Q & A

Vue: Gen 2

Articles to help understand how the Gen 2 works as well as troubleshooting.


About


How does Emporia Vue Gen 2 work?

The Gen 2 is typically installed inside of the electrical panel where it will collect system voltage via the wire harness, and amperage/current via the CT's (sensors) connected to the device. The Gen 2 will come with 200A CT's that measure up to 250A for the mains, and 50A CT's (that measure up to 75A) can be added as well to capture branch circuit usage from the circuit lines to each breaker as needed. With those values measured by the Gen 2 - we can provide real-time as well as historical data for all of the circuit usage measured by the device. The Gen 2 samples voltage and measurement channels at approximately 24,000 samples per second. Twice per second, the Gen 2 uses these measurements to calculate root mean square averages for each of the voltage channels, and then intelligently pairs current channels with the correct voltage channel to calculate and report REAL power for each of the 19 CT's in the app.


That measurement data is uploaded to the Emporia cloud where it is relayed into the Emporia Energy app. That means that the measurement data can be viewed from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. This also means that WiFi is required for the Gen 2 to operate - cannot work without a 2.4GHz connection. Depending on the number of sensors connected to the device, you should expect the following amounts of data to be uploaded to the Emporia cloud through the connected WiFi network (per day):


Gen 2 - Three 200A mains only: 3.9 MB

Gen 2 - Three 200A mains, w/ eight 50A sensors: 15 MB

Gen 2 - Three 200A mains, w/ sixteen 50A sensors: 35.2 MB


When set up correctly, the Gen 2 should have an accuracy level of +/- 2% as compared to your utility provider meter measurements related to the kW/kWh unit of measurement.


As an energy monitor, the Gen 2 can then be paired with other Emporia devices for automated control of your appliance usage for various goals. Those features are part of the Energy Management functions available within the app. Additional details about how that can work can be found here.


Offline Behaviour

1.) If the network/internet outage is less than 15 minutes, then the device should have enough on-device memory to be able to store all of its measurements and will be able to upload all of that data when it regains its connection.


2.) If the network/internet outage is longer than 15 minutes, it will continue to monitor your usage, but will lose the ability to save all of its measurement data because of internal memory limitations. In this situation, the device will still monitor your cumulative usage during the outage. Once the connection is regained, it will take the before and after cumulative measurements to get a total amount of usage for the duration of the outage. It will then take that total usage amount and average it over the time period of the outage. This means that the seconds and minutes (and perhaps hourly and above) measurements will have the same values because they are the averaged numbers from during the outage. The cumulative usage total should still be correct.


For best performance, it is very much recommended to ensure the Gen 2 has a constant and stable WiFi connection.


We are looking for offline data access as an option for a future model of the Gen 2, but probably a little ways down the road.


If you need to clarify any of the offline behaviour of the Gen 2, feel free to send your questions to the Customer Support team.


CT's/Sensors - How do they work?

The Current Transformers (CT's) are the sensors used by the Gen 2 to measure power in real-time. They're filled with a magnetic material called Ferrite that contains special properties that allow us to measure the current flowing through a circuit line or wire. They're split-core, meaning they snap apart at the sensor itself, so they can be clamped directly around the circuit line without requiring you to detach the circuit line or do any electrical work.


The "200A" CT's designed to be placed on the system main lines will measure up to 250A on the Gen 2 top ports - the "50A" CT's will measure up to 75A. If that amperage/current limitation is passed, no damage will occur to either the Gen 2 device or the sensors since they're passively monitoring power, but the measurements will max out at those amounts respectively. One important note, the amperage limitation itself is not on the sensor but on the Gen 2 device port. That means that using a 200A CT on a Gen 2 side port (designed for the 50A CT's) will still only reach 75A before maxing out its measurement capacity.


How many 200A CT's are needed?

Depends on the phase count in your system. In India if you have a single phase line One 200A CT sensor will be needed and for 3 phase line three 200A CT will be needed. ( CTs are needed  per phase/live main line. (neutral and/or ground not included as a "phase" and does not require CT)


Can I use a 200A CT on a side port?

Yes - you will need a 3.5mm to 2.5mm audio adapter for the different jack size (to fit the device port) and a 4.0 multiplier on the circuit to adjust for the different sensor size calibrations. Note - will still have a 75A limitation on the circuit (rather than 200A).


 Can I use a 50A CT on a top port?

Yes - you will need a 2.5mm to 3.5mm audio adapter for the different jack size (to fit into the device port) and a 0.25 multiplier on the circuit to adjust for the different sensor size calibrations.



CT/Sensor not in Circuit List (not showing up)

Whenever a CT or sensor is not showing up in the Home screen circuit list, that'd be the device telling us it doesn't detect a sensor plugged into the port.


Note - We'll always show the number of "available" ports/sensors in the settings menus - so seeing it on a menu/list in that way is not deterministic of this situation, its the lack of circuit measurements showing up on the Home screen circuit list which tells us about this issue.


 First thing to do is just check the physical sensor itself - loose sensor jacks #1 cause of this issue in particular. You'll just want to make sure the sensor is plugged in all the way to the device port and seated securely.


 If that doesn't solve the issue, you'll want to try a quick sensor swap to find the root cause. To do this, you can take a sensor you know is working and plug it into the problematic port, and the suspect sensor over to that device port you know is working. Depending on where the measurement shows up should tell you right away if a bad device port or bad sensor causing the problem.


Bad Balance

Balance can be described as the combined total from the 200A CT's minus the sum-total of the 50A CT's. An example of that calculation might be this:


Balance = Mains − Circuits (1~16)


Whenever Balance is showing differently from what would be expected, it is usually related to sensors not measuring accurately at one level or another. Some common scenarios and what to look out for would be as follows:


 

Balance is "too high"

If the shown Balance value is higher than what would be expected, that is usually related to one of three scenarios:


Double check that all of your sensors that should be on the Home screen circuit list are present. If any CT's/sensors are missing from that list, it will affect Balance since the device isn't measuring the 50A CT usage. See article on how to troubleshoot missing sensors here.

Double check you're not "over-counting" the mains w/ 200A CT's. Ensure you have one CT on the live main per phase in your system (i.e. single phase needs only one 200A CT, single-split phase requires 2x, three phase requires 3x 200A CT's on the mains).

Double check you're not "under-counting" 50A CT's - usually happens if CT's are not covering all breakers. Using multipliers in place of sensors here can cause problems related to Balance and accuracy. Tips on finding good multipliers can be found here.

 


Balance is "green"

Since green numbers shown in the app indicate "negative" numbers, showing a green balance would indicate one of three scenarios:


Un-monitored solar (solar generation w/o any 50A CT's monitoring).

Under counting "mains" (200A CT's), not enough 200A CT's (one on each main) or 200A CT's are calibrated incorrectly. Can reach out to Customer Support if needing to diagnose 200A CT measurement accuracy.

Over counting 50A CT's - usually by multipliers, doubling up sensors on circuit wires, or sensors on neutral lines.

 


Multipliers and Balance

Multipliers can have an odd affect on the Balance value displayed in the app if both lines on the multiplied circuit are not behaving equally. Since the 200A CT's are measuring usage directly and multipliers are "assuming" usage not detected by 50A CT's - any difference in the behavior of the lines of the multi-pole circuit can cause discrepancies in Balance. Recommended to clarify any circuits using a multiplier as one of the first steps towards troubleshooting Balance. Tips on using multipliers effectively can be found here.



Not matching Utility Provider measurements

Whenever Total (or Net) Usage is not matching up with the utility provider measurements, there's a few things to double check:


Ensure you're comparing the correct time frames of data together. That means that the device itself should have a Time Zone setting set properly and you'll want to make sure the data you're comparing against is for the same time period.

Check that your 200A CT's are installed correctly. Tips on troubleshooting mains accuracy can be found here.

Ensure there's no usage happening upstream from the energy monitor - especially if the Emporia data is under-counting as compared to the utility provider. Fairly common situation we run into that there's external breaker panels or power supplies happening upstream from the sensors/device where we can't detect that usage.

After all of that is confirmed to be looking good, feel free to reach out to the Customer Support team to run diagnostics on your energy monitor. Helpful if you can provide the utility data you're comparing against as well as some details about the installation/setup of the Emporia energy monitor (as well as installation pictures if you have them available).


Incorrect CT/Sensor measurement amount

Note - this article is meant for diagnosing common issues related to the type/amount of measurement error from the CT. If your circuit/CT is not showing up on the Home screen circuit list at all, then this article will be helpful.


Depending on which type of circuit/CT is having the inaccurate measurements, there are a few options available to troubleshoot the underlying issue.


200A CT's:

The 200A CT's plugged into the top of the device will have their measurements combined when looking at the Watts unit of measurement within the app. Most common issue we run into on the Support team re: 200A CT measurements is an incorrect count of required 200A CT's for the system phase count. Important that you have only one 200A CT attached to each of the live main lines. This means that:


Single Phase systems only need one 200A CT

Single-split, aka "Two" Phase systems need two 200A CT's

Three Phase systems need three 200A CT's


Troubleshooting 200A CT issues:

Ensure the 200A CT is only on the live mains - not on neutral lines.

Ensure no multipliers on "mains" circuit within the app. The Gen 2 measures voltage directly, so it will already know you're on a 240V or 120V system and will measure accordingly. Multipliers for mains circuits are reserved for very specific situations like using different sensor sizes on different ports.

Ensure place on the system mains, not branch circuits. The Gen 2 assumes that all CT's plugged into the top ports are for mains monitoring - so measuring different circuit types will cause inaccurate calculations in the app.

If solar/generation is present, ensure the 200A CT's are further upstream in the system compared to the incoming lines from the inverter. Details about tracking solar/generation can be found here.

Can be helpful switching to the Amps unit of measurement within the app to troubleshoot mains/CT issues as well. In that view - we separate each of the mains sensors by usage so you can see how each sensor is behaving.


50A CT's:

Tracking down side sensor accuracy issues can be a bit tricky depending on the behavior of the inaccuracy itself.


First, always best to make sure the 50A CT is only monitoring a single line when troubleshooting sensor accuracy and behaviour. If using a multiplier and needing to troubleshoot accuracy, it is recommended to temporarily remove the multiplier and add another 50A CT to the other line to make sure you're measuring everything directly before troubleshooting accuracy. Similarly, if running multiple wires through a single sensor - separating them (even if temporarily) to measure directly is always the best approach.


Sensor not showing usage when appliance is running:


- Ensure your 50A CT is on the correct line and plugged into the appropriate device port. Can double check the appropriate port number that is printed on the back of the Gen 2 to confirm.


- Try flipping the breaker for the appliance load when running. Does the appliance turn off? Do the 200A CT's see the same behaviour and just missing from the 50A CT measurement?


- Ensure the 50A CT is not surrounding any neutral lines, or covering multiple wires on separate phases of power.


- Try adding another CT to the same line to see if measurement behavior is duplicated across sensors and/or device ports. If both sensors are measuring the same, it'd indicate the device and sensors would be operating successfully and the issue is on the system or appliance itself. If behaving separately, trying the same "duplicate" sensor test on another line with different sensors might help to identify which particular pair of sensors/device ports are causing discrepancies.


Sensor not showing accurate measurements when comparing to third party ammeter/multimeter:

- Is your third party metre reporting real power or apparent power? The Gen 2 will always report real power (which under-counts as compared to apparent power measurements). This is a fairly common scenario which would allow for both the Gen 2 and third-party meter to be "accurate" given what they're measuring.


- Amps or Watts? The Gen 2 is designed to be accurate to within +/-2% as compared to the utility meter in kWh (Watts) - we're aware of limited situations where the 50A CT's will be inaccurate when viewing amperage as compared to power.


- Try adding another CT to the same line to see if measurement behaviour is duplicated across sensors and/or device ports. If both sensors are measuring the same, it'd indicate the device and sensors would be operating successfully and the issue is on the system or appliance itself. If behaving separately, trying the same "duplicate" sensor test on another line with different sensors might help to identify which particular pair of sensors/device ports are causing discrepancies.


Incorrect Solar Net Metering

If the solar/net metering amount is not being measured correctly, it usually comes from one of two issues:


1.) 200A CT's placed incorrectly - will want to ensure your 200A CT's on the Gen 2/Gen 1 device are placed on the main lines in between the incoming grid power and the solar input to the system. That helps the device see grid supplied power coming from one direction, and backfed solar/generation coming from the other direction.


This is usually only an issue in setups that have line-tapped solar, or solar lines connected directly into the mains. It is also possible that some solar installations have the solar/inverter lines going directly into the meter or having a connection higher upstream than the existing panel where the Gen 2 is located at. There are a few other installation scenarios where this can cause problems, so if unsure feel free to take a few pictures of the installation and send them over to the Customer Support team for additional setup help.


 


2.) Incorrect device calibration - if you've confirmed sensors are in the correct position, then the Gen 2/Gen 1 device might just need a re-calibration reset to track usage correctly. Steps for this particular reset scenario are covered down below, but the important part of that re-calibration reset is to make sure your solar is turned off (so 200A CT's can't see any generation) and that you have a large consumption load running on each phase in the system. We generally recommend > 1kW per phase.


Steps for Solar Re-Calibration reset (Gen 2/Gen 1):

Make sure you are near the device you need to reset

Open the Emporia Energy app on your smartphone or tablet

Select Menu (☰) in top left corner

Select Manage Devices

Select the device you want to make changes to

Scroll to the bottom of the page and select Reset WiFi / Solar Setup

You will not lose any of your data or your device settings during this process

Select the device you want to reset

Select Go to directly to setup

On the Safety Information page select Next

On the Solar / Generation page, select I have Solar / Generation

Turn your solar power OFF so you only have energy from your Utility

Turn ON a load (several large appliances ideally) so the device can calibrate consumption

Select Solar is off and appliance is on

Follow the prompts in the app to locate your device via Bluetooth and connect it to your WiFi network

The Gen 2 will configure your system for Solar Net Metering. Once complete, Save the Name of your Vue and the correct Timezone

Select Ok! Show me my energy

Turn your appliance(s) OFF and your solar power back ON

Your Gen 2 will now show excess generation as green (negative) numbers and bars on the graphs and load will display as blue (positive) numbers and bars on the graphs

 

If this reset/re-calibration does not work, feel free to reach out to Customer Support for further diagnostic help.


Device Not Connecting to Bluetooth (No Device ID listed)

When setting up an Emporia Vue: Gen 2, you will be prompted to select your Device ID (last 6 digits of the serial number) from the device list after going through the installation guide or going directly to set up:


If no devices are listed on this part of the setup (regardless of your phones Settings), then here are the things to check/try:


Make sure your Gen 2 is powered on (light on within the leaf on the front of the device) and within 5 ft of the phone/tablet you are using for set up.

Ensure you have all app permissions allowed for the Emporia Energy App through your phones Settings:

iOS: go to your phone/ tablet's settings, scroll down to select "Emporia Energy" and toggle on all app permissions for device set up.

Android: go to you phone/ tablet's settings, scroll down and tap "Apps", scroll down to "Emporia Energy" and toggle on all app permissions for device set up.

Force close the Emporia app, power cycle the device for 30 seconds, reopen the app all while staying within 5 feet of the device and go through the set up process again and select your Device ID from the device list.

iOS Force Closing

Android Force Stopping

Can also try searching for the Gen 2's broadcasted Bluetooth signal to see if that is being setup correctly and available to the phone:


Android - Can go to your phones Settings app, then to "Connections" and "Bluetooth". In the nearby/available devices list you should be able to see a "PROV_xxxxxx" device (or sometimes "Emporia_xxxxxx").


iOS - iOS does not natively show the nearby/available devices as needed through the default operating system. You'll need another app to scan for nearby devices. If you don't have one already available, we generally recommend an app called "nRF Connect" that can help. You should be able to see a "PROV_xxxxxx" device in the list (or sometimes "Emporia_xxxxxxx").


If you're seeing a device by those values being shown in the nearby/available devices list, then the device itself is broadcasting the signal correctly and the issue is more local to the phone and/or Emporia Energy app rather than the device. If not shown there, ensure power is supplied to the Gen 2 correctly.


If still running into issues after all of the above:

Try another phone and/or tablet if available.

Try uninstalling/reinstalling the Emporia Energy app.

Reach out to Customer Support.


Wire Harness - AFCI/RCD breakers, MCB, breaker is tripping after installation.

When working with an AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interrupting) breaker, or an RCD -  then a small change is needed from the specified installation guide to prevent the breaker tripping. In these situations the AFCI (RCD) breaker is comparing the neutral line returned current from the outgoing live current. When there's a mis-match, then the breaker should trip as that'd indicate a circuit issue related to safety.   By moving the White wire from the wire-harness (device neutral) over to the circuit-neutral line of the AFCI (RCD) breaker that the Black wire from the wire-harness is attached to, that should complete the circuit as needed to prevent the AFCI from tripping. If you're running into any issues about this installation scenario, feel free to reach out to the Customer Support team.


Wire Harness - Installation Issues

If you encounter an error like the one below, we have an discrepancy between the number of valid voltages being seen by the wire harness and the number of 200a sensors installed (You will only want 200a sensors installed on Live lines from the meter. No 200a sensors on Neutral).

 The Gen 2 installation guide will outline the proper installation for these wires and begins on Step 8 of that guide (Page 16).

 You will want your number of valid voltages captured by the Wire Harness to match the number of 200a sensors you have installed:

Single Phase Systems: 1 200a sensor. Black Wire to breaker. Red, White, and Blue to Neutral

Split Phase/ 2 Phase Systems: 2 200a sensors. Black Wire to breaker (phase 1), Red Wire to breaker (phase 2), Blue and White to Neutral

3 Phase Systems: 3 200a sensors. Black wire to breaker (phase 1), Red Wire to breaker (phase 2), Blue Wire to breaker (phase 3), White to Neutral

 If you think you have your wire harness set up correctly and are still receiving this error, make sure you do not have any of the Phase Wires (Black, Red, or Blue) hooked to breakers on the same phase of power. Double breakers (breakers with two switches in one slot) will be on the same phase of power:


Local Device Access

A common question about the functionality of Emporia products is whether or not the data measured from the device is available from the device directly instead of communicating through the Emporia cloud. We've designed our products to be cloud-based, so as of this moment there is no other way to obtain the measurement data than through the Emporia app/cloud services. If you'd like local access to your device and its data, feel free to reach out to the Emporia Customer Support team and mention so.



Firmware Updates

Current production firmware version is: Vue2-159

The Gen 2 receives regular firmware updates both to improve its reliability as well as provide new functionality for the device. We currently don't publish a list of firmware versions at the moment, but hoping to have one available in the future. These firmware updates should happen automatically and OTA ("over the air"). Whenever we have a new firmware version available, the device should check the Emporia cloud at least once per day and update as soon as its able to find a new version. If needing to check your current firmware version for the Gen 2, you can access that in the following way:

  1. Select Menu (☰)
  2. Select Manage Devices under Settings
  3. Select your Device
  4. Select Device Info (at the top) - the firmware version will be listed below the Save button.

If your device is having a hard time updating its firmware, feel free to reach out to the Customer Support team for assistance.

Will it work without a system neutral line? (only ground/earth)

The absence of a neutral line in the electrical system can cause issues with the Gen 2, but depends on how the system itself behaves.


In many situations customers looking to use the Gen 2 will not have a neutral line available for the wire harness to be terminated to. In these situations you can substitute your ground/earth line as a replacement for a neutral line - meaning that given the installation scenario for your wire harness installation (as determined by number of phases in the system), you can terminate the wire harness wires to ground/earth instead of neutral.


This substitution will work great as long as your ground/earth line doesn't have any errant voltage on it. The Gen 2 device uses neutral as a baseline for measurement accuracy, so if the ground/earth line has errant voltages, it will mess up the device measurements as its baseline voltage will be skewed incorrectly.


Warranty?

Gen 2 warranty is good for 1 year. Details can be found on the Emporia Energy website.


Is the Gen 2 UL Certified? What certifications does it have?

The Gen 2 is cUL, CE and UKCA certified - so it should be certified for the US, Canada, UK and EU. We're looking into additional certifications for the future as well. If there is a specific certification you're looking for that is not listed here, feel free to reach out to the Customer Support team to clarify or suggest a certification.


Are there any costs associated with cloud usage or anything else? No - all costs are included as part of the purchase of the device itself. No subscriptions or anything like that are required.


Hardware Installation

Use Installation Guide available on our website www.indem.in and also on emporia energy app: 

https://indem.in/pages/quick-installation-diagrams


Common Questions related to installation:


1.) What if my panel does not have space? The Gen 2 does not need to be mounted inside of the electrical panel/consumer unit. The primary requirement is that the Gen 2 is kept out of the rain/weather/elements as its not rated for outdoor use. So if your installation is indoors - it can be setup in whichever way works best for your situation. If installing outdoors and needs to be external to the electrical panel, then using a separate weatherproof box and running the sensors/wire-harness through the panel knockouts and conduit should work great.


Solar Monitoring

Solar Generation can be monitored very similarly to some of our other circuits. We have built a supplemental installation guide specifically for monitoring solar installations with a Gen 2 device. Your first step should be to take a look here: 


https://indem.in/pages/solar-installation-diagram-solar-gross-net-metering


The Gen 2 Vue Solar Supplement guide will outline the proper sensor placement as well as any required tips for properly monitoring generation. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to the Emporia Support team and they will be able to help answer them.


Setup a Gen 2 for Sub-Metering


The Gen 2 Vue is a great way to keep track of energy usage in sub metering situations. Depending on how your usage is broken up between users, you can use the data to separate usage per user and bill accordingly. You can have multiple devices on a single account and monitor/ bill user based on the usage from all/ a portion of a devices monitored usage:


Tenants on a separate meter: Install a Gen 2 Vue in a panel where the tenant is responsible for all of the usage in that panel. The total usage for that device will be the figure for which the tenant can be billed off of. 


Tenants on a shared meter: Install a Gen 2 Vue in the shared panel. Install 50a CTs on every circuit the tenant is responsible for. The sum of these 50a sensors will be the total usage the tenant is responsible for.


How to Bill Users: 

Fixed Rate Users: If you have a fixed rate plan, you can enter that rate in the Cost/Rate Settings. Then, when you set the Unit of Measurement to Currency, your devices kW/kWh usage will be displayed with your fixed rate applied in Currency. You can use this figure to bill a user.


Time Of Use Rate Users: If your TOU rate is in the NREL database, you can enter that rate in the Cost/Rate Settings.  Set your devices Location if you haven't already and select your TOU plan from the dropdown. Then when you set the Unit of Measurement to Currency, your devices kW/kWh usage will be displayed with your TOU rate applied in Currency. You can use this figure to bill a user.


Emporia devices will be able to provide power/energy measurements in a variety of available "units of measurement". Those include:


- kiloWatts / kiloWatthours (kw, kWh)

- Amps / Amphours (A, Ah)

- Currency (based on calculation between cost/rate and kW)

- Gasoline Gallons, Car Miles, Carbon and "Trees"

 

All measurements shown in the seconds, minutes, and 15-min data is in real-time power as kiloWatts (kW) and Amps (A). These are averaged measurements for the duration of the time resolution shown.


All measurements shown in the hourly (1-hr) resolutions and higher is energy, or kiloWatthours (kWh) and Amphours (Ah). Most utilities bill/charge based on kWh (energy) measurements taken from the utility meter.


Using Multipliers

Multipliers are a useful in-app setting that can help in a variety of situations. This setting will multiply the measured voltage from a Gen 2 by the set amount, by circuit/sensor.


Important Note - No "default" multipliers are needed for the Gen 2 since its measuring voltage directly. This means if you're using the Gen 2 on a 240V system, a default multiplier will not be needed since the Gen 2 already knows you're on a 240V system.


This is most commonly used in situations with multi-pole circuits being monitored with a single sensor. An example might be this: If you have a dual pole circuit w/ each line running 10A @ 120V, then each line would be pulling ~1.2kW of power. Instead of using two sensors, one on each circuit line, to capture the total usage of 2.4kW, you can add use a single sensor on one line and a 2.0 multiplier. That 2.0 multiplier will adjust the 120V to 240V and get you the same 2.4kW value to be shown in the app (on the single sensor).


Now, multipliers can be helpful to conserve sensor count in these situations, but assuming usage (by not using sensors) can have weird behaviors in the app - especially if the two (or three) lines using a multiplied value are not behaving equally. Imagine in the above situation that instead of both lines using 10A on each (@ 120V each), one was using 5A while the other using 10A. That means total usage for the entire circuit would only be 1.8kW instead of the multiplied/assumed value of 2.4kW if monitoring the 10A circuit with the 2.0 multiplier attached. That means that not only the 50A CT measurement in the app would be incorrect, but the difference would also show up as Balance down below. Details on Balance can be found here if needed. Since the 200A CT's would be measuring 1.8kW (as they're measuring mains directly) but the 50A CT would be showing 2.4kW - the resulting Balance value would be -600W (and shown in green if this was the only circuit).


Should I use a multiplier or not?

If unsure whether or not a multiplier is causing accuracy issues, best option is to add another 50A CT to the other line for a few days and compare their usage afterwards. If the two lines are behaving similarly then using a multiplier should work correctly. If they're showing different measurements after a certain period of time, then leaving two sensors on the circuit is probably best.


 


Multipliers can be helpful, but measuring usage directly (with sensors) will always be more accurate than assuming usage with this setting.


CSV Exports

Data measured by all Emporia devices are available as CSV Exports if needing to work with the data outside of the Emporia Energy app. Those CSV downloads are available on-demand from within the app (steps available below). Once exported, a link will be sent to the email address connected to the Emporia account with a link to download the exported data. That link will download a .zip folder containing multiple files with each file corresponding to a different time resolution (seconds, mins, hours) of data.


 How to Export?

Select Menu (☰) in top left corner

Select Export Raw Data to CSV under Settings

Select the device you'd like to retrieve CSV data for, enter the desired date range, and select Export Data

You will receive an email link (to your Emporia Account address) that will allow you to download a zip file to your computer that contains each of the following files for the time period you specified:

1SEC (3 hours of 1 second data)

1MIN (up to 7 days of 1 minute data)

15MIN (Complete 15 minute data)

1H (Complete hourly data)

1DAY (Complete daily data)


Clearing and Deleting Measurement Data

If needed, you can delete measurement data for your device and circuits via the method down below. Important to note - removing data in this way permanently deletes it from the Emporia Energy database, so it is unrecoverable once it has been deleted. Removing data this way does not fix device related measurement issues. At this moment there are no options to select a date range of measurement data to delete - will delete all measurements for each circuit selected. 


How to Clear Data:

Select menu (☰) in top left corner

Select Manage Devices under Settings

Select the device you want to clear data for

Select Clear Data

Check the box next to the items that you would like to clear data from (or Select All at the top for Gen1/Gen2 devices)

Select Clear Data at the bottom of the screen


Combining measurements?

As of this moment we do not have the capability of aggregating or combining measurements within the app. We're going to be adding two features in the future to help in this situation:

1.) Device grouping - will allow you to combine measurements from separate devices together (not "nesting").


2.) Circuit merging - will allow you to combine measurements from multiple sensors (Gen 1 or Gen 2) together. Designing mostly for situations where combining a multi-pole measurement from multiple sensors will work in other scenarios as well.


We don't have a published timeline of when either of those features will be added, but they are a high priority on the team to have added as soon as we can. If you want to help bump up these features on the priority list, feel free to send that as feedback to the Customer Support team.


How long is measurement data stored?

Here is the data retention policy for device data stored on the Emporia Energy cloud:


1-second data available for 3 hours

1-minute data available for 7 days

15-minute data available for 30 days

1-hour, day and above available for lifetime of device



Compare my utility provider data against my measured data with CSV Exports.

In most situations, your utility provider will give you a bill at the end of a billing cycle outlining your electrical usage. Those values would be shown in kWh, usually tied to a specific rate or cost per kWh of energy consumed. To compare your energy monitor measurements against those utility provider measurements can be helpful to make sure you're capturing all of your consumption data properly, and using the CSV exported data can help with that.


First step is just to make sure your energy monitor is setup and working. The important setting we'll want to focus on here is to make sure your energy monitor is setup with the same time zone setting as the utility provider to ensure we're comparing the appropriate time frames together.


Once that is ready to go, you'll be able to export your data to CSV. That'll send you a link to your email address (tied to the Emporia account) with a download link. Feel free to download that .zip file and it should contain a few files of CSV data. If your utility provider bills day-to-day, then using the 1-DAY file of data should work great. If your utility provider has partial days worth of usage counted as part of the billing cycle, then using the 1-HOUR data file might be more accurate.


For this example, I will be using Google Sheets to calculate the CSV data with, but the CSV should be workable through Excel or other spreadsheet programs if you'd be more comfortable with those.


First, you'll want to sum up the "mains" sensors together. In my example I have 2x 200A CT's (for a typical split-phase system). I also like to insert columns next to the data I'm working with, so I've added a new column to the right of my last 200A CT measurement. Within that column, I will sum together the two columns to the left to get a "Total Usage" number which should match the Emporia Energy app measurements for the same time period.


Once we have a column for our "total" - we can then add up the individual time records (days or hours) that'll match the same monitoring period as stated by the utility provider for their measurement time period. Ideally - we should be within +/- 2% of what the utility provider would be recording for the same time period. If not, it might suggest a monitoring situation where we're missing usage or measuring inaccurately.


CT Sensors - Proper alignment, placement

The CT's are designed to be fairly flexible related to their installation potential. Ideally they can be placed anywhere along the circuit line as needed, so they don't need to rest against the breaker/line terminals if the spacing is too tight nearby.


Does it matter which port the 200A CT's are attached to?

No - The Gen 2 is able to match each sensor to the appropriate phase and voltage without having to specify which port the sensor is attached to. So any of the A, B and/or C ports will work for your 200A CT's to be plugged into.


Does it matter which port(s) the 50A CT's are attached to?No - feel free to plug in the sensors to any of the side ports as needed. To ensure you're plugging them into the appropriate port numbers, you can see the port numbers printed on the back of the device. This might be a bit backwards from what you'd expect, so always best to double check if unsure. Port #1 will start on the upper right corner (if looking at the front of the device) and will follow the right side down to port #8 on the bottom right hand side. Port #9 will then be located on the lower left hand side (when looking at the front of the device) and run up the side to port #16 on the upper right corner.


Alignment:On the bottom of the sensors are a "K" and "L" label with an arrow pointing from "K" to "L". The "L" side should point towards appliance/consumption load and "K" represents the power source. For standard installation scenarios - this means that the 200A CT's will have the "K" pointing towards the grid/meter and the "L" in towards the panel breakers. For the 50A CT's, the "K" would point towards the breakers and "L" out towards the appliance load. For situations with generated power (solar, generator, etc...) - then that 50A CT direction will be reversed since the source of power is also reversed and the "K" will point towards the solar inverter or generating power source.


Pre-Installation


Will this work for me?The Gen 2 was built to be a very flexible energy monitor. It can work on single, single-split (two) and three phase systems. It also measures voltage directly, so it can understand if your system voltage is ~120V or ~240V and will work perfectly fine in both scenarios.

A fairly common question we get on the Customer Support team is whether or not the Gen 2 will work on a particular installation scenario or not. In general, the Gen 2 should work great for most residential situations and many light-commercial applications as well. Its primary limitations would be these:


System voltage (line-to-neutral voltage per phase) must be under ~264V.

Line amperage must be under 250A for the main lines (monitored with a "200A" CT) and 75A for the branch circuit current. Details on CT limitations and applications can be found here.

Line-to-neutral voltage is similar across all lines/phases - "high leg", or situations where one line-to-neutral voltage is higher than the other(s) will not work properly. An example might be two 120V line-to-neutral phases and one 240V line-to-neutral phase will not work with the Gen 2 as it uses averaged voltage for some on-device calculations.

other problematic issues can be found here.

 

Will it work outside of the US in India ?

Yes - we have Gen 2's installed on 6 continents across dozens of countries including India. In most situations the Gen 2 is flexible enough to work on your system - regardless of 120V or 240V differences.


If unsure whether or not the Gen 2 would be an appropriate device for your monitoring situation, feel free to reach out to the Customer Support team with your questions. Helpful if you know the electrical details of the system (phase count as well as voltages) and pictures of the proposed electrical panel or consumer unit can also provide clarity for the team.


What do I need?

All Gen 2 devices are the same model (regardless of system type) - so the main consideration when determining what kind of Gen 2 kit to pickup is how many sensors would be needed for the installation.


200A CT's:

If on three-phase electrical, you'll need to pickup a Gen 2 kit with 3x included 200A CT's since you'll want one on each phase of power for your main lines (no sensors on the neutral line).


If on single phase electrical - then any of the Gen 2 kits with 1x of the 200A CT's. For single phase installations, you'll only need one 200A CT on the live main, no sensors on neutral.



50A CT's:

For the number of 50A CT's required - very much depends on the number of circuits you'd like to capture details for. If looking to conserve sensor count - then prioritizing your higher loads/consumption is usually a good place to start. Can always expand and add more sensors/devices at a later time if wanting more details.


 


Multiple Devices?

If needing to monitor multiple panels, or more than 16x branch circuits (port/sensor limitation on the Gen 2 for 50A CT's) - then you can certainly use more than one Gen 2 together to capture more details. Information about how to set up multiple devices in these situations can be found here.


 

Other:

Outside of the Gen 2 hardware, here are some other local requirements for the device to work:


Requires 2.4GHz WiFi with an internet connection.

Access to the electrical panel breakers and wiring.

 

Each Gen 2 kit will include all of the hardware needed to get the device up and running, so the WiFi antenna, Wire Harness and everything to get it working will be included in each Gen 2 package.


Problematic Situations

When looking to install a Gen 2 - there's a few things to lookout for related to the installation possibilities and how we can work with them.


1.) "Inaccessible" main lines - Some electrical panels and consumer units will have different main line connections into the panel breakers. Some of these situations include bus bars, or "hidden" mains behind a protective plate and more. In general, we have a few different CT styles that can work better than the default 200A CT's included with each kit. Those can be found on our shop page here. If not sure whether or not your mains are capable of being monitored, feel free to take a picture of the panel (with cover off so you can see breakers/wiring) and send that to the Customer Support team for clarification.


2.) Solar-ready, or "by-passed" solar - This would be a situation where the solar (generation) has its own connection to the utility meter outside of your regular system consumption circuits. This situation is tough for us to monitor correctly because the 200A CT's need to be installed on a location on the main lines where they can see backfed power to measure correctly. In these environments where the solar has its own connection to the meter, that backfed power is skipping the 200A CT's and we'd only be able to capture the consumption in the system. We're going to be adding app functionality in the future to allow for customized sensor relationships to help in these situations.


 3.) "High-leg" voltage - In situations where your electrical system has one line-to-neutral (phase) voltage higher than the others, the Gen 2 will not work correctly. The device uses averaged voltage for on-device calculations, so in situations where that average is too far off from the baseline voltage measurements it can cause measurement discrepancies.


 4.) Line-to-neutral voltage higher than ~264V, or line amperage higher than 250A - These are hardware level limitations on the Gen 2. We do not have any products that can monitor power higher than those values.


If you have any questions about the potential of a Gen 2 on your electrical system, reach out to Customer Support with any details/pictures you have available and we can help clarify installation possibilities for your situation.


Does the Gen 2 require a professional electrician to install?

Not necessarily. We designed the Gen 2 installation to be as simple as possible, so the vast majority of customers can install it themselves. Its certainly understandable that you might not be comfortable working within an electrical panel in this way - so you can certainly reach out to friends/family members to help. If deciding to go with a professional electrician, we generally recommend printing out the installation guides beforehand and have them available for the installer.


Can I use more than one Gen 2?

Yes - the Gen 2 is fairly flexible in this way. Doesn't matter if you have multiple panels to monitor or more than 16x circuits in a single panel, using more than one Gen 2 can be a great way to capture that usage. Details about nesting and using multiple devices together can be found here.


Multiple Gen 2's, Nesting

One of the features available to have multiple devices work together is called Nesting. This feature allows multiple Gen 2's (or other devices) be organized and have them share together in the app for a unified view of system usage. It is designed to aggregate data from devices that are monitoring the same usage rather than independent services.


 Situations where Nesting is helpful:

1.) Main/sub panel relationships with Gen 2's in each location.

2.) Multiple Gen 2's in a shared panel (to capture more than 16x circuits)

3.) When Smart Plugs or EV Chargers are measuring usage already monitored with a Gen 2.

4.) Nesting a Gen 2 under a Utility Connect where the Utility Connect is capturing system mains, and Gen 2 is capturing circuit level details.


Main and Sub Panel Example:

In this example below, we'll imagine a Gen 2 installed in the "main panel" as well as another Gen 2 installed in a downstream "sub panel". Both Gen 2's will have 200A CT's attached, Main Panel has 7x 50A CT's attached and Sub Panel has 4x. In this situation the sub panel will be fed from the main panel's circuit breakers. Given their relationship to each other, the 200A CT's on the main panel device capturing the main panel's mains will see the sub panel usage that is also detected by the sub panel's 200A CT's. To prevent double counting as well as organising the devices for a more logical listing in the app, we'll nest the sub panel underneath the main panel from within the app.


Before we get into instructions on how to nest devices together, we've installed both Gen 2's in their respective panels as per the installation guides. Once they're setup and running, we should see listings similar to these from within the app:

Using the Gen 2 as the monitor for Energy Management

Energy Management is the collection of automated control functions available through the Emporia platform. Those features include Peak Demand and Excess Solar Management where real-time power/usage measurements are critical to manage the behaviour of connected electronic appliances. To manage that behaviour, its important to have an energy monitor installed to track that real-time system usage and the Gen 2 is the perfect device to help with that.


The important point about using a Gen 2 in either of these features is to ensure that it is installed correctly and accurately capturing usage through the 200A CT's on the main lines. You'll want to ensure that the device is setup correctly in this way because if the 200A CT/mains measurements are not captured correctly by the Gen 2, then the automated functionality based on those measurements will not work correctly either. Installation guides can be found for the Gen 2 here. 

Information on how to troubleshoot Gen 2 measurement data can be found here.

All of the Energy Management functionality (Excess Solar Generation as well as Peak Demand) will provide automation based off of the system usage as detected by an energy monitor. The Gen 2 is our flagship energy monitor that will provide the most installation flexibility along with the best usage details we have available. If looking for a simpler/easier monitor, another option might be the Utility Connect device.