Grid Connect tips, tricks and help

[CSParnell]

Hi all,

I thought it may he good to have a feed where we could share any tips and tricks to do with any of the Grid Connect Range being Arlec, Deta, Verve, Orion.

I am learning from trial and error and really just accident so sharing with others and sharing back we may be able to create some good learning information for us all.

Please post below starting with what the trick is as the title then how to do so as the body of information.

Carl 

[EricL]

Hi @GreenHouse 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.

Thank you for sharing this fantastic tip with our members. I totally agree with you that a fresh installation is much better than an update to an old system. It immediately resolves update conflict issues, and you don't have to worry what version of software you're running.

Again, thanks for sharing this excellent solution.

Eric

[GreenHouse]

Hi @CSParnell,

Not sure I understand it, but did the 'Light Sensor' actually work with the Grid Connect App?

Are the automations you've shown part of the Grid Connect App?

I have been putting together my own version of a 'Light Sensor' that should work with Grid Connect App BUT it will be all a waste of time if this one works. 🤔

Regards

Craig Green

PS: Hoping to Post what I've done soon once I've finished the last bit of wiring an prove it works. 😀

[CSParnell]

@GreenHouse 

Yes the Tuya light sensor works just fine under the Grid Connect App as Grid Connect is just a reskinned version of Tuya Smart anyways. All Tuya based products will work under Grid Connect App.

I have migrated over to Smart Life App which is Tuya as well and all my Grid Connect devices work under that App.

[GreenHouse]

Many thanks for your rapid reply!

You have given me confidence to buy one - although they have gone up in price now. ☹️

AliExpress has them for $23 BUT there appears to be  two versions:

• Tuya WiFi version and . . . 
• Tuya Zigbee version.

Apparently, the Zigbee version needs to connect to a Tuya Zigbee Gateway, or it won't work.

But the WiFi version doesn't need to connect to the Zigbee Gateway, as it can connect to 2.4G WiFi directly.

They are available on EBay, but I'm not 100% sure I will get the correct one and so, I will give AliExpress a go.

I will continue making my own Grid Connect Light Sensor, but if the Tuya one works, it will be way better! 😀

(I plan to post my own version soon as the technique my be of interest to some.)

Also good to know about Grid Connect devices working on Tuya.  I will give this a go too.

Regards

Craig Green

[GreenHouse]

Hi Again . . .

Ordered the sensor - Now the wait for delivery from China. (Hope I get the right one!)

Downloaded the Smart Life App and the one Arlec Grid Connect device I tried worked fine on the App just as you said.

I even downloaded it in BlueStacks on my PC and it works fine.

Thanks for all your advice and encouragement! 😀

Regards

Craig Green

[CSParnell]

@GreenHouse All good mate. 

I find the Smart Life app a little better it has energy monitoring as well. You will find plenty of Tuya products on online stores just be aware not to import 230v rated products that are not compliant to Australian standards they will void your insurance plus can be dangerous. 

I was running one of these little light sensors to change intensity of lights through the house. I need to set it up again. I migrated to Home Assistant but I got sick of always messing around with it so I went back to Smart Life and Google Home.

 

[GreenHouse]

You are spot on ! ! !

People often get blinded by the cheap price of an unapproved product and forget about the insurance ramifications should a fire occur.

[GreenHouse]

DIY Grid Connect Low Voltage Interface:

This one probably doesn’t belong in this forum BUT it’s more of a curiosity and not necessarily practical.  Some may find it of interest . . .

As far as I know, there are no Grid Connect devices that allow users to take a low voltage input (or a voltage free relay closure) from some random device, which would then allow control of other Grid Connect devices using the Grid Connect App.

I decided to see if this could be done using a few simple components. I had on hand a 12V DC light sensor module I purchased from ebay several years ago, and I wanted to see (as an example) if I could interface the relay output of this module with Grid Connect.

Apart from the light sensor module, I decided to use the body of a Grid Connect ‘Contact Sensor’ SGS04HA, a coil from a miniature relay (to act as an electromagnet) and a 12V 1A DC power plug. (The coil takes the place of the small magnetic part of the Contact Sensor.)

If the coil is energised in the proximity of the SGS04HA Contact Sensor, it simulates a ‘Close’ and when the coil is de-energised, it simulates an ‘Open’ of the Contact Sensor.

No moving parts!  The change in switch status of the Contact Sensor now reflects a lighting condition change (‘dark’ / ‘light’).

Interestingly enough, I pulled the coil out of a Grid Connect Smart Plug Socket that had blown up, although, a coil from any miniature relay would do. Getting the coil out took quite a bit of time and effort due to the size of the delicate coil. I encapsulated the coil in resin in a Lego brick.  I then mounted all the various components, including the module’s light dependent resistor (LDR) in a small ABS electronic project enclosure, did a little bit of internal wiring and connected the 12V power plug to the sensor module.

The coil (electromagnet) was supplied from the same 12V supply via the relay output of the module.

(It’s a 5 Volt 53 Ohm coil and so I had to use a 68 Ohm 1W resistor in series with the coil to run it at 5V.  Although, I’m considering using a 150 Ohm resistor to run the coil at 3V as I suspect the electromagnet doesn’t need to be as strong.)

In my case, I configured the light sensor module to provide a contact closure when the light level reduce to about 10 Lux. (Calibrating the lighting level with the set screw on the light sensor module was a little inconvenient.)

It’s then a simple matter of creating suitable Scenes / Automations to perform the required functions for the ‘dark’ / ‘light’ conditions.

This technique could be used to accommodate an output from any component or control module, as long as the electromagnetic coil and be energised / de-energised.

Not necessarily the best and only way, but it’s all I could think of and it works quite well.

I hasten to add, I have ordered a Tuya WiFi light sensor and I’m sure it will work way better than the above. Can’t wait to try it out ! ! !

All of the above would not be necessary if Arlec made a ‘Smart Input’ module that could accept a small voltage or a voltage free contact as an input.

It would also be great if they made a ‘Smart Output’ module that had, as its output, a voltage free changeover relay.

Maybe both in one ‘Smart I/O’ module!?  THEN, you could interface just about anything to anything in the Grid Connect eco-system! 🙂

[CSParnell]

@GreenHouse nice Hack it looks like you really need to step into Home Assistant to open up your world of possibilities of home automation and integration.

One recommendation the more you can get onto a Zigbee network the better, Wifi is so unreliable. If you have any fluctuations or drop out in your internet connection even on FTP like me you spend most afternoon fixing unpaired devices that drop off the network due to the internet dropouts. At least with Zigbee it's paired to a hub much like Bluetooth.

[EricL]

Hello @GreenHouse 

Thank you for sharing your project.

Just a friendly reminder to our members to always keep electrical safety in mind. If you need to make any electrical repairs always refer it to a registered electrician.

Eric