Some back story:
I have setup an instance of "Home Assistant" to use as more of a monitor for the house, but also to automate a few things. One of my projects is to provide a notification of when laundry is done in both the washer and the dryer. My washer and dryer for some reason do not have any way to indicate that they are done, and yes, I checked all over . Both are electric.
So what I decided on to use as a sensor, is a combination of accelerometer/gyro and current transformer for both the washer and the dryer. For the dryer, its a bit overkill, as the current transformer by itself would be enough to tell if its on, but I want to see if the accelerometer would be able to detect the door opening. As for the washer, both are required due to how the cycles work and the fact that the motor does not always run. These both go to an ESP32 NodeMCU loaded up with "ESPHome" which integrates to "Home Assistant"
The setup:
Using the following article as a guide (including the dc bias spoken about below in the thread): https://openenergymonitor.org/forum-archive/node/156.html
R1 and R2 = 470Ω
Burden = 12Ω
The CT is a 1000:1 unit with 2 wires coming out with 10Ω internal resistance (see amazon link: amzn.com/B01LWN37KS)
The issue(s):
There are 2 issues I'm having, one of which may be solved by the other, but I'm not sure:
1. When the washer motor starts, from what I am gathering, it knocks the ESP32 offline and into a state where it refuses to reconnect. My thought here would be that the inrush current is causing an issue with the adc input and causing the ESP32 to crash.
- My thought here is to use a series resistor... but I'm not sure if that would work, and I might need a hand with the value based on the circuit I have.
2. The current being sensed on the dryer, is also being reported on the washer, and vice versa.
The grounds on the ESP32 are all linked, but I made sure to use different physical connections for each transformer. I also separated the adc connections on the ESP32 as far as I physically could. If I remove the current transformer from either the washer or the dryer, and leave the other on, it reads correctly. If I change the leg I'm measuring on either the washer or the dryer, the result is the same.
- There could be a couple things going on here. The washer and dryer are both on the same circuit in the house (the washer is 110 and the dryer is 220, but 1 leg is common between them), I'm not sure if that would impact anything or not. Another thought is that maybe the current is being read on one leg of the circuit and is showing somehow on the other? I don't know... but maybe a diode could rule this out?
Let me know if you need anything else. I'll gladly provide as much info as possible.
I have setup an instance of "Home Assistant" to use as more of a monitor for the house, but also to automate a few things. One of my projects is to provide a notification of when laundry is done in both the washer and the dryer. My washer and dryer for some reason do not have any way to indicate that they are done, and yes, I checked all over . Both are electric.
So what I decided on to use as a sensor, is a combination of accelerometer/gyro and current transformer for both the washer and the dryer. For the dryer, its a bit overkill, as the current transformer by itself would be enough to tell if its on, but I want to see if the accelerometer would be able to detect the door opening. As for the washer, both are required due to how the cycles work and the fact that the motor does not always run. These both go to an ESP32 NodeMCU loaded up with "ESPHome" which integrates to "Home Assistant"
The setup:
Using the following article as a guide (including the dc bias spoken about below in the thread): https://openenergymonitor.org/forum-archive/node/156.html
R1 and R2 = 470Ω
Burden = 12Ω
The CT is a 1000:1 unit with 2 wires coming out with 10Ω internal resistance (see amazon link: amzn.com/B01LWN37KS)
The issue(s):
There are 2 issues I'm having, one of which may be solved by the other, but I'm not sure:
1. When the washer motor starts, from what I am gathering, it knocks the ESP32 offline and into a state where it refuses to reconnect. My thought here would be that the inrush current is causing an issue with the adc input and causing the ESP32 to crash.
- My thought here is to use a series resistor... but I'm not sure if that would work, and I might need a hand with the value based on the circuit I have.
2. The current being sensed on the dryer, is also being reported on the washer, and vice versa.
The grounds on the ESP32 are all linked, but I made sure to use different physical connections for each transformer. I also separated the adc connections on the ESP32 as far as I physically could. If I remove the current transformer from either the washer or the dryer, and leave the other on, it reads correctly. If I change the leg I'm measuring on either the washer or the dryer, the result is the same.
- There could be a couple things going on here. The washer and dryer are both on the same circuit in the house (the washer is 110 and the dryer is 220, but 1 leg is common between them), I'm not sure if that would impact anything or not. Another thought is that maybe the current is being read on one leg of the circuit and is showing somehow on the other? I don't know... but maybe a diode could rule this out?
Let me know if you need anything else. I'll gladly provide as much info as possible.