I’ve had my Sense installed since February, and have been very pleased with it. Certain devices it detected very quickly, including a couple saws that my contractor was using, and some devices slowly or not at all. This is NOT a complaint, but merely a list of devices that Sense has yet to detect. Maybe some forum users have advice on getting them detected or at least handy info for the Sense team to see. This order is from roughly largest to smallest wattage:
(2) GE PTD7000SN1SS wall ovens - 5000w Sense has partially discovered these. It finds certain heating elements, but not others. This should be an easy device for the Sense team to fix detection on because I can see the wattage change in the power meter, and what Sense has and has not discovered, but the whole time it’s using thousands of watts. It really looks like there’s one or two resistive heating elements missing, amongst the ones it has found. I’d love to get all them found natively as the oven is an expensive draw and seeing how much it costs would be very handy knowledge.
(2) Mitsubishi mini splits - 900w each I know mini-splits are hard to detect, I’ve read all about them. They’re variable speed and don’t have much, if any, of an on/off signature, but with two of these that’s 1800w during most summer days that goes unaccounted for. I’ve tried turning one unit off entirely and leaving the other on for a little bit, and then turning that off entirely and the first in, but no success so far.
(1) LG LRFXC2406S/01 counter-depth fridge. This uses a “linear compressor” so I think that’s why it’s been so difficult, if not impossible, for sense to detect. I’d put a smart plug on it to measure, but I’m afraid of the lack of space behind the unit for a HS110. Maybe if the new plugs get Sense support I can put on of those back there.
(1) Hoover UH70120 vacuum. I had read devices that move between legs are difficult to detect, so I use it from the same plugs as often as possible, but no luck so far. I thought a vacuum would be easier to detect, but maybe it’s purely the leg issue.
(1) Amana F1961E microwave. This is from “the year 2000”, but it really is. No fancy anything, just a straight 1100w microwave. It appears as though sense may be getting it confused with my new, drawer microwave, but only occasionally.
(1) Liftmaster garage door opener. We don’t use the garage door all that much, so there haven’t been the most cycles to detect, but we have probably used it 60 or so times, maybe more actually. It too is a fairly dumb unit, no built-in WiFi or battery, just a motor and a chain. I did install a MyQ to add WiFi, but that’s just a WiFi bridge that uses IR to control it and is not physically connected to the opener.
(1) Spaceheater. This is probably my most unique device. It came with the house and is meant for workshop or mechanic garages, not a basement. It is very rudimentary: natural gas to some burners and then a single speed fan to blow the heat into the room. There is a dedicated vent, so don’t worry, I’m not getting CO2 poisoned. I’m surprised Sense hasn’t detected this fan as it is 150w and has very clear on and off signatures. Maybe this winter it’ll be discovered.
(1) Bathroom fan. I never cared about this getting detected, but with cooler air moving in we’ve had the windows open, but it’s also been raining enough that the fan turns on automatically overnight and during the day when it gets too humid. It looks to use 60 watts. With how frequent it’s been turning on these days, I’m surprised Sense hasn’t found it either.
I was impressed that Sense detected both a bank of 6 fluorescent lights and an inefficient halogen-type light in our home office. The fluorescents were 200 watts, mismatching color temps, and hummed, so I replaced those with ballastless LEDs, which I never expect Sense to detect. The halogen fixture is a fight for down the road.
Thanks for reading! I’ll update if/when Sense detects any of these.