I’m new to sense and have a new generac standby generator. I followed the sense instructions to a T when installing everything but something isn’t right. As @majorgearhead said, the instructions say to put the CT lines on the main lines from the meter, sense doesn’t seem to like this very much.
I think the problem is that the transfer switch is way too fast for Sense to sense the change (pun intended). When switching to generator power, it can tell that the power is off through the main supply wires into the house but when switching back it has a hard time if there isn’t a true power outage. I think if the CT leads are placed on the generator lines it makes it much easier to detect when the generator has turned on
Have you figured this out yet? It kind of sounds like your putting the CT’s on the mains of the panel after a 200amp smart transfer switch. Meaning the mains come in from the grid and go to a 200 amp transfer switch which normally is grid to panel, then if the grid drops… it switches the feed to generator to panel? Could you tell us more about your entire setup such as:
Is your transfer switch a whole house transfer switch meaning not just critical loads?
Do you have flex sensors?
How far is your transfer switch from your panel?
This diagram shows the generator leads to be placed on the mains coming from the meter and going into the ATS, and the main leads on the lines coming out of the ATS and going into the main panel. How would this read when the generator is on if I’m stimulating a power outage? The service leads would still show a current and so would the main panel leads. The only time I would be able to set up the generator in the sense app is when I have a true power outage so the sense can read that there is no voltage coming through the service line
The CT’s measure current and not voltage. The L1/ L2 would have 120v each and 0 current. Your ATS should have a service disconnect in it. When you flip it to off the generator should kick in. The CT’s will on the main panel would measure the current your house is using and the CT’s from the service mains would measure 0 even though the lines are still hot.
Once you have your wifi enter, and its connected. Inside the app… you can go to settings/ my home/ monitor. Then under the network connection is a “Network Test>” the you can click on that while your home to see the connection specs.
When a real power outage happens your Sense will go offline during the time it takes you generator to sense the outage and fire up.
Once back online, as long as your ISP is still up, you will see the generator draw since it is powering the home. Even though I have our ISP router and a Wi-Fi access point on UPS backup, it still takes Sense a few minutes to reboot and connect to their service.
The switch back to street power, in my experience with our Kohler ATS, is fast enough to keep sense online.
For my situation I decided putting the extra CTs on the generator feed wouldn’t provide much value since I’m seeing the draw on the main CTs. However, I am going to install some dry contacts on the Kohler system so I can more easily integrate the generator status into our home automation system.
I’d love to learn more on what you and others are trying to do with these setups.
edit … I’m making an assumption you have a whole house ATS. If you’re powering specific circuits from a generator protected sub panel then my scenario won’t line up.
