Ting Home Electrical Safety Sensor

Knob and Tubing

Personally, I would not get this if some or all of your house still uses the old knob and tubing.
My suspicions are that S.F. may came back and threaten non-renewal of your policy unless you update your electric.
 
Personally, I would not get this if some or all of your house still uses the old knob and tubing.
My suspicions are that S.F. may came back and threaten non-renewal of your policy unless you update your electric.

Well, if this thing is detecting a fault in the wiring (assuming it works as proposed), that's a potential problem, whether it is modern wiring with a loose/arcing connection or knob and tube with a loose/arcing connection.

-ERD50
 
I was reading about a Unified electrical code thing enacted in 1999 that requires new homes or significant changes to incorporate arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI) in your main circuit panel. They had an extra white wire that had to go to the correct grounding bus. Sound like a TING with teeth to shut off the power.

A few years later, there was an additional requirement for arc fault circuit interrupters in outlets in every room except bathroom. (reason something about nuisance tripping of breaker there).

Somewhere around here a requirement for lighting circuits to have these too.
If i remember right basements and other non-living areas might not have been included.

Someone was wondering why certain homes were selected to be monitored.
Perhaps it is these 25yr old dwellings might need a higher fire risk cost if they were not monitored some way. I know many of our ground fault outlets tested defective by the electrician although they seemed to work ok.

Incidentally i was looking at costs to update using a popular web based store and 20 amp AFCI breakers for our panels brand of breakers were $33 and 15 amp AFCI breakers $15. 220 volt AFCI breakers were many times higher. remember extra wire must be wired correctly.

re AFCI outlet think 15 amp was around $15. Unsure how many must be used on every line to meet codes and I am not an electrician but often acquire stuff for a licensed electrician to install for me. Assume they may need special wiring as well.
 
Does this device "listen" to your nearby conversations like Alexa and Ring (plus other devices) do?
 
Sorry for dusting off this old thread. Do users of this product have any updates on its use?
I just remembered we have a light switch the creates a slight buzzing noise when we use it every now and then. Is this something that would be determined as unsafe and in need of replacement?
 
Sorry for dusting off this old thread. Do users of this product have any updates on its use?
I just remembered we have a light switch the creates a slight buzzing noise when we use it every now and then. Is this something that would be determined as unsafe and in need of replacement?
I had a light switch that was going intermittent and arcing. I didn't get any warning from Ting, but from what I recall, arcing less than 5 Amps isn't detected and isn't considered a fire hazard (I'll check that later).

I replaced the switch, as it was a nuisance and scary even if not a fire hazard.
 
We've had the device for over a year now - installed at the end of November, 2023. A weekly monitoring report is sent via email. It has observed power outages as a result of failure and repair of the underground line on our street. It hasn't reported any problems with the house circuitry. However, last August, it did ask us to move the Ting device to another circuit outlet. Here's a quote from the email:
As we continue to advance Ting technology, a recent analysis suggests that you may be able to improve your Ting sensor's performance for added protection. To enable this, we ask that you please move your Ting sensor to a new circuit in a different part of your home.
We did as asked and they have not requested any additional changes.
 
Ours has been plugged in since that original thread appeared with zero negative issues. We have a weekly power outage when our whole-house auto-start genny self-tests. Ting reports the initial outage, the genny start and the restoration of commercial power 20-min later. We may keep it at the end of the free period depending on the cost.
 
We may keep it at the end of the free period depending on the cost.
That's pretty much my position too. Maybe State Farm will split the cost by at least giving us a break on our home insurance. Assuming the device provides some measure of protection against arcing-induced fires, both State Farm and the homeowner stand to benefit.
 
I didn't realize so many house fires were caused by wiring. I thought the main cause was cooking.
 
We've only had the device for six months or so. The insurance company is Erie. As long as it was free I didn't see a downside and what the hey, maybe it can be useful. If/when the free period runs out (I don't remember the literature saying that) I'll probably discontinue it and send it back if they want it. The house is 22 years old and we bought it new so I don't think we're going to have any issues.

The folks who might want to keep it are the ones living in houses built during or right after WWII and before. Who knows what electrical codes (if any!) were in effect then, and what some hamfisted Harry Homeowner has done with the wiring in the meantime.
 
I didn't realize so many house fires were caused by wiring. I thought the main cause was cooking.
Well, the main cause is cooking. But according to data from 2014 to 2016, there are an estimated 24,000 residential electrical fires causing $871 million in damage each year in the USA. If a simple monitoring device like Ting can reduce those numbers significantly, then it's no wonder an insurance company would be interested.
 
We may keep it at the end of the free period depending on the cost.
We've had ours since July 2021. State Farm initially said 2 year free, as I recall, but they haven't asked for any subscription payment since that time ran out, and I still get the weekly emails. I guess State Farm thinks it is worth it?
 
We've had ours since July 2021. State Farm initially said 2 year free, as I recall, but they haven't asked for any subscription payment since that time ran out, and I still get the weekly emails. I guess State Farm thinks it is worth it?
Good to know. Thanks.
 
When I looked at the website, I was amused that the "how it works" section gives you a lot of verbiage but doesn't actually tell you "how it works."

Doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in me. :facepalm:
Makes me wonder if there just might be some other reason it's free. Naaaaahhhhh! An insurance company is gonna be straight with us, right?
+2 - There's no technical explanation of how it works, and anything that requires a "subscription" is a no-go for me. The web site shows it plugged in to a 120V outlet, so I wonder how it detects an arc on the other 120V phase of the electrical supply. Even if it can somehow monitor both phases, how do I know which circuit/device is having the problem?

I'm just guessing, but I would assume this works much like an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI), detecting the high frequency signature of a bad arcing connection. Personally, I would rather have an AFCI turn off the power if a problem is detected than send data to a third party and/or send an alarm to my phone (A. I may not have my phone with me, and B. what if I'm not home to check on things).

When we built our house in 2003, AFCI's were required on all bedroom circuits. I believe the latest 2020 code requires them in most rooms of a house now.

Of course, a little common sense can go a long way. Replace worn out receptacles, don't run cords under carpets, don't hide junction boxes, don't overload outlets, replace old wiring (knob and tube, cloth covered, etc.), keep fans and other appliances clean, etc.
We have had issues with our GFIs on occasion - turning circuits off for no apparent reason. Got tired of trying to figure out why with no answer.
 
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