As I am usually fairly passionate / critical about Sense I thought I would ensure I shared both sides.
Last weekend I got a notification that a Samsung TV had been identified right down to the model number. Shortly thereafter another Samsung TV was identified. They are similar LED TVs but slightly different screen sizes and I was impressed Sense identified them down to the model number. I have one more similar Samsung TV… so I am waiting on that one as well.
Later in the weekend another mystery device was identified. I had a suspicion it was my landscape lighting so I went to my shop where the transformers are and cycled them a few times. Sure enough they were identified. My landscape lighting is a bank of 3 transformers tied into a Lutron smart switch connected to Smartthings. They turn on and off together at about the same time each day.
As I turned the lights on to the shop Sense identified another device. I cycled the lights off and bingo another device. The shop lights are a bank of about 12 fixtures of fluorescent lights.
For me 4 devices in 2 days is a world record. in the last 6 months I probably had 2-3 unidentifiable devices identified so this was a pleasant surprise. It might inspire me to try and track down the many unidentified devices. Hopefully the progress continues.
Are your landscape lights halogen or led? Trying to sort out if it’s detected natively or with help from “network identification.”
Mine are all led, run through smartthings (sunset/sunrise based). I have them on a few different circuits though, each using probably less than 50w, but they all come on almost in unison.
My Samsung TV was also picked up this past weekend. I was quite surprised when it showed up, also with the model #. It is a smart TV and do have network identification turned on. I’m guessing that’s how it was detected if it could get the right model #.
They are halogen. I have 3 separate 150 watt transformers running them. I have been debating changing the bulbs to LED but I assumed that each of the transformers would continue to run at 150W regardless… then again I could probably eliminate one or two of the transformers. I priced out LED bulbs the other day for the landscape lighting and they were expensive at the box store. Amazon has them much cheaper.
Mine are on a pair of transformers, but I certainly noticed the drop in consumption when I installed the LEDs…meaning that you could potentially add more lights if you wanted to a single transformer.
No doubt, they are expensive - like $10 a bulb I think?, so I guess it depends on how long you leave them on for and how confident you were about getting the full life out of them. I went with Phillips from Home Depot because I was worried about some of the Amazon bulb reviews. You’ll want to be careful about some of these brands…even the generic EcoSmart interior bulbs I purchased at HD had a ~10% failure rate after a year. They do have a 5yr warranty, but that’s also a hassle.
You’ll also want to make sure the ones you get fit into your landscape fixtures
