Remote Shore Power Monitoring for a Seasonal RV Site

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Original Member Title: Monitoring power when not at the RV for long periods
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An RVer planning to leave a coach at a full-hookup seasonal site in Quartzsite wanted a way to monitor shore power from 1,700 miles away, despite having an inverter, lithium batteries, solar, Victron equipment, Starlink, and a hardwired Progressive Industries EMS. Members pointed out that anything plugged into inverter-powered outlets could keep running for days after shore power failed, so the key issue was finding a non-inverter outlet to monitor.

Suggestions included pointing a camera at...
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UTTransplant

UTTransplant

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2011
Posts
7,791
Location
Cedar Falls, IA
We are renting a seasonal site this winter, October through March. It is a FHU campground, but the surrounding area is not known for 100% reliable power. We would like to come up with a way to monitor the incoming electrical power from 1700 miles away since we will be gone between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and maybe even earlier. We have a Magnum inverter, 600 amp hours of LiFeBlue lithium batteries, a Progressive Industries EMS without the current BlueTooth technology, 900 watts of solar, and a Victron 412 with BlueTooth controlling everything. We will also leave our Starlink operational. I know the batteries won’t be damaged if the power goes off because their BMS will turn them off. But I would like to know what is going on while we aren’t there. What tools are available for this type of monitoring? It seems like something undoubtably already exists, and we just don’t know about it because we never needed it. Recommendations?
 
amazon.com/WYZE-IP65-Rated-Security-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B0B9TWY11Q/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3H1ZI1U2I56XC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lfdfEoYXE9cZgdq62jLrw2JlWOwI0Bymdu7kkwGUFlOoqVaQX8Y-pTUk7C8syttZadVtH6Fc3yfrttt9RJL_JgCG9Hd-Bv_LZPLZoBXLY2U8mFjDvgsvuL-ntnXxQZJWyZ43tVI6lR3qErRLc2deNZ7DXTJj7roRaZuQEe8XRCDJhEq1n4rXCnDG-xwYCBSzEXSWPsMFUaL2F1Tho410QsxywuV3DYXcl7VMKUbsnNw.bBTeiB78JDUO1NrQbmYmxqNW7oyW3jHJGLmp_Tgc9ak&dib_tag=se&keywords=wyze+camera&qid=1784236940&sprefix=wyze%2Caps%2C437&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

These are cheap and work well. I am currently in the hospital and use them to check on my cat.
 
Wiping any gobbly-gook after the first " ? " usually also wipes out any internet tracking...

amazon.com/WYZE-IP65-Rated-Security-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B0B9TWY11Q/ref=sr_1_1_sspa

Or insert the shortened link into a word or phrase. Amazon Camera

Just looks cleaner.
 
OldWEB said:
Wiping any gobbly-gook after the first " ? " usually also wipes out any internet tracking...

amazon.com/WYZE-IP65-Rated-Security-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B0B9TWY11Q/ref=sr_1_1_sspa

Or insert the shortened link into a word or phrase. Amazon Camera

Just looks cleaner.
Click to expand...
They can track me all they want, I see no problem with being tracked. I just read a great book on Google that explains their tracking and as far as I am concerned it is all good.

 
But what can I point the camera at to check the power? The inverter will happily power all the outlets in the coach until the batteries go to 10%.
 
UTTransplant said:
But what can I point the camera at to check the power? The inverter will happily power all the outlets in the coach until the batteries go to 10%.
Click to expand...
Possibly point it at a killawatt meter.

amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=172K57BT65ZMX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oR1fSNXSFIBprUHhtEUMJh5wdWRuVFp0DOMfH18m8iCVBoh9pZq_YEbrzyrB2idqLRvfSMB-likkInjBLA01ofSA5Fa2ig-w0AH53zqZGjRKrKqSp_lIIEzKNqXchGbf5VFBse7fOPe53WKCiDat57S7hnZoR5YceBo60lCe_TxVZSKYOs5QdnwaBQgrqYyo-I98gz9h0zLZTb-M7IM-oJP2jBflwqI4CFrwpz2f1ovUMW4yC1nPYLa5irTwEDPfRe3qLq0dJ228IGwDihLxj9KcOVki01MY83yo_SRxBRY.w_sKXQTAaLlJk3TxKyVy6Qg5yPfkpDqABjHiD9rOmgk&dib_tag=se&keywords=killawatt+meter&qid=1784242798&sprefix=killaw%2Caps%2C527&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1&smid=A3MIP8D2FH3WRX
 
Tom, that would have to go outside and I doubt the management of the park would be fond of that. Pointing a camera at something operated by the inverter wouldn’t help at all.
 
Do you have an outlet that isn't on the inverter? If so, plug a LED nightlight into it, then position the camera so it can see it. If the light is on you have power.

Can you put the camera where it can see your power panel?
 
My home security system (Wyze) has its own battery backup and reports when it loses mains power. My cable modem and wireless routers are on a different battery backup that will run them for about 2 hours.

When there is a power failure I get a notification from the security system to that effect. When the power comes back on I get another message.

No trickery involved. But you will have to find an outlet that is not on your inverter.
 
Simple ring camera connected to starlink. If you don’t have a picture your power is out. Because neither the starlink or the camera will work.
 
8Muddypaws said:
My home security system (Wyze) has its own battery backup and reports when it loses mains power. My cable modem and wireless routers are on a different battery backup that will run them for about 2 hours.

When there is a power failure I get a notification from the security system to that effect. When the power comes back on I get another message.

No trickery involved. But you will have to find an outlet that is not on your inverter.
Click to expand...
I have a few outlets that aren’t connected to the inverter - the engine pre-heat, the built in vacuum (used once and removed!) - which don’t seem like good possibilities, but I also have the “fireplace” plug. It isn’t easy to get to, but that would be a good one inside the coach for a security system. I hadn’t thought of that at all. Thanks for the idea! I knew someone would be able to see past my mental block.
Derby6 said:
Simple ring camera connected to starlink. If you don’t have a picture your power is out. Because neither the starlink or the camera will work.
Click to expand...
This would only work if I didn’t have the Starlink connected to an inverter plug. Since our batteries will run the inverter plug for days, it wouldn’t be a very timely way to get the info!
 
I have a Victron system with a CerboGX that's connected to our RV's "standby" WiFi (AT&T Mobley).

Using the Victron Connect app on my iPhone or iPad (also works with Android setups), I can see what's going on as shown below:

cerbogx-screen.jpg


Even though you don't have a Victron system, I think you could use a Victron CerboGX with just a Victron SmartShunt. For example, the following shows the Victron devices connected to the CerboGX in my setup:

cerbogx-device-list.jpg
 
Derby6 said:
Simple ring camera connected to starlink. If you don’t have a picture your power is out. Because neither the starlink or the camera will work.
Click to expand...
Unless you are watching the camera all the time, how would you know when the power is out?

There are "freezer power outage" modules that are available on Amazon (for example) that will connect to wi-fi and then the app, some send SMS messages, all seem to have alarms on them.
 
zulutron said:
I have a Victron system with a CerboGX that's connected to our RV's "standby" WiFi (AT&T Mobley).

Using the Victron Connect app on my iPhone or iPad (also works with Android setups), I can see what's going on as shown below:



Even though you don't have a Victron system, I think you could use a Victron CerboGX with just a Victron SmartShunt. For example, the following shows the Victron devices connected to the CerboGX in my setup:
Click to expand...
Will it send an automatic msg when there is an outage?
 
OldWEB said:
Drink all the "Kool-Aid" you want, I'll pass.
Click to expand...
I would much rather drink the Kool-Aid than to be paranoid. I have been a Googleaholic now for over 15 years. I trust them completely. I use many of their apps. Very trustworthy company.
 
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