How safe is Sonoff?
Glenn Chapman
I'm just looking for knowledge from those electrically minded amongst us. How safe is Sonoff? I'm not talking CE, UL, CSA, GCSE or even NRA. I'm thinking around the scenrio of a TV turned to standby v Sonoff S20 turned off via MQTT. Are they as safe as each other? Is it safer to have a Sonoff S20 on a TV off or is there no benefit from a safety point if view?
Thank you
Glenn
Philip Knowles
A Sonoff is as 'safe' as what it is connected to. Electrical fires are generally caused by a dead short when enough heat is generated to set fire to plastic components.
There were some concerns about the early POWs which didn't have enough cross-sectional area on the tracks. This generated enough heat to melt the casing and, eventually, burn out the track. These failures would normally be a 'safe' failure in that the Sonoff and the connected device would cease to function.
If either of the devices had a dead short you have a potentially dangerous situation if there is no protective fuse or circuit breaker. The fuse is there to protect the cable (not the device). The cable is the weak spot as it is a potential filament. Most electrical fires are caused by a fault combined with incorrect fusing. In the UK we have 30A fuses on the 'ring main' but each plug is individually fused which are rated to protect the cable connecting to the device. Any device which plugs into a 13A socket in the UK must have a suitable fuse inside it - I don't know if the same applies to other countries. The fuse in the Sonoff protects the internal circuitry of the Sonoff and the fuse in our 13A plug (1, 3, 5 or 13A) protects the device. If you don't have fused plugs you need to check the rating of the cable to your connected device.
There is actually not much that can go wrong in a Sonoff compared to most devices (but you could say the same about USB wall chargers).
My personal view is no more dangerous than leaving a device in standby and potentially safer as the power to a potentially damaged cable is off.
I would have no problem but it depends on your 'risk profile'.
Regards
Phil K
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Glenn Chapman
As always a very comprehensive reply.
So, therefore do you see any safety advantage to having a Sonoff S20 turned off which is attached to a TV as opposed to a TV plugged straight into the wall socket but on standby?
Thanks
Glenn
Philip Knowles
I would say yes because there is no power to the TV. There is more that could go wrong in a TV plus you know what will happen on restoration of power after a power cut. The Sonoff can be configured to be off on power restore. The TV may come out of standby on power restore.
However, the chances of anything going wrong are very low anyway.
Regards
Phil K