I’m tinkering with our ventilation over-pressure function in combination with an inline fan I run when 3D printing or soldering, to get the fumes and particulates out while simultaneously not creating a massive vacuum inside. The plan is to control it with MQTT from HA to a PLC that controls the ventilation via RS-485.

Therefore I’m looking for a simple but clean looking smart plug that I can integrate with HA to let me know when the fan is on (pulling power, actual wattage is irrelevant) to automatically enable this function.

I know Sonoff makes some, but I always prefer personal advice over random search results.
Preferably Zigbee or WiFi (offline) as I don’t have any Matter/Z-wave hub/dongle. Compact design and black would be nice, but not a must. Stability and ease of setup matters more than added functionality.

Does anyone have any personal experience to share?
I’m grateful if you do. Thanks!

  • Bronzie@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
    1·
    22 hours ago

    Sadly I can’t find the inrush current on it, but I’m hoping it will be fine. If I burn one, I’ll look to build some sort of soft starter myself.
    This hobby has turned into a deep rabbit hole long ago anyways….

    Thank you for the advice!

    • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zipEnglish
      2·
      21 hours ago

      I am running a 550 watt air conditioner on mine and it works. From what I can tell, it seems to take about 2000 watts immediately at startup, which is ~17 amps. The plug I have is rated for 15 amps and it seems to be alright. So far anyway.