How are the Brultech Energy Meters working out with ISY?

[TJF1960]

I have been curious to hear how the meters were working with the ISY system. There haven’t been any new posts so I thought I would ask.

 

How are some of you utilizing the meters and how are they working out with the ISY and your programs?

 

I still need to do some research into their product options, I am not to sure which way to go would be best. I can run a cat 5 from the power panel to the network switch fairly easily, or go wireless.

 

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Tim

[bpwwer]

I have been curious to hear how the meters were working with the ISY system. There haven’t been any new posts so I thought I would ask.

 

How are some of you utilizing the meters and how are they working out with the ISY and your programs?

 

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Tim

 

Tim,

 

I'll explain how I have it hooked up, how it works, and why it's useless for me

 

I have a serial ECM-1220 that's hooked up in a net metering configuration. Channel 1 is monitoring the power feed to the house, channel 2 is monitoring the output of an inverter (solar). I have ECMServer (software I wrote that's available on the BrulTech site) running on a windows box connected to the ECM-1220. One of the features of ECMServer is that it can make a serial ECM look like a network ECM.

 

The ISY is configured to poll ECMServer for the data the same way it would be configured to poll an actual network connected ECM.

 

The ISY is reading the data and makes it available for use in programs, through the REST interface, and via the subscription channel to other clients (HA Plug-ins, TouchSwitch, etc.).

 

From my electricty page:

 

* Current usage 5231.0668 Watts

* Total usage 442.8146 kWh

* Voltage 123 Volts

* Current 79.3799 Amps

 

The numbers are correct although completely meaningless for my setup. The power values and current values are channel 1 + channel 2. So right now, with the solar array producing about 5.2kW, that's all I get displayed, nothing to do my current energy use (really < 1kW). After the sun goes down I'll get actual usage since channel 2 will drop to zero.

 

So if you want to monitor total power consumption or power consumption on a specific load, it would work really well. But it can't really handle anything more complex.

[TJF1960]

 

Tim,

 

I'll explain how I have it hooked up, how it works, and why it's useless for me

 

 

Hi Bob,

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

So as I understand it, in your situation you would like the ISY to be able to display multiple channels, say your power usage from the utility, and at the same time your solar output? Then the data from ch1 and ch2 could be analyzed and programs written and executed depending on the situation? For example you could cut back the AC if the solar output decreased for what ever reason. Or if you go over a certain kw limit you could cut back on certain lighting or appliances.

 

I take it that this a limitation of the ISY? Does the data from the ECM contain data from both channels? Is it a matter of modifying the program in the ISY to poll both channels and display the data?

 

Thanks,

Tim

[bpwwer]

Hi Bob,

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

So as I understand it, in your situation you would like the ISY to be able to display multiple channels, say your power usage from the utility, and at the same time your solar output? Then the data from ch1 and ch2 could be analyzed and programs written and executed depending on the situation? For example you could cut back the AC if the solar output decreased for what ever reason. Or if you go over a certain kw limit you could cut back on certain lighting or appliances.

 

I take it that this a limitation of the ISY? Does the data from the ECM contain data from both channels? Is it a matter of modifying the program in the ISY to poll both channels and display the data?

 

Thanks,

Tim

 

Tim,

 

Right, If I could see each channel separately, I could try to make use of the data. The way it is now, it's not at all useful for me so I haven't really thought about what I could do based on the data. Right now I do a lot of monitoring and I've reduced our usage quite a bit. I'm not sure I want "enforced" reductions

 

The ECM-1220 outputs the data for each channel (and also some information to get directionality, which is important in my configuration). The ECM-1240 has 7 channels of data. It's the ISY that combines channels 1 and 2.

 

Michel will probably respond and I can't speak for UDI, but they are aware of the limitations. My guess is that there's not been a huge demand for this so the priority is low. What they have right now works very well, although limited.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi All,

 

We'll be starting a project to support ECM1240 shortly.

 

Please note that when we first added support for 1220, we were simply trying to test the market and, lo and behold, we got only one order! As such, all development/enhancement stopped on this project. Now we are getting more and more requests for supporting ECM1240 and thus the priority has moved up.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[RatRanch]

Hi all,

 

I just installed a Brultech ECM-1240. There isn't too much information about the Electricity module in the wiki yet, so I wanted to share some observations and also ask for clarification on a few things. Lacking complete documentation, this is my understanding:

 

1. The current 2.7.x ISY firmware appears to rely on the ECMServer software that Bob wrote (thanks Bob ), i.e., ISY cannot talk directly to an ECM-1220 or ECM-1240 device; you need to have a Windows computer on the network running ECMServer. Please confirm.

 

2. In the Electricity configuration panel, one must specify the URL of the Windows computer that is running ECMServer (not the IP address of the ECM itself) using the format: http://192.168.x.x:8084 (assuming ECMServer is listening on port 8084, which is the default). Again, not documented, but this seems to work.

 

3. ISY-99 and ECM-1240 appear to be compatible (tested configuration: ISY firmware 2.7.4, ECMServer 1.0.0.4, ECM-1240 firmware 1.015). However, not all features of the ECM-1240 are supported, most notably the AUX inputs that allow monitoring of up to 5 additional loads. Essentially, the current ISY firmware gathers identical information from models ECM-1220 and ECM-1240.

 

Hoping this and subsequent discussion will help anybody considering a Brultech ECM and/or ISY Electricity module and also the requirements gathering for future enhanced ECM-1240 support.

 

Oh, and BTW, according to the Brultech ECM, my house eats 6+ Amps at idle, when nobody is home and no major appliances or A/C are running. Gotta work on isolating the source(s) of that!

 

Thanks,

-Jim

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Jim,

 

 

Thanks so very much for the update.

 

Clarifications:

1. NO. ISY does not need Bob's server. ISY can natively communicate with ECM1220 BUT not ECM1240

2. We do have plans to support 1240 with all its inputs but I cannot commit on a date

 

Thanks again and with kind regards,

Michel

[bpwwer]

Hi Jim,

 

I've worked with Brultech a bit so I'll add some more details to Michel's response.

 

1. The current 2.7.x ISY firmware appears to rely on the ECMServer software that Bob wrote (thanks Bob ), i.e., ISY cannot talk directly to an ECM-1220 or ECM-1240 device; you need to have a Windows computer on the network running ECMServer. Please confirm.

Brultech has a number of different interface options for the ECM-1220 and ECM-1240. One of those options is the EtherPort, which gives the device a network interface. The ISY can communicate directly with a ECM-1220 (and probably an ECM-1240) that has an EtherPort without using the ECMServer software. The ECMServer software emulates the EtherPort for ECM-1220 or ECM-1240's that are serial only. I haven't played with a Zigbee connected device so I'm not sure how those wouild work with an ISY.

 

2. In the Electricity configuration panel, one must specify the URL of the Windows computer that is running ECMServer (not the IP address of the ECM itself) using the format: http://192.168.x.x:8084 (assuming ECMServer is listening on port 8084, which is the default). Again, not documented, but this seems to work.

If the ECM is connected to an EhterPort and the EtherPort is configured to act as a server, you should be able to enter that address directly into the ISY's configuration and bypass using the ECMServer software.

 

The ECM-1240 can output packets using the same format that the ECM-1220 uses, but what may be happening, is that when you configure the ISY to talk to the ECM-1240 directly it is sending the new packet format and the ISY doesn't yet handle that. You might want to look at the ECM-1240 configuration software to see if it has an option to switch the packet format (I don't remember if it does off the top of my head).

 

Just FYI, the ECMServer software was a quick attempt to get something working for the ECM-1240. It's not done, but right now my efforts are focused on the HomeSeer plug-in for the ISY. At some point I'll get back to working on it (maybe even make a non-windows version).

 

Oh, and BTW, according to the Brultech ECM, my house eats 6+ Amps at idle, when nobody is home and no major appliances or A/C are running. Gotta work on isolating the source(s) of that!

 

I'm only tracking power, not current, but my house is now at about 700watts at idle (800 when the frigd kicks on, 900 when the ceiling fans are on too). You can see what it's doing now at http://www.bobshome.net/graph/energychart.php I've been able to figure out what most of the spikes are. Most major appliances have an easy to identify energy signature.

[RatRanch]

Hi Bob,

 

Thanks very much for your detailed reply. The good news is that ISY apparently does natively support a Zigbee equipped ECM-1240! (See my previous post for details about the tested configuration).

 

I used the "EtherBee Configurator" utility to change the Ethernet Mode from Client to Server. With that change made, I didn't need to do anything else to get ISY talking to the ECM-1240 except changing the url to the IP address and port of the ECM (in the format http://192.168.x.x:10003).

 

Michel: hopefully adding support for the additional inputs of the ethernet and wireless ethernet versions of the ECM-1240 won't be too complicated, since it appears that the basic plumbing is already in place.

 

Cheers,

-Jim

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Jim,

 

Thanks so very much for the update. We just initiated this project and are waiting for Brultech for some input. I am hoping the same: it should not be that difficult.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Hi Bob,

 

Thanks very much for your detailed reply. The good news is that ISY apparently does natively support a Zigbee equipped ECM-1240! (See my previous post for details about the tested configuration).

 

I used the "EtherBee Configurator" utility to change the Ethernet Mode from Client to Server. With that change made, I didn't need to do anything else to get ISY talking to the ECM-1240 except changing the url to the IP address and port of the ECM (in the format http://192.168.x.x:10003).

 

Michel: hopefully adding support for the additional inputs of the ethernet and wireless ethernet versions of the ECM-1240 won't be too complicated, since it appears that the basic plumbing is already in place.

 

Cheers,

-Jim

[dougos2]

Just wondering if there is any update on support for the ECM 1240 specifically the additional channels that it can monitor.

[mathewbeall]

I am also curious as to when the 1240 will be supported. I just got my ISY and want to get a Brultech meter, but don't want to get the 1220 if the 1240 is newer and has more features.

 

Thanks!

 

Matt

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Matt,

 

Our current schedule is for mid September 2009 but I cannot give a firm date mostly because too many things can change this date either to some time sooner or some time later.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[mathewbeall]

I have a quick question. How will the monitoring be enabled? For example, with my setup - I have tenEcmServer actually polling the 1240 and then it broadcasts out via UDP 3741 to other ancillary systems that need to play with the data (in my case, the corresponding DB and historical charting program). Hopefully there will be an option for the 99i to just feed into this data as it gets sent out.

 

Thanks!

 

Matt

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Matt,

 

ISY will communicate over the network with Brultech meters and thus you will not need anything else in between.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I have a quick question. How will the monitoring be enabled? For example, with my setup - I have tenEcmServer actually polling the 1240 and then it broadcasts out via UDP 3741 to other ancillary systems that need to play with the data (in my case, the corresponding DB and historical charting program). Hopefully there will be an option for the 99i to just feed into this data as it gets sent out.

 

Thanks!

 

Matt

[mathewbeall]

Ok - but in the standard config, the etherbee is set to "client" mode where it connects up to my pc and feeds the data to it.

 

I haven't tried "mixed" mode - but assume that is where it runs a server as well so a device (the 99i in this case) is able to pull stats from it simultaneously.

 

Matt

[bpwwer]

Ok - but in the standard config, the etherbee is set to "client" mode where it connects up to my pc and feeds the data to it.

 

I haven't tried "mixed" mode - but assume that is where it runs a server as well so a device (the 99i in this case) is able to pull stats from it simultaneously.

 

Matt

 

Hi Matt,

 

I'm not real familiar with the etherbee but I believe your understanding of "mixed" mode is correct. If the etherbee is anything like the etherport, it should allow multiple clients connections to receive data.