They’re called windows. Look out them and when the street is dark there is a power outage.
How could that have been detected by a device that only has access to one leg of the power (plugged into a 120v outlet)? Did you have multiple devices?
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I work all day and finish on the computer all night. I don’t stare out the windows looking at my neighbors house…that sounds kinda creepy. Also my street is dark regardless of power.
I guess that’s a question for Ting, but it hasn’t been wrong yet. Here’s Grok’s answer to your question:
Can a Ting electrical sensor read the entire house panel even though its on a 120 plug
Answer
Yes, the Ting electrical sensor is designed to monitor the entire electrical system of your home even though it’s plugged into a single 120V outlet. According to the information provided by Whisker Labs:
Ting monitors the entire electrical system: Once installed, the Ting sensor can detect hazardous arcing on all home circuits regardless of whether they operate on 120V or 240V. This is because electrical disturbances like arcing generate signals that travel across the shared neutral wire in the home's electrical system.
How it Works: The Ting sensor essentially listens for the unique signals generated by tiny electrical arcs (referred to as micro-arcing), which are precursors to electrical fires. These signals can be detected throughout the home’s electrical system due to the high-frequency nature of these electromagnetic emissions, which means they can travel across the wiring network in your home.
Installation: For optimal detection, the sensor should be plugged into an outlet in a less-used part of the home, avoiding areas with high electronic interference like the kitchen or garage, and not on a GFCI, power strip, or switched outlet.
This capability is due to the design of Ting to act as an advanced arc fault detector, picking up on these disturbances wherever they might occur within the home’s electrical wiring. However, for homes with multiple main breaker panels (each with its own feed from the meter or utility), multiple sensors might be necessary.
Fairly medieval if no one on your street uses electric lights. What’s really creepy is a neighbor who’s unaware what goes on in their neighborhood. You must be an isolationist not a good neighbor.
So basically you don’t know a thing about it.
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Wow, sorry my response didn’t meet your incredibly high standards. I mean, I never claimed to be an expert, which is why I told you to ask Ting and even gave you extra info to help. But hey, I get it, you’re probably way too busy doing your expert-level sleuthing on your neighbors’ windows at night.
Do you only lose power in the dark, or is that just when you have the time to check on everyone else’s outlets too? Honestly, I’ll never understand why you spend so much time making pointless comments that don’t contribute anything useful. But hey, we all need hobbies, right?
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Exactly. If the device was at least plugged into the breaker panel, it could distinguish between power surges and neutral connectivity.
It would be connected to both legs because the two legs on a 240/120VAC single split-phase system are both mechanically and electrically continuous. If the device is monitoring noise on the lines, it wouldn’t matter which leg it is on.
My guess is that it monitors noise and load characteristics and determines what the problem is by the load and noise characteristics. Noise is anything other than a pure sine wave. All electrical lines have noise on them. Different types of loads have different noise signatures.
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But it can’t tell the difference between a loose neutral, and a power surge, being on only one of the two legs.
Why?
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It can’t tell the difference between:
- The power company line is fluctuating between 200 and 240 volts Line 1 to Line 2.
- The power company line is stable. The loose neutral results in a fluctuation from neutral to Line 2, ranging between 220 and 240 volts.
The half side Ting device can tell there’s a problem. It can only infer the cause, by such measures as seeing no problem on other nearby services. However a single transformer (and thus single neutral) may service on one or a small number of homes.
You are making a lot of assertions, but dodging my question.
I’ve dodged nothing.
Perhaps you could rephrase your question, keeping in mind the device is someone else’s product.
You said that it can’t tell the difference between a “power surge” and a loose neutral (I am not sure what you mean by power surge). I asked you why. You didn’t answer my question.
Also, where did you come up with the idea that “The loose neutral results in a fluctuation from neutral to Line 2, ranging between 220 and 240 volts”, especially when you are assuming the power company’s line to be “stable”? There would have to be a serious failure somewhere for there to be 220V-240V between either line (whether one or two) and the grounded conductor.
In all fairness, I will tell you that I already know that that you won’t come up with a good answer because I know that you are wrong. Take your dual trace oscilloscope and connect one lead to one leg of the 240V service and the other lead to the other leg. Introduce any kind of noise or other disturbance anywhere in the system and tell me what you see. Be sure to include a disturbance or loss of the neutral. I already know what you will see, but I want you to do as I suggest and tell us all what you see. Take screen shots and post them here for us all to see.
I think that you will soon learn that you need to rethink your position on this.
As for it being someone else’s product, I will say that I have no direct knowledge of the device or how it works. However, as an electrical engineer who specializes in electrical forensics, I can make educated guesses about such things, and I am very rarely wrong. I can visualize the behavior of electricity in almost any set of circumstances you can possibly imagine. I’ve spent enough time in front of scopes and other electrical test equipment in the field and the lab both having investigated many hundreds, if not thousands, of electrical failures. I can’t understand how you arrived at your conclusions. Maybe you know something that I don’t know. Hence, my question; why? So, enlighten us. I love learning new things.
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Wrong one sensor does everything including my service disconnects, whole house generator and service from the transformer in. $99 per service panel is the cost. I did have to purchase a second one from 1000 sq ft detached office.
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TING sensors were setting off alarms in CA due to shorting power lines hitting trees and blowing transformers in the affected areas around LA before the fires started…
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Here’s a detailed article on the sensors and what was found, just before the Eaton Fire in LA:
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