor also has the a pair of terminals inside that allows you to put an auxiliary ‘switch’ that changes the open/close state. Essentially you short two contacts for closed or leave them open for open.
To “test” the A/C power in the house, I used a “RIB” Relay In a Box RIBU1C that can take 120v current on one side and has both “normally open” and “normally closed” relays inside. “Normally” means “with power applied”. So I hooked up the “normally closed” side so when power is applied to relay, it keeps the circuit closed. As soon as power is lost, the relay opens the circuit
Next, I set up monitoring for an “open” condition like you would for an open door or window. In my case, I simply have a rule written so when that sensor changes state, I get a text message saying it changed states.
For anyone who is interested, here’s the wiring:
- White/Black Stripe is 120V Hot
- White/Blue Stripe is 120V Common
- Solid Orange and Solid Yellow is the open/close pair that will be normally closed.
- You can adjust the wires if you need 10-30VAC/DC or you want the sensor to be normally open.
- You only need 4 wires and the relay comes prewired (thus the name, relay in a box) with 6 wires. Tape the unneeded ones off.
The relay is threaded so I mounted it in a 1/2 inch knockout on a 1-gang galvanized box, and will mount the sensor by drilling a 1/4" hole in that box and mounting on a blank plate. An old recycled lamp cord and a knockout strain relief provides power to the unit.
I’ll try to grab a snapshot and post it some time soon.
Enjoy!