Power Monitoring Smart plugs for plug in solar panels

DustyMeg

Would the power monitoring work when used with plug in solar panels?
So would it be able to read how much power the solar panels have produced?

Just thinking if could use these if the inverter I get does not have any local way of monitoring.

Thanks

AAllport

That’s a really interesting question, @DustyMeg,

In theory, yes. In practice it’s not something we’ve tested.
The BL0937 should be able to report the load correctly, but, it won’t be a signed number.
There are other PM ICs which will output a signed number, and therefore would support negative loads out of the box… ^{foreshadowing}

I believe there’s mechanisms in both Tasmota and ESPHome to manipulate the figures before they’re reported to HomeAssistant, via Rules and Filters respectively.

However, on the interest of safety, it’s important to remember the 13A max.
Additionally, we’d suggest using some form of safeguarding against accidental relay toggles.
At a minimum, hiding the switch in HomeAssistant, or using PowerOnState is a good place to start!