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Nous A1Z 16A

Power Monitoring Plug (Zigbee)​

TypeVendorModelChipsetFirmwareTechnologyProtocol
Smart plugNousA1ZTasmotaZigbeeZigbee
  • Friendly name: Smart Zigbee Socket A1Z
  • Bought from: Amazon.nl
  • €54.99 for a 4-pack (March 2023)

Installation​

Introduction​

This smart plug is Zigbee based, meaning all communication goes over the Zigbee technology and protocol.

It needs to be connected to a Zigbee orchestrator. Any communication received by that orchestrator can be read by the Zigbee2MQTT service. Zigbee2MQTT exposes information to HomeAssistant using MQTT discovery. Finally, the device needs to be calibrated so that the energy readings are correct.

Prerequisites​

  • A working Zigbee dongle or hub
  • Zigbee2MQTT service running
Pairing​
  1. In the Zigbee2MQTT service set the following setting in the root of configuration.yaml
permit_join: true
  1. Plug in the socket (light will be blinking)
  2. Wait for a few seconds for the pairing to complete.
  3. Open configuration.yaml of the Zigbee2MQTT service and change the friendly name of the newly detected device like so:
devices:
  '0xa4c138053f778359':
-    friendly_name: '0xa4c138053f778359'
+    friendly_name: 'The Fan'
tip

Use a name that might be useful in phrases like "Hey Google, turn on <friendly_name> "

  1. Restart the Zigbee2MQTT service.
note

In Zigbee2MQTT, the following setting allows HomeAssistant to discover the paired devices.

homeassistant: true
  1. Inside HomeAssistant you should be able to see devices under the MQTT plugin
  1. Use the controls to test if the socket goes on and off without any problems.
note

In my case not all devices functioned as expected

Calibration​

Calibration of the energy meter can be done MQTT

I've found this guide: https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/devices/A1Z.html

Use an MQTT client (like MQTT Explorer) to send below commands.

Commands will consist of a topic and a payload. The topic is the first part of the command and the payload is the second (JSON) part of the command.

Check connection​

First things first, lets check that we are connected and calibrating the correct socket by switching it on and off.

zigbee2mqtt/the_fan/set {"state": "TOGGLE"}
Get status​

What are your thoughts?