We’re excited to share some big changes that have been released in the latest version of the Sense app! Some of these changes will be immediately apparent to you as you update your app, while others will only impact new users to Sense or those who complete a data reset. Here’s an idea of what to expect:
Watt Check - this new feature on the Dashboard allows you to measure the wattage used by the lights in your home, and helps you determine whether you could save by switching to more efficient bulbs. The whole process takes about 15 seconds and can be run on any light in your home. Note that Watt Check is separate from device detection, so the lights you check will not automatically appear on your device list.
Updated devices - the Devices tab and details view for each device on your list have been completely redesigned. Along with a new look and feel, you’ll see details about your devices in a new order to better align with what we’ve heard from the Sense community is most important.
Intuitive controls - if you have integrated devices set up such as smart plugs or lights, you’ll see the on/off button in the app replaced with a toggle to make control more intuitive. Control for smart plugs can still be disabled from device settings if desired.
Updated experience for new users - An initial survey to collect information about your home, heating, cooling, and appliances to pre-populate the device list. This is coupled with enhancements to device detection in the first couple of weeks for some key appliances.
You may also notice that this version no longer includes the home inventory that was previously housed in Settings. We really appreciate everyone who filled in the inventory in the past - it was incredibly useful in our early data science efforts. As our technology has advanced, we’ve started to change the way we ask about devices with our new home info survey for new users. In the future, you might see us asking you questions in the app about some specific devices rather than keeping an exhaustive inventory up to date.
Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment below or PM me.
I like the new toggle beside integrated devices because it solves the issue I noted below of the translated word for on or off not fitting in the available space. The little dot appears to be the symbol for native devices being on. It took me a minute to realize what the dot meant, but since there is no dot next to items that are off, this appears to be the explanation.
I just logged in here to check and report possible data lag in monitoring. My live monitor is about 20’ behind real time, both before and after updating to the new iOS app.
Haven’t gone around flipping things on and off yet to see if it’s just a lag in reporting or if the data capture is somehow out of sync.
Could be unrelated but reporting it here, the Labs button is now throwing up a 404 error. This happens in both the just updated app on iPadOS 17.2, and the previous version on an iPhone iOS 16.6.1. The “Take me home” button on the 404 screen takes the user to a Web version of Sense shown from within the app. It does not open a separate browser window, The web version is fully functional from taskbar at top of page. The app taskbar remains at bottom of screen and tapping there immediately returns the user to the app version. Others seeing same?
FWIW - I power cycled it at the breaker and seems to be back in sync. Only took a minute or two to reboot but you can see a 20’ gap as it’s now reporting at the correct time.
Hi @davidduran - In the Power Meter, the first 15 minutes is known as “real-time” data and after 15 minutes it is pulled into “historical” data where it’s processed and completed two different data sets - the historical data is more accurate than the real-time data. You can submit a ticket with our Support team if you would like to look into this further. http://www.sense.com/contact
So with the new Watt Check feature, why can’t Sense developers allow us to assign the known lights we are testing as devices? The same should be able to be done for any device, i.e., turn on a load, turn off the load, and name it. Sense should be able to recognize the current inrush/waveform from that point on as that device. Please say this is in a development sprint.
Hi @rbrptl - Watt Check runs independently from device detection. It’s intended to help you learn about your home and find opportunities to save quickly, regardless of whether the light you’re checking has been detected already. Keep in mind, Sense needs to see devices in their usual context with their regular usage patterns and on/offs to be able to accurately identify them. That means that training by turning devices on/off and labeling them, unfortunately, would not be very effective. That being said, we’ve introduced several features that take user inputs (besides you using your devices, of course) into account for our device detection algorithms. Features like renaming mystery devices, re-categorizing devices and adding make/model to a device’s details are different ways that you can contribute to device detection. In addition, integrations like smart plugs and Phillips Hue can net immediate detections for connected devices. You can learn more about the challenges of implementing a “learning” mode here: Why can't you train Sense?.
Welcome to the forum, @rbrptl . You have a good question, which has been asked many times before. The answer from Julia is a good one. If you just want the short version, the key concept is
I have been using the “on for” value that used to be displayed under a devices’s watt usage. This appears to have been removed in the new version I pulled down for my iPhone. My iPad is still running the old software and luckily still shows value. I use it to easily see if my heat pump has recently cycled on/off. Could you please bring this very useful value back to the devices.
Hey @larry1 - We appreciate your feedback. If you would like to submit a feature request to our team, you can do so here: http://www.sense.com/contact.
I agree. I use that value all the time to watch my sump pumps.
I have alarms set for ‘x’ amount of time off.
But I find piece of mind in knowing my duty Cycle.
Hey @lane03 and @jordonstandeven - Only the shortcuts to access those features have been removed. You can still set preferences for notifications and the timeline for your devices by selecting the settings icon in the upper right and going to the Manage tab.
I know, my request was to bring back the shortcut and also the “on/off for” feature to be reinstated. If only bringing one back, then please make it the “on/off for”.
How did I miss this was missing? I’ve used this a lot in the past as well. Very useful feature.
Can someone separate this into a feature request thread? Will certainly get a ton of likes to bump it up on the priority list to bring it back.
