Direct connection to SmartMeter (PG&E) (2013)

Devices & Integrations Connected Things
41

Has there been an update on whether we can connect to the PGE SmartMeter to read electric usage using the Smarttthigns Hub?

42

You can’t do it with the hub, because these devices can only belong to one Zigbee network at a time, and they have to be connected to the PG&E one.

However, PG&E does now offer a streaming data service where the data from your smart meter can be read by a different intermediary device, and then you may be able to get some connection between that and smartthings, typically cloud to cloud. People used to do this with rainforest, but I don’t know what’s available right now with the new architecture. :thinking:

Anyway, here’s the PG&E page which explains what devices can hook into their streaming service. Then you’d have to individually re-search those to see what integrations are possible withmSmartThings. But again, it’s not likely going to be direct to your hub.

https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/save-energy-money/analyze-your-usage/your-usage/view-and-share-your-data-with-smartmeter/reading-the-smartmeter/stream-your-data.page?WT.mc_id=Vanity_streammydata

43

Thanks for the explanation. What i dont understand is the statement that the device to be registered has to be ZigBee 1.0 or 1.1 compliant if its not connecting to ZigBee as you stated
From the PGE website:’

The device you purchase must be compatible with a PG&E SmartMeter™. It must adhere to ZigBee Smart Energy 1.0 or 1.1 specifications. Many electronics and online retailers sell devices that meet these requirements. To view a list of Home Area Network (HAN) validated devices, See Validated HAN Devices.

There is an option to connect a device under “Other”
the information required (besides Model and Manufacturer) is the MAC address and a Install Code

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I am assuming that is a ZigBee public encryption key ? Is there a way to get that code ?

Thanks

44

The reporting device is going to connect to the PG&E zigbee network. Not to your smartthings network. It will then make the data available through a public API, not a direct connection. Most of these use a cloud connection to make the data available, but different ones may work in slightly different ways. In any case, yes, it’s zigbee, but it’s not Zigbee to smartthings.

(BTW, neither the SmartThings hubs nor the Aeotec hub support the Zigbee Smart Energy profile.)

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45

Ok thank you for clarifying

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