I ordered a “Flex Sensor” to connect to a satellite panel, so I could monitor power consumption from that. When my electrician was installing it, he accidentally broke the connector to the sensor on my main panel. I posted about that here, and was told that I had to get a new main panel sensor (the pair of current clamps), and send back the main sense unit so it could be calibrated. Sense promptly repaired the broken connector and replaced the main panel sensors, and sent them back.
So when I look at the sensors, they look identical. They both say “CT200” on them. Are they indeed the same? And if the unit has to be calibrated to make the main sensor accurate, why don’t the flex sensors need to be calibrated?
I also have an extra pair of sensors sitting around, also CT200. I don’t know where I got those. Does the sense unit ship with a pair of flex sensors? I think they’re the same as the solar sensor? I guess I shouldn’tve ordered the second pair of flex sensors…
Based on previous threads on this site: yes, flex sensors are the same as solar sensors, except for the picture of the sun. Sense is fine with interchanging those two. That is, you may use them as either flex sensors or solar, whether or not it has a picture of the sun.
No, the main sensors are not the same as flex/solar sensors “because they are calibrated differently.” They have not explained further than that, so I don’t know why the flex sensors don’t need to be calibrated.
In a PV system like that from Enphase, the PV CT’s are 2% accurate, where as the usage CT is 0.5% accurate.
I am pretty sure the usage CT is really calibrated and the sense unit programmed to be matched to usage CT units.
If you switch them, they would be simply less accurate.
According to sense the CTs themselves are different… The plug in is the same. We had someone a few months ago that broke the main CT’s and was asking if the flex/solar ones can be used. Justin from sense said that the CTs were different.