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- Custom built system using 1-wire modules including:-
i. 12 Temp sensors for the:-
1. Solar panels (input and output).
2. Thermal store (Top middle and bottom).
3. Wind turbine tank (Top and bottom).
4. Oil boiler output
ii. 1 Voltage sensor for the wind turbine.
iii. 1 Temperature/Solar sensor for one of the solar panels to allow me to measure the amount of solar radiation falling on the solar panel, the temperature sensor is to measure the air temperature in the panel.
(This is to be used in the second set of panels)
iv. 1 Humidity/Temperature/Solar sensor for one of the solar panels to allow me to measure the amount of solar radiation falling on the solar panel, the temperature sensor is to measure the air temperature in the panel, and the Humidity will tell me if too much moisture is building up in the panel.
(This is to be used in the first set of panels)
v. 1 Humidity/Temperature sensor for the house, this will be used to check the temperature in the house and if below the threshold and within the heating time for pre-programmed settings the control system will start the pump for the house.
The Humidity sensor is to monitor the air quality in the house.
(may add more later)
vi. 16 Output to control,
1. 4 Pumps
2. 4 Control values
3. 5 Contactors for the wind turbine heat dump control system.
- Each temp sensor and the 8 way control outputs are connected to a main control hub that is software controlled by a small computer.
- This software depending upon the time, temperature of the thermal store and each solar panel will dump the heat collected by the panels into the thermal store.
- If by a predetermined time each day the thermal store is not hot enough it fires up the oil boiler to bring the thermal store up to temperature to ensure enough energy of the required temperature is available for the house.
- If at any time the solar panel arrays are more that 6deg C hotter than the thermal store the system will start the correct pump to dump that heat into the thermal store.
- The wind turbine is also to be used to generate heat, by sensing the turbine voltage, the control contactors will bring more and more 24v 1kw water heating elements into use, these elements will be mounted in a 100 to 200litre water tank and then this tank is more than 6deg C hotter than the thermal store the system will start the correct pump to dump that heat into the thermal store.
Control system software
A number of different solutions exist; some are based on Linux and others on Windows.
All of these appear to be able to allow me to build the system I want, track the data and build a website to track/graph the energy collected.
http://www.bacwak.net:8080/public_view.htm?viewId=8 for example (Screen shot below)
Linux possible solutions:-
· http://mango.serotoninsoftware.com/
o Mango is browser-based, Ajax-enabled M2M software that enables users to access and control electronic sensors, devices, and machines over multiple protocols simultaneously.
o Easy to download and install on many platforms, Mango provides an interface with which diverse data sources can be created and configured while providing downstream management of user access, alerts, data logging, and automation.
o Mango was used to build the screen shot above.
o OWFS is an easy way to use the powerful 1-wire system of Dallas/Maxim.
o A simple and flexible program to monitor and control the physical environment. You can write scripts to read temperature, flash lights, write to an LCD, log and graph.
o DigiTemp is a simple to use program for reading values from 1-wire devices.
o Its main use is for reading temperature sensors, but it also reads counters, and understands the 1-wire hubs with devices on different branches of the network.
o DigiTemp now supports the following 1-wire temperature sensors: DS18S20 (and DS1820), DS18B20, DS1822, the DS2438 Smart Battery Monitor, DS2422 and DS2423 Counters, DS2409 MicroLAN Coupler (used in 1-wire hubs), and the AAG TAI-8540 humidity sensor.
· http://www.klein.com/thermd/
o Now that many people have broadband, even if you do not have a static IP address (with a little free help from dyndns.org), it is easy to have your house's status available to you when away from home.
o Great for checking that the boiler is working properly in winter when pipes might freeze, or for ensuring that your refrigerator is keeping the beer cold.
o My system supports an ever-widening variety of sensors and data collectors, can alert you to "unusual" conditions (via email, pager, or syslog), and can even save you money!
o Find out how often your furnace or A/C is running, find out is the basement is flooding, if your computers are running hot, etc...
Windows possible solutions:-
· http://www.mrsoft.fi/ohj01en.htm
o LogTemp program can be used for viewing and saving of several 1-Wire temperature sensors measurements. The interval of the measurements can be adjusted.
o Measurements will be shown in day/week/month graphics. These pictures can be saved automatically using defined intervals. Last measurement values can also be saved to html-file. MySQL database could also be used for saving the measurements.
o LogTemp program can be localized to other languages very easily. All program captions, messages etc. are read from the external lng-file. Default installation installs english.lng and finnish.lng files to the program directory. Other translations can be done by using the english.lng as a reference file.
· WServer - 1-wire software for Windows
o What's this all about? :-)
I have a 1-wire Weather Station from Dallas Semiconductors on our roof. A piece of software running on one of my servers is continuously logging climate conditions, like wind (speed/direction), rainfall, relative humidity, barometric pressure and temperature (at various places around the house).
o It's also reporting some of this readings when online, to several sites around the world using FTP and HTTP posting.
o The software has evolved from a small application I made for my own 1-Wire Weatherstation, and is now available as the original, free version, which is no longer being updated, and a shareware version, with support for more types of sensors
· http://www.maxim-ic.com/products/ibutton/software/tmex/index.cfm
o 1-Wire® Drivers—Getting Started
o 1-Wire drivers allow communication between a personal computer and Maxim's 1-Wire or iButton® products, and they are provided for download free of charge. To get started, you will need the following:
o PC with Microsoft® Windows® operating system (other platforms supported in 1-Wire Software Development Kits)
o USB, RS-232 serial port, or parallel port* on your PC
o 1-Wire communication adapter to plug into your USB, RS-232 serial, or parallel port*
o Reader or Socket to connect your adapter to a iButton or 1-Wire device
o 1-Wire and/or iButton Product to communicate with
All solutions may be able to do what I need but, until I have the hardware and start to test them, all are “free” open source projects.