Carol McGarryWe’re excited to announce Sense Labs, a new invention space in the Sense app where you can access early feature previews. In the Sense Labs section of our Community, users can submit and share their Sense Labs experience and exchange insights with some of our most knowledgeable users.
What is Sense Labs?
Sense Labs is the place where you can try out our latest innovations and offer feedback directly to the engineers who developed them.
What are Sense Labs projects?
Labs projects are early feature previews available to all Sense users. We’re sharing behind-the-scenes insights and gathering feedback during the early stages of development as we develop our thinking around the smart home of the future. By participating in Sense Labs, you help our product and engineering team evaluate new feature concepts and improve the Sense experience for all users. Over time, some Labs projects may be promoted to standard Sense features, while others might be removed altogether.
How do I access Sense Labs?
On mobile, you can access Sense Labs from the Trends screen by tapping the Labs card. There’s also a Labs item in the navigation menu on the web app. From the main Labs screen, you can click to learn more about each project and see the data that Sense collects about your home. (Note: Sense may not have data for your home for 100% of the projects.) You can also follow a link to the Sense Community where you’ll find detailed information and comments from other users.
Which projects are currently available in Sense Labs?
There are currently three projects in Sense Labs.
The Motor Stalls project is an algorithm that identifies anomalies in the performance of 240V appliance motors, including HVAC/Heat Pumps and Sump Pumps that operate at (or above) 1000W. Frequent motor stalls can often indicate an issue with your appliances or HVAC system, and the Motor Stalls project is meant to provide you with enough data to investigate on your own and prevent a costly repair.
In a typical residential electrical panel, each phase of the mains should sustain a voltage around 120V. The Power Quality project provides live voltage readings from both legs as well as a graph of voltage for the last 24hrs. Power Quality also shows dips and spikes in voltage outside of a normal range with a 24-hour graph view of both legs. Users can download a .csv file of dips and spike events from the past 30 days.
The AC Energy Comparison project compares your home’s Air Conditioning energy usage to similar homes based on state, zip code, local weather and home size. Sense calculates your average AC electricity usage per day (kWh) during the summer months and provides you with insight on potential savings and performance relative to other Sense users.
What’s next for Sense Labs?
As we continue our pursuit towards a smarter and less wasteful home, Sense Labs is where our boldest ideas will begin. We’re excited to explore areas like energy efficiency, load shifting, automation, and more. Do you have an idea for a Sense Labs project? Join the conversation in the Community and leave your feedback here.
