I recently installed a Sense monitor in my outdoor service panel (just after the meter) here, after purchasing the Flex package on Amazon. I had been considering Sense, and other monitoring options, but when I saw that the Flex package supported generator use/monitoring, I decided to pull the trigger on the upgraded package with the additional CTs. Of course, with further research after-the-fact, I discovered that only standby generators connected via a transfer switch are supported. Mine is connected via a mechanically interlocked breaker, so for now, my original plan isnât panning out.
There had been a workaround last year where Sense support could accommodate this configuration, https://community.sense.com/t/issue-with-generator-sensing-with-non-ats-generators/11392/35 but as of last December, unfortunately that option went away. On the surface it wouldnât seem like much of a stretch to support this type of connection, but evidently the âsignatureâ that Sense sees is sufficiently different from a transfer switch connected generator, that they are not currently supporting it.
Not wanting to give up too easily, I tried both generator config options in the iOS app â switching over to generator power each time with ~3kW load â but no luck. Then I tried the solar option, pretending as if my generator were supplying power as a solar inverter might. Still no luck. Reached out to support after these multiple failures, only to get the confirmation of ânot currently supportedâ.
I searched in this topic but didnât see a close match, thus my post here today, requesting that this additional generator connection method be supported. Thanks for your consideration Sense!
Right after release, this portion was not clarified on our end and Support was able to manually make changes in the backend to get this to work. In the end, this was extremely tedious and time-consuming for our Support team, and the changes that they were making were not scalable solutions. Since release, Support is no longer able to make this manual change due to changes in our back-end.
If you would like to see this feature from Sense, youâve done the right thing by adding it here for others to upvote.
If your power is out at your house, then there is a high probability that the power is also out at your neighborhood network connection server. If thatâs the case, then SENSE will not be able to transmit any data. You want to be able to measure how much wattage you are consuming from your portable generator during an emergency and not rely on a remote server connection.
I have the same setup that you have and also wanted SENSE to detect my power usage. I have several blogs where I discussed my setup.
@JustinAtSense , thanks for the clarification/confirmation on this. Hopefully others that may want this feature will also weigh-in.
@Dcdyer , appreciate the additional info and feedback. Though I didnât link to them in my original post, I did benefit from reviewing your earlier posts about this from last summer. If only to realize I wasnât the only one struggling with the issue!
I have exactly the same situation as you have with your generator. I have not spent the money to add additional CTâs because they are not supported. Hopefully enough users with the same issue will voice their request to support manual transfer switches for generators.
Same scenario here, disappointed that this setup does not work as this was recommended by the electrician that installed my new panels, interlock, and sense device. It seems silly to me that the extra leads cannot just be used to measure the output of the generator. Seems like a big oversight to me and though I have recommended sense to friends, I cannot continue to do so in good faith. This is just lazy engineering to not give us the ability to use the extra leads in this way. This is how most people I know are setting up backup generator systems these days. Have to pull my good review and revise after learning of this oversight, it should be made much clearer that sense generator monitoring is only available in a limited number of applications. Even my electrician was unaware of this. To not make this simple adjustment is just unacceptable to me and I feel like marketing sense as a generator monitoring device is deceiving.
If you or an electrician are buying a Sense for use with a generator, from what I can see the path toward implementing a non-ATS setup involves hoping that what Sense says âonly works with ATSâ is incorrect, going onto the Community and sourcing other similar setups and then in some cases expecting Support to enable them on the backend. As with many non-standard situations, Sense has sometimes accommodated these by Support creating unique configurations. I can understand why Sense has to move away from this type of thing as they scale up to the point where they have always intended to be.
That said I think the âCompatibilityâ at getsense could include a generators section along the lines of the âWorks with most solar systemsâ:
The odd thing with technology scaling is that eventually there may be enough non-standard configurations to warrant standardizing a fix. Sense does not seem unaware of this so there are, understandably, some broken branches in their support tracks.
I attempted the same setup you also have. A portable generator without an ATS. If you search the user forum you will discover many people have already requested the same feature that you are asking for.
After I gave this some more thought, I realized that if our home loses power, so does our neighborhood network servers (WAN). They are all powered off the same grid. Maybe your scenario is different. If the neighborhood (or area) network servers donât have power, then you will not be able to see what your real-time usage is.
I developed another solution for myself. Maybe this might be an idea for you. I added local ammeters to each phase (leg). See my write-up in a separate blog.
Thanks for that, interesting idea. Still seems to me it would be an easy ask to have sense have the ability to use the extra ammeter clamps to measure the draw on the generator. I think in my case, and probably in most, the network equipment has battery backup and generator backup as well, because it is necessary for 911 services (at least where I live in TX) so network availability is usually much better than the grid, so I do think it is helpful and would be active in many areas.
In my case, this was the primary reason I bought sense, so I am a little more miffed than maybe someone that already had it then just bought the leads with the expectation of setting it up. I will find another solution, I do feel like there has to be a workaround, this just seems so easy to do⌠I hate to add a different device to do what sense should do, but I have closets full of tech that didnât do what I hoped it would, lol, so I will probably just find another alternative. Ice storm hits in a couple of hours here and I will be running outside to check the meter on my generator to make sure I am not overloading, or maybe I will just move my main leads to the generator feed until the power comes back on lolâŚ
Really sense, this is low hanging fruit, make us manual interlock people happy and just let the secondary leads sense the power has shifted from the mains and pick up where they leave off. The mains could even sense when the power comes back on and send us a push notification to go back to the grid. Too easy.
It is good that sense came out early with this tech and despite the complaints (even mine) it is a good idea whose time is overdue, but once we have it, we want more. I hope sense can continue to develop this product and provide these solutions before someone else does it better for cheaper.
OP here⌠Still waiting on a fix since I posted this last April! Yes, there are workarounds and alternative solutions that Iâve read about, but isnât that what the (Sense) software should be doing for us, given that weâve already purchased and installed the system? It just doesnât seem like that big of a reach, given that the extra CTs can already be used for solar, DCM, and ATS equipped generators, and, this feature was offered via support requests at one time.
I believe Sense has since toned down their (generator-specific support) marketing, but as I recall at that time, the âSense Flexâ kit was marketed as supporting generators â I honestly donât recall seeing anything about ATS connected generators only being supported.
Sense has lots of great features which I appreciate, but it sure would be nice to know if a software solution were in the pipeline for this seemingly minor feature request.
My original blog has since been âclosedâ. If you want the SENSE development team to make changes to any software, then you need to find a large number of SENSE users who also want the same feature. I tried, by creating a poll/survey.
59 people voted.
41% did not have an ATS for their home generator.
31% did not have any Power backup system.
20% did have an ATS attached to their home generator.
8 % only had battery backup.
I think itâs going to take a lot more users voting (requesting) for this feature. Find a way to gain more user support, then I think your request will move to the top of their priority list. So far, you have 5 âlikesâ on your original post. You probably need several hundred âlikesâ (hearts) or more on the original post for this to move forward.
Now the 1st draft of the âInstallation guide for generatorâ installation did not include the disclaimer that an ATS was required. It has since been updated (about 18 months ago) to show that an ATS is required. Installing Sense with Generator â Sense
I will support any effort to add this feature. I agree with the comments made by @SBI and @user322
I would like to add my unofficial vote to this feature since we have the same setup. Mechanical interlock on a double breaker with a 8750W peak portable generator.
Vote for this also, I just assumed it could do this. Would this work if the flex sensor is setup as a dedicated circuit monitor, just with the sensor flipped around since the load would be opposite?
Has anyone added their generator using the dedicated circuit option? Iâll probably just end up using it for my car charger. I have an analog watt meter that I guess Iâll use inline for generator.
If you havenât already read all of the previous posts (and sub related-posts) in this single thread, then I encourage you familiarize yourself with the past history. What you are asking for is what a lot of users with generators want. However, for changes to be implemented, you are going to need a larger group of users requesting this feature. I used 2 cheap digital meters for my installation. If you search on âDcdyerâ, then you will find pictures and model numbers on my setup.
