{"id":2765,"date":"2020-04-09T04:34:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T11:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/?p=2765"},"modified":"2023-07-20T17:56:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T00:56:31","slug":"monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Monitoring Power Outages and Generator Status"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ttr_start\"><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"285\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FeaturedOutage-285x300.png\" alt=\"UPS Generator Power Outage\" class=\"wp-image-2766\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FeaturedOutage-285x300.png 285w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/FeaturedOutage.png 518w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 285px) 100vw, 285px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item using an affiliate link I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Affiliates do not influence my recommendations. Read my\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/disclosure-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disclosures<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever wanted to know when the power is out at your home? Or when the generator is running? Or when power is restored? Sure, many utilities provide updates on their web sites. However, if yours is like mine, they don&#8217;t provide any type of alerts or notifications. I decided this wasn&#8217;t good enough for me. Since my home is smart, why not set up my own notifications?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-662c2410ab1ff\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-662c2410ab1ff\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#Background\" title=\"Background\">Background<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#Monitoring_power_outages_with_my_UPS\" title=\"Monitoring power outages with my UPS\">Monitoring power outages with my UPS<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#CyberPower_PowerPanel_overview_and_installation\" title=\"CyberPower PowerPanel overview and installation\">CyberPower PowerPanel overview and installation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#CyberPower_PowerPanel_monitoring_and_alert_setup\" title=\"CyberPower PowerPanel monitoring and alert setup\">CyberPower PowerPanel monitoring and alert setup<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#Monitoring_power_outages_using_my_generator\" title=\"Monitoring power outages using my generator\">Monitoring power outages using my generator<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#Choosing_a_vibration_sensor_for_my_generator\" title=\"Choosing a vibration sensor for my generator\">Choosing a vibration sensor for my generator<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#Setting_up_the_Aqara_vibration_sensor_with_Home_Assistant\" title=\"Setting up the Aqara vibration sensor with Home Assistant\">Setting up the Aqara vibration sensor with Home Assistant<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#Setting_up_Home_Assistant_generator_monitoring_sensors_and_automations\" title=\"Setting up Home Assistant generator monitoring sensors and automations\">Setting up Home Assistant generator monitoring sensors and automations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#Final_Thoughts\" title=\"Final Thoughts\">Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Background\"><\/span>Background<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I liked to be <a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/preparing-your-smarthome-for-outages\/\">prepared for outages<\/a>. In my area, I have power outages every year so eventually, I saved up to install a standby generator. It&#8217;s been great. One day I came home and it was running, and I thought it was odd that I didn&#8217;t know I had a power outage. That&#8217;s when I got the idea to monitor for power outages and when my generator is running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Admittedly, my generator offers a paid service for this. They have an app that will alert me when the generator comes on or goes off, which would mean there&#8217;s a power outage. But it&#8217;s a recurring fee, and I&#8217;m not to keen on those. It also doesn&#8217;t offer any integration with 3rd parties, and I like for everything to integrate with <a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/why-home-assistant-is-the-perfect-smart-home-hub-for-me\/\">Home Assistant<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have a few things I&#8217;d like you to keep in mind as I take you through my journey of monitoring for power outages and generator activity in my smarthome. First, I know there are many ways to do these things, and I&#8217;m sure my way isn&#8217;t the best way, but I know it works. Second, although I use Home Assistant as the glue, I believe this approach could work with many smarthome hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Monitoring_power_outages_with_my_UPS\"><\/span>Monitoring power outages with my UPS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"135\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CyberPowerUPS-135x300.jpg\" alt=\"My CyberPower UPS\" class=\"wp-image-2768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CyberPowerUPS-135x300.jpg 135w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CyberPowerUPS-461x1024.jpg 461w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/CyberPowerUPS.jpg 675w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 135px) 100vw, 135px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>I have a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/38PEp4L\">Cyberpower UPS<\/a> that provides backup power to the two main servers in my house. It connects to my computer via USB, like most of their other models. I&#8217;ve been pretty happy with CyberPower UPSs over the years, especially since they support Linux. CyberPower provides monitoring software that supports Macs, Windows, and Linux that provides detailed UPS status information. In Linux, I could also use <a href=\"https:\/\/networkupstools.org\/\">Network UPS Tools (NUT)<\/a>. Since CyberPower provides a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowersystems.com\/product\/software\/power-panel-personal\/powerpanel-for-linux\/\">ready to use .deb file<\/a> for Ubuntu, I decided to go with that instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CyberPower&#8217;s PowerPanel UPS monitoring software provides the following features:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Email Alerts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Auto Shutdown<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Scheduled Shutdowns<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Self Testing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Battery Status (capacity, runtime, etc.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"CyberPower_PowerPanel_overview_and_installation\"><\/span>CyberPower PowerPanel overview and installation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The installation of the software is pretty straight forward. Simply download the .deb file and use your preferred program to install it. I like command line so I went with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/x-sh&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;Shell&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;}\">dpkg -i powerpanel_ver_amd64.deb<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Next up, I ran the following command to test that the installation worked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/x-sh&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;Shell&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;}\"> sudo pwrstat -status<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Which gave me this output: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/x-sh&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;Shell&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;}\">The UPS information shows as following:\n\n\tProperties:\n\t\tModel Name................... CP1500AVRLCDa\n\t\tFirmware Number.............. CTHGZ2005289\n\t\tRating Voltage............... 120 V\n\t\tRating Power................. 900 Watt(1500 VA)\n\n\tCurrent UPS status:\n\t\tState........................ Normal\n\t\tPower Supply by.............. Utility Power\n\t\tUtility Voltage.............. 118 V\n\t\tOutput Voltage............... 118 V\n\t\tBattery Capacity............. 100 %\n\t\tRemaining Runtime............ 21 min.\n\t\tLoad......................... 279 Watt(31 %)\n\t\tLine Interaction............. None\n\t\tTest Result.................. Unknown\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When the power is out I get a readout similar to this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/x-sh&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;Shell&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;}\">The UPS information shows as following:\n\n\tProperties:\n\t\tModel Name................... CP1500AVRLCDa\n\t\tFirmware Number.............. CTHGZ2005289\n\t\tRating Voltage............... 120 V\n\t\tRating Power................. 900 Watt(1500 VA)\n\n\tCurrent UPS status:\n\t\tState........................ Power Failure\n\t\tPower Supply by.............. Battery Power\n\t\tUtility Voltage.............. 0 V\n\t\tOutput Voltage............... 120 V\n\t\tBattery Capacity............. 100 %\n\t\tRemaining Runtime............ 21 min.\n\t\tLoad......................... 234 Watt(31 %)\n\t\tLine Interaction............. None\n\t\tTest Result.................. Unknown\n        Last Power Event............. Blackout at 2020\/02\/23 07:18:56\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The key fields to note are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Power Supply by &amp; State<\/strong> &#8211; These fields indicate whether the UPS is running on utility power or battery power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Remaining Runtime<\/strong> &#8211; This is how long at the current load the UPS estimates the battery will last.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Last Power Event<\/strong> &#8211; This field indicates when power was lost.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"CyberPower_PowerPanel_monitoring_and_alert_setup\"><\/span>CyberPower PowerPanel monitoring and alert setup<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>PowerPanel also installs a daemon that can alert you when the power goes out as well as shut down your machine before your battery runs out of power. The configuration file on my system is \/etc\/pwrstatd.conf. The key options I configured for sending an alert are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/x-sh&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;Shell&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;}\">powerfail-active = yes\npowerfail-delay = 0\npowerfail-cmd-path = \/home\/hth\/bin\/crons\/poutage.bash<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>These options, in order, tell PowerPanel to run a shell script when there is a power outage, with no delay after a power outage. The final option gives the location of the script to run on power outage. I decided on a pretty simple script:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/x-sh&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;Shell&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;shell&quot;}\">pwrstat -status |  mail -r &quot;return@example.com&quot; -s &quot;Power Outage: Office UPS on Battery Power&quot; recipient@example.com\nsleep 60\npwrstat -status |  mail -r &quot;return@example.com&quot; -s &quot;Power Outage Update: UPS Status 1 Minute Later&quot; recipient@example.com<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a simple three-line script. The first line sends an email that says the power is out and gives me the status of the UPS. Those are fake email addresses in the example above. I actually have it send an email to the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/SMS_gateway#Email_clients\">email to text gateway<\/a> for my mobile network provider so I get a text on my phone when the network is out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, because my generator usually kicks in around 30 seconds, I have it send an additional update a minute later that should show the UPS is back on &#8220;Utility Power.&#8221; However, it will show as utility power if my generator is on or if power is fully restored, which led me to my next project<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Monitoring_power_outages_using_my_generator\"><\/span>Monitoring power outages using my generator<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>My UPS can reliably tell me when the utility power goes out, but it can&#8217;t tell me when it&#8217;s back because it can&#8217;t distinguish between utility power and generator power. So I thought through a few different options for monitoring my utility power:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Add some type of smart relay to the automatic transfer switch connected to my generator. Ultimately decided against this because I didn&#8217;t want to mess with it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add some type of smart clamp to read power coming from the utility or generator. Problem is that smart versions of these clamps aren&#8217;t cheap, and I would still need a way to power them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pay for the monitoring service from Generac. No integration with the rest of my smarthome, and a recurring fee. No thank you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/jgyates\/genmon\/blob\/master\/README.md\">genmon project<\/a>. This looks like a sweet project for Generac generators, but I worry future firmware upgrades might affect it. I also would have to take apart my generator a bit to install it. It has everything I need and more. However, all I really want is to know when my generator is running and when it isn&#8217;t.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>After some consideration, I passed on all these options and decided to keep it simple. When my generator is on, it makes a decent amount of noise and produces vibration. Why not just attach a vibration sensor to it to tell me when it is on and off?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Choosing_a_vibration_sensor_for_my_generator\"><\/span>Choosing a vibration sensor for my generator<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"272\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Aqara-272x300.jpg\" alt=\"Xiaomi Mijia Aqara Vibration Sensor for generator detection\" class=\"wp-image-2771\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Aqara-272x300.jpg 272w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Aqara.jpg 343w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 272px) 100vw, 272px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xiaomi Mijia Aqara Vibration Sensor<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>It turns out there aren&#8217;t a ton of vibration sensors on the market. I have both a<a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/home-assistant-zigbee-zwave\/\"> Zigbee and a Z-wave network running with Home Assistant<\/a> and that lead me to these 3 sensors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3aRIqqK\">Xiaomi Mijia Aqara Vibration Sensor (Zigbee).<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2vmAdf5\">SmartThings Window and Multipurpose Sensor<\/a> (Zigbee &#8211; has a vibration sensor as well as other sensors)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/38RWU8D\">Fibaro Multisensor<\/a> (Z-Wave, has vibration as well as other sensors)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, I settled on the Aqara vibration sensor because it is only a vibration sensor and it is the least expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Setting_up_the_Aqara_vibration_sensor_with_Home_Assistant\"><\/span>Setting up the Aqara vibration sensor with Home Assistant<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Set up was mostly straight forward. For reference, I use the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3aUXp3h\">Nortek (GoControl) HUSBZB-1 USB stick<\/a> to power my Zigbee and Z-Wave networks. I simply go to the <strong>Home Assistant Configuration page<\/strong> and select <strong>ZHA integration <\/strong>towards the bottom of the page. Then I click on Add Devices. Here&#8217;s where it can get a bit tricky. Normally to pair Zigbee devices I just have to put them in pairing mode once. With this device, I had to keep pressing the pairing button each second (about 5-10 seconds in total) until it paired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After pairing, Home Assistant created a binary sensor to indicate motion (vibration) and a battery level sensor. After testing and installing the Aqara sensor on the generator I added an additional MQTT sensor and some automations to determine if the generator is running. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"938\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VibrationOnGenerator-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C469&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Vibration sensor installed inside the generator housing\" class=\"wp-image-2775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VibrationOnGenerator-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VibrationOnGenerator-scaled-300x137.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VibrationOnGenerator-scaled-1024x469.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VibrationOnGenerator-scaled-768x352.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VibrationOnGenerator-scaled-1536x704.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vibration sensor installed inside the generator housing<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Setting_up_Home_Assistant_generator_monitoring_sensors_and_automations\"><\/span>Setting up Home Assistant generator monitoring sensors and automations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I set up an MQTT sensor for tracking when the generator is on or off to avoid false positives. A ball hitting the generator (I have kids) or a rock or a loud sound would set off the vibration sensor of the Aqara. So I wanted a sensor that would only indicate the generator was on after the sensor had detected vibration for a couple of minutes straight. Let&#8217;s start with the MQTT sensor (if you haven&#8217;t set up MQTT with Home Assistant, check out <a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/mqtt-using-docker-and-home-assistant\/\">my how-to with Docker)<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;yaml&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/yaml&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;YAML&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;yaml&quot;}\">- platform: mqtt\n    name: &quot;Generator Status&quot;\n    state_topic: 'home\/GeneratorStatus'\n    qos: 2\n    device_class: power<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"476\" height=\"157\" src=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/HAGenerator.png\" alt=\"MQTT Generator Sensor In Home Assistant\" class=\"wp-image-2774\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/HAGenerator.png 476w, https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/HAGenerator-300x99.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">MQTT Generator Sensor in Home Assistant<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This code is placed in the <strong>binary_sensor:<\/strong> section of my configuration.yaml file. It&#8217;s a basic binary sensor. The power device_class gives it a nice icon in the Home Assistant frontend. Then I wrote two automations to set the generator sensor as on or off depending on the status of the vibration sensor:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;yaml&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/yaml&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;YAML&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;yaml&quot;}\">- id: generator_is_on\n  alias: Generator is on\n  initial_state: true\n  trigger:\n    platform: state\n    entity_id: binary_sensor.generator_motion\n    from: 'off'\n    to: 'on'\n    for:\n      hours: 0\n      minutes: 1\n      seconds: 30\n  action:\n  - service: mqtt.publish\n    data:\n      topic: home\/GeneratorStatus\n      payload: 'ON'\n      retain: true\n      qos: 2\n\n\n- id: generator_is_off\n  alias: Generator is off\n  initial_state: true\n  trigger:\n    platform: state\n    entity_id: binary_sensor.generator_motion\n    from: 'on'\n    to: 'off'\n    for:\n      hours: 0\n      minutes: 0\n      seconds: 30\n  action:\n  - service: mqtt.publish\n    data:\n      topic: home\/GeneratorStatus\n      payload: 'OFF'\n      retain: true\n      qos: 2\n<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Basically, when the vibration sensor (binary_sensor.generator_motion) is on for 90 seconds the generator status is set to on. When the motion stops for 30 seconds the generator status is set to off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, I just need a couple of automations to send an alert (I use Hangouts for my alerts) when the generator is on or off:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-codemirror-blocks-code-block code-block\"><pre class=\"CodeMirror\" data-setting=\"{&quot;showPanel&quot;:true,&quot;languageLabel&quot;:&quot;language&quot;,&quot;fullScreenButton&quot;:true,&quot;copyButton&quot;:true,&quot;mode&quot;:&quot;yaml&quot;,&quot;mime&quot;:&quot;text\/yaml&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;material&quot;,&quot;lineNumbers&quot;:false,&quot;styleActiveLine&quot;:false,&quot;lineWrapping&quot;:false,&quot;readOnly&quot;:true,&quot;fileName&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;YAML&quot;,&quot;maxHeight&quot;:&quot;400px&quot;,&quot;modeName&quot;:&quot;yaml&quot;}\">- id: generator_started_running\n  alias: Generator Started Running\n  initial_state: true\n  trigger:\n    platform: state\n    entity_id: binary_sensor.generator_status\n    from: 'off'\n    to: 'on'\n  action:\n  - service: hangouts.send_message\n    data:\n      target:\n      - name: Home Assistant\n      message:\n      - text: 'ALERT: The generator is running'\n\n\n- id: generator_stopped_running\n  alias: Generator Stopped Running\n  initial_state: true\n  trigger:\n    platform: state\n    entity_id: binary_sensor.generator_status\n    from: 'on'\n    to: 'off'\n  action:\n  - service: hangouts.send_message\n    data:\n      target:\n      - name: Home Assistant\n      message:\n      - text: 'ALERT: The generator stopped running'<\/pre><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s it! Now I know when my generator is running and when it&#8217;s not. In some ways, this is better than using a power clamp to detect power coming from the generator because this also tells me when my generator spins up to &#8220;exercise&#8221; and for how long. It runs once a week for 5-10 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, that was a long way to determine when my power is out and when it returns. I can use my UPS to determine when power is cut, and a simple Zigbee vibration sensor to determine when my generator is running (power outage) and when it stops (power returned). There are many other ways to do this, but this works for me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you monitoring for power outages in your smarthome? How are you implementing it? Let me know in the comments or on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HomeTechHacker\">Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background-color:#f4fcf5; border-width:5px; border-style:solid; border-color:#3e5ba9; padding: 15px;\"><h5 data-tadv-p=\"keep\"><span style=\"color: #3e5ba9;\"><strong>Interested in supporting HomeTechHacker?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p>Have you found the content on this site useful? If so, are you interested in supporting me and this site? There&#8217;s no obligation of course, but I would really appreciate any support you can give. Below are a few ways you can show support:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Share this site with your friends and on social media (use the sharing links at the end of this page for your convenience)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><span class=\"tve-leads-two-step-trigger tl-2step-trigger-382\"><span style=\"color: #009e1c;\"><strong>Subscribe to this site<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li>Purchase one of my books, <em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3CFSyUH\" rel=\"noopener\">The Personal Cybersecurity Manual<\/a><\/em>, <em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3CAhJYG\" rel=\"noopener\">The Home Network Manual<\/a><\/em> or <em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3RiM0zE\" rel=\"noopener\">The Smart Home Manual<\/a><\/em>, for yourself or as a gift<\/li>\n<li>Put a link to HomeTechHacker on a site you have access to. Be sure to <a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/contact\/\">let me know about it<\/a>!<\/li>\n<li>Enroll in <a href=\"https:\/\/academy.hometechhacker.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HomeTechHacker Academy<\/a> for free and premium online home technology courses.<\/li>\n<li>Reach out to me via my <a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/contact\/\">contact page<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HomeTechHacker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> and let me know something I should write about<\/li>\n<li>Shop at Amazon through my affiliate links and ads on these pages. See my <a href=\"http:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/disclosure-policy\/\">disclosures<\/a> for more details about affiliate links. You can also just shop from one of the links below:\n<ol>\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/shop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HomeTechHacker Shop<\/a><\/strong>: This is a listing of products that I use, have reviewed, and that I recommend<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/hometechhacker-technology-advisor-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HomeTechHacker Technology Advisor<\/a><\/strong>: This suite of tools will give you customized home technology product recommendations based on your needs<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3AuOpOQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">My Amazon affiliate link<\/a><\/strong>: Just click on this link to go to Amazon and shop<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<br>Thank you! I really appreciate it!<\/br><\/div>\n<div class=\"ttr_end\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever wanted to know when the power is out at your home? Or when the generator is running? Or when power is restored? Sure, many utilities provide updates on their &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Monitoring Power Outages and Generator Status\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/hometechhacker.com\/monitoring-power-outages-and-generator-status\/#more-2765\" aria-label=\"Read more about Monitoring Power Outages and Generator Status\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[303,97,3,48],"tags":[141,46,139],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Monitoring Power Outages and Generator Status - HomeTechHacker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I like to know everything going on in systems in my home including outages. 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