Perhaps some combination of % change and duration could be a trigger point of getting out of idle state. I don’t think the exact implementation of Idle detection has been disclosed.
From the smartplug FAQ
" The “idle” wattage threshold for my smart plug appears to be incorrect (too low/high)
Sense has certain logic rules in place to determine if a smart plug device should have an idle state, and if so, what the wattage threshold is for that idle state. This logic won’t always be perfect, and over time we hope to improve it. The more Sense users who connect with smart plugs, the better data we will have to make this logic better.
In the meantime, if you believe the idle threshold should be different, you can contact our Support team, and let us know which device you are referring to and what threshold you believe would be better."
So yes, to make matters worse…
This HS-110 for my office desk does get detected in IDLE state. The ON/OFF notifications are not related to the idle state that I’m seeing. Even worse, when in IDLE state I do see transitions of consumption between 24-26W.
Meaning, even the drift is not kicking it out of IDLE when it’s in that state.
This ON/OFF stuff is faulty and I believe to be incorrect.
Then raise a support ticket… Worth sharing all the problematic Idles and non-Idles…
Yeah, definitely, I think I will. Thanks!
BTW - I looked at the hourly usage of most of my smartplugs. Tougher than it looks to completely automatically detect and set thresholds for Off, Idle, and On
Well sure, but you know the device is not OFF if you are drawing 24-26W consistently.
1 Like
Well, if you had a smartplug attached to a power strip at an entertainment center, 25W could indeed be the idle state given a few standby loads added together. I think the key is getting the threshold right as part of the algorithm. In my house, Sense has figured it out pretty well. However I do have one device, an iMac, that goes between 0 and 2 watts when idle. Sense reports it as off when the usage is 0 watts, and idle when usage is 1-2 watts. This makes for a ton of timeline events, so I disabled notifications for it.
1 Like
Hey @kevin1
I decided to try the smart plug again as I’m wanting to monitor a specific device. The only way i could get it to work becaise if the range problem was to use two 50 foot extension cords. 50 foot from the receptacle dedicated to the pump I want to monitor to a location within range and another 50 foot return to the pump. I’m just testing for a few days to determine what my permanent settings will be so it works for now.
Here is the strange part. I set sense for tp link integration and setup the smart plug in Kasa. Plugged my pump into it and waited a few minutes for detection. I had detection quickly but at the same time I had a second detection. Sense had a notification for the plug and one for “heat 2”. I’m thinking this had something to do with the plug because there is not a single instance of use of this new heat anywhere in history. I went all the way back to installation date of January 15th by month, then week and finally day by day. Sense doesn’t show it was on even one time. I had named the plug “hot water” with Kasa so don’t think sense picked it up from there.
Have you ever encountered this with a plug?
Another problem I had with the plug is I had scheduling setup in both Kasa and Alexa. When sense is set where “control” is turned to on, I can’t control the plug from other apps and scheduling also doesn’t work. In order for the scheduling and control to work from Alexa and Kasa, sense control has to be set to “off”.
If this is normal for loss of control then I would think we will be seeing an update to address it and probably scheduling through sense also.
Thanks for sharing. No, I have never had a new detection show up on a smartplug device immediately after introducing the smartplug. And I have never tried Kasa (or Alexa) scheduling of a smartplug, though I’m glad you are testing. I can see why you would have to give up control from the Sense side to enable Kasa scheduling - dual master situations are tricky in software. What happens when Kasa says “stay off due to the time” when Sense is saying “turn on”. I don’t really mind having to work in one environment or the other.
1 Like
I thought about the same oribowith master control and that was part of the reason I also set it up on Alexa. It worked fine with Kasa and I when I setup with Alexa, I scheduled four instances of “off” behind Kasa’s “on” instances.
To my surprise they are both able to control it and haven’t had a conflict.
I will probably do more testing with the same times and opposing commands to see which one wins. I know, I’ve got way too mich time on my hands.
1 Like
I added an HS300 and an HS110 about an hour and a half ago - no detection yet. I have 4 other HS300’s and a dozen HS110’s that have been working since beta. Any thoughts of why adding my last two devices aren’t showing up?
Lots of broadcast messages going back and forth. Your new HS300 and HS110 can’t get a word in edgewise to announce their presence ???
1 Like
@kevin1 - I certainly hope not! The last devices were picked up within 2-3 minutes. Very confused right now. 
@RyanAtSense. Sent issue to support yesterday morning - they are stumped - looking to other staff members for ideas. Been 36 hours and the HS300 and HS110 are still not detected. All smart plugs and strips are one the same 2.4ghz WiFi and are active in Kasa and Alexa. A total of 4 HS300’s and a dozen HS110’s. 36 total switched loads - 29 of which have been active since beta. The last 7 are lost in never never land - unreachable by Sense.
@dwleckie
I remember @RyanAtSense posting somewhere about having sense being able to handle 20. Don’t remember exactly what was said but do you think the shear number you have is to blame? As @kevin1 mentioned, they can’t get a word in edgewise?
Did you try turning NDI off for a while ? Or on if it is off ? There seems to be some weirdness with that and smartplugs as well.
1 Like
@kevin1 I have had NDI on and off at 8 hour intervals - no change. I don’t have to see them in Sense but would be nice. These were the last of home automation project . Network traffic is negligible aand I don’t think that Sense can’t see them as they are the closest physically to the Sense antenna. Go Figure. Hopefully with this “OVERLOAD” of smart switches at least a maximum number can be set.
2 Likes
@dwleckie Network listening is the issue with these smart plugs. I just got a second Wemo yesterday and had to disable Network listening then close my Sense app and then open the Sense app and then enabled the Network listening again and then closed the Sense app again and gave it a few minutes and when I opened the app I got the notification that Sense had discovered a new Wemo plug. Whenever I have an issue with my smart plugs or notice that the reading for them aren’t correct I just change the Network listening setting and restart the Sense app and it seems to fix the issue. Hopefully this helps.
1 Like