Energy Display Meter

[pete]

Those of you that got an engineer back out, how did you get hold of them?

 

Phone the main number on the Free Energy Display Meter for schools website. If you can, ask for John to be sent out.

 

There's also a known issue with static IPs. The DHCP timeout setting that's set to 30 by default needs to be set to 0 or the meter will ignore any static IP settings and grab a DHCP lease.

 

It wouldn't be terribly hard to unlock the meter and alter the setting manually (mentioned purely in the spirit of scientific enquiry).

Edited February 11, 2011 by pete

[LeMarchand]

Cheers, will do!

[speckytecky]

Ours is still working perfekt:D

 

Seems to be a bit of an Admin problem with the system though; the supplier has just been on the phone to the office saying they needed access to install the meter - when it was pointed out to them that we already have one they wouldn't believe the lass and demanded we send a photo of it!

[dthomas]

The person to talk to is Roy Asamoah on 07525 705967.

 

He kindly sent me a tool to access the EDM, which is how you can enable the web server on the EDM and then you can access it via http. There you can configure it and Robert should be your father's brother.

He mentioned that if you had reconfigured it it might need a hard reboot by removing the power for a minute - pull the transparent cover off and remove the (low voltage) power connector which is next to the CAT5 connector.

[LeMarchand]

Ours is still working perfekt:D

 

Give it time!

 

The person to talk to is Roy Asamoah on 07525 705967.

 

Cheers!

[bondbill2k2]

Seems these have a poor write up on here, I did enquire about cost now the free offer has ended and I think we shall be giving it a miss.

[pete]

Has anyone worked out whether switch in the lower-right hand corner of the top circuit board in the WebRTU Z3 is a reset switch?

 

Best I found was a security analysis of the Z1 series from 2008.

 

(yes, my urge to fiddle with the thing is rising).

[Sylv3r]

I e-mailed a couple of weeks ago to chase up whether we would still be getting a free monitor after an engineer come last summer holidays and said he didn't have the right part so was to return the following day to fit it. I never got a reply to my e-mail, so I think it's safe to say we won't be getting one. After I spent money on getting a data point installed into the switch room too!

[pete]

Perl script to query the energy display meter and optionally dump to .csv format.

 

Caveats:

 

• Assumes you have Perl in your path and Linux or Unix (uses strftime).
  
• Assumes http://meterIP/ChannelData.xml is available on your meter.
  
• Only pulls voltage from one (the first) phase - the voltage on ours doesn't differ between phases. If you want to add the other phases, run it with the "-d" option to dump the array contents and pick the values you need.
  
• It's rather hacktastic and needs a good tidy/optimising - it won't currently can't stack options due to the elsif maze. It queries the meter every time (loading $data) and the meter isn't speedy.
  
• Running without options will give you usage info.
  
• Usual disclaimer about lack of responsibility for getting your cat pregnant.
  

 

#!/usr/bin/perl

use strict;
use warnings;

use LWP::Simple;
use XML::Simple;
use Data::Dumper;
use Getopt::Long;

## Variables#######################################################

my %opts;
my $url = 'http://meterIP/ChannelData.xml';
##$opts{url} if defined ($opts{url});
## 'http://meterIP/ChannelData.xml';
my $xml = XML::Simple->new();
my $all;
my $version;
my $debug;
my $showvolts;
my $showcurrent;
my $showkwh;
my $csv;
my $timestamp;
my $data = $xml->XMLin(get($url));
## substitute (get($url)) with ($url) for a local xml file;

## Options ########################################################
Getopt::Long::Configure("bundling");
GetOptions(
"a"	=>	\$all,		
"d"	=>	\$debug,
"k"   	=>	\$showkwh,
"v"	=>	\$showvolts,
"c"	=>	\$showcurrent,
"s"	=>	\$csv,
"u"	=>	\$url,);

## Show usage #####################################################

sub print_help(){
print "\n";
print "WebRTU Dumper 0.02 (March 2011) by Pete Hunt \n";
print "Released under GPL to anyone who finds it useful \n";
print "================================================\n";
print "Usage: \n";
print "-a       Show everything. \n";
print "-c       Show current (all phases). \n";
print "-d       Print array generated from xml file. \n";
print "-k       Show kwh (incremental).\n";
print "-s       Dump time,kwh,voltage,phase1,phase2,phase3 as .csv. \n";
print "-v       Show voltage. \n";
print "Output is the console unless redirected. \n";
}

## Functions ######################################################

## Dump the whole array

sub print_debug(){
       print Dumper($data);
}

## Print the values we care about

sub print_all(){
 timestamp();
 print "\n";
 just_kwh();
 just_volts();
 just_current();
}

sub timestamp(){
use POSIX qw/strftime/;
       my $timestamp = strftime("%d-%m-%Y %H:%M:%S", localtime(time));
print $timestamp;
}

sub just_kwh() {
my $kwhthou = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[0]{content};
$kwhthou =~ s/(\d{1,3}?)(?=(\d{3})+$)/$1,/g;
print "KWH:   ",$kwhthou, "\n";
}

sub just_volts(){
my $voltdec = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[5]{content};
$voltdec =~s/.$/.$&/;
print "Volts: ",$voltdec, "\n";
}

sub just_current(){
my $phase01 = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[8]{content};
my $phase02 = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[9]{content};
my $phase03 = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[10]{content};
$phase01 =~s/.$/.$&/;
$phase02 =~s/.$/.$&/;
$phase03 =~s/.$/.$&/;
print "Current", "\n";
print "        Phase 01: ",$phase01, "\n";
print "        Phase 02: ",$phase02, "\n";
print "        Phase 03: ",$phase03, "\n";
}

sub dump_csv(){
# remember we need to un-comma the kwh
my $kwhthou = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[0]{content};
my $voltdec = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[5]{content};
$voltdec =~s/.$/.$&/;
my $phase01 = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[8]{content};
my $phase02 = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[9]{content};
my $phase03 = $data->{Meter}{Channel}[10]{content};
$phase01 =~s/.$/.$&/;
$phase02 =~s/.$/.$&/;
$phase03 =~s/.$/.$&/;
timestamp(); 
print ",",$kwhthou,",",$voltdec,",",$phase01,",",$phase02,",",$phase03,",","\n";	
}


## Do Stuff #######################################################

if ($all){
print_all();
}
elsif ($debug){
print_debug();
}
elsif ($showvolts){
just_volts();
}
elsif ($showcurrent){
just_current();
}
elsif ($showkwh){
just_kwh();
}
elsif ($csv){
dump_csv();
}
else {
print_help();
}

[plexer]

Just had ours installed.

 

The project finishes at the end of this month so if you haven't got a date for install by then it doesn't look good.

 

Easy enough to change ip settings etc... on the device just go to it's current ip, no need for a password or anything and indeed no option to set one either.

 

Ben

[timlineuk]

Can be installed centrally but takes a bit of work.

I installed a local copy, copied the contents of the program files directory to the network share.

 

Then: Navigate to this folder - c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust

copy the "Energy Dashboard.cfg" to the network share. This is the file that is creating the Flash player not finding the logger error.

 

Have the file copied to the local PCs via startup script and provide users with the link to the index.html file.

 

Example script used:

if exist c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust goto end

mkdir c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust

 

copy "\\cpsictserver\software\For all\Energy Dashboard\Energy Dashboard.cfg" "c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust\Energy Dashboard.cfg" /y

 

:end

 

Thanks for this, i'd been looking at sorting this for a bit and this has really helped!

 

however a couple of steps were missed off...

 

Navigate to this folder - c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust

copy the "Energy Dashboard.cfg" to the network share.

edit the .cfg file so that it points to the network share where the software is installed rather than c:\

 

i also found that the directory did exist on a number of PCs so i did a small edit of the script so that it read:

 

if exist c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust goto copy

mkdir c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust

:copy

if exist c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust\Energy Dashboard.cfg goto end

copy "\\app-01\resource$\GENERAL\Energy Dashboard\Energy Dashboard.cfg" "c:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerTrust\Energy Dashboard.cfg" /y

:end

 

 

the only problem i've got now is that the logger isn't being auto detcted and i have to put in it's IP.

As far as i can see all the required ports are open but it still doesn't want to know... it must however be something on our network as it finds it find when plugged in directly.

[cromertech]

I added the energy dashboard software to an iis server and it worked fine. No problems with flash player trust as it's running from a trusted network location (i.e the internet)

[lordasb]

had the box installed, but still cant get the thing to talk to the network, had an email from them. see below, allready done most of the things, one idea was to turn the unit off and on again... but they dont know where the button is if there is one.. could be one way of saving energy, switch off at the master socket to reboot the monitor... ( they are also getting more staff as well when i phoned them who are starting soon)

 

 

Subject: Energy Display Meter

Dear Sirs,

 

We believe you may be having problems with your Energy Display Meter (EDM), supplied and installed recently by British Gas Business.

 

We apologies for the inconvenience caused by the non operation of the EDM but would confirm for the small number of schools that have incurred a problem we are planning to conclude all post install problems before the end of June 2011.

 

To pre-empt the resolution of your problem(s) we would ask your assistance to confirm the problems and also gather information required to ensure the resolution to your problems is carried out with all speed. Submission of the following information may determine the problem can be resolved over the phone very quickly.

 

If a site visit is required we will call to advise when our engineers will be in your regional area; the information you provide will still assist our engineer in diagnosing the problem quicker.

 

1. Nature of the problem (i.e. no interface with school LAN, partial display graphics; no recorded data)

2. Name of contact/ IT responsible person who will be assisting the Engineer on the day

3. IT contact and phone number if not available face to face

4. IT information - Fixed IP address, Subnet Mask, IP Gateway; or contact to ask the question off.

5. Type of system i.e. Ranger, RM networks, or standard Microsoft.

 

To assist our engineers please confirm the above information, any symptoms together with your school details (including postcode) and fault reference number.

 

Should you have any further queries about the appointment process please contact Robert Reece or Nadia Strilciw:-

 

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0845 673 7450 (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm)

[timlineuk]

Jon Wren is the chap you need to get in contact with - [email protected]

[pete]

Okay, a bit more info on the Perl script.

 

On a reasonably clean Ubuntu 10.04.3 LTS server install, the script works without needing to install any additional Perl modules.

 

Open the script in a text editor and change line 14 where it says meterIP to the IP address of your meter. Ours has a static IP. So from:

my $url = 'http://meterIP/ChannelData.xml';

to

my $url = 'http://10.0.0.241/ChannelData.xml';

or whatever it should be.

 

Save and exit.

 

Copy the script to somewhere on the machine you want to use and give it a meaningful name. Mine's called emdmp.pl and lives in /home/pete/bin

 

The following instructions assume you're using a terminal prompt (aka command prompt).

 

Make it executable:

 

pete@memory:~/bin$: chmod +x emdmp.pl

 

Test it without any options:

 

pete@memory:~/bin$: ./emdmp.pl

 

You should get

 

 

Now let's see if we can talk to the meter. Let's grab everything:

 

pete@memory:~/bin$: ./emdmp.pl -a

 

and you'll see something like this:

 

 

If that works, we can start automating it by getting crontab (like scheduled tasks on Windows) to call the script every five minutes.

 

pete@memory:~/bin$: crontab -e

 

 

In the above example we're calling the script every five minutes and adding the result onto the end (note double ">" ) of a csv file in a web-accessible directory. Ours is web-accessible so it's available to anyone.

 

Whoever is running the script via crontab needs to be able to write to that directory. If you don't care about making it web accessible, just modify crontab to write to your home directory by changing:

 

/var/www/powerdump/emdump.csv

to

/home/yourusername/filename.csv

 

And yes, I like hideous terminal colours.

Edited November 16, 2011 by pete
grammar

[pete]

And if Linux scares you, that script will run on OS X or Windows. For windows, you need to grab Strawberry Perl from here: Strawberry Perl for Windows.

 

Invoke on Windows using

 

perl scriptname.pl

 

And then do the standard scheduled task thing to run however often you want.

 

[ashbroad]

I used to work for the metering company responsible for these installs.

 

 

Unfortunately there were only a few of us that wanted to do a good job of installing these.

 

 

Lots of sub-contractors doing sub-standard installs, not informing the school how to work it, or in some cases going to the school finding the place/room where the meter is to be sited then leaving the meter there still inside its packaging!

 

 

We, the engineers that could program them had our own software to program the fixed IP, subnet, time-out for DHCP etc. I'll have a good root around at home for it & find my old instruction book.

 

 

Would have been such a good project, if only it were rolled out correctly

[plexer]

@ashbroad thanks for the info but this thread is 2 years old.

 

Ben

[monkeytennis]

Would still come in useful if he could find it, ours is still up and running but has never bee used properly. Cant connect to it in the software but can browse to ip address, but any page other than datareport results in "Page not Found"

[procterd]

Having the same problem with this unit. Access to the Web UI using default IP (10.0.0.199) is OK but can't get any further. Anyone got any instructions for these?

[localzuk]

We've given up on ours. It is basically faulty, and no-one is supporting them any more. The software doesn't connect at all.

[SimpleSi]

Yup, don't waste any more time on them, time to wave them good bye

[Dan_ATR]

I know this topic is old but does anyone have the software I could use please?

[LeMarchand]

I've got Energy_Dashboard_Setup 1.0.8. If no-one else who can do it quickly replies I'll try to find somewhere to upload it. (Don't have any such accounts atm).

[Dan_ATR]

You Legond. Are you able to email it to me by any chance? Zip it up and change the extention of the zip to .xyz