I own a Sense monitor, and I really like its app, real time power meter, and its machine learning ability to learn devices in my home. Except that it’s machine learning ability is not great, particularly for EV chargers and variable speed motors which are very common these days and which consume a high percentage of home power.
So a lot of Sense users supplement our installs using smart meters with power sensing capabilities, primarily the TP-Link HS110. However, this smart plug was end-of-lifed suddenly. Furthermore, it could not do 240v…it was just 120v 15A capable. The HS110 has a very simple interface to be queried for the power that it is sensing, which the Sense monitor uses. Just a UDP broadcast to port 9999 every 2 seconds, and then each HS110 on the network responds back with the instantaneous power. Easy to find this protocol online, including a wireshark dissector.
I’d like to request a IoTaWatt feature to masquerade the same HS110 protocol, so that it could serve as power sensor for Sense, and support 240V high amperage loads.
I’d buy 2 IoTaWatt devices myself, and likely many other Sense owners would get at least one, if it could integrate with Sense.
I’m guessing you have not run this idea by the Sense folks. Safe to say I don’t think they would be very receptive. I also question the wisdom of emulating an obsolete device.
There are well documented existing APIs within the open-source IoTaWatt that Sense can use right now to get the detailed real-time data they need. If they want to do that, I’m available, as with all users, to help with the process.
There have been feature requests on the Sense forum to support more integrations with other energy monitoring devices, and even suggestions that they develop their own to compliment the main Sense device. There have been other discussions where folks have said they might masquerade the TPlink protocol (since it is supported by Sense, and easy to implement) on other energy monitors. There is demand for this, but Sense priorities are elsewhere now.
Sense is a US/Canada residential consumer thing. IoTaWatt can be used with all power systems worldwide and is in use in over 50 countries. A large segment of the user base is energy professionals worldwide. Our markets are very different.
I can’t imagine anyone with both Sense and IoTaWatt using the Sense to get accurate detailed power data, even if it comes from the IoTaWatt. If that’s what you want, skip the integration and just get an IoTaWatt for your serious energy monitoring needs.
I would be one. I think they would complement each other nicely. Sense already detects many large loads off of my inside sub panels (appliances), but struggles on my AC compressors, EV charger, and pool pumps. Two IoTaWatt devices would cover those.
Would get me in the door of the IoTaWatt ecosystem, where maybe I utilize it as the main monitoring device and use its front end for visualization.
Anyway, one of the recent responses on the Sense forum was that they would be working on more integrations with other monitors. I Integrating with some device that can do 240V with CTs and which supports 10 or so channels, like IoTaWatt, would be awesome.
Thought it might be easier to see if you could add a quick SW feature to IoTaWatt to integrate with an existing interface that is already supported by them.