Explanation of YAML sample file

[MatejKovacic]

Hi,
I have bought Emporia Vue 2 and went through your guide to flash it. It went well, however I have three questions.

First. Do I understand correctly, that I have to identify which phase (I have three phases) connect to which circuit breaker and I should put that to YAML. So YAML example:

- { phase_id: phase_b, input: "2", power: { id: cir2, filters: [ *pos ] } }
- { phase_id: phase_a, input: "3", power: { id: cir3, filters: [ *pos ] } }

Means:

• sensor No. 2 is connected to phase B
• sensor No. 3 is connected to phase A

Is that correct?

Second. YAML example is describing just two phases - phase_a and phase_b. However, I have three phases. In example YAML only BLACK and RED Vue device wire color are used, but I also have BLUE (and WHITE connects to neutral). Vue documentation says that Black provides power and voltage sensing, while and Blue and Red enable voltage sensing only. Should I add also phase_c to the YAML? What would be the entry?

      - id: phase_c
        input: BLUE 

would be OK?

And third. In example YAML file I can see entries like:

- { phase_id: phase_a, input: "4", power: { id: cir4, filters: [ *pos ] } }
- { phase_id: phase_a, input: "5", power: { id: cir5, filters: [ *pos, multiply: 2 ] } }

What is the meaning of [ *pos ] and [ *pos, multiply: 2 ]?

I have "normal" pole breakers (sorry, I am not electrician), B 16 and B 10 (I am from Europe), however, there is one bigger - triple actually - C 16 - for oven and hob (induction). So I guess, I should leave filters set to [ *pos ] for all, except for this bigger one pole breaker, where it should be [ *pos, multiply: 3 ]? Or I am getting this completely wrong?

Thanks for any help.

[flaviut]

You're pretty much right about everything here.

First. Do I understand correctly, that I have to identify which phase (I have three phases) connect to which circuit breaker and I should put that to YAML.

yup

Vue documentation says that Black provides power and voltage sensing, while and Blue and Red enable voltage sensing only. Should I add also phase_c to the YAML? What would be the entry?

your config is right, but you may want to include the voltage & phase_angle: entries if you need that data. Not required though, and to be honest I don't think I've ever looked at it.

So I guess, I should leave filters set to [ *pos ] for all, except for this bigger one pole breaker, where it should be [ *pos, multiply: 3 ]?

Your approach is good, but see "Step 9 (continued): A note about multi-pole breakers" in the manual. Depending on how your appliances work and whether they are an unbalanced load, you may need to use 3 clamps for best accuracy.

*pos is explained in the example config, around .defaultfilters:, and multiply: 2 is explained in the esphome docs and does exactly what you expect.

[MatejKovacic]

Thank you very much for your answer. Actually, I have one three-pole breaker and I think that electrician installed three clamps on it. So I guess in my case I should not use any multiplier at all.

Sorry, I don't understand this:
#your config is right, but you may want to include the voltage & phase_angle: entries if you need that data. Not required though, and to be honest I don't think I've ever looked at it.

And I still don't fully understand how to include the third phase. Should my config look like this:

phases:
      - id: phase_a  # Verify that this specific phase/leg is connected to correct input wire color on device listed below
        input: BLACK  # Vue device wire color
        ...
      - id: phase_b  # Verify that this specific phase/leg is connected to correct input wire color on device listed below
        input: RED  # Vue device wire color
        ...
      # SHOULD I ADD THIS?
      - id: phase_c  # Verify that this specific phase/leg is connected to correct input wire color on device listed below
        input: BLUE  # Vue device wire color
        ...

[flaviut]

Yes, your config should look exactly like that

[MatejKovacic]

Thanks. Just a couple of (dumb) questions. If I sum Phase A + Phase B + Phase C power I get higher number than I get from Total Power parameter. I am not sure if I understand these parameters.

I would like to see what is my total consumption (I am not using solar), so which is the correct number? And why those numbers differ?

I have read this definition: Balance is the energy reported by the Mains (200A sensors) that is not being monitored by the 50A sensors. Balance is calculated by taking the sum of all the usage reported by the 50A sensors and subtracting that value from the total reported by the Mains during the same period.

Balance = Mains − Circuits (1~16)

So if I understand correctly, in my case Mains = Phase A + Phase B + Phase C power?

And Circuits (1~16) is Total power?

But here are my data from my HomeAssistant:

• sum of Circuit 1 .. 16 power = 16,7 W
• Phase A power + Phase B power + Phase C power = 75,8 W
• Total Power = 75 W
• Balance Power = 60 W

So numbers do not sum up...

And data for daily energy:

• Balance Daily Energy: 5803 Wh
• Total Daily Energy: 6189 Wh

So what I would like to do basically is:

• show my current consumption in Watts
• show my daily consumption in Wh

[flaviut]

Total power is calculated as A power + B + C, for which you'll need to update the example config to add the C phase:

  - platform: template
    lambda: return id(phase_a_power).state + id(phase_b_power).state + id(phase_c_power).state;
    update_interval: never   # will be updated after all power sensors update via on_update trigger
    id: total_power
    device_class: power
    state_class: measurement
    unit_of_measurement: "W"

But here are my data from my HomeAssistant:

75 W (total) - 16.7W (Σ1→16) = 60W (balance)

show my current consumption in Watts

This is "Total Power"

show my daily consumption in Wh

This is "Total Daily Energy" & automatically resets at midnight.

[MatejKovacic]

Yes, I actually changed YAML file before I wrote my question.

However, 75 W (total) - 16.7W (Σ1→16) is not 60W, but 58,3. Does this means the calculations should be treated as approximate?

P. S: I think you have a mistake in your answer, correct is probably this:

lambda: return id(phase_a_power).state + id(phase_b_power).state + id(phase_c_power).state;

[flaviut]

Does this means the calculations should be treated as approximate?

The calculation is exact, after all the computer does not make mistakes. But there are always slight fluctuations in readings, the most likely source of error here is you copying the data fields at slightly different times.

lambda: return id(phase_a_power).state + id(phase_b_power).state + id(phase_c_power).state;

thanks, fixed.

[MatejKovacic]

Well, that is the problem - I know that these values are changing all the time, so I took screenschot and then typed down the numbers and did the calculations... OK, I will try to investigate this a little further...