"Sense" Energy Monitor

[MustangChris04]

I came across an advertisement for this energy monitor that simply connects to the service mains in your breaker and claims to be able to detect all different types of appliances and their energy usage within your home. I'm guessing that it calculates the amount of consummation a specific device uses and as consumption increases or decreases by X amount, it tries to figure out which device was the one that was turned on/off. I can't imagine this working very reliably. I'd think you'd at least need to be able to filter out the usage by breaker in order to accurately monitor usage of a specific appliance/device. 

 

Anyways, here is the site: https://sense.com/

[larryllix]

Note is states "PREORDER".

This looks like the same device that stated taht a year ago.

Most of the claims seem very exagerated and impossible to do with any certainty.

 

I wouldn't touch it. Go clock your meter and calculate your loads, or slap on one of those monitoring devices and guess yourself what appliances are on.

[Teken]

This device is a lot like all the others that use only two CT's at the primary mains. There are currently four other similar products on the market all touting the very same ability to provide the user with such information.

 

None of them work as one would expect - None of them offer true circuit level accuracy.

 

What they do is offer a varying degree from polished to lack luster smartphone UI which is cloud based. You will find out very quickly this sort of *Dis-aggregation* method fails on both low and high energy extremes.

 

The only way you will ever know with 100% certainty what a branch circuit is consuming is to monitor it.

 

This isn't magic and companies like Brultech have been doing this very thing for more than 20 years. In a related forum thread I broke this very subject matter into its most basic elements go and find the thread.

 

Essentially you have several camps and those who fall into over lapping scenarios.

 

Camp 1: Looking for another fad / toy to play with - really isn't committed to but curious none the less.

Camp 2: This person is serious because they have used and played with all the fad / toy products.

 

In more than twenty plus years playing, watching, reading, and doing my observations are very much like security. About 90% of the people are just curious and have really no intention of doing anything with energy monitoring. They like the *Idea* but when rubber hits the road they most certainly fail and never follow through.

 

The 10% that actually pass the curiosity stage and move toward energy management are those who are serious about gathering data, getting the facts, and then doing something about it. In my estimation energy monitoring / energy management is still another 10-15 years away in terms of being the norm and pervasive.

 

Energy Monitoring / Energy Management is not sexy - Takes time and commitment - Requires a change in habits and lifestyle.

 

Very few people in the world actually have the gumption never mind taking the time to ponder about doing either.

 

Many of us know the ISY Series Controller wasn't the cheapest controller on the market. But then again we all knew this was a long term investment in the home automation infrastructure. Thus that small amount of money was just an investment into the future and beyond.

 

If energy monitoring / energy management is not just a flash in the pan idea, fad, or look at me. Consider investing your hard earned money in a product that is proven and is used in all spaces from residential, commercial, government, and enterprise.

 

You will never see any of these toy like products that have a half life of 2-5 years used and installed in commercial, government, never mind enterprise, none.

 

Its safe to say you can spend your money once and spend it right - or waster your money again on a toy that simply offers nothing but a half baked pretty smartphone application.