Support for Tasmota based Sensors

[ullix]

This is a support feature which I have chosen myself, and actually already added to the latest GeigerLog 1.5 version.

I like to call Tasmota an 'operating system for sensors and actors'. It is an Open Source system, and uses the company Espressif's offerings, most of all the ESP8266 (known to GMC Geiger counter users as the chip which brings WiFi to the GMC counters). In addition, Tasmota fully supports the MQTT technology, better known in its application for IoT (Internt-of-Things). And further, it does NOT use the cloud and stays local! Unlike the Tuya system with its frightening security bugs. (www.golem.de)

This makes Home-Automation a whole lot simpler. As many as 2669 devices are already listed as being Tasmota supported.

GeigerLog has IoT support since version 0.9.08! It has now been significantly extended.

The first device which I have implemented is an AC mains electric socket Socket NOUS A1T. It can measure Voltage, Current, Power, and a few other things. It also allows remote switching with a load up to 3680 Watts at 220V! I'd like to track energy consumption of some units in my home.

Beware: there are different brands on the market, which look absolutely identical, except for the brand name imprint. I had one unit branded "currysmarter", which crashed every time a few sec after connection! Looks like a firmware problem.

I have set up all 4 devices from my package, and calibrated each with a good DVM. Then I ran all 4 simultaneously with GeigerLog, see pic. Their voltage resolution is 1V only, which is already a 3 digit resolution, and well enough for the purpose. All 4 devices give similar response, consistent and accurate. We in Germany are supposed to have "220V AC". As you see in the pic, there is nothing even close to 220V during the last days; instead it has a pronounced day-time cycle between 230V and 240V, being minimal near noon, and maximal near midnight. I rechecked with my DVM, and the Tasmota sockets always agreed!

Some folks in the Ukraine are offering a Geiger counter, with the highlight being that it can be made Tasmota controlled! I have ordered one.

[ullix]

These Tasmota plugs definitively had to be calibrated for Voltage - and then were very good at keeping correct calibration - but what about Power measurement?

It is not so easy to buy a decent power meter at consumer price level. I got a Belkin Model F7C005de, which got a recommendation by the highly regarded German computer magazine C't. Then I compared readings from a Tasmota plug with those from this Belkin device, using various devices from LED lamps to hair dryers. The two devices were daisy chained into a wall socket. Results attached as pic.

At very low power it matters a bit in what sequence the devices are plugged, because they have an own power consumption of 1 ... 2 Watt. At higher power this is immaterial. The Tasmota plugs also show Power Factor and related (not shown), while the Belkin gives only Power, which I assume is Power Factor corrected.

In all tests the outcomes were very similar for the two devices, but the Belkin was always a little bit less. Remember that while I had calibrated the voltage, neither Power or Current had been calibrated! And I won't bother, as the Tasmota agreement is more than good enough for my purposes!

Quite a nice result for these Tasmota plugs!