Washer machine with smart energy monitor

[jcgiraldoh1]

Hi,

I am wondering if someone here can help me to create an automation for my washing machine. I have one of those smart energy monitors (Refoss). I know I can do it with a smart plug, but I don’t want to spend more money. The issue is that the breaker where the washing machine is plugged in is not the only thing plugged into that breaker, so I know more or less how much the wattage consumption is, and I’m looking for your kind of logic to manage this from HA

Let’s say the regular usage for that breaker is around 100W most of the time, but how can I create the logic to tell me when the machine is done?

Thank you,

[gafich10]

Hi, @expert. Could those who have an HA system please offer some advice?

[Marc3k]

I do almost the same thing in HA for my washer, dryer and dishwasher. Mine is on a smart plug so my numbers are very small (over 3W it’s running, under 2.5W it’s done). With your breaker at 100W all the time, you only need to put the thresholds higher, the logic is the same.

I use a dropdown helper with 3 options: Off, Running, Done (Settings > Devices & services > Helpers > Dropdown, name it washer_state). The “for” on each trigger is what makes it work. A washer stops often during the soak and the spin, so you need to wait a few minutes before saying it’s done. Like that you don’t get a notification in the middle of the cycle.

alias: Washer status
triggers:
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.refoss_power
    above: 200
    for: "00:01:00"
    id: start
  - trigger: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.refoss_power
    below: 130
    for: "00:03:00"
    id: done
  - trigger: state
    entity_id: input_select.washer_state
    to: Done
    for: "00:20:00"
    id: reset
actions:
  - choose:
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id: start
        sequence:
          - action: input_select.select_option
            target:
              entity_id: input_select.washer_state
            data:
              option: Running
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id: done
          - condition: state
            entity_id: input_select.washer_state
            state: Running
        sequence:
          - action: input_select.select_option
            target:
              entity_id: input_select.washer_state
            data:
              option: Done
          - action: notify.mobile_app_your_phone
            data:
              message: "Laundry is done. Go move it before it starts to smell."
      - conditions:
          - condition: trigger
            id: reset
        sequence:
          - action: input_select.select_option
            target:
              entity_id: input_select.washer_state
            data:
              option: "Off"
mode: parallel

Change sensor.refoss_power and the notify for your own entities. The reset to Off after 20 min is only so my dashboard doesn’t show Done for the whole day.

Before choosing your numbers, do one load and look at the history graph of the Refoss sensor. You will see what running looks like over your 100W. If the fridge or something else on the same breaker goes over 200W often, put the start higher or make the 1 minute longer.

[jcgiraldoh1]

Wow, thank you so much! I will definitely try this.

[jcgiraldoh1]

@Marc3k , I am wondering if you can help me to set up the Energy module in HA properly. I added some information there for the L1 and L2, but I have the impression that it is not calculating the cost correctly.

[JohnD]

I have been using the “WashData” integration for a while now. If you have the latest version of Home Assistant, you can install it from the Marketplace, and for older versions, you need HACS.

I use it for my washing machine, my dryer, and my dishwasher. It independently learns to distinguish between the different wash programs; you just have to name them.

On the dashboard, you can then see how much longer a program has left to run, and notifications work too.

[srl77411]

I saw the “WashData” in the Marketplace a few weeks ago and wondered how others liked it?

It looks like a good option. I’ve always liked “PowerCalc” also. Much different but still in the same family.

I’ve been using ReFoss for awhile and it’s been great with Home Assistant. Automations are solid.