Hey everyone! I wanted to share a fun project I’ve been working on to automate my pool pump using a smart plug. Let me walk you through how I set it up and some tips I’ve learned along the way!
First, I wanted to use excess solar energy from my photovoltaic system to power the pool pump. The idea was simple: when the solar panels are producing more energy than the house needs, the excess should automatically switch on the pool pump. If the energy drops below a certain threshold, the pump should turn off to save power.
I decided to use a Shelly Plug S connected to my pool pump. To control it, I set up a 3EM Pro energy monitor to track the total real power consumption. I configured the Shelly Plug S to turn on when the energy output reaches 3,500 watts and turn off at 250 watts. This ensures the pump only runs when there’s enough surplus energy.
At first, nothing happened even though the energy levels were right. After some research, I realized I needed to enable the power monitoring feature in the Shelly app. Once I did that, the automation started working perfectly!
Here’s a tip for anyone setting up something similar: make sure all your devices are properly configured and double-check the settings in your smart home platform. It’s also a good idea to test the automation manually before relying on it fully.
I’m really happy with how this setup has reduced my energy waste and made my pool maintenance more efficient. If anyone has questions or wants to share their own automation projects, I’d love to hear about them!
Cheers, Christian