Disable the "on/off" ability of plug

Devices & Integrations
1

I have a couple of energy monitoring, Zigbee plugs around the house. I’m going to buy more and set up routines with some SmartApps such as turn on ceiling fans when air conditioner is running, flicker lights when washing machine has completed. But my question is, I’m going to set up two: one for the furnace and one for the washing machine.

I want to use the switches SOLELY for energy monitoring, so I want to be able to disable the on/off feature on the phone APP. I don’t want myself or my wife to accidentally turn off the furnace.

Is there any easy coding or device handlers or whatever (I’m ultra-new to Device Handlers and SmartApps and such) that I can do to disable the ability turn on and off the outlets, yet still maintain energy monitoring?

Thanks!

2

I use a simple automation to turn the switch back on if it is accidentally turned off.

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3

Very few smart plug models allow for this option. They want to make sure the device will still work manually if the home automation system is not working.

There are a few possibilities.

  1. CHANGE THE ROUTINE as @Paul_Oliver suggested, set up a routine to immediately turn the device back on. This works for some situations/devices, not others. (For example, I have a medical monitoring system which takes about 20 minutes to reboot: turning it off is a disaster. :scream:)

  2. CHANGE THE APP CHOICES WITH A CUSTOM THIRDPARTY DASHBOARD use a custom dashboard like ActionTiles or SharpTools instead of the SmartThings app for your every day controls. These are very nice third party paid apps which let you design custom presentations, so you can remove a device from the dashboard altogether. For example, some families use it so a kid can’t turn off the lights in their sibling’s room. :wink: Both are very popular in the community. Features vary somewhat.

FAQ: Sharptools , actiontiles or native ST app for your wall panel? (2020)

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  1. USE A DIFFERENT KIND OF DEVICE choose an energy monitoring device which is only an energy monitoring device, NOT a switch control. There are several that work with SmartThings.

Aeotec’s energy meter is one of the most popular and comes in both US and UK versions.

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But there are some others.

So it just depends on how you want to approach it.

4

Thanks, that could possibly be ok, but I wouldn’t want the washer getting accidentally turned off mid-cycle, or especially the gas furnace.

5

Such great info, thanks!!

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