What's New in v36 (iOS/Android)

News & Announcements App Release Notes
#1

Good afternoon! This update brings some quality improvements to the Sense app, including updated bubble animations, design tweaks, a small feature add to Time of Use, and several under-the-hood changes and bug fixes. Web updates will release shortly.

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Updates include the new bubble interaction

Updates:

  • A light background on Usage and Compare screens (for non-dark mode)
  • The color of device icons on the timeline reflects the On/Off state
  • New bubble interaction (tap a bubble to see it, and double-tap it to see more)
  • Several under-the-hood changes and bug fixes
  • Support for Time of Use plans with Net Metered solar (toggle this on via Solar > Settings)

Along with the new changes, we are removing the ā€œDevice is not onā€ button from the Device Settings menu. As Sense evolves, we continually refine the inputs and mechanics of device detection. The ā€˜Device is Not Onā€™ button has become less impactful as weā€™ve grown and we feel has set improper expectations. We have several exciting data science improvements slated for 2021 (some of which we have already shared) and weā€™re excited to share more soon, so stay tuned.

4 Likes
#2

Did the font size change? Itā€™s uh. A lot bigger.

#3

Would you mind posting a screenshot of what youā€™re seeing?

#4

Sure. The first is from Saturday. The second is after this update.

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#5

Is this on iOS or Android? And can you confirm that you have no accessibility settings enabled that might trigger font scaling?

#6

iOS. And no. Nothing OS wise changed between the screen shots.

The reason I noticed was in the device view, less items fit before you have to scroll.

#7

Thanks for the additional info. Iā€™ve passed along to the team. We did not introduce any font size changes in this release, so this is odd. Interestingly, your ā€˜beforeā€™ screen actually looks a bit strange. The arrow icon in the top-right corner is crimped at the top and bottom.

#8

Iā€™m not seeing this problem on Android. I checked, updated, and checked again and itā€™s all the same size.

#9

Can you elaborate on this a little bit? What can we do for devices that Sense has a hard time differentiating? I have a device that Sense sees as my stove but it also triggers during certain cycles of my dryer. Sense used to see the dishwasher turn on when my wife turned the hair dryer on, but after a couple of weeks reporting device is not on, it stopped thinking the dishwasher ran.

1 Like
#10

I think messaging from Sense for this is going to be critical. People like to feel like they arenā€™t helpless. My understanding is that you can either use DCM or a smart plug right now. Neither directly train, but they separate the information for the interface.

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#11

Plus a couple more benefits from Smartplugs and DCM :

  • They reduce Other
  • They compute individual device Always On and give you insight into which of three states that device is in - On, Off and Standby.
  • They also provide ground truth to Sense, so long term, thereā€™s a better chance of those devices being recognized than devices where Sense has no ground truth. (ditto for the Ecobee historic integration)
#12

I have solar, so DCM isnā€™t an option, and Iā€™m talking about a stove and a dryer, both of which would be 220v.

#14

@waterboysh @whee We added this feature in 2017, but over time weā€™ve learned it was not solving issues as actively as we initially intended. You can still report issues with persistent device detection issues through the existing ā€œReport a problemā€ via Device Settings > Manage > Report a problem.

What to do moving forward:

  • The best thing to do is use your appliances like normal. If you want to really dig in, look at the power signature, run times, etc. and set alerts to help you figure out what it might be. And if youā€™re not sure Sense got something right, donā€™t merge it into another device yet.
  • If youā€™re seeing a significant issue with device accuracy or conflation, either:
    • Delete the device and wait for Sense to issue a more accurate device model
    • If Sense has a hard time finding a device, Dedicated Circuit Monitoring and our smart plug integrations are solutions for instantaneous detection.
    • For persistent device detection issues, continue to reach out support@sense.com so we can track device detection issue trends and frequency. As a reminder, Support is unable to edit device models for inaccurate devices.
Hair Dryer and Iron Seen as the same thing
Device Settings- Report a Problem
#15

Does Sense ever do this on its own? That is, evaluate multiple device models for the same device and swap them out if one appears to be more accurate (for whatever its definition of accuracy is).

I have always worried I would be dropping the theoretical-best-model for something less accurate since thereā€™s no real way for me to gauge if it will be better or worse (or the same?)

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#16

Yes, Sense is actively evaluating more accurate models on its own. If another model appears to more accurate, a new model will be issued. This advice is more for folks with relatively inaccurate detections where itā€™s a nuisance to see it in the UI.

Weā€™re actively testing an algorithm focused on maintaining accurate device models for devices and are seeing some good results. We expect this to roll out to all users this year.

4 Likes
#17

With the removal of device not on, my device that is not on is being detected as using energy instead of being attributed to ā€œOtherā€
Now my Keurig is shown as running for 11 minutes when I brewed a single cup of coffee and shut it off.

#18

Thank you for this feature. My ā€œto gridā€ dollar amount makes much better sense now with my rate plan (PG&E, EVA NEM2) which does offer full net metering (though also with a ~$10/month minimum charge and with a ~$0.03/kWh non-bypassable charge on any electricity pulled from the grid).

2 Likes
#19

Same issue here for me, I think. The font is just slightly bigger and now some of the text ā€œNet production\nTotal production vs. usageā€ string on the Solar page is truncated when my phone is in portrait mode. I donā€™t recall this truncation before.

#20

Would you mind sharing a screenshot of the truncation?

#21

Here is a screen shot I took yesterday evening. I donā€™t ever recall the text being truncated before (resulting in a ā€œā€¦ā€ being added) before the v36 updated. That said, I donā€™t think I would have noticed had @ymilord not commented.

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