The King of Always On

Thanks, Mark, for letting us feature you on the blog!

Can anyone here take that :crown:?

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OH so close! :slight_smile:

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Thatā€™s awesome Becky! For what itā€™s worth if you are holding that you are ahead of me now. Added some devices that have put me over.

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That is a little low for me, Iā€™m not sure why. Itā€™s generally maybe 10w higher. but itā€™s 55 today so holding in that range.

We added some devices in the greenhouse that has our always on today at 63 so you still are currently the Queen of Always On!

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Am I allowed to compete? image

:grin:

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Thatā€™s crazy! Are you using any smart plugs that would allow ā€œcheatingā€?

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Yeah, a bunch, but the ones that really matter here still have a pretty low idle wattage. On my music studio gear, idle is about 11W and on my entertainment center (Apple TV, Echo Dot, 43" LED TV, PS4, speakers) itā€™s about 9W idle. The real cheat is probably living in a small-ish apartment, rather than a large house.

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Thatā€™s awesome Ryan. If you have a Sense monitor then heck yeah post it! The more detail the better on your usage.

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A nerd after my own heart! How long did it take Sense to detect your induction elements?

Induction burners were one of the last to pick up. I had 30+ within 3-5 months. The bubbles pulse with the induction power usage so easy to follow.

First month with sense and making zero Modifications to lifestyle, 600-700 always on.
Next month we start working on it.
Very impressive numbers by everyone, I am truly envious.

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Not that Iā€™m a disbeliever, but given what I know about Always On, I think that anybody who wants to claim the title of ā€œKing of Always Onā€ needs to show a full month, not just a bubble at one point in time :wink:

Iā€™m definitely not the King, but thanks to smartplugs plus improvements in the Always On algorithm, Iā€™m down to about 200W of ā€œunknownā€ Always On. I specify ā€œunknownā€, because the smartplugs account for ā€œknownā€ Always On of those devices. It looks like there was a mid-Jan improvement in Always On accounting with smartplugs because I didnā€™t do anything special to cut my Always On in half (from around 400W to 200W).

OK - I did do one thing that ā€œimprovedā€ my Always On on Jan 9th. I trashed my home network for a day in an abortive attempt to install some new networking hardware. I looked like a ā€œKingā€ for that day, but not reallyā€¦

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I am the poster and I agree. Actually, I say it should be more than a month for I maintained 53 watts for just under a month before posting and then it went up 20 watts. My Always On fluctuates with the seasons. I provided a list of my main devices and notated those that were seasonal. We have added some grow lights in our greenhouse and now my Always On is fluctuating between 90 -100 watts. Still not bad but have seen other apartment dwellers doing much better.

The main objective of my ā€œShow us your bubblesā€ and ā€œKing of Always Onā€ was more about awareness of our energy usage. I am far from a minimalist, but definitely below average energy user for a modest 2700 sq ft ranch home with a 2000 sq ft two story barn and a greenhouse in the middle of 50 acres. I have really worked to reduce the gas guzzlers that I own. All of my yard tools are electric including an 80V chainsaw, all appliances, and two EVs, but I still maintain a Ford F150, an ATV, and a diesel tractor. We generate enough solar electricity to offset our usage, and with a smart EVSE that manages our solar charging, we try to use as much as we generate. Those with net metering are lulled into not giving this much thought and those outside of New York and California should for it has an impact on how your supplied energy is generated.

Awareness of the energy we use and the EROI (energy return on investment) it takes to produce the energy is important. Electronic devices are addictive. Energy devices are addictive. For oil, the EROI is falling rapidly. Production of ethanol from corn is pretty close to 1:1. It should be alarming to our ever-growing species that any energy being used with a 1:1 EROI is a formula for disaster.

Many would look at our lifestyle and declare our use of 50 acres as an indulgence for a family of three. It is for that reason that I take our total energy usage very seriously and to Kevinā€™s point, a single snapshot is not gonna do that. It is, however, simpler with the way Always On works to begin there. Again, not a minimalist, but the amount of energy we consume is going to play havoc on the next 500 years. I indulge in energy toys, but I want to be smart with my usage. I want to pay attention to devices that draw energy in standby and are only used once a month, and either unplug them or relegate to smart controls. I want to evaluate the manufacturing EROI of my appliances and determine whether replacing them will reduce my overall energy usage.

So Always On is a starting point. Overall usage is more important. Here is our Sense January report. Keep in mind, this includes transportation miles for two vehicles. So you apartment dwellers, which I applaud for your conservation, I say include your transportation and I may still declare ā€œKingā€!

Our species is 7 billion strong and growing. Donā€™t forget the first law of thermodynamics. No energy is created or destroyed. I need another cup of coffee and that takes energy tooā€¦

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Here is the month that is was posted. It is not obvious that it started adding 20 watts toward the end of June but it never came back. It was my best month! OK @RyanAtSense, go ahead and post your killer month!

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Hereā€™s my January Always On. You used more but I paid more. Stupid Massachusetts. :-1:

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Hereā€™s my January. First 10 days are higher for some reason.

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Below is my storyā€¦ Iā€™m just over a year and Iā€™m seeking to find additional benefits, by reducing ā€œAlways Onā€. Iā€™ve read the analytical outcomes of others in the community, but Iā€™m not that talented to do the same for myself! Iā€™m simply focused on eradicating unnecessary ā€œVampire Powerā€.

  1. Install Date (No Solar): Noon - January 02, 2018
  2. Home Specs (2016): 4k sqft heated/cooled living space
  3. Appliances: Gas (Furnace, Water Heater, Dryer, Oven)
  4. Occupants: 2 Adults (Continually Occupied)
  5. Current Electricity Cost: $0.0519/kWh
  6. Current Always On: 114 watts
  7. Daily Goal: Not to exceed 16 kWh
  8. Monthly Average: 468.5 kWh
  9. Lifetime 6,090.8 kWh Usage:
  • Jan 2018: 510.3 kWh
  • Feb 2018: 453.9 kWh
  • Mar 2018: 442.3 kWh
  • Apr 2018: 418.7 kWh
  • May 2018: 356.5 kWh
  • Jun 2018: 365.5 kWh
  • Jul 2018: 792.3 kWh
  • Aug 2018: 589.6 kWh
  • Sep 2018: 678.2 kWh
  • Oct 2018: 444.3 kWh
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I have two problems:

  1. Always On (114 kWh) - I really want to reduce to half of current level
  2. Devices Found (21) - I have duplicitous items, which the Sense Monitor has only found one.
  • (2) TVs of the same Manufacturer/Model and one dissimilar of the other two. None have been found, by the Sense Monitor
  • Dual Zone Furnace, which found 1 of 2

That dip might have come via better calculation of Always On with Smartplugs, or just a better Always On calc in general. Do you have any HS110s or Wemo Insights in use ??