Checking energy use and controlling devices on the world wide web

It is now relatively easy to assemble a composite module that incorporates 4 existing electronic circuits available on eBay that use mains voltage and is packaged so that the mains voltage components just plug in and are not exposed like the 5 V dc embedded system connectors of the modules.

The four modules that I think would make a useful and safer composite module if the mains voltage connectors are separated and simplified are -

• An ACS712 current sensor module

• An ac voltage sensor module

• A zero-crossing solid state relay similar to those made by FOTEK, and

• A 5V AC-DC Power Supply Buck Converter Step Down Module similar to those sold by ICStation

The composite module could have a simple mains voltage plug and an output power socket, with no mains voltage connectors exposed such as this -

Adding a further two low-voltage modules to the composite module allows energy use of any device to be measured and logged on the world wide web and also allows control of the device to be managed automatically from anywhere on the world wide web -

• A Mini USB Nano V3.0 ATmega328P 5V 16M Micro-controller Module similar to those sold on eBay

• An ESP8266 Esp-01 Serial Port WIFI Transceiver Module similar to those sold on eBay

UPDATE 27 January 2023 - See an example of what others are doing with this approach to energy monitoring technology - Mini Smart Wi-Fi Socket with Energy Monitoring

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