Double outdoor ZigBee socket: perfect for controlling your Christmas lights! (compatible with Jeedom and Home Assistant)

While there are plenty of smart plugs for indoor use, it must be said that there are significantly fewer models for the garden. Yet they can have many uses, from controlling the pool pump to managing Christmas lights and automatic watering. That's why the Nous A4Z (Outdoor Smart Socket ZigBee) model presented today is so interesting: not only does it offer a double 230V socket that can be controlled via ZigBee, but it also offers consumption monitoring and control via the various available voice assistants. This Nous ZigBee double outdoor socket is perfect for controlling my Christmas decorations! Discovering the Nous ZigBee double outdoor socket The packaging leaves no room for doubt: Nous is indeed a Nous ZigBee double outdoor socket! The product is clearly displayed :)

The ZigBee logo is clearly visible, as is the MQTT logo, which will only affect experienced users :) Yes, this outlet is supported by ZigBee2MQTT without any problems!

The various logos also confirm that this dual outdoor outlet is compatible with the various Alexa and Google voice assistants, as well as Siri shortcuts.

Inside, we simply find the Nous ZigBee dual outdoor outlet and a short user guide.

The outlet is compact, made of black ABS plastic, and IP44 certified.

A fairly short male plug is available on the back to plug the dual outlet into a power outlet.

While on the front, we have two female Shuko-style outlets, each protected by a plastic cover. Also note the power button between the two outlets.

The back panel includes a small hole for attaching the outlet if needed:

Always practical! Especially since its position will place the two sockets heads downwards, thus protecting it a little more from the water.

The whole thing is quite compact, measuring only 110 x 52 x 242 mm. For a dual connected outlet, with power consumption measurement, and supporting 3680W, it's quite adequate!

Let's move on to its use…

Using the Nous ZigBee outdoor double outlet with Jeedom

This Nous ZigBee outdoor double outlet will be compatible with most devices that can communicate via ZigBee.

For my tests, I used it in particular with my Jeedom Luna box. But be careful, it's preferable to install the JeeZigBee plugin, which uses MQTT and recognizes many more devices than the default ZigBee plugin (JeeZigBee should soon officially replace it). You'll therefore need to install MQTTManager if you don't already have it on Jeedom, then JeeZigBee.

But it will work just as well with Home Assistant, for example, which perfectly supports ZigBee2MQTT. To add the Nous ZigBee outdoor dual socket, simply switch your home automation box to inclusion mode, plug the dual socket into a power outlet, and press its button for 10 seconds. The “Wi-Fi” light on the top will start flashing, and the socket will be automatically included.

It's immediately recognized. Simply give it a name, place it in a room, and don't forget to check the “visible” box to display it on the interface. You get this default widget, with a lot (too much) information:The ZigBee2MQTT plugin creates numerous commands based on the information it finds. You can manage them in the “Commands” tab of the device configuration.

Here, it's up to you. For example, I modified the Jeedom widget to simply display this:

It allows me to track the consumption of the devices plugged into it, the status of the two outlets, and of course, to control each outlet individually, which is very practical, as the physical button on the outlet turns both outlets on or off simultaneously.

One small note: it's not possible to obtain individual consumption monitoring for each outlet. We only have global monitoring.

Apart from that, the Nous ZigBee outdoor double outlet works perfectly and is not afraid of the outdoors!

We can obviously use it in various scenarios. Here, to manage my Christmas decorations in the garden, it's particularly practical, for example, to automatically turn them on 30 minutes after dark, and turn them off at 11:50 p.m. (so as not to leave them on all night; electricity is expensive ;-)

Note that this Nous ZigBee outdoor double outlet also functions as a router in the Zigbee network. So if you have wireless sensors, for example, that have a limited range, this outlet will relay the information. Outdoors, it can be a real help!

Conclusion

Home automation devices are always a little harder to find for outdoor use, so this double outdoor ZigBee outlet is a welcome addition! It can indeed be useful for many purposes, such as controlling the Christmas lights. But it can also be used to control a pool pump or a sprinkler pump, or any outdoor equipment that you want to control, or at least monitor its power consumption, for example. In fact, its 3680W power rating will even allow you to monitor the consumption of electric vehicle charging (if using a domestic outlet, of course).

The fact that it also acts as a ZigBee repeater is also a great feature!

My only criticism would be that it is a priori only capable of tracking overall electricity consumption. It would have been interesting to be able to distinguish the consumption of each outlet individually. But at

less than 30€

, we will forgive him :p