How can I find my historical highest peak wattage?

I know I get a notification if I set a new “record”, but I’m having a 240v line for an EVSE installed and would like to see what my peak is compared to what my service is. I set my peak months and months ago (probably in the middle of summer when the AC, water heater, and stove/oven were all on at once. Maybe even the dryer too).

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Some thoughts here:

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That works… I guess. But it’s not a great solution.

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** Updated with important graphic.

My take is that there are many different values people need when they ask for “peak” wattage.

  • Instantaneous peak - given the 60Hz nature of AC this could be huge and hidden associated with the start of a large motor. Sense would see it, but not report it given the way Sense reports today - that spike might even saturate the Sense current measurements.
  • Half second RMS peak - that’s what is shown on the Power Meter today
  • Some longer period peak, or energy - most people neglect the fact that circuit breakers have a time factor built into them (se chart below). So a 100A breaker will trip if you hit 100A for an extended period (like 1000 seconds), or 300A for 20 seconds. But it will reject a short 5 sec pulse of 100A, and won’t trip unless that 5 sec plus is around 500A. Users need to understand those curves when they think about the max they are looking for. Not all “maxes” are the same.

So again, it’s simplistic to ask for a max, without being really specific about what max you want the measurement for. Looking at the waveforms can give you better data based on your needs.

With all due respect, if the metric sucks, then Sense shouldn’t report it.

Sense does report the metric and I agree with OP that it should be easy to find. I have even posted as such in previous threads.

As I previously said, report the last 5 or 10 highest peaks and date if you like that instead.

Either report it and make it easy to find, or put some detailed calculation as you show in the the labs setting.

That alert metric doesn’t suck, so to speak. The 1/2 second RMS max is useful as a high water mark and for alerts, but in my opinion, it’s not that useful for what many people are trying to do with it. Users who try to use that measurement as the sole criteria for selecting a generator or trying to understand how much headroom they have left with their existing 100A (or whatever) should be doing more homework because the answer isn’t as easy as that number.

@waterboysh, is probably better off using the hourly data adding 20% guard-banding, than trying to concentrate on the peak 1/2 second.

If the metric doesn’t suck, it should be readily available.

If your suggested metric should be used instead, it should be readily available, whether in labs or elsewhere with the simple press of a button.

If it’s a good metric, it should be readily available.

But again, Sense is not making that happen.

As I said, it’s a useful metric in that moment, so you can investigate what might have caused it, plus it’s a useful metric to set custom alert (high water mark). But it’s not the metric that most people shopping for generators or investigating headroom should be using IMHO.

These are not the only two options @Beachcomber.
@kevin1 is 100% correct - it’s great for being able to diagnose what might have caused the spike and has helped a lot of users in these very forums diagnose a larger issue that was found, but it’s not something we would put front and center for every user…because it’s not always applicable towards every user.

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