EKM Meter Communication options?

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1ddcguy
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Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 3:07 pm

EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by 1ddcguy »

is there any way to communicate with an EDS25 via HVAC communication protocol> BACnet, LONworks, MODBUS, or any common drivers? I use BACnet now in my home VIA Johnson Controls NCE25. Any suggestions? I do have the Iserial but would prefer to trend the data from the EDS 25 via my server. :?: :?: :?:
Jameson
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Re: EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by Jameson »

There are a couple options for you:

1... You can use the v.2 RS-485 protocol found here: http://documents.ekmmetering.com/Meter_ ... AMR_v2.pdf

This is a simple request response string that returns most of the data that is stored inside of the meter. If you use our free software and a serial sniffer software it will simplify your job to be able to "see" the request and response. The v.2 meter protocol uses a Mod 128. We use software called "Advanced Serial Port Monitor" to "see" or "sniff" the serial traffic.

30 represents a 0, 31 represents a 1, 32 represents a 2, etc.

2... The better option will be to use our forthcoming EKM Push system. It cannot be used with your v.2 meter (EKM-Omnimeter v.3 only) but will be the most powerful if you want to get your meter data onto your server.

The EKM Push System uses our EKM-OmniMeters for metering, but instead of having to send requests from a computer and having the meter respond over the network, the EKM Push gateway handles all of the meter communication, parses the meter data, and inserts the reads into a central database. This completely eliminates all of the configuration issues of firewalls, dynamic IP, and having a computer running all the time to make it happen. Data is available seamlessly and immediately from a known, fixed location. Up to 256 EKM-Omnimeters can be daisy chain connected to each EKM Push on up to 4000 feet of wire. The entire system has been designed to be a robust metering system, with an easy plug-and-play installation.

We are focusing on providing our customers with easy access to their data.

If this of interest to you, take a look at this data from live meters that are spread all over the world:

http://collector3.ekmmetering.com

The sample Group ID is: 2 and the Password is: 54321
Firefox works well for viewing


Good meters to check out: 10068


These are rudimentary graphs meant to convey the abilities of this new system.


You can change the number of reads to 360 or 720 to see more history

--------
Or this web data dump:


http://collector3.ekmmetering.com/10068 ... Mjo1NDMyMQ

--------
Or in Linux command line or Mac OSX Terminal (this is a curl command for 300 reads from meter 10068, this is useful for developers, be sure to include "curl" first):

curl http://collector3.ekmmetering.com/10068 ... Mjo1NDMyMQ

I will paste is an example of what this command line curl data looks like below (this much data takes about 1/2 second to retrieve).
--------
Here is a widget we have been working on that is using live EKM Push Data (doesn't yet work with Internet Explorer 8). We can share the code for this if you are interested: http://widget.ekmmetering.com/10068/


Our intent is not to get into the data business, but to provide the end user with the data and let them do what they want with it, whether it be nice dashboards, billing systems, or other kinds of reports. We will be providing some minimal user interface. But the idea is that for anyone who wants more than that, they will retrieve the data from our server on a regular schedule, we'll dump the data once it's confirmed that the data has been transferred, and they'll do what they need to with the data. At the level of 1 minute read intervals with one day retention, our plan is to provide the data for free. This system was designed and built for us by a brilliant software/hardware engineer, and his forte is reliability. We're extremely pleased and excited by how robust this system is, and how fast it responds. I really believe that this will give us a huge advantage in terms of making our meters a really compelling product.

If you have any questions, or need anything at all, please let us know.

Thanks,
Last edited by Jameson on Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:28 am, edited 6 times in total.
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
1ddcguy
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 3:07 pm

Re: EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by 1ddcguy »

Jameson, thank you for the information i would be curious to persue the push option and widget for a Windows 7 OS with IE8. I would also suggest that your team consider either a cost effective convertor (MODBUS to X, where X is BACnet or LONworks for instance) or a flash upgrade (best solution) to allow your products to reach a wider base of commercial customers. The HVAC world offers many metering solutions but at a much higher cost than EKM. I think EKM could do so much more as an Enhanced capable meter offering but falls short using the dated MODBUS protocol. In todays world many HVAC systems are capable of easily using the data available from your meters and those devices would be a no brainer for mid to large sites. Just sayin... :ugeek:
Jameson
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Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Re: EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by Jameson »

Very interesting.

We like the idea and this could be a solution we would consider in the future, but at this point we are focusing on getting you the data to the web (which is ultimately where you need it in most cases) in a format you can easily use. In this way we essentially skip over the need for BACnet, MODBUS or LONworks. By having the data you need in an easily digestible format on the web it would then be easiest to convert an manipulate this data to work with your BACnet or LONworks system.

Let me know if this is a bad assumption, we understand that the utility of the EKM Push pushing data to the web would not hold up if you were to use a PLC to control based on direct RS-485 data. If you are interested in this direct to PLC approach, we would be happy to share the meter RS-485 protocol with you.

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Regards,

Jameson
P.S. I just fixed some links in the earlier post. :oops:
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
1ddcguy
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 3:07 pm

Re: EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by 1ddcguy »

I wish more companies had the vision and simple idea of listening to your customer and providing a forum to at least hear the customer. I would do bussiness with you on that alone. Im a DOD NAVY civilian at a 140 building fully networked site. Anyway it would be good to consider and your right "most" small or residential sites would be served well by an internet solution. But for solid HVAC penatration a local solution is a must. Just keep the idea in mind it may serve you well to consider it. As for the protocol i would love to get anything useful and may be able to do some "field testing" on my own units. I plan to get a V.3 Omni to play with soon. :mrgreen:
Jameson
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:42 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Re: EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by Jameson »

Yes you are right the customer feedback we get is essential for guiding the direction that we take here at EKM. If you have any more ideas or feature requests, please let us know.

Here is a link to the string parsing for the v.3 meters: http://documents.ekmmetering.com/Meter_ ... ter_v3.pdf


This is a simple request response string that returns most of the data that is stored inside of the meter. If you use our free software and a serial sniffer software it will simplify your job to be able to "see" the request and response in ASCII or preferably Hex. The last 2 bytes are a CRC-16 checksum.

Hex character 30 represents a 0, 31 represents a 1, 32 represents a 2, etc.

We have had others parse this data for use with their PLCs.

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Regards,
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
Wouter
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 11:37 am

Re: EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by Wouter »

"Up to 256 EKM-Omnimeters can be daisy chain connected to each EKM Push"

What is an EKM Push? Is this hardware or software?

Wouter
Jameson
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Re: EKM Meter Communication options?

Post by Jameson »

Hello Wouter,

Thanks for asking! We are really excited about the EKM Push System.

The EKM Push System is our forthcoming hardware and database solution. This is a circuit board that we have developed that is designed to be a replacement for our EKM-iSerial. It will make setting up your meter communications as easy as connecting the RS-485 communication wire to your EKM-Omnimeters (up to 256) and to your EKM Push gateway and connecting the EKM Push hardware gateway to an ethernet connection. The EKM Push will instantly start reading all of your meters, it will parse this data and clean it up, it will then insert the data into a central database. There is no network configuration required.

It is then a very easy matter to access this meter data. We are working with developers and energy service providers to develop software solutions that will gather this easy to access meter data. They will be making energy display software, submetering and sub-billing software, controlling their car-charging networks, or whatever other uses they or their customers require. This is a real paradigm shift in how meter data is going to be collected and displayed, it is really the future of metering.

We are very open to how you access this data and how you display it. We can provide 1 minute read intervals for FREE!

We have not released the EKM Push yet simply because we are still in the last stages of development. But if you are willing to work with us (expect a few hiccups) we have EKM Push gateways available that will work with your EKM Omnimeters: http://www.ekmmetering.com/push-communications

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Thanks,
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
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