We’ve just written about the “Smart Powermeter” measuring the power consumption of AC appliances through six CT clamps and running either ESPHome or Arduino firmware on ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth microcontroller. Some people asked about tri-phase and having more CT clamps.
One of the commenters then recommended readers to look at the Emporia Vue energy monitor that ships with 16 CT clamps for individual devices/rooms, two 200A CT clamps for whole house monitoring, and supports single-phase up to 240VAC line-neutral, single, split-phase 120/240VAC, and three-phase up to 415Y/240VAC (no Delta). So let’s do that now.
Emporia Vue Gen 2 specifications:
- Connectivity – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4
- Probes
- 2x 200A current sensors for service mains; 3.5mm plug; dimensions: 65 x 44 x 41mm
- 16x 50A current sensors to individually monitor air conditioner, furnace, water heater, washer, dryer, range, etc; 2.5mm plug, dimensions: 41 x 23 x 26; accurate from ±2%
- Compatibility – Circuit panels of most homes with clamp-on sensors
- Single-phase up to 240VAC line-neutral
- Single, split-phase 120/240VAC
- Three-phase up to 415Y/240VAC (no Delta).
- Power Supply – 15A or 20A breaker
- Power Consumption – Around 3 Watts
- Dimensions – 105 x 80 x 30mm
- Certifications
- EMCTV2 ( E506714) as per UL/IEC/EN 62368-1
- FCC ID: 2AS6P-EMPCTV2
The kit also ships with a wire harness, extra wire & wire nuts, a WiFi antenna & cable, and the company recommends an installation by a professional. We don’t know which chip is used inside the device, so a downside compared to the “Smart Powermeter” is that it’s not running the open-source ESPHome firmware for Home Assistant integration [Update: ESPHome does support the Emporia Vue 2], and instead, you’d need to rely on the company’s mobile app available for Android or iOS, or the web app for computers, laptops, etc… I can see a third-party project for Home Assistant integration, but I’m not 100% sure this it works with the Vue Gen 2.
The apps from Emporia enable continuous, real-time (at one-minute intervals) monitoring of energy usage and actionable notifications to help users conserve energy, lower carbon emissions and electricity bills, and shift usage patterns from peak to off-peak which may help with increased grid reliability. Note that one-second data is retained for 3 hours, one-minute data for 7 days, and 1-hour data “indefinitely”, and you can export the data whenever needed.
The Emporia Vue Gen 2 energy monitor is sold on Amazon for $164.99 with sixteen probes, $124.99 with eight probes, or $84.99 for the monitor only (with the two 200A CT clamps that are included in all packages). You’ll also find it on Emporia’s online store.
Thanks to Ross for the tip.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
This product needs to be online to AWS all of the time since it stores all of its data there. It does not have a local API. This is the AWS API https://github.com/magico13/PyEmVue/blob/master/api_docs.md
This is a problem over the long term because how long is Emporia going to want to pay the AWS bills? If they turn it off you now have a small boat anchor. Much smarter to use a little bit bigger CPU and some MMC flash, but they didn’t do that.
This is the same mistake Samsung Smart Things initially made — very tiny CPU which could not function without continuous Internet assistance. Then they saw the light and now use a much larger CPU.
The bundle with the car charger was really interesting, until i see that it’s a SAE J1772 connector ( type 1) so no luck for us Europeans using Type 2.
Best solution: reprogram the ESP32: https://github.com/emporia-vue-local/esphome with esphome
Also; I’ve managed to use YHDC sensors by adding a burden resistor on the board
I have been using this exact model with my Home Assistant and it works perfectly once flashed. You also backup the original programming so you can go back if you want.