Wasteful usage Forecasting & Alerts (Away/sleep mode)

Product Wishlist
1

As a family of 6 I constantly need to police electric usage by children and make sure devices/lights/fans are turned off during sleep and away times.

Wasteful usage Forecasting & Alerts

1-Sleep Mode.: a general alert of usage above a certain amount (set by user or/and by Sense algorithm ) would be very helpful.

For example : my average is about 300 watts /hour from 10 pm - 6am. Many times, devices will be left on and the hourly average would be around 450-550 watts per hour. An alert set for 10:30 pm with a threshold of 350 watts /hour would help identify devices that can be turned off. I would do the rounds and shut them off.

2- Away mode: like sleep mode, Sense can build forecasting of usage based on the data of normal daily usage averages (sleep mode and away mode) and an alerts can be set up to notify me of potential issues before bedtime or leaving the house.
For example, when we leave the house and everything is turned off , the house consumes on average 300 watts/hr.
When put in away mode, sense can do a calculation/diagnostics of current wattage use, subtract away the identified usage that runs constantly (i.e. Freezer, fridge etc) check the always on /other usage and alert me if the wattage is high with potential to seek and turn off unnecessary devices.

When Sense identifies every electric consumer in the household. This feature will become redundant but will act as an assistant to users who don’t check the readings constantly. In the mean time, it would fill a usage gap and has the potential to save an extra 2-3 kWh daily.

These alerts would help me bring down my usage further and alert me to potential waste.

6 Likes
2

You could also look into automation via zwave, etc. devices if you haven’t already.

3

Thanks for the great suggestions @tarekhn!

4

Our Nest thermostat can do this with cell/mobile phones. A great feature as AC/heat generally uses the most power in homes. (My house has little, if any, insulation so super cooling is not an option).

I have an older, rear projection TV that is not energy star rated. It costs about $US3-5 per month just in standby mode. It will be replaced when the lamp dies(The lamp costs $US200 and I can get a decent 42" TV for $200-400).

I have some LEDs that I worked out with sense were using a lot more power than I thought.

I also have worked out that our small bar fridge uses about the same amount of power as our 23 sq ft main fridge. Not very efficient.

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I use the custom alert feature to do similar. Just look at the average usage times and set a flag to alert you when that average is exceeded. Custom alerts can let you get very creative.

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A custom alert for a time period would be cool. Device was on for (x) time in the last (y) hours.