Ting Electrical Fire Safety Device

[Lytning]

I have had a Ting electrical fire safety device installed in my home for just over one year. Considering the relatively high current associated with EV home charging, and the unknown safety history of the Ford Charge Station Pro, I decided to try the device for an extra level of home electrical and fire safety. I have not received any arcing alerts, but I did receive an alert for a brief brown-out / low-voltage incident from the power company supply. The Ting device monitors for the precursors to fire, such as in-home arcing and utility power quality issues. A small Ting sensor is plugged into a 120 volt home receptacle. Monitoring and alerts are provided by Whisker Labs servers. You can read more in "How It Works" in the Ting Device link provided below.

I purchased the Ting device directly from Whisker Labs for $99.00. The first year of monitoring was free, and I just paid $51.94 for the next year of monitoring. Six insurance companies provide the device free to their clients. My insurance company is not one of them, but I have recommended the system to my agent and asked him to pass the recommendation to the insurance HQ. The list of insurance companies providing free devices can be viewed in the Ting Device link.

I am not associated with Ting or Whisker Labs in any way. My work experience as a Licensed Professional Engineer, Assistant Fire Chief in the Air Force Reserve, and Manager of major Engineering and Construction projects was what led me to consider and install Ting. I read about the positive impact the devices had in isolating the initiation point for the catastrophic fires in Maui. I am completely satisfied with its performance and the peace of mind that comes with its 24/7 monitoring. I recommend that you take a look at it.

Ting Device Link:
https://www.tingfire.com/get-ting/#ins_partner

Maui Fire Link:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/1st-reported-maui-fire-caused-damaged-power-lines/story?id=102326367

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[MJB28]

I have had a Ting electrical fire safety device installed in my home for just over one year. Considering the relatively high current associated with EV home charging, and the unknown safety history of the Ford Charge Station Pro, I decided to try the device for an extra level of home electrical and fire safety. I have not received any arcing alerts, but I did receive an alert for a brief brown-out / low-voltage incident from the power company supply. The Ting device monitors for the precursors to fire, such as in-home arcing and utility power quality issues. A small Ting sensor is plugged into a 120 volt home receptacle. Monitoring and alerts are provided by Whisker Labs servers. You can read more in "How It Works" in the Ting Device link provided below.

I purchased the Ting device directly from Whisker Labs for $99.00. The first year of monitoring was free, and I just paid $51.94 for the next year of monitoring. Six insurance companies provide the device free to their clients. My insurance company is not one of them, but I have recommended the system to my agent and asked him to pass the recommendation to the insurance HQ. The list of insurance companies providing free devices can be viewed in the Ting Device link.

I am not associated with Ting or Whisker Labs in any way. My work experience as a Licensed Professional Engineer, Assistant Fire Chief in the Air Force Reserve, and Manager of major Engineering and Construction projects was what led me to consider and install Ting. I read about the positive impact the devices had in isolating the initiation point for the catastrophic fires in Maui. I am completely satisfied with its performance and the peace of mind that comes with its 24/7 monitoring. I recommend that you take a look at it.

Ting Device Link:
https://www.tingfire.com/get-ting/#ins_partner

Maui Fire Link:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/1st-reported-maui-fire-caused-damaged-power-lines/story?id=102326367

I also have the the Ting monitor. My insurance company does provide it. I think is great
Haven’t had any alerts. They send a monitoring report every week. It lets you know if there was any power outages or surges and voltage range.

 

[MaintGrl]

Wondering . .do you get two of them to monitor the two different Legs of a typical single phase Panel . .

 

[Runaway Tractor]

Wondering . .do you get two of them to monitor the two different Legs of a typical single phase Panel . .

Wonder this as well. This thing is only monitoring one side of the split phase.

 

[Truaz]

You only get 1 but most issues come across on the neutral that is shared.
I have had 1 alert (except power outages) when the power transformer was supplying 140 volts (280 across both legs). I had other devices that confirmed this. Solar panels stopped working, UPS was running off battery. Charge station was showing a fault. called my electric company that came out shut power for about 4 hours until they could replace the transformer.
It’s worth it but better if your insurance company can supply it.

 

[CD4TNF]

Cool safety monitoring device. Thank you for sharing. Great to have recommendations from experts like yourself.

 

[Maquis]

I saw a discussion of Ting on the Mike Holt forum. The consensus there was that it’s basically snake oil.

 

[Lytning]

It would indeed be very beneficial to see third party testing and evaluation results, but I have not yet found any. What I have read from critics are their opinions of potential deficiencies or concerns, but not supported by testing and measurements. It reminds me of conversations with friends regarding Doctors. One person says a specific Doctor saved their life, and another says the same Doctor is a quack. There are similar love it or hate it perspectives regarding our EV Lightnings.

Prior to purchasing Ting, I spoke with an Electrical Engineer at my electrical utility provider EMC. He said he was aware of the device, but did not know enough to comment on its effectiveness. His only negative was that the EMC was getting calls from members regarding low voltage fluctuations which he considered "normal". Regarding the brown-out mentioned in my earlier post, Ting reported a drop to 76 volts. That is important information for me, and I was not informed of it by my EMC. Maybe the EMC considered it "normal". I do not. I consider myself an early adopter with acknowledgement of unknowns. I concluded the potential benefits were well worth the costs. Others will surely conclude differently.

I contacted Ting via email regarding the concern with the sensor being installed on only one hot leg. I have attached their response below.

"The signals that Ting is looking for can be detected throughout the home’s electrical system even though it is installed on a single 120V phase. Fundamentally, Ting is designed to detect the tiny electro-magnetic emissions associated with micro-arcing characteristic of potential electrical faults, and does so at very high frequencies. At high frequencies, your home wiring acts like a communications network. Since each phase shares a common neutral back at your main breaker panel, arcing signals from one phase can be detected by Ting even if it is on the opposite phase. Thus, each outlet in the home will see the signal no matter its location of origin to some degree. With its sensitive detector and powerful post-processing algorithms, Ting can separate the signal from the noise and detect if there is unusual electrical activity. So, you only need one Ting for your home."

 

[Runaway Tractor]

Interesting. I presume it's looking for the same signs of arcing that an AFCI breaker is looking for. But AFCI breakers only trip on the circuit they're attached to. So I'm still a little skeptical without seeing actual real world testing results.

From a diagnostic perspective, monitoring the voltage of both sides of the split phase would be far more ideal. One of the more common types of electrical fires is a damaged or open neutral coming from the transformer. This could send one side of your split phase low and the other high frying equipment and starting fires. But if you're only monitoring one side of the split phase, you Will only see a high or low voltage and have no way of knowing if that is from a neutral issue or voltage sagging on the street.

Regarding the brown-out mentioned in my earlier post, Ting reported a drop to 76 volts. That is important information for me, and I was not informed of it by my EMC. Maybe the EMC considered it "normal". I do not.

Your power company would certainly not consider it normal either. But also I'm not aware of any power company that "notifies" their customers when there was some random anomaly. That's just not a thing. Realistically, that could have been any random tree branch or squirrel momentarily bouncing off a phase. Routine anomaly so to speak.

 

[Lytning]

Attached is a link to an article written a few months ago by a NY Times Wirecutter Senior Editor who had his own personal experience with Ting and the electric utility feed cable to his home.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/ting-electrical-fire-protection-device/

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