"A full-featured shell script in order to manage Bluetooth switch, scheduler and smart energy meter Voltcraft SEM 6000 with Linux and Raspberry Pi"
The Voltcraft SEM-6000 is a remote 230V switch and smart energy meter. It was sold by Conrad Elektronik in Germany.
For details take a look at Conrad. The device is also known as Smart Power Plug EU by Revogi, see https://www.revogi.com/smart-power/power-plug-eu/#section0
In comparison to many remote switches which use the 433MHz band the SEM-6000 is based on Bluetooth v4.0. The advantage is that there is no need to have additional hardware, e.g. via GPIO connected sender/receiver.
Voltcraft SEM-6000 has the following features:
- 12 schedulers which can run once or assigned to weekdays
- Countdown mode in order to switch power on or off after a certain period
- Configurable overload-mode in order to auto-turn-off or alarm in case of power overload
- Energy meter in order to measure volt, ampere and watts in real-time
- Energy meter recorder in order to measure power consumption over long period
Install expect:
$ sudo apt install expect
Check if gatttool is available:
$ gatttool
Usage:
gatttool [OPTION...]
...
$ sudo hcitool lescan
E Scan ...
FC:69:47:06:CB:C6 Voltcraft
The devices are called "Voltcraft" by default. Note that device appears with a different name if you have renamed if before.
There is no need to pair device.
For convenience reasons I recommend using aliases. Instead of entering the Bluetooth mac address each time you want to run the script, you can call the script by using meaningful names.
The script tries to read a file called .known_sem6 which must be located in your home folder. It is a text file with three columns:
- MAC address
- PIN
- Meaningful name
My .known_sem6 looks as follows:
$ cat ~/.known_sem6
FC:69:47:06:CB:C6 0000 fridge
This enables you to call the script like this
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --sync
instead of
$ ./sem-6000.exp FC:69:47:06:CB:C6 0000 --sync
Note: You don't even have to write the whole alias. This works as well:
$ ./sem-6000.exp f --sync
To get an overview of the full feature set enter the following:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fr --help
Usage: <mac/alias> <pin> --<command1> <parameters...> --<command2>
<mac>: bluetooth mac address of smart energy meter
<alias>: you can use alias instead of mac address, see ~/.known_sem6
<pin>: pin of smart energy meter if not stored in alias file
<command>: For command and parameters
Basic commands:
--on - turn on smart energy meter
--off - turn off smart energy meter
--toggle - toggle smart energy meter
--standby <watts> - turn off device if consumption is less than given watts
watts - low-water-mark, max. 3680, e.g. 2.654 for 2.654W
Scheduler commands:
--scheduler <on|off> <hh:mm|+mm> [<smtwtfs>] [<YYYY-MM-DD>]
on|off - action of new scheduler
hh:mm|+mm - start time or minutes from now
smtwtfs - (optional) weekdays, use capital letters to set, e.g. sMTWTFs
use the word "sameday" for same weekdays like today
if weekdays are missing then scheduler runs only once
YYYY-MM-DD - (optional) Date from when it should run
--scheduler <n> <set|unset|reset> - activate, deactivate or reset given scheduler
--scheduler reset - resets all schedulers, i.e. 1 - 12
--scheduler - query status of all schedulers
Countdown commands:
--countdown <on|off> <YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss|hh:mm|+mm>
- set countdown action and runtime
on|off - action of countdown
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss - given ETA
hh:mm - given ETA within next 24h
+mm - given runtime in minutes
--countdown <reset> - reset countdown
--countdown - query status of countdown
Measurement commands:
--status - get status incl. voltage, ampere, watts, power factor and frequency
--measure header - print header line for measurements
--measure [<s>] - take measurements, optional duration in seconds (use 0 for single), otherwise forever
--data <day|month|year> - request measured power consumption from enery meter
--data reset - reset all data of measured power consumption
--data header - print header line for measurements or data
Device commands:
--device - read device meta information, i.e. name and serial no.
--sync - synchronize time
--name <name> - give smart meter a new name, max. 18 characters
--pin <1234|reset> - change PIN or reset to default PIN, i.e. 0000
Device settings:
--settings - request settings from device, i.e. overload, led, price
--led <on|off> - turn led ring on / off
--overload <watts>
- set overload with high-water-mark and actions
watts - high-water-mark, max. 3680, e.g. 3680 for 3680W
--price <normal price> [<reduced price> <hh:mm> <hh:mm>]
- set price and optionally a reduced price with start and end time
Note: You can either use reduced price mode or statistics but not both
--reset - factory reset
Statistics:
--statistics reset - reset all captured data and set starting time to now
Note: You can either use reduced price mode or statistics but not both
--statistics set <mm-dd hh:mm> - set starting time for statistics explicitly
--statistics - capture and calculate statistics, i.e. average and projections consumption
Other commands:
--print - print gathered information
--json - print some gathered information in JSON format
--dump - request all information from device
--sleep <n> - pause processing for n seconds
--verbose - print information about processing
--debug - print actions in gatttool
--help [<command>] - print general help or help for specific command
You get specific help for a command if you ask for it explicitly:
$ $ ./sem-6000.exp --help toggle
Usage: <mac/alias> <pin> --<command1> <parameters...> --<command2>
<mac>: bluetooth mac address of smart energy meter
<alias>: you can use alias instead of mac address, see ~/.known_sem6
<pin>: pin of smart energy meter if not stored in alias file
<command>: For command and parameters
--toggle - toggle smart energy meter
The smart meter is protected by a 4-digit pin. The default pin is 0000.
You can change the pin by using the pin command:
./sem-6000.exp FC:69:47:06:CB:C6 0000 --pin 1234
or if you make use of the .known_sem6 file
./sem-6000.exp f --pin 0000
Note Don't forget to change PIN in .known_sem6 file since this has to be done manually!
if you have forgotten your PIN you can reset it by doing this:
./sem-6000.exp FC:69:47:06:CB:C6 2342 --pin reset
This resets the pin to factory default, i.e. 0000
Note You can use any pin after the bluetooth mac address!
You can turn on the socket as follows:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --on
Note that there isn't any feedback.
You can turn the device off by entering this:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --off
If you want to toggle the switch you use the toggle command:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --toggle
Since it takes some time to establish the Bluetooth connection each time you start the script, I have introduced command queuing. Each command starts with a dash. In this example I queue 7 commands. The sleep command pauses processing before the next command starts.
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --on --sleep 1 --toggle --sleep 1 --toggle --sleep 1 --off
In most cases the script won't print anything. If you want to print some output, e.g. information that has been gathered by previous commands, you must tell the script to do so explicitly.
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --status --print
Status:
Power: on
Voltage: 236 VAC
Ampere: 0.012 A
Watts: 0.056 W
Frequency: 50 Hz
Power factor: 0.02
Total consumption: 0.0 kWh
In this example we have already made use of the status command.
If you want to see if the socket is turned on and what the current power consumption is, you must ask for status first and print it afterwards:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --status --print
Status:
Power: on
Voltage: 236 VAC
Ampere: 0.012 A
Watts: 0.056 W
Frequency: 50 Hz
Power factor: 0.02
Total consumption: 0.0 kWh
The socket has 12 schedulers that can be programmed once or per weekday.
First let's look at the current state of schedulers:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --scheduler --print
Schedulers: 0
Note, that I have queued two commands again, i.e. "-scheduler" and "-print". The first command gathers the information but doesn't output anything. The second command prints the gathered information.
There are no schedulers set yet.
Let's set the first scheduler for weekdays from Monday to Friday. The scheduler should turn my device on at 7:00 a.m.
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --scheduler on 07:00 _MTWTF_
Now, I want to add a scheduler that is going to run once at a specific date and turn the device off
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --scheduler off 21:30 2019-09-03
Let's take a look at the settings of all schedulers:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --scheduler --print
Schedulers: 2
Scheduler 1:
Slot: 11
Active: yes
Action: turn off
Date: 2019-09-03
Time: 21:30
Weekdays: _______
Scheduler 2:
Slot: 12
Active: yes
Action: turn on
Date: 2019-07-20
Time: 07:00
Weekdays: _MTWTF_
In order to reset a specific scheduler or all schedulers run:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --scheduler 1 reset
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --scheduler reset
The socket has a timer. You can set it with an ease like this:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --countdown off +10
This activates a countdown timer which runs for 10 minutes and then turns the socket off. You can also specify a date of arrival (ETA) like this:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --countdown off 2019-08-30 07:45:30
Let's ask for information about the countdown that we have started before:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --countdown --print
Countdown: on
Action: off
Started at: 2019-07-20 13:47:19
ETA: 2019-08-30 07:45:30
Runtime: 40 days, 17:58:11
Remaining: 40 days, 17:57:49
Enter the following in order to stop the running countdown:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --countdown reset
The smart energy meter monitors power consumption continuously. It can automatically power off in case that power consumption exceeds a certain limit.
Note: It is required to execute the sync command before you can start any measurements:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --sync
If you want to take and print a single measurement, just call the status command:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --status --print
Status:
Power: on
Voltage: 236 VAC
Ampere: 0.012 A
Watts: 0.013 W
Frequency: 50 Hz
Power factor: 0.00
Total consumption: 0.0 kWh
The measure command captures power data. This monitors the power consumption for 5 seconds:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --measure header --measure 5
Timestamp Power Volt (V) Ampere (A) Watt (W) Frequency (Hz) Power factor
2019-07-20 15:56:27 1 236 0.012 0.045 50 0.02
2019-07-20 15:56:29 1 236 0.012 0.045 50 0.02
2019-07-20 15:56:29 1 236 0.012 0.0 50 0.00
2019-07-20 15:56:30 1 236 0.012 0.041 50 0.01
2019-07-20 15:56:31 1 236 0.012 0.041 50 0.01
2019-07-20 15:56:31 1 236 0.012 0.0 50 0.00
Note that the measure command directly prints a csv record. If you have left out the period, here "5" for 5 seconds, it runs forever. You can stop it by pressing CTRL-C
The smart energy meter records power consumption. Data is recorded in three scopes: a. Hourly for the last 24 hours b. Daily for the last 30 days c. Monthly for the last 12 month
To request recorded data, use the data command.
The following command requests recorded data for last 24 hours and prints it with header line.
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --data header --data day --print
Timestamp Watt (Wh)
2019-07-19 15:00 8
2019-07-19 16:00 11
...
2019-07-20 12:00 17
2019-07-20 13:00 19
2019-07-20 14:00 13
If you want to reset all recorded data enter the following:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --data reset
The smart meter measures consumption permanently. Based on the power-on time the script calculates average and projected consumption.
Unfortunately the device doesn't store the power-on time by itself (in comparison to the Voltcraft SEM-3600BT). That's why I store the starting time for statistics in one of the fields meant for reduced price. Therefore, you can't activate reduced price mode and statistics in parallel. Statistics only work if reduced price mode is deactivated and vice versa.
In order to activate statistics, do the following:
$ sem-6000 fridge --statistics
Note that this also resets all measured data. If you remember when you have started measuring, you can just set the starting time like this. Here time and date are set to Octobre, 31st.
$ sem-6000 fridge --statistics set 10-31 20:15
Note that if date is in future the script assumes that last year is meant.
After statistics was set and ran for at least one minute you can request statistics as follows:
$ sem-6000 fridge --statistics --print
Settings:
LED ring: off
Overload limit: 1300 W
Price: 0.31 $ per kWh
Reduced mode: off
Status:
Power: on
Voltage: 236 VAC
Ampere: 0.195 A
Watts: 25.568 W
Frequency: 50 Hz
Power factor: 0.56
Total consumption: 0.0 kWh
Total last 12 months: 14.239 kWh
Statistics:
Log statistics since: 2021-10-03 11:17
Current consumption: 14.239 kWh
Avg. consumption: 42.62 Wh
Projected consumption: 373.351 kWh per year
Projected price: 115.74 $ per year
2020-11 0
2020-12 0
2021-01 0
2021-02 0
2021-03 0
2021-04 0
2021-05 0
2021-06 0
2021-07 0
2021-08 0
2021-09 0
2021-10 14239
If you just want to synchronize the time from your PC with the smart meter call:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --sync
Normally the LED ring indicates that the switch is turned on. You can turn off the LED ring so that it is always off even if the switch is turned on.
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --led off
You can configure that the smart energy meter turn off in case that it exceeds a limit in terms of power consumption. In this example the socket turns off immediately in case that power consumption gets higher that 1000 Watts:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --overload 1000
The default value is 3680W
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --overload 3680
The switch can store two different prices, i.e. the normal price and a reduced price. Actually, the switch doesn't seem to calculate internally, so that this setting makes only sense if you use the official app.
It goes like this:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --price 0.32 0.20 23:00 07:00
Run the settings command in order to request current settings:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --settings --print
LED ring: off
Overload limit: 3680 W
Price: 0.32
Reduced mode: on
Reduced price: 0.20
Reduced start: 23:00
Reduced end: 07:00
In order to get general device information, you can request it by using the device command:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --device --print
Mac: FC:69:47:06:CB:C6
Device PIN: 0000
Name: Voltcraft
Serial: ML01D10012000000
Alias: fridge
You can set a name for the device
If you want to get some information what's going on while the script is running, add the verbose command.
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --verbose --on --status
INFO: Try to connect to FC:69:47:06:CB:C6
INFO: Connected to FC:69:47:06:CB:C6
INFO: Auth SEM
INFO: >>> char-write-req 2b 0f0c170000000000000000000018ffff
INFO: OK
INFO: <<< Notification handle = 0x2b value: 0f 06 17 00 00 00 00 18 ff ff
INFO: Response completed in terms of announced length and end sequence
INFO: SEM authorized successfully with PIN
INFO: Switch SEM
INFO: >>> char-write-req 2b 0f06030001000005ffff
INFO: OK
INFO: <<< Notification handle = 0x2b value: 0f 04 03 00 00 04 ff ff
INFO: Response completed in terms of announced length and end sequence
INFO: SEM successfully switched
INFO: Request measurement
INFO: >>> char-write-req 2b 0f050400000005ffff
INFO: OK
INFO: <<< Notification handle = 0x2b value: 0f 11 04 00 01 00 bd a1 eb 00 e1 32 00 00 00 00 00 00 62
INFO: Response already completed in current notification in terms of announced length. No need to wait for another notification
INFO: Measurement successfully requested
INFO: Disconnect from FC:69:47:06:CB:C6
The script uses gatttool from the bluez bluetooth stack. You can also see the commands sent to gatttool by using the debug command:
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --debug --on --status
[ ][LE]> connect FC:69:47:06:CB:C6
Attempting to connect to FC:69:47:06:CB:C6
Connection successful
[FC:69:47:06:CB:C6][LE]> char-write-req 2b 0f0c170000000000000000000018ffff
Characteristic value was written successfully
Notification handle = 0x002e value: 0f 06 17 00 00 00 00 18 ff ff
[FC:69:47:06:CB:C6][LE]> char-write-req 2b 0f06030001000005ffff
Characteristic value was written successfully
Notification handle = 0x002e value: 0f 04 03 00 00 04 ff ff
[FC:69:47:06:CB:C6][LE]> char-write-req 2b 0f050400000005ffff
Characteristic value was written successfully
Notification handle = 0x002e value: 0f 11 04 00 01 00 be 6f eb 00 e2 32 00 00 00 00 00 00 32
[FC:69:47:06:CB:C6][LE]>
The dump command tries to gather all information from the device.
$ ./sem-6000.exp fridge --dump --print
Mac: FC:69:47:06:CB:C6
Device PIN: 0000
Name: Fridge
Serial: ML01D10012000000
Alias: fridge
Status:
Power: on
Voltage: 235 VAC
Ampere: 0.225 A
Watts: 48.448 W
Frequency: 50 Hz
Power factor: 0.92
Total consumption: 0.0 kWh
LED ring: off
Overload limit: 3680 W
Price: 0.32
Reduced mode: on
Reduced price: 0.20
Reduced start: 23:00
Reduced end: 07:00
Schedulers: 0
Countdown: off
Randommode: off