Electricity monitor (Denmark): send notification if light starts drawing power?

[Morten_Lorentzen]

Hi there
In my house I have a boiler solution that turns on a lamp whenever there is a problem with the machinery. Example: The fire runs out, the lamp goes on, giving me an indication that the system is down -> I can check it out to find a solution.

I was wondering if there is a device, that can be installed on the power cord for that lamp, as a monitor for the electrical signal?
To be more precise, as the boilers run normally, the device would recieve no electricity, then when the system goes down, the device would recieve electricity and send a notification to me, still turning on the lamp.

Since it depends on coming home to a cold house, I am looking for a solution that notifies me instantly with a push notification or SMS.

Is there a device, suitable for my needs?
Best regards
Morten

[benerkens]

Hi Morton,

Do you have details about the bulb?

Voltage 12 volt, 110v, AC DC?

Grtn Ben

[JDRoberts]

Probably, but we need to ask three questions first.

What version of the smartthings hub do you have?

What version of the SmartThings mobile app are you using?

And what country are you in?

[Morten_Lorentzen]

Thank you so much for quick responses.
I’m completely new to this, I actually don’t have any hub installed. So what I am looking for is a complete solution - if there is a combination of devices that solve my problem.
I’m from Denmark, we run 230 v, which also is what the bulb is connected to.

If I need to buy several, and expensive, devices to make it happen, I’m not sure I’m in the right forum.

I you know them, I have been looking in to the Sonoff connected devices, not knowing whether they can bring me a solution.

[JDRoberts]

Is the bulb on the machine itself? How much light does it give off? And is it in a open room or a machine closet or a basement or?

[JDRoberts]

BTW, this is a very creative community and people have put together lots of different ways of reading different kinds of indicator lights.

I’m going to put this one here just as one example where someone wanted to be alerted when the indicator light on the front of their washing machine turned on.

Sometimes the least expensive way is not to measure the current, but just to measure the light itself. That’s why it matters where the machine is.

( this is a clickable link)

A way to read the state of an LED

Arrrgh, these washing machine pistons are driving me mad. I’ve been fooling around with webcore and a metering plug for ages to alert me of my washing machine’s completion. All I REALLY need to do is read the state of the green “completed” LED indicator. That light only comes on at the end. Badaboom. What are the options here? Can I solder the LED connection to a z-wave device to measure current? Or is there a little photo sensor I can duct tape to the front of the LED? This would be SO much easier than fiddling with the smart plugs.

[JDRoberts]

Tagging @erocm1231

[benerkens]

You can connect a Fibaro Z-Wave Switch to the lamp.

Connect the module like the 220v of the bulb is the switched line. Permanent 220v from another point of the boiler.

Lighting the bulb triggers the Z-Wave module.

This triggers a follow-up in the SmartThings hub.

Z-wave is a reliable way of connecting the signal from the boiler to the SmartThings hub.

[erocm1231 (Eric M)]

Some more about your setup. When there is a problem with the machinery, there is a relay that gets activated that turns on a 230v bulb?

As @benerkens mentions, the relay would be connected to the switch port for the Fibaro. The Fibaro needs to also be powered by 230v that is always on.

When the machinery detects a problem it closes the relay which then tells the Fibaro to turn on the bulb as well as alerts the SmartThings hub (which then can notify you or take different actions). That solution would require a SmartThings hub and a Fibaro module. As this is the SmartThings forum I think most solutions are going to at least require that.

More info might offer a different solution.