Smart Plugs¶

Control your printers with Tasmota or Home Assistant smart plugs, or monitor energy with MQTT devices for power monitoring, automation, and energy tracking.

Overview¶

Smart plug integration enables:

• Power control - Turn printers on/off remotely
• Energy monitoring - Track power consumption
• Auto power-on - Start printer before scheduled prints
• Auto power-off - Shut down after cooldown
• Automation - Hands-free print scheduling

Requirements¶

Bambuddy supports two types of smart plug integrations:

Option 1: Tasmota¶

Direct control of Tasmota-flashed smart plugs:

Popular Options:

• Sonoff S31 - Compact, power monitoring
• Gosund SP111 - Affordable, power monitoring
• Athom Plugs - Pre-flashed with Tasmota
• Shelly Plug S - High quality, Tasmota compatible

Option 2: Home Assistant¶

Control any switch/light entity through Home Assistant:

Supports:

• Zigbee - Plugs via ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT
• Z-Wave - Plugs via Z-Wave JS
• Matter - Matter-compatible devices
• WiFi - Any WiFi plug integrated with HA
• ESPHome - Custom ESP-based devices

HA Scripts for Multi-Device Control¶

Want to control multiple devices together (e.g., printer + enclosure fan)? Use Home Assistant scripts:

1. Create a script in HA that turns on/off multiple devices
2. Add the script entity (e.g., script.turn_on_printer_setup) as a smart plug in Bambuddy
3. Link it to a printer
4. Configure automation triggers (optional)
5. When triggered, the script executes your automation

Script Automation Options:

Scripts appear in a dedicated row on printer cards with "Run" buttons for quick access.

Option 3: MQTT (Monitor-Only)¶

Subscribe to MQTT topics for energy monitoring from any MQTT-enabled device:

Supports:

• Zigbee2MQTT - Any Zigbee energy monitor
• Shelly - Via native MQTT or Zigbee2MQTT
• Tasmota Discovery - Subscribe to Tasmota sensor topics
• ESPHome - ESP devices publishing to MQTT
• Any MQTT source - Any device publishing JSON with power data

Adding a Smart Plug¶

Adding a Tasmota Plug¶

Automatic Discovery¶

The easiest way to add Tasmota plugs is with automatic discovery:

1. Go to Settings > Smart Plugs
2. Click Add Smart Plug
3. Select the Tasmota tab
4. Click Discover Tasmota Devices
5. Wait for the network scan to complete
6. Click on a discovered device to select it
7. Fill in remaining details and Save

Manual Entry¶

If discovery doesn't find your plug:

1. Go to Settings > Smart Plugs
2. Click Add Smart Plug
3. Select the Tasmota tab
4. Enter configuration:

1. Click Save
2. Click Test to verify connection

Adding a Home Assistant Plug¶

Initial Setup (One-Time)¶

Before adding HA plugs, configure the connection:

1. Go to Settings > Network
2. Find the Home Assistant section
3. Enter your Home Assistant URL (e.g., http://192.168.1.100:8123)
4. Enter your Long-Lived Access Token
5. Click Test Connection to verify
6. Enable Enable Home Assistant toggle

Automatic Configuration (Home Assistant Add-on)¶

When running Bambuddy as a Home Assistant add-on, the integration is automatically configured using environment variables provided by the Home Assistant supervisor:

How it works:

• The add-on sets HA_URL and HA_TOKEN environment variables automatically
• Bambuddy detects these and configures the integration on startup
• The connection is established to http://supervisor/core using the supervisor-provided token
• No manual configuration needed!

In the UI:

When environment variables are active, you'll see:

• Lock icons on the URL and Token fields (read-only)
• "(Environment Managed)" labels
• "Automatically enabled via environment variables" badge on the toggle
• The integration is automatically enabled

Adding the Plug¶

1. Go to Settings > Smart Plugs
2. Click Add Smart Plug
3. Select the Home Assistant tab
4. Select an entity from the dropdown (shows all switch/light/input_boolean entities)
5. Enter a friendly name
6. Select the associated printer
7. (Optional) Configure energy sensor entities (see below)
8. Click Save

Adding an MQTT Plug¶

MQTT plugs subscribe to topics and extract power/energy data from JSON payloads. Each data type (power, energy, state) can use a different MQTT topic with its own settings.

Prerequisites¶

Configure your MQTT broker in Settings > Network (same broker used for MQTT Publishing).

Adding the Plug¶

1. Go to Settings > Smart Plugs
2. Click Add Smart Plug
3. Select the MQTT tab
4. Configure each data source:

Power Monitoring:

Energy Monitoring (Optional):

State Monitoring (Optional):

1. Click Save

Energy Sensor Configuration¶

Many Home Assistant smart plugs expose energy data as separate sensor entities rather than as attributes on the switch entity. Common examples include:

• Tapo P110M - sensor.tapo_power, sensor.tapo_today_energy, sensor.tapo_total_energy
• IKEA plugs via Zigbee2mqtt - sensor.ikea_plug_power, sensor.ikea_plug_energy
• Shelly plugs - sensor.shelly_power, sensor.shelly_energy

To enable energy tracking for these plugs:

1. After selecting the switch entity, expand Energy Monitoring (Optional)
2. Select the appropriate sensor for each field:
3. Power Sensor (W) - Current power consumption
4. Energy Today (kWh) - Today's energy usage
5. Total Energy (kWh) - Lifetime energy usage (used for per-print tracking)

Switchbar Quick Access¶

Add frequently-used plugs to the sidebar for quick access:

1. In Settings > Smart Plugs, expand a plug's settings
2. Enable Show in Switchbar
3. A plug icon appears in the sidebar footer
4. Hover to see status and control all switchbar plugs

The switchbar shows:

• Current power state (ON/OFF)
• Power consumption (if available)
• Quick on/off toggle buttons

Admin Link (Tasmota Only)¶

Each Tasmota smart plug card includes a direct link to the Tasmota web interface:

1. Click the Admin link on the plug card
2. Opens Tasmota interface in a new tab
3. Auto-login if username/password configured in Bambuddy

Finding Plug IP Address (Tasmota Only)¶

From Tasmota Interface¶

1. Access your plug's web interface
2. Go to Information
3. Note the IP Address

From Router¶

1. Log into your router
2. Find connected devices
3. Locate the plug by name or MAC

Static IP (Recommended)¶

Assign a static IP to prevent changes:

Power Control¶

Manual Control¶

Toggle power from Bambuddy:

1. Go to printer card
2. Click the power icon
3. Select On or Off

Or from Settings > Smart Plugs:

• Click the power toggle for any plug

Power Status¶

Automation¶

Auto Power On¶

Automatically turn on printer before prints:

1. Enable Auto Power On for the plug
2. When a queued print is ready:
3. Bambuddy turns on the plug
4. Waits for printer to boot
5. Starts the print

Auto Power Off¶

Automatically turn off after prints:

1. Enable Auto Power Off for the plug
2. Set Cooldown Temperature (e.g., 40°C)
3. Set Cooldown Time (e.g., 5 minutes)
4. After print completes:
5. Wait for bed to cool below threshold
6. Wait additional cooldown time
7. Turn off the plug

Safety Checks¶

Auto power-off includes safety checks:

• Only triggers after successful prints
• Waits for cooldown
• Checks for queued prints
• Verifies printer is idle

Energy Monitoring¶

Track power consumption:

Real-time Data¶

Per-Print Tracking¶

Enable energy tracking to record:

• Energy per print
• Electricity costs
• Efficiency comparisons

Energy Tracking

Power Dashboard¶

View power statistics:

• Current power draw
• Energy over time
• Cost calculations
• Peak usage

Tasmota Commands (Technical Reference)¶

Bambuddy uses these Tasmota HTTP commands for direct Tasmota integration:

Testing Manually¶

# Turn on
curl "http://192.168.1.100/cm?cmnd=Power%20On"

# Get status
curl "http://192.168.1.100/cm?cmnd=Status%200"

Safety Considerations¶

Don't Cut Power Mid-Print¶

Auto power-off is safe because:

• Only triggers after print completion
• Waits for cooldown
• Checks printer state

Never manually power off during printing!

Surge Protection¶

Consider adding surge protection:

• Protects printer electronics
• Protects smart plug
• Especially important for unstable power

Fire Safety¶

Smart plugs have current limits:

• Most handle 10-15A
• 3D printers typically draw 3-8A
• Check your plug's rating

Troubleshooting¶

Tasmota: Plug Not Responding¶

1. Check plug is powered
2. Verify IP address is correct
3. Ensure plug is on same network
4. Check if Tasmota web interface loads
5. Verify no firewall blocking

Home Assistant: Plug Shows Offline¶

1. Check HA connection in Settings > Network
2. Click Test Connection to verify
3. Ensure the access token hasn't expired
4. Verify HA is reachable from Bambuddy's network
5. Check if entity exists in HA

Home Assistant: Entities Not Loading¶

1. Verify HA URL is correct (include port if needed)
2. Check access token has correct permissions
3. Try regenerating the access token
4. Ensure HA integration is enabled

Auto Power-Off Not Working¶

1. Check feature is enabled
2. Verify cooldown settings
3. Ensure print completed successfully
4. Check for queued prints (won't power off if more queued)

Power Data Incorrect¶

1. Not all plugs have power monitoring
2. For Tasmota: Calibrate in Configuration > Configure Other
3. For HA: Check if entity has power attributes or configure separate energy sensors
4. Check plug specifications

Home Assistant: No Energy Data¶

Many HA plugs expose energy data as separate sensor entities, not as switch attributes:

1. When adding/editing the plug, expand Energy Monitoring (Optional)
2. Select the appropriate power sensor (W)
3. Select energy today and total sensors (kWh) if available
4. The sensors should appear in the dropdown if they have power/energy units

Tips¶