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kpt's profile

Monday, September 26th, 2022 5:32 PM

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Sensor for Power outage in outlet

Hello,

I would love if SimpliSafe offered a "outlet power outage" sensor. 
This sensor would have a 2-prong plug to check for power. When power is lost in the outlet, an alarm is raised.

Example : with GFCI outlets being mandatory in some states, a freezer may easily trip and lose power while the rest of the house is fine.
I'd love to be notified so I can take action before it is too late.
There are some devices on Amazon, but it's usually a very loud siren. I would prefer to be notified the same way as for my water sensor.

Thank you !

 

Community Admin

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5K Messages

1 year ago

Hi @kpt !

The Base Station of course already has a built-in Power Outage sensor - though it triggers a Push Notification, rather than a full alarm. So you could have your Base Station plugged into the same outlet/power strip as different appliances, and you'll get a double duty power outage sensor.

But I don't think that would work for major appliances, especially ones that use a different power adapter.

(edited)

1 Message

The base station loss of power indication is great for whole house power loss, but I can see a need for cases like freezers and such that are on independent circuits.   If the breaker blows on this circuit, having an alert could help avoid hundreds if not thousands of dollars in lost food.  Newer housing codes require GFCI circuits in garages and other areas that have the potential to get wet, and these circuits, as they age, can open under minimal loads.  Having a sensor that plugs in to the same outlet (and preferably provides a pass-through for another connection, such as the appliance itself) I think would be a pretty popular option, and hopefully much more affordable compared to adding base stations.

244 Messages

2 months ago

Bit late to this party, but are you handy?

If you are, you could use a door sensor, an unused USB power supply, and a 5 Volt mechanical or electrical relay rated for continuous duty.  Wire the relay normally-open contacts to the reed switch (gen 3 still use those?) of the door sensor.  Power the relay from the USB power supply.  Set up the sensor as a "secret alert". 

When whatever socket the USB supply is plugged into loses power, the relay will lose power and open up, the sensor will be tripped, and you'll get an alert.

Fair warning:  Simplisafe will not endorse this, and it will void the warranty of the sensor.  Don't try this unless you know what you are doing.

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