Maybe I can give a little more clarity. There are different technical types of device identifications in Sense-land.
- Native detections - for device that have clean on and off transitions in the timeframe Sense is looking for (1/2 second transitions). Sense learns these.
- Special Native Detections - for devices that use lots of power, but don’t have on and off transitions that fit Sense’s traditional detection time windows, mostly DC-based HVAC and EV charging. Sense has developed special models for these, but they are very dependent on picking up the complex power ramps and waveforms that specific vehicle / AC /Heat pump models kick out. My Tesla detections have been found, then lost numerous times because Tesla software often changes charge ramps.
- Smart devices assists with detection - Sense uses readings from a smart device to assist with learning. The actual device still needs to have clear on and off transitions, but Sense gets clues from data coming from the device. Two flavors of this that I am aware of:
- NDI (network device identification) - Sense monitor uses network traffic to spot ons and off of some very specific smart TV models.
- Ecobee Historic - Uses Ecobee 5 minute updates to better refine HVAC detection. The data from the Ecobee comes too infrequently to be monitored on Sense directly (bubble would be off even though AC has kicked in), but is very useful in training Sense and improving Sense HVAC models.
- Smart device measures “detection” - where the smart device regularly updates Sense with the actual usage based on a measurement or calculation from the device. This data can be used as “ground truth” for training Sense, but isn’t directly used to “learn” the specific waveforms of the connected devices. Measurement comes in a few flavors today:
- Smart plugs like HS300 and KP115 - report back to Sense monitor every 2 seconds or so
- Hue lights - the Hue hub sends calculated usage info to the Sense monitor.
- DCM (dedicated circuit monitoring) - additional Sense CTs that report power usage on 1-2 specific 120V/240V circuits in your house.
- Sense is working on an improvement called Progressive Device Detection - more on it here:
[Video] 2021 Data Science Device Detection Updates
Because they are doing actual measurements, the second to last category (with smart plugs and DCM) include the Always On for a device, the rest likely don’t. Example - I have Ecobee Historic and Sense now does a darn good job of identifying my AC units, but it still misses the 6W or so that are always flowing to the electronic control board and thermostat.