Predict & Prevent® Podcast Episode 22: Network Effect: From Protecting Homes to Preventing Grid Faults

The same Ting sensor protecting your home from electrical fires could also help prevent billion-dollar wildfires that devastate entire communities.
By: | September 2, 2025
Predict & Prevent

The same sensor protecting your home from electrical fires could also help prevent billion-dollar wildfires that devastate entire communities, according to “Network Effect: From Protecting Homes to Preventing Grid Faults,” the latest episode of the Predict & Prevent® podcast from The Institutes.

Host Pete Miller, CEO of The Institutes, welcomes back Bob Marshall, CEO and co-founder of Whisker Labs, for a conversation about how individual home protection is evolving into grid-scale catastrophe prevention.

Bob Marshall, CEO of Whisker Labs

Marshall, the co-inventor of the innovative Ting sensor technology, share remarkable growth stories since his 2023 appearance on the podcast. His company has deployed sensors in over 1 million homes through partnerships with more than 30 insurance companies, including eight of the top 10 carriers.

“We’re in over a million homes now, adding about 50,000 new homes per month,” Marshall explained, attributing this success to documented results that insurance carriers can’t ignore. Working with the Insurance Information Institute and a third-party actuarial firm, recent research has proved that Ting effectively prevents 0.4 claims per 1,000 home years—a clear ROI that’s convinced major insurers to invest in prevention over claims payouts.

The conversation takes a compelling turn when Marshall shares how this growing network of individual home sensors is creating “the most definitive and authoritative source for what’s going on the grid, bar none.”

Ting sensors provide sophisticated monitoring that could help predict when electrical grids reach dangerous stress levels—the kind that can spark catastrophic wildfires like those in Maui and Los Angeles, he explained.

“We know more about the operation of the U.S. utility grid than anybody else does,” Marshall states, outlining his vision for helping utilities make informed decisions about power shutoffs during high-risk conditions. He cited remarks by Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway not only own insurers but also electrical utilities, about the need to change utility mindsets, emphasizing that sometimes “it’s just best to turn off the power and eliminate the source of the spark.”

Beyond fire prevention, the discussion reveals Ting’s unexpected capabilities in preventing water damage from frozen pipes, faulty water heaters, and sump pump failures—losses that often occur when homeowners are away and unaware. Marshall notes that frozen pipe incidents are particularly costly because “they almost always happen when nobody’s home.”

The podcast explores exciting expansion plans, including bringing Ting technology to commercial buildings where it could monitor both fire risks and power quality issues that damage expensive commercial equipment. Marshall emphasizes how this prevention-focused approach is transforming relationships between insurance companies and their customers.

“We have 20,000 homes that we have saved to date, 25 new ones every day, and the appreciation that we see from our customers towards their insurance carrier is just not something that our partners have ever seen before,” Marshall shares, highlighting testimonials that demonstrate how prevention creates positive customer experiences rather than the typically stressful post-loss interactions.

To listen to this and other episodes, visit predictandprevent.org, or look for Predict & Prevent on most podcasting platforms. &

The R&I Editorial Team can be reached at [email protected].

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