I was an original SmartThings adapter when it first started. I have one of the first smart plugs. One with the button on the front. I’m having an issue getting an air purifier to turn on when given a command by Alexa. I’m wondering if this is because of the amperage the plug can handle. I believe it’s 15 amps, 120V. It turns off if manually turn it on first. Actually the entire plug turns off will the newer plugs work like I want.
Brand and model of the air purifier?
Some electronic devices will not turn on even when plugged in. The default state is off until you physically press the on button. Turning off is not a problem since it loses power. I have a fan that way so I have to use a remote button that actually press the on button. It’s not part of SmartThings so I use IFTTT to trigger it with Alexa.
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It’s a Honeywell 17000
Can you plug a lamp into the same smart plug and see if that woks OK?
Do you mean that you are able to manually turn the switch on, and then use an Alexa voice command to turn it off?
Or do you mean that when the switch is manually turned on, it switches itself off automatically?
Option A suggests the problem lies somewhere with SmartThings/Alexa.
Option B suggests that you are actually overloading the switch as you mentioned, which may have an internal fuse that shuts the device off (and then the fuse resets so the switch can be operated again).
I can’t tell which one you mean, from what you posted above. You should check the power requirements for the air purifier to be sure, should be listed in the manual or on the device itself.
Originally was using a lamp with this but switched lamp to a TP link plug because it didn’t work with the amps. When I give the command to turn off the purifier it turns the outlet off which would turn electricity off too. When comment go turn on the outlet does go on but purifier stays off. I’m thinking it may be purifier as it has 3 speeds and when power cut defaults to off.
Yeah, sounds like what @Jimxenus said above, then.
The easiest way to test is to just plug the purifier into a powered outlet. Do it turn on when you do that without doing anything else?
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Yes it turns on when plugged into an outlet. I can also turn it on by pushing one of the low, medium or high buttons while it’s plugged into the smart outlet so it gets power. Once in like I said if I give Alexa the command to turn off the outlet turns off (no blue light on ) so the purifier turns off. If I ask Alexa to turn it on the outlet turns on ( blue light on ) but the purifier itself stays off. No like a lamp where I can leave the switch in on position and control it from outlet. I’m guessing it’s has something to do with the Holmes purifier. The bottom label says 120 AC , 60 HZ, 0.75A
Well that’s not overloading the smart switch if it’s drawing less than an amp of current.
Still sounds like your air purifier doesn’t automatically restore to an on state after the power is cut and restored.
Yep, I’m confused. If you can plug the purifier into a powered receptacle and it powers up without doing anything else like pressing the on button, then I don’t see why it shouldn’t work with a smart plug. Is the smart plug you are using a switch or a dimmer?
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To make sure we’re all talking about the same thing, the test that people are suggesting that you try is that you have the air purifier plugged in, you turn it on and verify that it is working, you then just pull the plug out of the wall, wait one minute, and then plug it back in.
Does it then continue operating at the level it was at when you pulled the plug out of the wall? If so, you should be able to activate it with a smart plug designed for appliances (not a dimmer, as @bry noted).
So they aren’t asking if you can turn it on and off with its own buttons when it is plugged in… They’re asking about what would happen if there was a power outage, or if you just pull the plug out of the wall while it is operating.
I’ll clarify. I still need to power it on when plug it into an outlet. Either low medium or high button need to be pressed. Not just on or off button.
Then the answer is no. It doesent go back in when plug pulled from wall and plugged back in. A button has to be pushed.
Then you’re going to need something like what I suggested above.
In that case, a smart plug won’t work with it, as all that does is cut and restore power to the device.
The other alternative that people use in this kind of situation is one of the automatic button pushers which you mount over the buttons on either the remote or the device itself. You need one for each button. The ones that are out there now both work through an IFTTT channel, So you get smartthings integration that way.
There are two currently on the market that are easy to find. The Switchbot doesn’t press with as much force and doesn’t have as many options for press patterns, but is less expensive and is a one time cost.
The Naran Push microbot Is a much better engineered device with many more features, but not only does it cost more upfront, you have to buy their bridge device in order to get the IFTTT integration and they recently introduced a monthly charge for use of their cloud. So while I use these in my own home (I’m quadriparetic), i’m not happy with the subscription cost and I mention them but I no longer directly recommend them unless someone is in a similar situation to me. Certainly I would look at the SwitchBot first these days.
https://www.amazon.com/SwitchBot-mechanical-controller-required-Assistant/dp/B07B7NXV4R
https://www.amazon.com/MicroBot-Push-2nd-Generation-Automation/dp/B071V7Y864/
See the following discussion:
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