What are /r/Sense's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

I was all set to buy a sense system, then I found this:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CJGPHL9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think this might give you a much better insight into where you are consuming the most power.

You might want to start with one, and decide if a second one would be beneficial. It sounds like with the number of circuits you have a second one could be helpful.

home-assistant is a software suite you run in your home network which integrates all your smart home devices together. So you can do things like, say, feed the cats only when the solar panels are making more than 5kW of power. You can learn more in /r/homeassistant.

For sense in particular you get a binary sensor for each detected device which is updated every 30 seconds or so. I haven't actually used any of these because, as mentioned, the built in phone notifications are totally sufficient for me.

I think this is fastest way to do (with smart plugs). I put a smart strip in the bedroom for the TV, Tivo, Tuning adapter and fan. In the family room, I use the strip for the TV, Tivo, Tuning Adapter and Soundbar. In the office, I put the cable modem, router and lamp on another. They can get expensive, but then I'm obsessive.

This is one I'm using: Kasa Smart Plug Power Strip

That took care of a bunch of my "Always On"

You would think so (refrigerators), but I think you will find they are not the power hungry devices we were led to believe.

You can (of course) get this information with a Kill-A-Watt, but it's hard to move around and monitor. Sense does a better all around job.

I love it and do plenty of automation using home-assistant.io and the unofficial API (ifttt... has never suited my needs), but none of the sort you're asking about mostly because I have flat net metering and there's no value to moving solar production into the house instead of into the grid. Hopefully that'll change and we'll divert some solar into dehumidifying and charging the car, but for the time being there's no reason to.

If your pool pump is 120v, you could use this Kasa TP-Link KP115 power control outlet.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LN3C7WK/

You can configure the Sense to pickup this device and it'll monitor it.

I'm not suggesting this device at all, but I did find it had a decent explanation on the page, and its pretty inexpensive if it saves your equipment. If you have fiber internet, you have far less risk.

https://www.amazon.com/Tupavco-Ethernet-Protector-Gigabit-1000Mbs/dp/B00805VUD8

I also remembered that many UPS devices have surge arrestors for ethernet built in. Which can be nice, as you also keep your internet working during a power outage for a little while.

I used Floater to fake a position, turned on GPS, setup my Sense, registered an email account, and then uninstalled the app.

Since then, I've been using the Web app instead: https://home.sense.com

These BN-LINK plugs might be an option too, and their 15A. I’ll probably grab some data from the X10S plugs to add to the Tuya Convert wiki, and then exchange them for those.

These Aoycocr-X10S plugs might be promising, they already have a working config on ESPHome-configs. I just bought a 4 pack to try out, should have them tomorrow.

These are the monoprice stitch outlets that you can plug things into and get real time readings in the app. Roughly the same price as a clamp meter and a little easier, with remote control to boot!

They're rebranded from a Chinese company but they're all about the same price and the monoprice app is a little more user friendly.

Monoprice Wireless Smart Plug Mini - White (2Pack) No Hub Required with Energy Monitoring & Reporting, Compatible with Alexa and Google Home - from Stitch Smart Home Collection https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NXNXDV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_jbfQCbJ5ZE7R8

Anything like this, also referred to as a clamp meter:

Etekcity Digital Multimeter, MSR-C600 Auto-Ranging Clamp Meter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NWGZ4XC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_W9eQCb7BVGEM3

You run it over one half of a circuit to see the real time usage. For most devices you just grab one of those flat extension cords and carefully separate the insulated wires, or clamp it over the wires in the breaker box.

> it hasn't identified any lights

It hasn't identified any of my fixtures either (all on LEDs). It had picked up numerous LED strips powered via plug-in DC adapters and high-amperage DC power supplies. e.g. 12V @ 10A. Alas, it lost them a few months ago.

I have a Square D QO load center - mounted between studs, and I also used an RP-SMA male/female extension cable for the antenna. I have the unit resting on the bottom of the load center and passed the cable out and through the drywall using a knockout on the bottom.