Sense engineers and data scientists continue to work diligently to improve device detection. For many years, the Sense Home app could only show real-time usage for devices it detected on its own—by isolating each device’s electrical signature from everything else happening in your home. As many of you know, this process can be fast for some devices… and frustratingly slow for others.
Why? It comes down to how a device uses electricity along with the complexity of your home’s electrical activity, how often a device runs, and how similar it looks to others.
But things are changing.
A Smarter Way to Detect Devices
Starting last year, we began showing historical usage estimates for devices you tell us about—even before we can fully detect them in real time. Along with this shift, we introduced a device survey during setup (if you haven’t filled it out yet, we recommend doing so).
And now, there’s a new Add Device button at the bottom of your Devices list. You can use it any time to tell us about more devices in your home. Once added, you’ll start receiving historical usage estimates—even while Sense is still learning to identify the device in real time.
This means your Devices list may now show a mix of:
- Devices in inventory
- Devices with real-time detection
- Devices with estimated usage from historical data and perhaps limited usage tracking
NOTE: The new Add Device feature is currently only available on the Sense Home Energy Monitor. Since the product paths for Sense and Wiser officially split in May 2024, any new features or updates to the Wiser app are now managed by the Schneider Electric/Wiser team.
The Four Stages of Detection
Here’s how Sense tracks and displays the progress of learning each device:
Stage 1: Inventory
You’ve identified the device to us, but it’s still grayed out. That means we haven’t collected enough data yet.
Stage 2: Identified
The icon turns blue and we begin showing estimated usage based on historical data.
Stage 3: Tracking
Sense is confident enough to begin reporting actual usage in your home.
Stage 4: Real Time
The device is now fully detected in real time, allowing for detailed tracking across the app.
Not every device will move through all four stages—some may skip directly from Inventory to Real Time detection or skip an intermediate stage, depending on what Sense can learn.
Note: If you use smart plugs or other integrated monitoring devices to report information on a particular device, you are isolating that device from this device detection process. If a device is already partially or fully detected and you then use DCM or a smartplug to also monitor the device, make sure you go to the Devices tab where the device is being monitored by DCM/Smart Plug and click What’s Connected to This? then select the natively detected devices that apply. Otherwise, you will risk Sense counting both data points and that will likely lead to inaccurate readings.
What This Means for You
With more ways to track your devices and smarter detection algorithms behind the scenes, Sense now delivers energy insights in more ways than ever. You’ll get actionable info sooner—even while full detection is still in progress.
Have feedback or questions? Let us know. Your insights help make Sense smarter for everyone.