Use without Cloud

[Pete6]

My first post here so, Hi everybody.  My GEN 2 EMPORIA VUE WITH 16 SENSORS & PAIR OF FLEXIBLE CURRENT SENSORS will be delivered tomorrow and I’m looking forward to getting up and running.  I bought this system mainly to do load balancing when running my generator/inverter which is a Harbor Freight 8750 Inverter.  This can run everything in my house but not all at once.  Hence the Vue 2.

I have a rather large Eaton CHP42B200 load center with 42 breaker slots.  Not all of these are used but, most are.  I’m planning on monitoring the 16 heaviest power usage circuits before buying a second unit if that seems warranted.

I have discovered however that the Vue 2 only works in the cloud which means that if my fiberoptic internet goes off when the power goes off (which it usually does) I am stuck with just my home LAN, router and local WiFi when running on generator.  The Vue 2 will probably stop giving me meaningful data whilst the internet is out.

Please can you make a way to continue to gather real time data when I have whole house electricity but no incoming internet.  I’ll take anything from a CSV data stream that will feed an MQTT server to just a file that will write the same to my local NAS to a full blown API that will integrate with HomeSeer.

However I have to get off the cloud. Unless you write a “home cloud” that will run on my LAN.  Just a thought…

Meanwhile, I can monitor typical usage and learn the average and maximum loads from my monitored breakers and manually write the values into a spreadsheet for when the internet and power fail but this, I feel is, at best a work around.

Pete

 

 

[yyzguy]

Others have asked about using vue without cloud and it seems this isn’t possible.   However, I think you should be able to put your internet connection electronics on a UPS in order to keep data,flowing during a utility power outage.    You should be able to use a UPS for your fiber termination (ONT).    Presumably, your ISP has emergency backup power at the other end of the fiber connection.

You would need a large enough UPS to keep power running long enough until your generator kicks in or utility power is restored

The vue itself also needs power.   It needs AC power in order to power the device but also to measure the phase of the AC circuits.

i experienced a 3 hour utility outage yesterday.   My UPS maintained the internet connection for about an hour before the battery was depleted.   However, no data was available anyway because the vue wasn’t powered until the utility power was restored.   As I don’t have a generator backup there wasn’t any power usage to measure either.

 

 

[djwakelee]

At least in my area, a loss of power at the home also results in power loss across the utility area.  The various amplifiers (for cable) or extenders (for fiber) loose power also, and then no internet anyway – even if home has a UPS.  The new cellular gateways don’t have that problem (such as from Verizon and T-mobile), nor would Starlink.  But making a change like that seems extreme just for energy monitoring to be maintained during a power outage.

[yyzguy]

I thought it was standard for ISPs to provide backup power to their off premises equipment.   That’s awful if they don’t, especially if power outages are a frequent occurrence in your area.    Could it be an oversight?   I’d give them a call, if possible, to at least let them know there’s a problem.    Would you mind posting the name of your ISP?

[djwakelee]

I suspect it is more of an issue with cable, since all those RF amplifiers you see on the utility poles are not battery backed.  Spectrum is my provider, but definitely not unique issue to them.  The OP also mentioned that his fiber internet usually goes out when the power goes out. Not clear if his issue is small battery in supplied home fiber equipment, or if a power loss in the service upstream.  The only ‘wired’ service that worked in my area during power outages was DSL – worked just like wired phone lines during no power.  But no one uses DSL anymore if they can avoid it, since relatively low bandwidth.

[Pete6]

Thanks to all for your replies.  My Inverter runs the entire house but, not everything at once.  This is why I need the Vue 2.  My router, Ubiquiti WiFi and all necessary electronics will all be running during a power outage.  The problem here is the AT&T fiber often goes out with the power.  Last time a truck hit a power pole and this severed several “cables” including the fiber optic to my, and other, subdivisions.  The Vue 2 is powered from the inverter too.

I do have UPSs and they hold up my stuff for long enough to get the generator/inverter running but that is not the issue here.  The lack of incoming internet is.

All I really need is a simple webpage on the Vue 2 showing real time data if I cannot see cloud data.  This may also be an issue for those using off-grid systems, satellite internet excepted, of course.

 

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