Energy monitoring is an important feature for smart home builds that allows users to keep an eye on what parts of the home contribute the most to their energy bills. One of the easiest ways to take advantage of this information is through the use of smart plugs that support this feature, as there aren’t any wires or installation involved (unlike a switch or outlet). For those with Z-Wave setups, Minoston has a perfect solution, which we have been testing for just over a week now.
Z-Wave is a protocol that continues to live on through time, competing head-to-head with other modern options like Zigbee and Matter. Each generation expands on its capabilities, with the 800-series specializing in just about every aspect, including user-friendliness, security, range, expandability, and things like energy monitoring. Z-Wave devices work with any hub that supports Z-Wave, which covers everything from Home Assistant to SmartThings, as well as Alexa and Google Assistant if your hub interacts with these.
In this case, we have been testing two indoor plugs from Minoston. Both models offer the exact same features, but cover two different design types. One features a simple square design, while the other features a rectangular design. In the end, it really just comes down to what will fit best where you plan to use it.
Both of these are capable of up to 15A, depending on what you have plugged into them. You either have 15A with general resistive loads (most devices), or up to 10A with tungsten (incandescent lights). They are both 800-series Z-Wave with built-in S2 Security and support for Z-Wave LR (long-range) hubs. They can both act as extenders for the rest of your Z-Wave devices, and this can be up to 1,300 ft if using a Z-Wave LR hub (less for normal Z-Wave hubs).
Plug 1) Minoston Z-Wave 800 Series Energy Power Monitor Smart Plug (MP21ZP)
This is the square model that offers a more compact feel, but may overlap with other nearby outlets above it. Thus, it is a little more bulky top-to-bottom. Potentially great for powerstrips and other situations where it won’t block surrounding outlets.
Plug 2) Minoston Z-Wave 800 Series Energy Power Monitor Smart Plug (MP31ZP)
This rectangular design spreads its circuits/insides around to consume a little more footprint in general, but not as much top-to-bottom, making it great for general outlets. Allowing you to typically use the outlet above or below it.
Energy Monitoring – Find your leaky devices!
With energy rates going up all over, it’s more important than ever to best understand what consumes the most energy around your house. Thankfully, more and more products like these are coming with the ability to monitor the energy use of the devices plugged into them, thus providing an easy way to accomplish this.
It would be smart to have them spread about some of your hungriest devices. Such as computers, entertainment systems/setups (ie, a power strip with a TV, cable box, gaming system, etc), washer, dryer, and so on. As long as those devices support 10A-15A at 125V, depending on the load, of course.
In our case, we brought these two plugs into a home and placed one on a powerful PC and the other on a small mini PC. Allowing us to see what these consume compared to certain other devices around the home (they aren’t the only energy monitor on that network).
Using these plugs, we were able to discover that the powerful PC (for gaming/editing) consumes around an average of 5 to 6 kWh a day (which is actually quite a lot), making it one of the biggest power drains in the home since it runs 24/7. At the same time, we were able to determine that the mini PC only consumes around 0.15 to 0.17 kWh daily (this is used for Home Assistant, acting as the hub for all smart devices throughout the home). Thus, it isn’t much of a threat at all.
So we now know that the “powerful” PC is one of the top energy-using items in the home. Placing it in the top 4, which also includes the A/C, tankless water heater, and refrigerator. Promoting the idea that maybe what requires it to run 24/7 should be moved to another system (ie, email routing, Plex, or anything else that might encourage someone to keep a system running all day) to help balance the load (saving use of the PC for gaming/editing and other tasks a milder system won’t be able to accomplish).
Z-Wave Performance (overall)
So we have seen a lot of success thus far with these plugs when it comes to keeping tabs on energy use, but what about everything else? Well, the experience has been relatable all around!
Adding these plugs to the network involved only a few seconds of work. As mentioned, we are using Home Assistant (a self-hosted/managed hub solution). It’s a little more intense to set up and requires an external USB adapter for Z-Wave devices, vs options like SmartThings or Vera, but the experience should be around the same no matter which hub you use (as long as it supports Z-Wave).
Pairing them was as easy as plugging them in and scanning the QR code on the side of each plug with the Home Assistant app. Both were immediately added within (as mentioned) a few seconds and were ready for naming and control. From there, we were able to add various features to scenes/automations or energy dashboards.
When it comes to their ability to act as natural Z-Wave extenders (gone are the days when you had to buy actual/separate extenders), you can’t exactly measure them with anything, but the more 800-series devices you have spread around that support the extendability feature, the less you’ll ever have to worry about spotty Z-Wave coverage. Ever since upgrading to 800-series devices in that home, those living there were able to give away the separate stand-alone extenders they used to make use of. So it really is a positive spec to appreciate within the series.
We haven’t experienced any disconnects or any troubles thus far. Keep in mind, we have only been using them for just over a week now. At the same time, we haven’t really had any trouble with any of the 800-series devices (so we predict these will be just as reliable).
Our Conclusion
Z-Wave 800-series devices are highly dependable, and these plugs are no different. Their robust construction and specs drop them into a modern and powerful category of smart home products. Especially, thanks to their ability to monitor energy use as well (which can really change the way you use your devices around the home).
The price point also feels acceptable, falling into an MSRP of $29.99 each. It might seem a little expensive, but most Z-Wave devices are (even more so when they offer options like energy monitoring). It will likely be another few years before these specs become a little more standard and you see prices fall a little due to growing competition.
Additional Images:
Specifications:
- Protocol/Standard: Z-Wave (800 Series)
- Z-Wave S2 Security
- Energy Monitoring
- Z-Wave Extender (up to 1,300 ft with Z-Wave LR hubs)
- Z-Wave Frequency: 908.42MHz
- Material: Polycarbonate (PC)
- Voltage: 125 Volts (AC)
- Max Load: 15A 1875W Resistive load / 10A MAX 1250W Tungsten
- Temperature Range: 32°F – 104°F
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
