Worth giving the Flex Sensors a try, especially if you are comfortable going into your panel or have a friendly electrician. You’ll get a very good characterization of both devices’ loads which always helps, even if detection isn’t there yet. For instance, you’ll truly know that most of that Other is really your Mini-Split, plus you know the Always on of each.
Again, good luck and keep sharing, even if it isn’t all good.
@kevin1 ,
Decided to add the 2nd set and put the Mini-split on a DCM so reading various posts and the install guide’s. I really have only a need to go with the single 240V load. It is a balanced load (no Neutral).
The install guide is confusing when it comes to the sensor clamp placement. I have sensors that are blank on one side and have a sensor house logo on the other. I included a pic with the two statements noted. They seem to conflict on which way.
So Blank to breaker OR house logo to breaker??
Second thing is once I’ve added the DCM to the mini-split what happens to the partial mini-split detection I now have? Won’t they be a double detection or will the original disappear? Do I delete the original or merge it with the DCM?
Quick answers - disclaimer: It’s been a while since I activated my extra sensors. I think I had to go through setup a couple times to get it right, but not an issue since there’s no issue trying multiple times.
@kevin1 Thanks
I realize I could go with just one CT but then the other CT would be just laying in the bottom of the box unused. The box only has 240v breakers and the only other breaker I could monitor is unbalanced.
I know over Sense’s history they have labeled CT different ways. Two labels, a sun label, a sense logo, etc. I’ve read many posts where people have had problems with how they connected them and which way, label in or out. After reading the instructions I can see why they had issues.
DCM is connected. FYI: No issues with the setup or install. My clamps were blank on one side & Sense logo on the other. Both were installed blank side towards the breaker.
Typically how long does the change take to settle and report ALL on that breaker? It has only been hours since it was installed but some of the numbers I see in other areas are suspect.
Under “What’s connected to this” I choose the partial detection it had before the DCM was added. Should I also select “other device” since it was only a Partial detection?
@ron111157 , glad the install went well and that the “keep the orientation consistent” approach worked. Based on my experience, there is no “settling time”. DCM is an immediate direct measurement of the circuit, so the Bubbles and the Device Power Meter (only in the phone/table app) should show immediately (see my Device Power Meter for my Model 3 on DCM below).
One added caveat, is that the appearance / disappearance of Bubbles are dependent on how your Standby threshold is set.
The two things that will be delayed are the data in the Trends and the Always On calculation for the circuit on DCM. Trends won’t show up until the data is aggregated at the start of a new hour. And the Always On for the DCM circuit won’t show up for 48 hours (maybe 24 hours, but wait for 48 hours to trust it).
As for setting “What’s connected to this ?” - If there is only one device on the circuit and it is only partially detected, DON’T choose Other, just check the detection. If there are multiple devices on the circuit and only one is partially detected, choose Other as well as the detection.
@kevin1 , Thanks for the info.
I did notice some differences between the Phone app and the laptop. I use the laptop quite often and knew “some” things differed. I try not to make any changes on the laptop. I have already seen the laptop app does not show I have a DCM set yet but the main screen is showing the “bubble” correctly.
I have no idea what a Standby threshold would be so I’ll wait a few days to set that. I was surprised to see that draw from the mini-split did drop to 18-20 watts a couple of time. That is much lower than I figured it would be since it is never truly “off”. It is also early in the day so it’s not working to hard…yet.
I don’t know what parts were partially detected in the past but it never read more that 600-800 watts and the remaining was in “other”. Already I’m seeing an average 1k to 2k on the DCM and other is either very low or off!
Waiting to see what the heat of the day and the next few days shows.
Thanks!
Update
Moving my Mitsubishi Mini-split to a DCM is a positive experience overall. I am seeing the usage more accurately. Other items such as the dryer and window unit are not quite as intermittent. The other bubble is pretty much gone except for a quick, occasional low wattage pop up.
My only complaint is the DCM Always On swings wildly often. It may be 400+ for a couple days and then 18-20 the next few days. I noticed this when my always on bubble jumped from around 600 to over a 1000 for a couple days and then back down. You don’t see an always on number in a items bubble on the phone app but do on a laptop.
Not sure what it uses to calculate that number. Sometimes it looks like the night time low usage times and others the heat of the day high numbers. Since it is a variable use item dependent on outside conditions it will never be consistent number. Not really helpful to me. I guess its the misnomer “Always On”
@ron111157,
Glad that DCM is helping with assessing the Mini-Split usage. As you are discovering, Always On for your house and for every DCM or smart plug device is a calculated number over time - for devices that time window is 24 hours.
Sense fits the 24 hour data to a distribution formula and pulls out the 1% bin (the usage that is smaller than 99% of all the other usage data). Depending on usage for the past 24 hours, it can move around, especially if your device is running most of the time in one situation and off for most of the time in another. You can look at the Mini-Split Power Meter for two different 24 hour periods that have very different Always On values at the end, and understand how that number might have been arrived at. One of my DCM devices gives a clean Always On (floor heating panel) that represents power the thermostats. But the the Always On for my EV charger is non-existent most of the time, and only pops up when I do a very long charging cycle.
Yes, that makes sense. At least you can see what it “thinks” the Always On is for that particular day and dismiss it. It took a good amount of time to figure all the truly “Always On” items (hubs, switches, routes, fan, etc) to get a accurate number.
The overall advantages of the DCM outweigh this one issue. I can see how its helps in some applications but not useful to me.
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