Is it possible to monitor 3 home appliances for their usage of power?
The dishwasher and washing machine use standard 220v power connections.
Furthermore: I want to monitor if the stove is off or not.
As it uses three-phase alternating current, how can I monitor it with the emontx? Do I have to use all 3 connections for CT sensors? I would settle with getting the information if it is on or not if a reliable reading of power usage is not possible...
Thanks for your attention!
PS: I want to bring it together on a raspberry pi, so when there is an easier solution than using the openenergymonitor at all, I am interested in that too!
Re: Monitoring 3 home appliances (including stove)
What is your stove, and does it accurately balance its load across the 3 phases? That's central to your problem. The emonTx is intended for use on single phase systems only, so monitoring your first two appliances does not pose a problem. However, to accurately measure the consumption of a 3-phase load, you need a further two emonTx's - as here. But if measuring just one phase of your stove's current is representative of the the other two, then one emonTx should give a good approximation..
Re: Monitoring 3 home appliances (including stove)
Is it possible to just measure all 3 phases with one sensor? I am satisfied if I can detect "on/off" for this project...
Re: Monitoring 3 home appliances (including stove)
"Is it possible to just measure all 3 phases with one sensor". No.
A current transformer works on the magnetic field surrounding a cable. The magnetic field is generated by the current flowing. The vector sum of the 3 phase currents is zero if the load is balanced, and the same as the neutral current if it isn't. So the magnetic field surrounding the 3 bunched cables will be zero if the load is balanced, and the same as that around the neutral conductor if it isn't. It will also be zero if no current is flowing at all. That is why I asked if the stove was a balanced load, which you haven't answered. Look at Building Blocks and read about 3-phase systems.
Re: Monitoring 3 home appliances (including stove)
Okay, makes completely sense; Thanks for the clarification. I ordered a single CT sensor and will check if the stove will pull noticable amount from one of the three phases;
Thank you very much for your help Robert!