Off-the-Shelf Commercial Laundromat Machine Telemetry Stack That a 1-Location Owner Can Buy in a Box

hardware real project • single request

Independent laundromat operators with 10-30 commercial washers and dryers want to detect ON/OFF, cycle complete, and downtime per machine for an end-customer 'is a machine free' app, without rewiring 220V/3.8kW machines or ripping out the coin-mech. Speed Queen Insights and Caldwell & Gregory's enterprise suites exist, but they're locked to franchise contracts. Hobbyist hall-effect sensor plus Shelly EM plus Home Assistant works but isn't a product a non-developer can buy.

builder note

The product is *not* a sensor. The product is a turnkey kit (sensor clamp + cellular hub + branded customer-facing 'is a machine free' app for the storefront) that ships in a box with one cable per machine. Charge $30/month per location plus hardware at cost. The competition isn't Speed Queen, it's 'the owner doesn't want a side project'.

landscape (3 existing solutions)

There is enterprise software for chains and there are hobbyist parts for tinkerers. The 50,000 single-location owners in between are unserved.

Speed Queen Insights Brand-locked. Only works on Speed Queen units, mid-purchase upsell. Useless for the typical mixed-fleet laundromat with Maytag, Wascomat, and Continental.

Caldwell & Gregory smart laundry Multi-housing-focused (apartment buildings, dorms). Not sold to single-storefront laundromats and pricing is RFQ-only.

Shelly EM + Home Assistant + custom dashboard DIY parts kit. Owner has to be technical, run a Pi, write the customer-facing app themselves.

sources (1)

reddit https://reddit.com/r/homeautomation/comments/1svqunw/best_no... "Detect ON/OFF state... Scalable for 10-20 machines per shop" 2026-04-25

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