I'd expect that it would work the same for either resistive or inductive loads -- after all, AC current on a wire is AC current on a wire, however it came to be present.
My understanding of Sense is that it measures the top-level current consumption somewhat blindly and then uses the inductive monitoring and other inference to attribute that consumption to different known devices— like oh here's 4kW of resistive heating going on, I can tell whether that's your dryer or your hot tub based on whether I see the drum or circulation pump running. Whereas if it can't find an inductor then it will basically just assume it's your kettle, toaster, or a fanless space heater, with more emphasis on the device doing unique things as it starts up, see [2].
[1]: https://eng.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Electrical_Engineerin...
[2]: https://blog.sense.com/articles/how-does-sense-detect-my-dev...
The current transformers used by Sense are inductive by their very nature, but that property does not suggest preferential detection of specifically inductive loads.
It can detect inductive loads as being unique, but it can also detect largely-resistive loads as being unique -- as well as many other things that present a particular signature.
The toaster presented in the blog is an excellent example of a largely-resistive thing that still behaves in unique ways.
The Emporia Vue is half the price and has a clamp for each circuit.
In this case though, the wall plug monitoring is definitely the right solution.
Sense, theoretically, can.
- toaster oven on
- rice cooker on
- both on
- both off
I would be extremely surprised if the sense was able to detect a rice cooker accurately.
This can detect an inductive load like an AC/fridge/freezer compressor or washing machine motor. Something small and purely resistive like a rice cooker might be more challenging, but certainly a Sense does get you a long way.