Octopus Home Mini - Unboxing and Setup. Realtime Power Data from your Smart Meter!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Octopus Energy have sent me their new Octopus Home Mini gadget. I'm going to unbox it and then go through the configuration process for the first time in this video.
See how to connect it to Home Assistant here:
• Octopus Home Mini Live...
The Octopus Home Mini is a CAD (consumer access device) which connects to both your smart meter and your wifi network allowing the Octopus Energy app to display real-time (well, every 10 seconds) power data and energy usage over the last 30 minutes.
Sign up to Octopus Energy here using my referral link (we both get £50 credit if you do): share.octopus....
Find out more about the Home Mini here: octopus.energy...
Buy me a coffee:
www.buymeacoff...
paypal.me/spea...
** update - something I missed in the box and discovered after recording was a double-sided sticky pad. I guess this is intended for you to stick it to the wall or something to help keep it out of the way.
Apologies for the dodgy audio during the first half, I had my microphone back-to-front!
Got ours the other week, seems to work well. Quite impressed with the effort Octopus go to as a company. Popping the case open it's clearly a PCB they've designed and a pair of esp32 packages. One seems to be assigned to Zigbee and the other presumably doing the WiFi and connectivity.
Yeah the zigbee chip is specifically for the smart meter HAN, the rest are standard components.
Thanks for this. Just had my meter installed and was chatting to the engineer about HA and he said I've got a mini in the van if that's any use. 😃 Just set it up and followed your guide.
Nice! Must have been carrying one around ready for that special person :)
Brilliant stuff! I am with Octopus and think they are a brilliant company! But was totally unaware this was a thing until this video, so naturally have signed up to hopefully receive one! :D
Hopefully it won’t be too long to wait. Mine took about three months to arrive.
I've asked for this but in the mean time I've got the "Bright" IHD which is something that in fairness has existed way before Octopus Mini
Just got mine, I had forgotten I had applied for one, must have been about 6 months waiting for it.
Yet more data to add to my solar and battery set up.
Enjoy :)
I've just had one ... so see if any benefit
Mine just keeps flashing purple. It doesn’t do anything in my phone app. My IHD fails to connect to my smart meter and nor does this.
I''ve been poking around in the Octopus Mini to see what I could get from it, and its frustratingly locked down. As you mentioned elsewhere, no open inbound ports. What I have found is that it sends an MQTT message to the Octopus servers whenever it does the update but that MQTT is TLS encrypted. You can't "trick" it to send to a local MQTT endpoint either, because it uses certificates to validate the end point.
I don't understand why Octopus haven't provided either local access or API access to the data. You can't even get the data via a web browser, only through the App so you can't even embed an into HA etc 🤦♂
Hopefully they'll add it in an update in the future. It's entirely feasible for the ESP32 on-board to run a mini web server allowing you to configure an alternative MQTT broker, or run a very minimal API.
My experience with Octopus (in other regards than this, as I don't have this device) is that they have become so big they're now just as bad as the original Big Six.
@@dom1310df
My experience is to the contrary!
So.... it's locked down completely, closed source, and requires an account to be used at all? Smells fishy (pun intended).
Edit: I see now that Octopus Energy is an energy supplier.... makes sense now. (Sorry, non Brit here)
There is access to it via their open GraphQL API. Octo-Aid utilises it ☺️
The device only works on 2.4ghz wifi so you need to be on 2.4ghz wifi on your device you are connecting from so then after set up you can revert back to 5ghz on your device that you used to set it up from only if you have separated your wifi bands.
Yes, but my main device (iPhone) was connected to the 5GHz radio during this setup demo and it managed the process without me needing to switch. I guess some wireless access points or phones might cause quirky issues meaning you do need to manually disable 5GHz - hopefully mentioning such an issue potentially exists in these comments might help others who hit that problem!
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech give gas usage smart gas meters can only send readings every 30min
mine is due to arrive any day soon but I think it will be superfluous for me as I get electricity data from my inverter anyway (through an app) .. not every 10 seconds but I can't really see why you need that granularity anyway .. I know if my tumble drier is on it's a big load. The inverter gives me cumulative data which is mnore useful as it tells me how much energy I've used by month/day/hour/whatever. For non-geeks I guess it's a friendly way to get data, so a good thing for the planet. Now if it gives 10 second data on GAS then I am very excited but the Speak-to-the-geek suggests not ??
Your gas smart meter itself only reports energy (not power) every 30 minutes, so it would be impossible for the Octopus Home Mini to report either gas power or more frequent data points.
Just received my Octopus Mini, spent over 2 hours trying to connect to it.
Changed my WiFi to 2.4GHz, reset it as per instructions and it just keeps flashing pink/purple.
There's nothing I can do to help you with this, sorry. You'll need to contact Octopus for assistance.
Very helpful video. I spent some time yesterday on the phone to Octopus and one my questions was why can’t I see live energy usage on my phone via the app. They referred me to the website but the Home Mini was not mentioned? I’ve just emailed my contact to request one 🤞😅
It's an R&D product so not generally available which is why you need to ask rather than be told about it - it's likely the agent from Octopus wasn't actually aware of the item's existence.
do you have to leave bluetooth on all the time for it to work
No, enabling that on your phone is just for the initial setup process. Once configured it just uses its own built-in Wifi to connect to your router and out to Octopus's servers.
thanks dont seem to get anything for gas on live feed @@SpeakToTheGeekTech
How long did you wait for delivery? Ordered mine in January and still waiting. Beginning to think this is a SCAM. Of course endorsing Octopus on your TH-cam channel has its advantages. Chased them yesterday and was told I am not on their waiting list even though I clicked on the link on their website. Was also told that the Octopus Home Mini is still in beta testing, so there may be some initial hiccups. Surely this should be tried and tested before duping customers and testing its shortfalls on them.
Just to be clear I don’t get any special treatment from Octopus - I joined the waiting list (albeit via customer services because that form wasn’t available to request it back then) just like everyone else. I think it took about 2-3 months to arrive from memory. Also… something totally free like this can’t be referred to as a scam. It’s a bonus gift from them not something to be expected.
Hi, can you get the Octopus Home Mini readings into Home Assistant?
Yup, install and configure bottlecapdave's integration (github.com/BottlecapDave/HomeAssistant-OctopusEnergy ) using HACS. You get the live power data as power sensors although it can be 15 seconds+ delayed depending on the speed of your internet connection.
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech Thanks for that 🙂
During the video you mentioned that you have a GivEnergy battery and had to turn it off to get the home mini to connect. Can I ask, why?
I didn't turn it off in order to get it to connect, I just temporarily disabled it so as the Home Mini could see power flowing through from the grid and therefore I could prove it was working. If I left the battery enabled, it covers my power load in the home and the Home Mini would show 0W flowing from the grid and there wouldn't be any nice data to show in the video :)
I have batteries to and octopus Flux I was hoping that the mini would show me how much electric I am exporting to the grid
The Home Mini definitely knows about the data but I think it’s just the Octopus app that isn’t showing it yet. Hopefully they’ll add that soon
Are you going to add it to your home assistant setup? It would be good to compare to the esp and givenergy readings to see how accurate they are with resistive and inductive loads. My induction hob on standby shows a 100w load on the esp setup you did, but I know from meter readings that it is a lot less.
Sadly it's not (officially) compatible with Home Assistant. I have however seen somebody using the pins on the board inside to interface with another ESP module in order to grab the data so I might give that a go. The good news is though that the power data is 100% accurate in terms of what you'll be using/billed because the data comes directly from your smart meter. With the other CT-clamp setup, there will be inaccuracies just because the clamps don't understand power factors.
Had this randomly turn up and I'm not quite seeing the point for me. I see live usage in my app for my inverter where I see more than just grid usage.
It's unusual for Octopus to randomly send you one, there's normally a wait list you have to sign up for.
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech just got my export set up then had an email through saying that it's on its way so maybe I've done well there but it doesn't seem of any benefit to me
any advice to get the home mini to go white so it connected to my smart meters
Make sure it's as close to your meter box as possible to ensure it can talk to it without interference. Apart from that, you're best contacting Octopus about it, there's no trick to it, mine just worked after a few minutes.
So is this essentially the same as the in home display but shows on a phone? I'm on the list for one .... and have been for months.
Pretty much. It also lets you access the data via their API so as you can view the live data in other home automation solutions.
Set up mine today. LED is green and no live data in the app. Doesn’t look great
Hopefully it'll start working in a few hours. I've heard cases where it takes up to a day to start feeding data to the app. You have to make sure it has a solid WiFi connection too.
I got this, I dont find this useful esp. if you have smart meter installed for gas as well. If you had just electricity, then this may be good. I am using the visual Geo Usage monitor. It also converts gas readings from hideous m3 to kwH. If I had to pay for this, then I would not buy. On hind sight I would not have registered to get this device.
It's not for everyone. With gas, the only advantage you get directly is more immediate gas energy readings in the app (within 30 minutes rather than 24 hours or so without). If you don't have or want a display then this device is a great alternative that lets you do the same things but in the Octopus app. However... where the use of the device really shines is if you want to have your live power and energy data in a 3rd party service, such as a Home Automation platform like Home Assistant. The Octopus API lets you pull that live data straight in really easily and you need the Home Mini to in order to provide it in the first place. If neither of those scenarios apply to you then it probably wasn't intended for you in the first place.
Does this need to plugged in constantly? Is it an optional device or do you have to have one of these if you have a smart meter from Octopus?
It's totally optional. If you did opt to have one then it would make sense to leave it plugged in constantly so as you can check your energy / power live in the app from wherever you are. It doesn't use much power, but you can unplug it if you want, you just won't see live power in the app while it's off.
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech Thank you!
Octopus recently updated the app so that it no longer gives access to my Octopus heat pump controls. Why did they do this? Other bugs were introduced but I get no response from Octopus when I ask.
The latest update does appear to have broken the 'devices' tab and I can also no longer control my heat pump from there. It didn't bother me because I never use that method but I can understand the frustration if you did. Try contacting their social media team on Twitter/X with some photos of the issue, I find the response from that team very rapid.
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech Thanks for confirming. I cannot rejoin Titter because I originally gave an old backup email address - because they asked for it - and that address no longer exists and they will not accept the actual email address that I have used for 10+ years. Madness.
i have a smet2 meter that doesn't communicate with my energy company Shell energy apparently due to signal strength (North of England ) Will this device resolve my problem ? I am interested in the Octopus Cosy Tariff for air source heat pumps
No this will not fix your issue. The comms hub component of your SMETS2 meter must be able to communicate over Arqiva's mobile network in the north of the UK (from Liverpool up roughly). It can't be relayed over your own Wifi network sadly to my knowledge. I had a similar signal strength issue which was resolved with a higher gain aerial being fitted to the comms hub, but I'm in the southern division of the UK from a smart meter perspective which uses Telefonica.
I've had an email to say my Home Mini is on the way.
Does it combine Agile half hour prices to give real cost?
I've got solar/battery, so will be interested to see Outgoing live in the app.
I think I will still keep the IHD plugged in - it's easy to see from the graphic on the display which way the energy is flowing.
Thanks for the video.
Also, can I ask, when your home is running from your battery is grid energy usage really zero? I'm using 0.15 to 0.35kWh daily caused by the inverter 'lag' as devices increase/reduce usage.
Thanks
I’m not certain about it tracking Agile costs because I’ve only ever used it with Go, but please do let me (and everyone else) know in these comments if you find out. And yes, if my home power draw is stable then my grid **power** usage is zero. If I turn things on and off around the house then there is a lag of a few seconds before the battery ramps up and I draw from the grid slightly. That lag does add up throughout the day but as you’ve pointed out it’s a fraction of a kWh and overall I’m still saving a lot. There’s an updated firmware on its way for my GivEnergy inverter that I’m told by beta testers will significantly improve that responsiveness.
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech Thanks for the reply. I will see what is displayed soon, hopefully.
Received mine today and it is impossible to set up. I have the Octopus app on my phone and the smart meter display. Follow the instructions, read the QR code and that is where it departs from all the various youtube channels on this subject. All it does is take me to a page demanding my credit card details. fill in the details and it then displays a message in a foreign language (might be Spanish) the only word I understand is "error". Have cancelled the card in case it's a scam. Will try to phone Octopus tomorrow as this has caused me too much stress for one day.
That doesn't sound right at all, at no point does Octopus demand a credit card. It's like someone has slipped a dodgy QR code sticker on it or something, definitely contact Octopus!
Ovo had a similar but better product more than five years ago that handled gas and electricity. The "Smart Gateway" (also free of charge) was a small white plastic box with a USB port. Smart Gateway was far more feature rich. Unfortunately, Ovo lost interest in the product and was withdrawn with almost no notice.
That is a shame, I vaguely recall that product but never had one. I'd moved away from Ovo a few months before they started offering it.
Does your Hildebrand Glow CAD coexist with the Octopus Mini happily?
Yup no issues whatsoever! I also have the free IHD too that came with the smart meter and all three will work happily on the HAN at the same time.
Can’t get mine to work it says it’s on 2.4ghz but still won’t work
You should contact Octopus support for assistance in the first instance
Do you have to have an ihd to use this devise.. Does it not connect to my smart meter?
You don’t need an IHD, it does indeed connect directly to the comms hub of your smart meter
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech Thanks for the reply does the unit need to be commissioned?
Or come from your electric supplier?
Can I buy 1 secondhand?
You must get direct from Octopus and they bind it to your meter for you. They are free from Octopus at the moment, do not buy second-hand as it would be useless.
Remember if it's free, you might just be the product 😊 is there a way to get this data into a local database?
Yup the Octopus API now exposes the live data and you can use that in Home Assistant for example: th-cam.com/video/SgepCAjcQyM/w-d-xo.html
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech great, I just got mine, will try this.
Does this replace the smart meter or can we plug both in I’m confused
The smart meter is the collection of boxes hard wired where your electricity supply comes in, plus a battery-powered gas meter if you have gas. The Octopus Home Mini does not replace those, it connects to those. I think you might be referring to the IHD (In Home Display) which is a little display that'll sits in your house showing you how much you are using. A lot of people confuse that for the smart meter - it isn't, it's just a display that connects to your smart meter just like the Octopus Home Mini does. Both the Mini and the IHD will work at the same time, neither replaces the other.
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech Yea I was referring to the IHD
So I use that along with the mini ?
Yup that’s correct they can both work at the same time
How is this different to normal in home smart metres?
Rather than view the data on a separate screen, you can view it on your phone from anywhere. Rumour has it that Octopus have recently started pushing the Mini data out over their API too so if you are into home automation or development then you can also see your live power and energy data in that solution too opening up a lot of potential for energy automation
Like any other energy company, these guys will probably have you by the tentacles 🐙
Maybe eventually, but right now they feel like a breath of fresh air compared to previous energy companies I've used. They actively engage with their customers on their forums, run trials (hardware and services) and listen to the feedback, and they are constantly coming out with innovative new products and services (Go, Flux, IO, Agile, etc...). I'm sure there are lots of people who've had a bad experience with them, but I've had nothing but a good experience so far. All they really need to do is give you energy and take your money, but they do so much more than the bare minimum.
Indeed Octopus is a breath of fresh air!
I’ve installed it and there’s no live option in the usage section!
Did it appear eventually?
Yes, after much back and forth with octopus, and many many resets!
How do you apply for one
You need to get yourself on the waiting list. You can call customer services or visit this page: octopus.energy/blog/octopus-home-mini/#addmetothelist
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech Thank you
Home mini just replaces the in home display in my opinion many people will agree
Replace or complement. I'm certain that's Octopus's intention and I don't think there's any intention otherwise. It also allows you to use the live power data in other scenarios too which a regular IHD doesn't - I have another video on connecting the Home Mini to Home Assistant using their API and then you can log power over time, or use power as a trigger for automations.
I signed up in mid 2022, mid 2023, late 2023 and now early 2024 and still haven't been sent one. I'm on octopus Agile now and really want one for home assistant integration. Any advice?
Assuming you have a compatible SMETS2 meter then that sounds like an unusually long wait time. The reports are up to 6 months typically. Perhaps contact the Octopus social media team via Twitter as they are normally very helpful and responsive.
@@SpeakToTheGeekTech yep I have a SMETS2 meter and I’m on octopus agile too
Are they paying you to use your WiFi, my internet costs me £60 a month and no way i would let the utility companys use it??
No, the utility companies are not paying for or indeed officially using my own broadband connection. The smart meter itself uses either the Arqiva or Telefonica networks as backhaul for meter data. This data is sent to the DCC, which processes it and makes it available for consumption by the utility companies. That process can take a couple of days though, so your energy provider can't see live data. All this Home Mini device is doing is connecting to the smart meter and your Wifi and relaying live data (power and energy) back to their servers for your/our benefit. This data, whilst it might be useful to your utility company, is not essential to your billing at all, and it's primarily for us consumers to make use of. If I decide I don't want to share that fully live data over my broadband connection, I can unplug it, it's entirely optional, but I lose that live data benefit. There's nothing untoward going on here, it's just one way of getting live data from your meter. If you'd prefer a more private local-only option, you can look at a Hildebrand Glow display. That can run entirely locally in your home if you want live data.
Pointless device
Perhaps for you, but I can see it being useful for many people who want to see live power but don’t like having the IHD on.