This is an interesting hack and I would love to have something like this for all my RCDs. I just think the proposed solution will not be suitable for monitoring all of house's RCDs. Some of the house zones don't have power sockets, in most common zoning layouts sockets are put together, then ceiling lights, appliances, etc. I would however buy a device that could monitor multiple (say 12) mains inputs and report them to Indigo. That could be installed next to the house's electrical switch box and report on all RCDs. Power monitors as the one suggested by John are not really useful for this use since you want to report when the RCD fires and cuts the mains of the zone. Not all zones will have frequent power consumption like one with a freezer or fridge will do. I use the Owl to report on my house's energy usage and it's fine for that.

I mentioned the freezer just as an example; mine sounds an alarm if the internal temperature rises. I just wanted to know when the power went off.

Just as an aside, using something like an Owl (or Sitesage or TED) Power monitor and/or 433 MHz temperature sensor/RFX plugin would seem a safer alternative for monitoring a freezer; a breaker trip is not the ONLY or even most common way for it to fail... it can become unplugged or the compressor can die. Having seen the results from both those issues happening to others, I'm a bit paranoid and have both a powerline monitor (thanks again Dave for the GhostXML plugin that lets me grab my power data every minute) with a trigger that alerts me if the freezer doesn't draw power for 12 hours, and an RFX433 thermometer that alerts me if the temperature ever goes over 20 F (-7 C).

Thanks very much!
Dave

Parts list as requested:

Evatron FE3 UK Large 13A Plug PSU Case (UK supplier RapidOnline)
Vigortronix VTX-214-003-105 3W AC-DC Power Supply Single Output 5V (UK supplier RapidOnline)
In-line mains fuse holder PC78K with 2A (max) mains fuse (UK supplier Maplin)
Multicomp HRAH-S-DC5V-C Signal Relay, HRA Series, SPDT, 5 VDC, 1 A (UK supplier Farnell or eBay)
Z-Wave Everspring Door & Window Detector (UK supplier Vesternet)
Short lengths of connecting wire (mains and 5v)
Heatshrink tubing to shroud connections

The detector needs to be small enough to fit inside the case, hence the Everspring. You have to take the Everspring case apart to snip out and discard the reed switch close to the glass so you can solder wires onto the remaining tails. Some detectors such as the Z-Wave Fibaro Universal Door & Window Sensor Gen5 (also Vesternet) have dry contact inputs you could use if you wanted to avoid modifications but I can't guarantee they'd fit in the case.

The more I think about this, the more intrigued I am. I've been trying to devise a simple way to monitor our whole-home generator and this seems like it might be particularly well suited. I think if I were to install an outlet between the generator and the mains, I could use one of these to register when the house was on generator power instead of the utility.

Please do post a parts list. Thanks!

Yes Dave - but in my experience the batteries last for at least a year, so not too onerous. :)

Very cool idea, nice job. I presume that the door switch runs on batteries--do you have to crack open the case to change the battery?

My house electrical system is divided into zones, each protected by a separate RCD. Occasionally one circuit trips, and sometimes it's a while before anyone notices. If it's the circuit supplying the freezer, for instance, that could cause a problem!

The Mac Mini which runs Indigo is supplied from a UPS so I thought it would be useful to have Indigo send me a notification if a breaker tripped elsewhere in the house.

I bought a plug-in PSU enclosure and used a miniature AC to DC converter, an in-line fuse, a 5v relay and a modified Z-Wave door sensor to provide Indigo with mains power status. I've attached the circuit and a pic of the finished product. All the components are contained the box. The circuit shows a 240v AC input but the converter I used accepts 90v-250v AC so with a different enclosure the circuit would be fine for the US too.

I can provide component details if anyone is interested.

Alan



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