I finally have my home network swapped out - I moved from an aging, but absolutely reliable Apple-based system (1 basestation/router with 4 APs, 1 main switch and one auxiliary switch) to a similar Ubiquiti configuration. I kept the new Ubiquiti devices plugged into the same smartplugs that were monitoring their Apple and Netgear predecessors wherever possible. The screenshots below show the transitions in Sense. Due to priorities, it actually took me a few days to get all my smartplugs reconnected with the new networking gear - no major issues, just priorities.
Router 200Wh / day to 800Wh / day, though I was also able to retire a FingBox
Net gain of 500Wh / day. The retired FingBox used about 100Wh / day.
Main Switch 150Wh / day to 400Wh / day, but was able to also remove 800Wh used by Apple APs
The main switch now power all the access point over PoE. Net reduction of 650Wh / day
Total Net difference, before to after - 200Wh reduction / day, even though the UDM Router is much more of a power pig.
Hereâs a view on Sense Monitor and smartplug connectivity after my new network was installed (thin orange vertical line). The Sense Monitor was back online quickly, but it took a while for me to get the smartplugs back on the IoT WiFi network and talking to the Sense Monitor. I still havenât ventured up into the attic to reconnect the Furnace Up smartplug to the new access points. The Master Time Capsule has been retired and replaced by a PoE access point. And the Dining Room Sonos was turned on for testing, then promptly powered off at the smartplug, since it is little used. And the Washing Machine and Sony TV oscillate below and above the 0.5W threshold that Sense uses to mark a device as off. Bottom line is that âall Sense systems are nominalâ after the new networking. And, of course, the vertical red bar on the 14th was a Sense outage.
ps: @Offthewall , right now it looks like my lone KP115 is behaving and staying connected with my Sense Monitor. I still have not upgraded firmware - still at 1.0.7 for the KP115.
I have a similar UniFi setup. Unfortunately I just added smart plugs to my individual equipment vs the primary UPS.
The UDM pro uses about .6kWh per day. The 48 port pro POE switch connected to 9 cameras and several APs and two POE pass through switches, surprisingly only uses about 3kWh per day. It goes up at night when the IR on the cameras kick in. The UniFi RPS only uses about .4kWh per day.
OK - Rethinking whether I did every power cord swap correctly. Might have reversed the Router and Main Switch. The tell ? The ânew Routerâ is coming in at 32W but the max spec for the UDM is 26W. And my new Switch is reporting putting out nearly 20W of PoE power, which should show about 500Wh / day for the PoE alone, but the ânew Switchâ power is only coming in about 400Wh. Guess I need to change the labels.
Would either of you be able to share a screenshot of the power meter results from some of your Unify devices? Iâm mainly curious about the UDM-Pro, but would be interested in the others if itâs not too much trouble (unfortunately I donât see the Pro 48 PoE switch in my near future).
Iâm trying to understand how actual power usage compares to the rated max (33W for the UDM-Pro), and how variable power consumption is based on load (i.e. how regulated is itâs power supply). This is obviously dependent on how many Ethernet connections, so if you could also give me a rough idea of what was connected at the time it would help.
If youâre limited on time, screenshots of the power meter for UDM-Pro over 24hrs and 1hr would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I have a UPS powering my network devices and a server. The UPS is plugged into a KP115, and the power reading on that rarely strays from the 165-170W range. The server has a built-in iLO which reports the power consumption of the server normally at ~95W. That means the network is running at 70-75W.
My network consists of a UDMP, a USW24Pro, and some APs and another small switch running off of PoE from the USW. The USW reports that Iâm using 18W of PoE, so that means that UDMP and USW are at about 50-55W normally.
My UDMP does not have a HDD in the bay, and I am only running the network application (no Protect, Talk, etc.).
@qrnef, do you have model #âs and quantities for the APs and PoE switches youâre running? 18W total of PoE power is pretty good for what I assume is 2+ APs and a PoE switch.
@kevin1, Are you now running 4x Ubiquiti APs? And do you know which AP model(s) you have?
Any regrets on going with the standard UDM over the Pro? I had convinced myself I needed the UDM-Pro (and maybe even a Pro switch), but if youâve been satisfied with the UDM I may consider it⌠I imagine our use-cases are similar in terms of # of network devices and traffic/activity.
By the way, where do you see values for how much Sense deems as âAlways Onâ for a device?
@matthew_lasorsa I have the following powered by PoE from the switch:
1 UAP-AC-Lite (reported as using 4.7W)
1 UAP-nanoHD (reported as using 3.1W)
2 UAP-IW-HD (each reported as using 4.1W)
1 USW-Flex-Mini (reported as using 1.4W)
For me, the decisions were driven by house wiring topology and physical space, as well as previous networking layout.
All my coax (16) and Cat5e (16) endpoints home run to a service closet on the outside of my garage, where cable, electric and POTS enter the house. Itâs also where my electric meter and main panel reside.
Due to that as the location of all the endpoints, the service closet really is the natural place for modem, router and main switch.
Space in the service closet is limited, which is dominated by the electric panel, so no space for a rack. I was able to Macgyver a vertical mount for a USW-24-POE, but only because it is much shallower than a UDM. So no space for a UDMP.
The other constraint is that the service closet and the adjoining areas host a bunch of equipment that needs WiFi - my Sense, a Rainforest Eagle, a Tesla Solar bridge, a Rachio controller, two Ring cameras, a Rinnai tankless water heater controller, plus WiFi connected garage door openers. The service closet really needs to have an access point. So the UDM is a natural fit.
Youâre right. I have 4 APs plus the UDM. I originally installed 4 UAP-IW-HDs. Those worked really well because the fit into the topology footprint of my original network APs (4 Apple basestations in bridge mode) - I had wired connections hanging off of 3 of them, so the IW APs with wired connections were a great fit. The move from standalone units to in-wall and from locally powered to PoE were big wins.
When the U6-LR became available I bought one for the house to over the part of the house that gets the heaviest WiFi 6 activity as well as to cover the back patio (outside office, especially for COVID). I replaced an IW with the U6-LR mounted as high and as far to the back of the house as possible. I still need to reroute the in-wall Cat5e, but the temporary Cat5e extension is working perfectly.
Thatâs probably more than you wanted, but highlights why the UDM was my first choice.
As for figuring out Always On for devices, all my networking gear is on an HS300 smart outlet strip so the Always On âdeviceâ tallys the Always On for each smart plug/device.
Iâve got a stack of UI APs laying around, a cloud key and a usg that Iâve considered installing. All the ui gear runs really hot though, I canât see it being very efficientâŚvery slick/ easy to setup. But even thinks like viewport, nanostations, cloud keys, unifi switches get really hotâŚ. Even with little to no loads on them.
I also have some nanobeams 5ghz Iâm probably going to link up this weekend, hard to beat their ptp or ptmp systems. You could literally have a 60ghz stable ptp with 5.8 radio backups for $120 a side that keeps a gig link at 3 miles with no loss.
