Does anyone know if the Yolink Energy Monitoring Smart Plug works with the Yolink Plugin? Does the real-time energy usage get reported or do energy usage limits get reported?

I'm dipping my toes in some limited energy monitoring and need to decide what path I take. Yolink has become my go-to place for moisture, temperature, and humidity monitoring due to its wireless communication reliability. I have a specific need to monitor an HVAC HRV and thought the Yolink Energy Monitoring Smart Plug would be an easy way to integrate this with EISY.

Thanks

Mike

currently it is supported. i could add a 24 hour or 1 hour average if that makes sense

it reports current power and energy

also note there is a new indoor high power switch that if i remember correct also supports power. i have it but have checked it yet.

2 hours ago, Panda88 said:

currently it is supported. i could add a 24 hour or 1 hour average if that makes sense

it reports current power and energy

I don't think I need any averages at this point. I'm trying to get a better idea how much my heat recovery ventilator is running. The ventilator is controlled by an algorithm in my HVAC system which factors in things like outside air temperature and indoor humidity along with a windows efficiency setting to prevent condensation on the windows (something that is a problem in Minnesota in the winter). As long as I can get a sense for when the ventilator is running, by measuring its power consumption, I should be good to go. As long as the current power consumption is reported I should be able poll the node at a regular interval and determine if it is on or off and then calculate a percentage of on time. Thanks for the quick response.

Mike

One way to do what you want is to install the smartplug and find the energy levels for when the ventilator is idle versus on. You can then use the app to set an alarm state for when the ventilator is on:

You can write an Iox program to detect an alarm state of "On" and take action with iox programs using repeat loops with variables counting up minutes or seconds of runtime.

You can count cycle time as well as number of cycles count this way.

I use this approach for control my 2nd floor laundry vent fan by monitoring the dryer's on (alarm) state

Edited yesterday at 01:52 AM1 day by paulbates

12 hours ago, paulbates said:

One way to do what you want is to install the smartplug and find the energy levels for when the ventilator is idle versus on. You can then use the app to set an alarm state for when the ventilator is on:

You can write an Iox program to detect an alarm state of "On" and take action with iox programs using repeat loops with variables counting up minutes or seconds of runtime.

You can count cycle time as well as number of cycles count this way.

I use this approach for control my 2nd floor laundry vent fan by monitoring the dryer's on (alarm) state

I'll give your technique a try. I haven't purchased the smart plug yet but can experiment with one of my Yolink temperature sensors as an alarm source while I wait for the smart plug to arrive. Should be an interesting project. Thanks for your comment.

Mike

One thing to note about the Yolink wireless sensors, at least the 8003, is that they don't instantly update. I have one that checks humidity rise in my master bath shower to turn on the fan. The display on the unit will show the humidity going up, but it can be anywhere from almost instant to 7 - 10 minutes before the Sensor tells the hub to tell the plugin that it's working.

That's not the case with the yolink outlet, it's usually a second or 2 from the dryer getting turned on to the fan getting switched on.

33 minutes ago, paulbates said:

One thing to note about the Yolink wireless sensors, at least the 8003, is that they don't instantly update. I have one that checks humidity rise in my master bath shower to turn on the fan. The display on the unit will show the humidity going up, but it can be anywhere from almost instant to 7 - 10 minutes before the Sensor tells the hub to tell the plugin that it's working.

That's not the case with the yolink outlet, it's usually a second or 2 from the dryer getting turned on to the fan getting switched on.

I'm doing a bit more research now before going down the Yolink path for energy monitoring. I read some of the reviews on Amazon and people are complaining that the Yolink Smartplug (6602) only updates the energy usage once per hour. This is too long of interval for a device that turns on/off more frequently than this. Do you know if the Alarm Limits trigger an immediate update to the Yolink Polyglot Plugin when the limit is exceeded (in either direction)?

Thanks

Mike

3 hours ago, MMAltair said:

Do you know if the Alarm Limits trigger an immediate update to the Yolink Polyglot Plugin when the limit is exceeded (in either direction)?

I don't, the one I use triggers on being in or out of a certain consumption amount. But I think the results are about runtime and an approximate power consumption per unit of time. Is the ventilator multi-speed?

If it's single speed you should be able to calc the number by measuring steady-state power usage from outlet and then multiplying it out with minutes (or seconds) of runtime, based on the program model above.

Hey guys!

I don't mean to butt in however I thought I would mention another possible contender for energy monitoring. Emporia Vue. They make small smart plugs like Yolink but I have found them to be much more responsive, and they report quickly to the Vue plug-in. They are pretty inexpensive like Yolink and are also made just as well, in my opinion. The Vue are all I use anymore for device energy monitoring.

I do like that all Yolinks report to the hub and you only use one IP address whereas Vue requires each to have an IP address.

Here is a link to a 4-pack for $35, but you can buy them Singley to.

Emporia Energy Monitoring Smart Plug, WiFi Smart Outlet Plug Works with Alexa and Google Home - 15a WiFi Outlet with Timer, Mobile App, Home Energy Monitor, Scheduling - 2.4ghz WiFi Only (4 Pack) - Amazon.com

-Tim

One useful function of an energy monitoring plug would be to know if a toggle powered device (eg: a TV with no discrete on/off infrared commands) is on or off, as part of a series of macros to set it to a desired state. The usefulness of this will be diminished if power drawing status isn't quick to update. In the case of the Yolink device, would the local hub be able to make this much faster? Or might there be a possible workaround by configuring it to trigger another Yolink device directly, which can then be monitored faster?

Triggering is fast in my exeriense - Note, you can trigger on both on and off and the node includes a time stamp in sec, so you can calculate the time it was on and off. I believe the trigger will include a current power draw (causing the trigger)

12 minutes ago, Panda88 said:

Triggering is fast in my exeriense - Note, you can trigger on both on and off and the node includes a time stamp in sec, so you can calculate the time it was on and off. I believe the trigger will include a current power draw (causing the trigger)

I ordered 1 of the Yolink smart plugs and 2 of the Emporia Vue smart plugs and will experiment with both of them.

Thanks for all the replies.

Mike