Measuring electricity consumption, one of the best features you can have today without any doubt. From lights to appliances, every watt consumed counts. But how many of us really know how much energy we are using and at what times of the day? Well, you have the answer with the new Sonoff POW CT. A new smart power meter with which we will be able to measure power consumption with intensities up to 100 amps.
Let’s get started!
New Sonoff POW CT
In this Channel we have already tested several electricity consumption meters, from one of the smallest and cheapest on the market to others somewhat more robust. So, let’s take a closer look at what this newly released device can do for us.
The Sonoff POW CT is the new version of the old Sonoff POW Elite, a direct power meter that supported up to 20 amps of consumption and that was really quite short for many metering applications, especially the total power consumption of our home.
Physical Characteristics of the Sonoff POW CT
The first thing I have to tell you is that I was surprised by the size of the packaging and is that in the previous version was much smaller, but when you open this box you understand the reason for its new size. And is that within this packaging we will find two completely new elements that were not in the previous version. We will have an added power transformer capable of withstanding currents of up to 100 amps and an external antenna to increase the range of the WiFi connection.
In the specific case of the Sonoff POW CT we find exactly the same design and size as its predecessor, but with three differences:
- A connection socket for the WiFi antenna.
- RJ9 port for power transformer connection.
- A normally open relay for control maneuvers.
Technical Characteristics of the Sonoff POW CT
This equipment is designed to work with voltages from 100 to 240 volts alternating at 50 and 60 hertz frequency. It has an LCD display on the front where we will see our measurement parameters in real time. Made of plastic, although it feels a good quality equipment. In this case we continue with WiFi connectivity at 2.4Ghz and apparently Zigbee is not something we will see very soon in this range of equipment. Finally, it has an adapter on the back of the equipment, perfect for placing it on the DIN rail of our electrical panel.
How to install the Sonoff POW CT?
After cutting the power supply, the first thing we will do is to place our POW Ring on the DIN rail of the electrical panel, once we make sure that it is well fixed we connect our WiFi antenna in the top connector of the POW Ring. Next, we will connect the RJ9 connector of our current transformer in the upper port destined for this equipment. This way we would already have connected all the necessary accessories for the operation of the Sonoff POW CT.
How to connect the Sonoff POW?
Let’s go now to the electrical wiring section, which, although it is very simple and perfectly marked, I always recommend you to take a look at the Instruction Manual of the equipment.
First we uncover the cover that protects our connection pins and we find 4 of them. The two on the right, marked with an L and an N correspond to the single-phase power supply of the equipment, L for our Phase and N for the Neutral. The other two connection pins are a new addition and correspond to a Normally Open Relay, which supports 2 amps in voltages from 0 to 240 volts in alternating or 0 to 30 volts direct. With this relay we will be able to generate automations and act on the equipment or circuits that we are measuring. But keep in mind that for these loads and intensities it is mandatory to use a contactor, otherwise we will burn our equipment.
The last thing to do after making our electrical connections is to place our current transformer on the phase wire where we want to measure our load or power consumption. For this example I will do it downstream of the general magneto-thermal protection of my electrical panel and in this way I guarantee to know the total consumption of all my electrical circuits.
How to install a current transformer correctly?
To correctly place our current transformer we simply open it, remember that it is an open core transformer. When we open it we will find in one of the interior walls with a sign indicating the correct position to place our current transformer. We will see a sign with P1 and an arrow pointing to P2, this indicates the position of our primary winding and our secondary winding with respect to the direction of the load we are measuring. In this case, if we want to measure all the consumption of the house we will only have to place the trafo with the arrow pointing in the direction from the connection to the circuits.
How to link the Sonoff POW CT to eWelink?
Now that we have all our connections made, we have prepared our maneuvers and we have powered the equipment to start working without any problem, the easiest part remains: Linking our POW Ring to the eWelink application.
There is nothing new in this section. We make sure we are connected to our 2.4 Ghz WiFi, open the eWelink application, add a new device, scan the QR code of the equipment and wait for it to be connected in a few seconds. You only have to give it a name to identify it and you are ready to work with the new device.
How much is the new Gadget?
Well this equipment is priced at $34.90 and at the moment will only be available on the official website of Sonoff. I leave you the link below along with a small gift for having reached this part of the article.
Sonoff POW CT Sonoff Official Sonoff Website
Get an additional 10% discount with the code: ALXMSONOFF
Is the Sonoff POW CT worth buying?
You have already seen what we can achieve with such a device and now I will give you my general opinion about the new Sonoff Smart Energy Meter.
Let’s start with the details that I liked the least. The first is the type of connectivity. For this equipment Sonoff has kept the WiFi connectivity that, if you are a user who only needs this or very little amount of equipment for Home Automation will not be a problem, but if you want to increase the load of equipment in the future, Wifi is not the ideal connectivity for this. Hopefully in the future we will see Zigbee versions of this equipment.
The other detail I have to point out is the external antenna. But this could only be a problem in case the WiFi signal does not reach your electrical panel well. I have tested the POW Ring without connecting the external antenna and it works perfectly. And is that mounting it, in electrical panels that do not have much room for maneuver can be problematic, since it must also be added that it is installed on the outside of the cabinet, so you must mechanize a little and make certain adaptations, something that, if you do not know, can be complicated.
Full Review of the Sonoff POW CT
Anyway you have a full review of this device on my Youtube Channel where you can see it working and I explain all this step by step. I leave you the link below and be sure to leave me the word BLOG in the comments so I know you are from this Community.
Automate Your Home with the Sonoff POW CT
Undoubtedly the new Sonoff meter is a very interesting piece of equipment, much more powerful than the POW Elite and definitely to be taken into account. Its ability to measure up to 100 amps with its current transformer and its relay to create the automation maneuvers that we can think of give it a very strong performance. For the moment I will continue to play a little with the Sonoff POW CT and we will see how it behaves over time.
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