Sense helps you understand what’s using electricity in your home—and how much it’s costing you. From the moment your system is set up, it starts analyzing your home’s electrical patterns to deliver real-time and long-term insights. But identifying specific devices takes time, and not every device will be detected.
Still, Sense gives you valuable data from day one—and gets smarter over time.
How Device Detection Works
Sense uses machine learning to detect individual appliances by recognizing their unique electrical signatures. Here’s how it works:
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Sense must “see” a device run multiple times in a consistent way to verify and label it.
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It analyzes changes in electrical magnitude, phase, and frequency to isolate patterns.
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Complex appliances may be detected in parts—you can merge components in the app.
Some devices appear quickly, like refrigerators and dryers. Others—like TVs, computers, or lights—may take longer or may not be individually identified at all. That’s where tools like Watt Check can help you manually investigate energy use.
What You Can Do to Help
You can actively support better and faster detection by:
✅ Answering setup questions about your home and appliances (Dashboard or Devices tab)
✅ Naming and verifying new detections as Sense identifies them
✅ Using smart plugs to track key devices and enhance detection
✅ Enabling networked device detection, where available
✅ Adding devices manually at the Add Devices button (bottom of Devices tab).
Why Some Devices May Not Be Detected
Sense strives to improve detection with every home, but it’s not perfect. Detection depends on factors like:
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Power quality in your home
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How often and how consistently devices are used
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Overlapping signals from similar appliances
Even if Sense doesn’t detect everything, it still tracks your total energy use and gives you insight into patterns, spikes, and potential savings.
Detection improves over time as:
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More homes use Sense
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New detection models are introduced
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You provide feedback by naming or merging devices
Keep Exploring
Sense continues to learn and improve, so check your Devices tab regularly for new detections. Here are some helpful links to guide your journey:
🔍 How Does Sense Detect My Devices?
🔍 What to Expect When You're Expecting Detections
🔍 How Do I Use Sense With Smart Plugs?