Reliable smart plugs with energy reporting to use with Smart things? UK Based

Devices & Integrations Connected Things
1

Looking for plugs with energy reporting.

Have seen these on amazon but there are wifi

Meross Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring, Mini Smart WiFi Plug Work with Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, Smart Socket Remote Control Timer Plug, No Hub Required, 13A, 2 Packs
https://amzn.eu/d/bhQDUzw

Preference to go zigbee.

Suggestions please?

2

What country are you in? Different options for different parts of the world.

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my bet is the UK since the link goes to Amazon UK :slight_smile:

I believe Meross does not report energy monitoring through their integration with ST but I could be wrong.

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You mentioned Zigbee: just to confirm, which smartthings/Aeotec model hub do you have, if any?

5

I am in UK.

My smartthings hub is built into my samsung q990c soundbar.

Firmware version
000.047.00011

Thread Network
ST-Tizen

Controller Version
2.3.29-7

6

Ok, so that leaves out zwave. And thread won’t be an option because those only connect to smartthings through matter and matter doesn’t support energy reporting at this time. :thinking:

So two options I know are are popular with Uk Members:

  1. Tp Link Kasa have historically been very popular. That’s a WiFi plug, but you can get local operation with energy reporting using a community created edge Driver. Very good price. (Around £18 as a single, sometimes less per unit in a multi pack), widely available, including at Amazon.co.uk. The only thing is that at the time of this writing, it does not show up on the energy dashboard feature in the smartthings app. But it will show up for use in routines.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Monitoring-SmartThings-Wireless-KP115/dp/B08LZWBTR6?th=1

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  1. overall a little less popular historically, but growing because they are one of the very few plugs to show up on the smartthings energy dashboard are aqara. (Aqara has a special partnership with smartthings which is slowly adding more features for their devices.) These are Zigbee, and you don’t need a Smartthings/Aeotec hub, they should be able to connect with the built in hub in your soundbar. But it’s only available in EU format, you’d probably need an adapter. And it costs almost twice as much as the kasa units.

———

There are some additional brands sold in the UK that have energy monitoring, but again, just be aware that most won’t show up on the energy dashboard feature in the app.

Tagging @fido and @ orangebucket who are both in the UK and may have more specifics to add.

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7

I don’t think there are any plugs/outlets which work with the energy app.
The appliances suggested by Samsung which do are listed here.

I can confirm the UK type g plugs from samsung do not work with the energy app.

It’s disappointing the energy app doesn’t pull in everything which is shown on individual items.
In the EU/UK you can see all your energy use with a meter reader interface such as this Frient one which I have.

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Multiple community members have reported that their aqara smart plugs do show up on the energy dashboard. Even though the smartthings brand plugs themselves don’t. It’s a mystery… :thinking:

.

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Apparently these newish Tapo P110M plugs are supported in the energy app.

I’ve only gone and ordered a couple!

10

Where did you see that? Because those are matter plugs and matter Does not support energy reporting at this time. :thinking:

They might have a separate, smartthings – unique integration, but I haven’t heard of one yet.

Based on the following conversation with a smartthings staff member, it’s a weird situation right now. It’s listed as being compatible with the energy dashboard feature, but it doesn’t actually report any data there. And the energy data is not available for use in SmartThings routines.

So it looks like the energy monitoring data only appears in its own Tapo app right now. Let us know if you see anything different, a lot of this stuff is in flux.

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P110 is the old model, P110M is the new one.
I’ll post when I get them working.

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Interesting! Let us know if you can also use the energy information in routines. :sunglasses:

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Will do! :grin::+1::wave:

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Just wanted to clarify for the OP that “energy reporting” can mean three different things in a smartthings context, and any one device might do one of these, but not the others, or any combination of them. It’s not always clear just by reading a product description what will be available to you after it is on your smartthings account. So research can be a little tricky unless you find someone in the community who actually has the device and is using it.

1) ENERGY REPORTING IN ITS OWN APP

Usually the screenshots you will see in a product description are from the device’s own app, and will show you energy reporting history that you can find in that app. Having that data doesn’t mean you can do anything with it automatically, though. And sometimes it’s just a cumulative report updated every few hours or even once a day. So the data is useful to an individual customer, but not necessarily usable in smartthings. :thinking:

2) OFFICIAL ENERGY REPORTING FEATURE IN THE SMARTTHINGS APP

This is an official feature called “ENERGY” under the “LIFE” section of the app that does a lot less than you will expect from the initial description.

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It helps to remember that this was originally created to manage Samsung smart appliances in multifamily buildings. The main idea is that when the unit is unoccupied, power draw can be reduced.

So far, there are only a few devices that will work with this feature. Even the smartthings branded smart plug does not at the time of this writing. But your 2022 and newer big Samsung smart appliances probably will, and a few other devices.

Mostly it was designed for the following

This includes but is not limited to 1) providing reliable occupancy detection linked to savings strategies that shut off or power down equipment when no one is home, 2) limiting standby power of connected devices, and 3) providing feedback to users about the energy impact of their settings.

The feedback is in the form of reports that you can review manually.

There are a few built-in automations, like closing the blinds when the air conditioner is turned on, but again, they will only work with a few specific models.

So it’s interesting data, and you may make various personal decisions based on it, but other than putting your appliances into eco-mode when you leave the house, there’s not that much actionable in it.

And remember, some devices might appear in this section, but not have energy reporting that you can use in a smartthings routine that you create in other parts of the same app.

3. ENERGY DATA THAT YOU CAN USE IN SMARTTHINGS ROUTINES

The feature that most people here are looking for: the ability to trigger home automation actions based on energy draw levels. For example, knowing that the television is on because it’s drawing power above a certain threshold from a smart plug.

Note that this requires that the device be reporting energy use quite frequently or it won’t be meaningful for an automation. But many of these devices are designed to only report every few hours or even once a day. And so “energy monitoring“ doesn’t always mean “useful in a routine.“

Yes, there are some devices that will give you this in the smartthings app. But at the time of this writing most will not appear in the “smartthings energy“ section of the app.

SO HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT ANY ONE DEVICE CAN DO IN TERMS OF SMARTTHINGS?

it just takes research, and usually finding someone online who already has the device set up in smartthings. Obviously this forum is a good place to ask. Sometimes you’ll see the information written in Amazon reviews or Best Buy reviews. Reddit posts may have the details. Sometimes you’ll see screenshots of the SmartThings app on the manufacturer’s website that make it obvious. But otherwise, just because a device is “energy reporting,“ it doesn’t necessarily mean it will do all three of the above. So if you are asking questions, it also helps to be specific about what you’re looking for. :sunglasses:

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15

Thanks for the informative post.

I had delivery of the TP Link Kasa P110M earlier today.

Added into Kasa app where it shows energy usage.

Screenshot_20231117_161435_Kasa
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Added to ST and no energy details are listed agsinst the device (as expected and as mentioned earlier on tbis post).

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Are you sure that’s a Kasa plug? I thought P110 was from a different TP Link brand, Tapo.

Same parent company, but different model lines.

Kasa model numbers typically start with a K.

Tapo model numbers typically start with a P.

First rule of home automation: “the model number matters.“ :wink:

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The Lidl (budget supermarket) silvercrest branded zigbee plugs support power monitoring and the power information can be used in routines. They also have a physical button which is nice.
I bought a couple about a month ago. Lidls approach to selling zigbee stuff is that it appears once or twice a year, it’s there for a week and then gone again which makes them tricky to acquire. I may get more if these prove reliable if and when they appear on sale again.

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:rofl:. Apologies, your right
…

It is the KP115

The Tapo P110M ia due del8very today so will report back on that.

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Thanks. Will keep and eye out.

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I’ve got the Tapo P110M and can confirm no energy reporting in any of the scenarios previously listed. A bit disappointing I just assumed because it was advertised as cross compatible inline with matter it would work but hopeful for an update.

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