We love to hear from our users and to field questions about Sense. In order to better accommodate those who cannot attend our webinars and to hold conversations more frequently, we’ll be trying out a new format. It’s pretty simple:
You come up with some questions for the team over the month of February
We’ll convene, pick some questions, and shoot a video
We’ll post our answers on the blog at the beginning of next month!
So…what do you want to know? Think general. Think specific. Think nerdy. Think how-to. Ask why/what/how. Want to know how Sense is similar to speech recognition? What programming languages we use? Why EVs are so tough to detect? Why “noisy” homes provide challenges? What a “noisy” home even is and why don’t we shut up about it? Why Sense is orange? Ask!
We’ll review as a team and answer as many as we can. If we get a really intriguing question, we might even be able to dedicate a video or blogpost to it. As always, the best way to reach the Support team is via our Contact page.
Post your questions here (or via Twitter or Facebook with the #AskSense hashtag) and we’ll review as a team. We’ll only be able to pick 5 to 10, so bring your A game and if yours doesn’t get picked, try again next month. If we get a really intriguing question, we might even be able to dedicate a video or blogpost to it.
What devices are considered the “noisiest” in a Sense installation and are known to (or could) impede detection or both said device, as well as other devices?
Will M/L algorithms be able to utilize the Ground Truth data captured through our TP Link or Wemo devices for user specified make model devices attached to assist with the overall process?, or does that data become skewed ( unusable) in the process?
The classic question that would help with expectation setting and Smartplug usage.
“How long will it take Sense to find my device ?” or “How likely is it that Sense will identify my XYZ ?”
And the ancillary questions:
• How many on/off repetitions are needed ?
• What makes for an easy to identify signature vs a hard to identify one ?
Device type - simple AC motor, vs Variable AC, vs DC motor, etc.
Power usage magnitude ? Detecting a 3W signature vs 300W vs 3kW ?
Other power/energy usage features - phase, ramp rates, runtime
• Which devices should I expect not to see identified today ?
All subject to the caveat that this info would be out-of-date with Sense’s next breakthrough.
What is the total install base of Sense? How many EVs, toasters and other items have been discovered per home? Solar installs and production as a total.
What is the process once the monitor thinks it see a new device? Get detailed in the process so all of these wonderful brains can possibly help improve the process for everyone (without giving out your secrets of course.)
Can you share any statistics about discovered devices, like how many in each category have been discovered. What are the best discoverable brands (assuming most people fill this out), etc.
Other statistics that would be useful are # of sense users per state (can be in things like 0-500, 500-1000, etc.).
Will the determination in questions addressed be based solely on what the sense teams wants to answer? Or will it also be based on the community?
I’m thinking number if likes
There are just some topics we cannot publicly discuss. There’s also some questions that we wouldn’t be able to provide a suitable answer to in a short timeframe, but for those there is the possibility of longer form content where we answer the question at a later date.
Why do devices that I have identified from the newly recognized, but still unknown, and fully registered under the Device Management window, and then watch recorded for quite a while, at some later point become lost as an individual device that I can track, and slide into the “Other” category?
How nervous were you about whether the product would be feasible early on, and was there a ‘breakthrough’ point at which you realized it could actually work?
Follow up to this: Do you think there are more ‘big gains’ to be made, or is it slow incremental progress from here on out?
Currently there has been great integration with smart products like those offered by TP-Link. Can we look forward to smart lights, plugs, receptacles and other devices with even higher levels of integration? I’m thinking co-branded Sense smart products?
(Might have to ditch the orange for a neutral color for the wife to allow within sight)
Not a question, but a request … I would like a very simple, low cpu using, 2 data-field display for the MacOS menu bar that displays 1) total power being used and 2) total power being generated. It only needs to update every 10 or 30 seconds and should look something like iStat Menu’s data. Also, I would like it by Friday
You should submit this to the Product Wishlist subforum. I like this idea too — and am currently daydreaming of a macOS widget like Monit, but for Sense — but curious what other users think.
I think these are the types of things that the community would be happy to develop on their own and not require Sense resources… if there was a public API!
