The first thing you will come across when you start exploring the Sense app will probably be the Meter, since it begins to collect data as soon as you connect to Sense, and it shows all power usage being collected by your home’s meter over time. The Sense Meter is a graph that updates in real-time, giving you a second-by-second view of how energy is being used in your home. The dark orange line tracking across the screen represents your home’s total energy use. The spikes and dips are, of course, different devices in your home turning on and off, or just running over time.
In this article, we discuss how to use the Meter to learn about your home’s energy use and then to save with Sense. For information on using the meter with Solar, please see this article.
What is the Meter anyway?
Sense data scientists use a detailed view of the Meter to understand the unique signature of each device and build models to detect them. You’ll notice that the shape of the line graph looks very different when a device turns on or off, versus when it’s running consistently for a period of time. Sense’s device detection algorithms don’t just analyze the amount of energy a device consumes, they also look at the “shape” of the device on the Meter to differentiate it from other devices. The algorithms also look at variations in phase and frequency between the current and voltage. While these signatures are fairly easy for us to see on the Meter, we need to account for all the variations that might occur, like what other device(s) might be on, or what “noise” needs to be eliminated to identify the electrical signature consistently and in real-time. That’s why Sense needs to see a lot of data, in context, before we can detect a device.
The electrical signature of a refrigerator.
If you see the graph change while you or your family aren’t turning devices on and off, take a moment to explore what could be acting autonomously. Is it a heater on a timer, a pump that’s being triggered, or a motion-detecting flood light? Becoming familiar with the devices in your home will help you track your energy usage, track savings as you change usage (or devices), and may give you an advantage if a device begins to fail or something seems amiss. For example, one Sense user noticed his storage freezer was failing when it started to draw considerably more electricity than usual. By detecting this issue before it failed altogether, he was proactive and prevented a lot of food from spoiling.
Identify Energy Hogs
To get an idea of what’s currently using electricity (and how much it’s using), take a walk around your home and investigate. If you flick a light on or off, you should see the graph jump or dip a little bit (perhaps more if you have incandescents). Heat up a cup of coffee in the microwave and you’ll see a quick spike as it turns on, and then changes in power as it cycles.
Sense’s machine learning algorithms use these types of patterns to detect individual devices within your home. Some devices within your home constantly use electricity. These devices make up your “Always On” load which is calculated by taking an average over 48 hours. In the meantime, you can do some detective work to figure out what devices might be contributing to your Always On by using the Meter. Try seeking out some common culprits, like printers, DVRs, and televisions. While they may be turned off, it’s possible they’re still using energy in standby mode, so with the Meter open, try unplugging them and see what happens. Look for these differences in the Meter, not the Always On bubble, because Always On is averaged over 24 hours and will not shrink or grow instantly.
Now you can start to take steps to eliminate the energy drain from those vampire loads, and stop wasting money!
Use the Web App Meter
For information this detailed, you might want to check out the Meter using our Web App. You can bring the same high resolution data to a larger screen and track your energy use in real-time from your computer. There are even convenient presets that let you toggle between month, week, day and hour increments, and you can use the scroll function on your mouse or trackpad to zoom all the way in for an ultra-detailed view.
Devices on the Meter
After a few days with Sense, you’ll see your historical data by swiping right, pinching, and zooming to go back through time. You may also notice some patterns in your energy usage, like all of the devices you use when you wake up in the morning. Once you have named devices, you may want to toggle back and forth between the Meter and the Now screens, as Now logs when devices turn on or off; for instance, if you see Coffee Pot turned on at 8:37, you’ll also see an increase on the graph at that time.
Now that you’re an expert at utilizing the Meter, check out some of the other features you can use to learn more about your home’s electricity use. Set up your billing information to see energy usage costs in real-time, start to reduce your Always On loads, or check out how Sense can integrate with the rest of your smart home through integrations with smart plugs, voice assistants, and smart bulbs.
Be sure to check out Sense Saves to learn how real Sense customers are using the Meter for savings.