I have been trying to find this device for awhile. I’ve used my energy meter on devices which I think may be it but to no success. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern of when this turns on and off. I have exported the data to a spreadsheet for this device but I’m not sure if that would help someone assist me in tracking down this device.
Sense says the device is 93% chance a pump so it seems quite sure that it is. Here is a link to the exported data.
Any help would be appreciated!
Better to share a few screenshots from the Device Power Meter, one that is zoomed in on a single on-off cycle and on that shows what happens in a day.
Lots so examples in the Community Device Library
Looks like a 30W spike followed by a 15W operating cycle. Zoom in to see how long it typically runs.
Electric motor that comes relatively randomly throughout the day at 15W for 5 minutes at a shot… Could be some kind of condensate pump ?
What are condensate pumps and what are they usually found in? Here is another event that just happened.
I just started the dishwasher and it seems to be acting different but that doesn’t explain the consistency.
Maybe the dishwasher has a similar sized pump/motor that shows up as the same device. A condensate pump is a pump that comes on when an AC heat exchanger or a dehumidifier tank fills up with water. Pumps the water out, then turns off. Kind of a mini sump pump.
We don’t have an AC or a dehumidifier. We do have a tankless water heater which may be the culprit. It has a tube that drains condensation outside. I hooked up my watt meter to it to try and track it the next time sense detects it.
How fast does Sense see these devices coming on? I’ve watched this Pump come on and off within the app but never at the exact timeframe the Water Heater has changes in wattage.
Do you have a circulator pump on your tankless heater by chance?
I’m not sure… if that is an addition to it then no. There is only one plug coming out of it. I also now know that we have a forced air Carrier furnace upstairs and this pump seemingly is coming on when we turn the heat on as well. It also turns on when we don’t have the heat on though… any ideas?
The condensate pump for my force air conditioning runs for a very short amount of time each time. Here are the stats for it. They don’t seem to line up with this mystery pump.
I also have a circulator pump for my radiant hot water boiler, and that too doesn’t line up. Granted this is for heating not potable hot water, but similar concept.
Our house is pretty simple, not a ton of devices. If this pattern is 100% a pump, I’ve got to narrow down what in my house has a pump. Does a forced air furnace have a pump? Does a fridge have a pump? Does my tankless water heater have a pump? All of these most likely have some type of pump right?
Some tankless water heaters have internal pumps. If you use any type of recirculation there are settings for “Economy” and “Comfort” for example- in Economy the pump may come on about every 30 minutes. These can also be set with schedules to run only during certain times during the day or even controlled by motion sensors or buttons.
I tested last night about 10+ times and I was reliably able to trigger both this pump and an ‘unknown heat’ I had when turning on my furnace. Not sure why this is reporting as a pump but this is clearly related to the furnace. I don’t know how to explain the consistent ~30 hour schedule to this but at least I have a little more insight.
Could be the ignition / inducer blower if your furnace is igniting.
Are you in a cold weather environment right now or did you turn on the furnace just to try all devices and appliances?
It definitely gets cold at night and I was turning it off and on and watching Sense the entire time to test the on/off.
