Went up quite a bit from June! Running the AC more?
Julyās notable energy increase is obviously due to my non-stop Air Conditioning usage! Comfort is truly important and home automation allowed its efficient use. For now, Iām maintaining low usage, compared to others in my state.
Here is a listing of the top energy consumers, accounting for 87.4% of the total usage:
- (39.1%) - Air Conditioning
- (36.8%) - Other
- (11.5%) - Always On
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#scoreboard
Thatās fantastic! Iām curious what your approach was to find the āvampireā draws around your house. Did you literally go room-to-room, look at the power outlets and unplug what wasnāt needed? What were your sneakiest and most surprising power drains?
Thanks!
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I actually wrote a blog recently with some pretty thorough steps to do this: Dive Deeper into Your Always On Load - Sense Blog
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Usage History: Iām within the lower 10% in both Average Watts and Always On , compared to Sense users, within the state of Ohio .
Standard Smart Home: Ranch with full basement (3k sqft living space), built April 2016, 3 bedroom, 3 baths. Gas appliances (Furnace, Water Heater, Oven, Dryer)
Primary Occupants: 2-Adults (Husband & non-working Spouse)
Sense Installation Date: January 2, 2018
- Jan 2019 - (Average 692 watts) (Always On 163 watts)
- Feb 2019 - (Average 521 watts) (Always On 101 watts)
- Mar 2019 - (Average 471 watts) (Always On 95 watts)
- Apr 2019 - (Average 397 watts) (Always On 98 watts)
- May 2019 - (Average 382 watts) (Always On 100 watts)
- Jun 2019 - (Average 387 watts) (Always On 97 watts)
- Jul 2019 - (Average 999 watts) (Always On 115 watts)
- Aug 2019 - (Average 706 watts) (Always On 97 watts)
Number of Found Devices: 16 (Removed 3 devices that were no longer detected)
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Are you using an HVAC system of any kind?
I donāt know how it would be that low unless using windows to regulate temperature.
There is something wonky about the average and total usage on yours, the numbers donāt add up.
If using an average of 706 watts then the total should be 508KWH.
My HVAC info is provided belowā¦ Iād like to address the potential āwonkyā! Sense is my absolute favorite Smart Home Device and Iād like to see any suggestions to better ensure things are working as intended. Iām open to all suggestions!!
------------------------------
HVAC: Goodman
Model: GMSS920402BN
My centralized heating, ventilation and air conditioning system operates in a dual-zone configuration - split between the main floor and basement areas. During the cooling season, the basement zone rarely engages - since warm air rises to the main floor. Prior to turning off the A/C unit on September 1st, the main floor zone thermostat was set as follows and the basement zone 2-degrees warmer:
06:00am - 72
06:00pm - 71
10:00pm - 70
11:45pm - 69
Always On wonāt really change with more detections. I did this diagram to help explain Always On vs. the variable / transitions usage of the devices in your house. Bottom line is that the only detections that will remove some of the Always On are detections via smartplugs because smartplugs can āseeā both the Always On and the variable part of device usage. A standard Sense detection only āseesā the big transitions, not the stable Always On usage.
BTW - Your Always On is a little highā¦
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yeah i was hoping for more insight as to what my always on is through sense. really need to figure out what all my usage is going to. we do have 2 fridge freezers and 3 tvs (those are always on stand by through the day) and a dvr. Perhaps the extra fridge fridge freezer could account for the 200? But then it wouldnt be counted as always onā¦sooo bit of a loss at the moment.
If you really want to do a thorough breakdown of your Always On usage, I put together this guide:
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Thanks Ryan, i think thats what i may have to do 
Usage History: Iām within the lower 10% in both Average Watts and Always On , compared to Sense users, within the state of Ohio .
Standard Smart Home: Ranch with full basement (3k sqft living space), built April 2016, 3 bedroom, 3 baths. Gas appliances ( Furnace, Water Heater, Oven, Dryer )
Primary Occupants: 2-Adults (Husband & non-working Spouse)
Sense Installation Date: January 2, 2018
- Jan 2019 - (Average 692 watts) (Always On 163 watts) - (HyperLink)
- Feb 2019 - (Average 521 watts) (Always On 101 watts) - (HyperLink)
- Mar 2019 - (Average 471 watts) (Always On 95 watts) - (HyperLink)
- Apr 2019 - (Average 397 watts) (Always On 98 watts) - (HyperLink)
- May 2019 - (Average 382 watts) (Always On 100 watts) - (HyperLink)
- Jun 2019 - (Average 387 watts) (Always On 97 watts) - (HyperLink)
- Jul 2019 - (Average 999 watts) (Always On 115 watts) - (HyperLink)
- Aug 2019 - (Average 706 watts) (Always On 97 watts) - (HyperLink)
- Sep 2019 - Factory Reset of Monitor: Sept 18, 2019 - (HyperLink)
- Oct 2019 - (Average 381 watts) (Always On 94 watts)
Notes:
- Number of Originally Found Devices: 16 (Removed 3 devices that were no longer detected)
- Post-Reset - Number of Found Devices: 8 (No Merged Devices)
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good grief is that a business or are you running like a store. Iām pretty sure you do in fact win.
He posted a while back in a different thread, he is/was mining bitcoin and all that was GPU power.
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We have a 8900w solar array on our house. We started with an AO of 253w and are down to 83w and still going. My wife was also somewhat reluctant when I started implementing my Power Nazi policies, but she recognized I could be obsessed with much worse things.
Things we did to reduce vampire loads; put virtually every device with a DC transformer on a SmartPlug controlled by our Google Home. For our TV that meant the video monitor, the sound bar and the sub woofer, about 75w. We now turn the TV on and off by voice command, but left the cable box under constant power as it takes too long to reconnect to the MotherShip.
We also put the bedroom TV on a SmartPlug plug but use the plugās control apps to schedule it to turn on 15 minutes before bedtime, so the cable box can connect and runs for 2 hours. It turns off automatically and saves 35w of vampire load for the 22 hrs a day it doesnāt run.
I put in a Nest thermostat some time ago and changed the furnace fan from always on to just for 15 mins each hour. Draped 55w from out AO.
I am especially proud of the 18w I found in my 45 year old LED alarm clock. Got it for when I started Junior High School and had it ever since. My wife gets up about 3 hrs before I do so she has her own alarm. I only need a wake up alarm, maybe 20 - 30 mornings a year, so I installed an in-line switch so I can turn it on when I go to bed, then turn it off in the morning.
18wās not worth it? Letās say there are 330 days I donāt need it. 330 x 24 = 7920 hrs. 18 x 7920 = 142 560w. 142560 / 1000 = 142.56 kWH. Our panels have a mean daily production of about 45 kWh, so that would be over 3 days production to power my alarm clock!
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The always-on consumption depends on at least the following factors:
- Size of the house
- Weather / area in the country
- Number of Occupants
- How āwiredā is the house
Granted some on here might be hesitant to share such info (and this is fully understood), but itās not very āusefulā to compare my 500 AO to the numbers from a single young man living in a studio apartment in beautiful North Carolina.
Reminds me of the time I was still living in Boston, and a friend of mine had just moved to California ā¦ when my electricity bill was around $80, and hers around $30 ā¦ but that was a long time back.
Of course ā¦ Iām stating the obvious, and everyone on here knows those caveats already
Hello from the author of this thread written many years ago. Another important aspect of the prize is over how long is your numbers maintained. I arbitrarily picked a one-month period with the ability to back it up with the monthly Sense report. My house is a 2400 sq ft ranch in North Carolina so 52 watts was pretty decent. My always-on has crept up with the addition of smart devices.
The main point of the thread of course is to add to your awareness of your electrical usage. So yeah, smart devices add to your usage. It is noteworthy that we are moving to a total electric lifestyle. Two of our three vehicles are EVs and have been since the challenge was made years ago. Our truck will be replaced just as soon as I can take delivery of our Tesla Cybertruck. All of our yard tools and mowers are electric. The majority of our lawn is mowed with a robot mower, but have a small electric riding mower as well. We have two forms of heating as well. The primary is geothermal, but we continue to feed my primal desire for fire with a programmable pellet stove. We will continue to use it as long as we can buy pellets that are manufactured from the waste products of the furniture industries of North Carolina and Virginia.
Energy awareness, efficient usage, conservation, and good engineering will all make this a better marble for future generations to enjoy. Sense on!
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@markhovis73 ā¦ Good point Mark, for one thing, you make us all look like energy āwastersā. Every team needs an āover-achieverā ā¦ someone to drive and challenge the āherdā so-to-speak. My house is about 3000 sq-ft, with 3 teenagers, basic gasoline transportation, and about 410W of always-on. Every now and then I do some home repair/improvement and am discovering (reluctantly) what ācontractor gradeā really means. Be it the missing gaskets for the windows I cleaned last spring, the big gaping hole under the electrical meter, that let snow into the basement (and had me replace my electrical panel due to rust/moisture) ā¦ and the like. Iām learning to be efficient, and thatās not a skill one acquires overnight. Iāve replaced all bulbs (120!) with dimmable LEDs (for some I had to rent scaffolding), installed smart dimmer switches, added several smart devices (garage opener, cameras, sprinkler, Nest thermostats, etc). On my way to an efficient house, but itās gonna take a lot of work to seal/control all the energy leaks first. I guess many on here have similar situations, and all are looking at your numbers in terms of whatās really achievable ā¦ if one puts their mind to it.
My Velop wifi router uses 19-21 watts* while my Velop plus cable modem uses 25-27watts*, so the math tells me my Motorola MB8600 uses 6 watts when on.
*There are other devices plugged in to these smart plugs, and while theyāre off, theyāre probably still drawing a watt or two.
My always on is around 140w. Iām not sure how much Iāll be able to bring that number down, but Iāll be trying.