Almost two years ago, I reviewed a pretty awesome smart socket, the BSEED 16A Energy Metering Outlet. I was, and still am, very impressed with the build quality and feature set of this EU smart outlet. It’s still in use in my home and operates without any issues. Moreover, the energy metering of this socket is very accurate. I’ve verified it several times and used it as a benchmark for several other reviews.
If you are familiar with BSEED, you know they manufacture a plethora of different smart sockets. From dual sockets, to sockets with USB ports, all available in a bunch of different frames and finishes. I’m on the hunt for a smart socket with USB-C ports that I intend to use and replace several outlets around my home.
In this article, I’m dismantling, testing and reviewing the BSEED Zigbee Smart Outlet with USB-C and integrating it in Home Assistant. I got if off AliExpress for $17, but it’s also available on Amazon and Amazon DE.
Technical Specification
- Model: BSEED Socket with USB ports
- Maximum Load: 16A
- Energy Metering: Yes
- USB Ports: 1xUSB-A, 1xUSB-C
- Power Supply: 100V-240V AC 50/60HZ
- Neutral Wire: Required
- Wireless Standard: Zigbee 3.0
- Idle Power Consumption: ≤0.2W
- Wall Box Type: Round & Square
- Operating Humidity: 10% ~ 93%
- Operating Temperature: -30 °C ~ +70°C
- Certification: CE, BS, RoHS, GCC, FC
- Price: $17 AliExpress, 29.90€ Amazon.de
Package Contents and Teardown
This BSEED Smart Socket with USB Ports comes in a cardboard box, containing the device, a faceplate with a design of your choice, a user manual and a few screws for installation. Everything is neatly packaged together, with the glass plate placed inside a separate box within the main one. My variant is the simple glass, white panel model.
The mounting bracket of the BSEED smart socket is super thick. It’s unbendable and feels very robust, as was the case with the other, non-USB version. The bracket has a bunch of mounting holes you use to attach it securely to your switchbox. The whole thing is designed to fit standard European wall boxes, both square and round models.
As soon as I pried open the BSEED smart socket, the pairing button and LED tubes fell out. I had to chase them around the room as they rolled away, tiny buggers. The first thing I noticed is the dust protection covers of the pins installed in the middle. This doubles as a child protection cover, preventing them from probing around too easily.
The USB-C port, USB-A port and the communication module in the top left corner are all facing upwards from the main PCB. The small button you see in the top right corner is the pairing button, engaged through the tube installed on the face plate.
The BSEED Smart Socket uses the Tuya ZT2S Module [Datasheet] as the main Zigbee communication module. This SoC contains a low-power 32-bit CPU, 1024-KB flash memory, 64-KB RAM with rich peripherals. The device operates as a Zigbee router with this module. This PCB connects to the main one underneath with a 10-pin connector, used for data transfer.
The main PCB is quite compact and designed very solidly. The connection terminals, including the pin sockets are brass-made for better conductivity and durability. I highly appreciate the fact these are screw terminals and not those push-to-release nonsense terminals I’ve seen across many devices. This is the PCB that contains all the capacitors, integrated circuits as well as the main current transformer (copper coil in background). The small brass pin you see in the middle behind the relay is the ground pin, connecting to the chassis ground once the device is assembled.
The main relay this socket uses is the FANHAR FH17 [Datasheet], rated for 16A at 250VAC. This is, without a doubt, the most common relay manufacturer I’ve encountered in smart devices from the Tuya ecosystem. In my experience, they produce very solid electromechanical relays that I’ve not seen fail yet. I’ve found them in Sonoff, Moes and Zemismart devices.
Finally, here’s how the BSEED Smart Socket with USB ports looks like once fully dismantled:
Installation and Wiring
I’ve seen many instances of traditional electricians struggling to understand how to wire smart switches or modules. This is especially true for dual gang modules or modules requiring a neutral. Having so much wires in a switchbox can be confusing and overwhelming, for sure.
However, installing this BSEED Smart Socket on EU wall boxed is very easy, intuitive and straightforward. I’m not saying you should do it yourself if you are not comfortable with such a thing. I’m saying even your old grandpa electrician will know how to handle and install this device.
Just like traditional sockets, there are only three terminals that need to be attached: L – Live wire, N – Neutral wire, G – Ground. Here’s the wiring diagram from BSEED:
Carefully remove the existing glass panel with a small screwdriver, being mindful not to damage it. Install the mounting bracket, wire the new smart outlet, place it into the wall, and snap the glass panel back on. Done.
Home Assistant Integration
This BSEED 16A Smart Socket with USB ports can be used in Home Assistant with both ZHA and Zigbee2MQTT. To pair it, simply press the button for about 7 seconds until the LED starts blinking.
Zigbee2MQTT
Once this BSEED Smart Socket is paired to Zigbee2MQTT, it’s identified as Zigbee Model TS011F with Zigbee Manufacturer ID _TZ3000_5ct6e7ye. It’s labelled as a Smart Plug (with power monitoring) since it recycles a converter from a similar device from Tuya. The image is also pulled from this converter, which is a plug and not a socket. Not relevant, just an observation.
It operates correctly as Router, relaying traffic from adjacent devices back to the coordinator. Here’s what this socket exposes to Home Assistant through Zigbee2MQTT:
Most entities are pretty self explanatory. The state entity is a simple switch, toggling the main relay on or off. The power outage memory allows you to set a setting that restores the state of the relay during a power outage. Similarly, the indicator mode allows to change the behavior of the LED light or turn if off completely. Child lock mode locks the button on the wall socket, preventing it from being operated locally.
The important thing to note here is that the USB ports are not individually controllable. They are always powered and cannot be turned off. Also, the energy metering data is saved in a voltage, power, current and total energy entities which does not include power draw from the USB ports. It’s simply a meter for the mains connected device to the socket.
ZHA
Once paired to ZHA, the device is also identified correctly and labelled as a network router. All entities available in Zigbee2MQTT are also present in ZHA. The only thing missing is the countdown switch setting, which is not part of this device anyway and is just an internal Zigbee2MQTT control for these types of devices. The BSEED smart socket operates correctly in ZHA.
Testing and Benchmark
I paired the BSEED Smart Socket back to Zigbee2MQTT and collected some data for comparison. The first thing I tested was a full dishwasher cycle, plugged to the socket on an extension cord. I’ve measured this particular Plates & Cutlery cycle many times, with various devices, and it is always between 1.55-1.65kWh. The user manual also has it set at 1.60kWh. With the meter at zero, here’s what I got in Zigbee2MQTT:
The total energy was 1.62kWh, which is well withing the range of this particular dishwasher cycle. So far, so good. The next thing I wanted to check was the accuracy of the reported voltage. The total energy for the cycle tells me it’s correct, assuming a factor of 1.0, but I decided to verify anyway.
Using my Kaiweets multimeter, I got a reading of 223.9V at 50Hz, which closely matched the 224V reported by Zigbee2MQTT. While the multimeter reading fluctuated slightly (within 0.5V) across multiple measurements, likely due to its higher accuracy, it consistently remained close to the Zigbee2MQTT value.
In summary, this accuracy level is what I actually expected from the BSEED Smart Socket. It falls in line with the previous, without-USB ports version I tested and use daily. Both sockets are accurate and correct in their power metering features.
Summary
If you are within the EU and this socket fits your wall boxes, I think it’s a great pick. It operates well, it’s very accurate and has a 16A relay which can handle most domestic appliances. Be mindful that this socket is not rated for inductive loads, so you won’t be able to attach super high-powered appliances to it. For that use case, I recommend checking out the Colorock 30A relay, which actually has an oversized 40A relay inside for exactly this purpose.
It’s also worth noting again that the USB ports of this socket are not controllable and are always powered. They provide a 20W fast charging output for phones and tablets. Actually, I can see very few reasons of why you would want to cut power to them. But if you do need to, you can check out the Moes USB Zigbee Socket ZP-LZ-FR2U which has two toggleable USB-A sockets from Home Assistant.
You can find this BSEED smart socket with energy metering and two USB ports on several stores. It’s also worth exploring the full BSEED product line, as they offer a wide variety of affordable and interesting smart home devices. They are listed on AliExpress and Amazon.
DISCLAIMER: Whenever I share something that needs to go inside a wall, I always get comments about compliance with US/UK/EU safety standards. I understand this is an important requirement for many of you, but I am not a lawyer and cannot attest to a company’s claim over such standards. I am simply reviewing the hardware and software aspects of a device. BSEED has offices in the US and EU, so maybe you should ask them for verification.
However, it is my understanding that these safety certificates as well as certificates of origin are often falsely printed on the case/box of a device by Chinese manufacturers, so verifying for certain if they hold merit is next to impossible.
As always, do you own research and make your own judgements when deciding to purchase a device.
Is it EU 55mm x 55mm standard compatible?
55×55 is not standard to my knowledge. It’s a niche use for some low-voltage applications and/or where space is limited.
This is compatible with 65x63mm (round), 70x60mm (square), 75x58mm (square), 86x86m (square).
Thanks for doing these reviews! It’s really beneficial and unbelievably exactly what I was looking for.
I bought locally same device without Zigbee support for 40e because I wanted high quality and they didn’t have Zigbee support. Well, guess what, the USB port stopped working in a few weeks.
Ordering now to see how it works 🙂
Bought this and it works great. If only it had some other front face plates instead of a glass. Tried some local ones but they are not compatible unfortunately.
Thank you for all theses articles 🙏
I wish another version with usb control (on/off) and power measurement for the usb ports.
Weirdly enough, I havent encountered such a device. I’m always on the lookout though 🙂