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 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 behavior. If using a multiplier and needing to troubleshoot accuracy, 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 behavior 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/multi-meter:
- Is your third party meter 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 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.
Feedback and Suggestions
This knowledge base is pretty new for the Emporia team. Our goal is to provide all of the information we can to help you manage your energy in better ways. If this article wasn't helpful, or we could be more clarifying on any points please reach out to the Customer Support team and we'll certainly work to improve these guides.