Hello fellow OpenHAB enthusiasts! I wanted to share my recent success in integrating a smart power meter into my OpenHAB setup. This project has been a fantastic way to monitor my energy consumption and even track the output from my solar panels. Let me walk you through how I achieved this and hopefully inspire others to explore similar projects!
First, I purchased an SML reader from Udo, which connects to my smart meter. Unlocking the meter was a breeze using a lamp to activate it. Once connected, I installed the libsml library on my Raspberry Pi, which involved a bit of terminal work but was straightforward with the help of online guides.
The next step was configuring libsml to communicate with my smart meter. I had to tweak the code slightly to ensure it could handle multiple devices, which was a great learning experience. After compiling the library, I tested it to ensure it was reading data correctly from the meter.
Now, the real fun began with integrating everything into OpenHAB. I created two items in my .items file to track both the current power consumption and the cumulative energy used. To keep the data updated, I set up a rule that runs every 30 seconds, executing the libsml program and updating the items with the latest readings.
Seeing the numbers update in real-time was incredibly satisfying. It’s amazing how much insight this setup provides into my energy usage. I can now monitor how much energy my solar panels are generating and even set up rules to optimize my energy consumption throughout the day.
This project has been a fantastic way to deepen my understanding of both smart meters and OpenHAB. It’s also been incredibly rewarding to contribute to the community by sharing my setup process. If anyone has questions or would like more details on how I configured everything, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Happy experimenting, and here’s to more energy-efficient homes!