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Re:Turning a Dumb AC Unit Smart (Without Losing My Security ... by daniel5151 on Wednesday July 29, 2026 @06:24PM (#49103881)
I discuss this quite early in the writeup. There is a whole section on why a smart plug will not work here.
Re:Turning a Dumb AC Unit Smart (Without Losing My Security ... by cogman10 on Wednesday July 29, 2026 @06:34PM (#49103980)
If you are ever feeling like burning down your apartment ;), the route I'd take is buying a 5-20p extension cable, cutting it open, and splicing in a 120V switch into the middle of it. You can find a few smart switches that fit that bill for whatever relay tech you are interested. It's non-invasive for the AC unit and can be quickly removed.

There's only 3 wires to deal with as well so it's not THAT scary to make your own cable (but I'd understand why you might feel differently).

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Re:Turning a Dumb AC Unit Smart (Without Losing My Security ... by cogman10 on Thursday July 30, 2026 @12:22PM (#49112190)
> It can handle the full 15 amps of the circuit safely.

OP would need a more beefy relay for an AC unit. 20A minimum, but honestly a 30 or 40A relay would be warranted as AC units have a pretty large "spike" when they turn on which generally exceeds the amp rating of their circuit. It's short enough to not trigger a circuit breaker, but it's something to be aware of when designing things like relays.

Re:Turning a Dumb AC Unit Smart (Without Losing My Security ... by gwbas1c on Friday July 31, 2026 @04:15PM (#49128058)
I'm fairly certain those exist. The "click" that a car charger makes is a commuter (sp?) (basically a relay) connecting the car to voltage. Mine handles 40 amps.