Setting Time Of Use Periods In the Sense App

Before you begin, gather the following details from your electricity provider’s website or your bill:

• The price per kWh for each period
• Days and times when each period applies
• Any seasonal differences

• Go to Settings > Electricity Info > Time Of Use Periods
• Choose Add New and fill out the form (be sure to name the period to differentiate from other blocks you may need to define)
• Repeat for any additional TOU periods you need to define

Numbers 1-3 below point to just three of the periods you’d want to set up over two seasons, as an example.

Winter Season

• Dates: October 1 – May 31
• Days: Sunday through Saturday
• Rates: #1 above shows just one of the periods you’d need to set
  • Super Off Peak – 4¢
  • Off Peak – 5¢
  • On Peak – 8¢
• Time blocks: #1 above shows just one of the 5 time blocks during Winter
  • 12am–5am (Super Off Peak)
  • 5am–10am (On Peak)
  • 10am–5pm (Off Peak)
  • 5pm–10pm (On Peak)
  • 10pm–12am (Super Off Peak)

Each of these blocks needs to be entered as its own period.

Summer Season

• Dates: June 1 – September 30

NOTE: The dates you set for one season cannot overlap the date of the other season (See #2 and 3 above)

• Days: Sunday through Saturday
• Rates:
  • Off Peak – 7¢
  • On Peak – 20¢
• Time blocks:
  • 12am–12pm (Off Peak)
  • 12pm–9pm (On Peak)
  • 9pm–12am (Off Peak)

Set these up as three separate periods. Use clear names like “Summer On Peak” or “Winter Super Off Peak AM” to avoid confusion later.

Yours should look something like this:

• Name each TOU period uniquely to make your periods easier to understand.
• Set a Default Electricity Cost for any times not covered by a TOU period (note: you won’t receive alerts during default periods). So, in the example above, during the Winter, you could rely on a default rate from 10pm to 5am (two time blocks of Super Off Peak) and in the summer the default could be 9pm-Noon (two time blocks of Off Peak).
• Adjust for Weekends if your utility charges different costs on weekends.
• Turn on alerts if you want to be notified when a cost period begins.

Once you’ve added your TOU cost periods, here are two features to enhance your experience:

• Enable Alerts: Get notified when a rate change begins, with a push notification to your device and a banner inside the app.
  • Go to Settings > Notifications > Additional Messages > Time of use > and toggle notifications on or off, as you wish
• Set Recurrence: Define repeating seasonal schedules so you don’t have to re-enter them each year

The Sense app currently does not support:

• Demand charges
• Fixed fees
• Tiered or baseline rates

Because utility rate structures vary widely, your Sense data may not match your bill exactly. Still, entering TOU rates gives you a more accurate picture of your energy costs—and helps you make smarter choices about when to use electricity.