Making it easier to save energy

Fraunhofer scientists are developing programs that help show at a glance how much energy devices are consuming. At the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the researchers will be showing how a cell phone can help save energy (Hall 2, Stand E41).

Everyone wants to save energy, but there are few individuals who can tell you exactly how much energy the devices in their homes consume. For example, which consumes more power – the dishwasher or the television? To answer such questions and to give consumers a sense of where the energy guzzlers hide, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT in Sankt Augustin, Germany has developed an application that demonstrates the energy consumption of individual devices in the household. The basis for this is the “Hydra” middleware  developed by the institute which is extended by an energy protocol. A middleware reduces the workload of programmers: in Hydra’s case, by administering the communication between devices.

Fraunhofer full press release

University of Southampton build energy monitor

Using a virtual server to run Java code that collects data from the Ploggs, the Plogg API/DLL has enabled undergraduates at the University of Southampton, Electronics and Computer Science department, to generate a detailed building energy monitor. The Java code automatically generates html code that in turn generates the plots using Google Charts API. Simple bits of PHP code then allow the charts to be inserted onto the users own web pages. The University send a weekly summary email to everyone involved in the trial, and are working on a Windows Sidebar Gadget that shows consumption from the Plogg in real time.

For further information,please follow this link: University of Southampton, Electronics and Computer Science

Monitorización del consumo energético

Módulo con forma de enchufe (schuko) para medir el consumo de todo tipo de sistemas en tiempo real (potencia activa, energía activa, potencia reactiva, etc.)

Plogg: medidor energetico inalambrico

eGlue Technologies introduces eMeter

eGlue Technologies S.r.l. is a Turin-based ICT start-up that designs and develops innovative monitoring and controlling systems. The founders have worked in some Italian research centers as well as in global companies. They have always been involved in projects aiming at developing software platforms and systems enabling the creation of new services.

eMeter allows users to get the energy consumption of electrical devices connected to the power sockets, power circuit sections, lighting and air conditioning systems and to compute the energy generated by renewable sources. eMeteris powered by Plogg technology.

The system components are a wireless ZigBee monitoring network and the managing and data acquisition software eMonitor. The acquired data can also be viewed through the web interface eMeterWeb.

eGlue Technoloigies S.r.l  www.egluetechnologies.com

End-Use Metered data (EUM) in Canada

A Canadian utility company has utilised over 100 Ploggs as part of a project to attain End-Use Metered data (EUM) across a group of houses. Their aim is to learn more about load on the grid, with regard to how energy is used in the home – which requires understanding demand across the consumer base. For example, there appear to be surprise peak loads, which are as yet unexplained. In addition, the study would flag up any areas where idle appliances could be switched off, with the effect of saving energy.

The Low Carbon Innovation Network brings together over eleven thousand executives involved in reducing carbon emissions for their organisations, to share best practice and innovation in the drive to tackle climate change. This free-to-join Network provides members with opportunities to learn from one another and share their own experience for the benefit of all. All members of the Network receive a weekly Bulletin of case studies and interviews to capture and promote best practice. An extensive online archive provides a unique source of searchable content, including 300+ low carbon case studies, plus numerous other articles and interviews.

Low Carbon Innovation Bulletin full press release

iPlugMeter

ISA is an award-winning global company specialized in Telemetry and M2M (Machine to Machine) Communications. ISA is a global leader in different market segments such as: Remote Management for Utilities, including telemetry and remote metering solutions for gas, fuel, electricity and water. The products, solutions, and services offered by ISA are based on its own technology and know-how in the fields of electronics, software development, telemetry and control, which have been accumulated over the past 20 years. The ability to develop and launch innovative products into the market in a very short time is the key to ISA's international success.

iPlugMeter is an electrical socket powered by Plogg technology that monitors energy consumption in each plug individually, increasing awareness of energy waste in a low-cost manner and without any permanent installation. Plugged equipment can be switched on and off automatically through commands sent from a PC, PDA or cell-phone in order to reduce expenses and optimize efficiency.

Intelligent Sensing Anywhere www.isa.pt

Swiss research group develops 'Energie Visible' based on the Plogg

A research team from the BitsToEnergy Lab at ETH Zurich (the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) has designed and installed a public energy use demonstrator and online monitoring system based on Plogg wireless smart meter technology. Dubbed ‘Energie Visible’ (Visible Energy), the new system was commissioned by Cudrefin02, a sustainable development foundation based in Cudrefin, Switzerland.

Energie Visible monitors energy consumption of individual electrical appliances at Cudrefin02’s headquarters by Lake Neuchâtel, displaying data graphically on a large screen at the front of the building for the benefit of passers-by. Besides its public awareness function, the browser-based system gives staff easy access to energy consumption data either over the local network or the internet, helping them to make better informed decisions on efficient use of electrical appliances. As ETH researcher Dominique Guinard explains: “We were looking for a device suitable for appliance level monitoring. Although there are many companies working on smart metering at the moment, Energy Optimizers was the only one with a working off-the-shelf product that does exactly what we need.”

Using a C-based Plogg API (application programming interface) supplied by Energy Optimizers, the ETH team extended the functionality of Plogg to provide continuous measurement in near real time, and constructed a C++ Plogg gateway for automatic device discovery, management and data acquisition. The gateway delivers data in JSON (JavaScript object notation) format to an embedded open-source web server, using a low-bandwidth form of web service delivery known as REST (representational state transfer).

For information display, ETH used the Google Web Toolkit to develop a JAVA graphical interface. While the public information display at Cudrefin has room for just six graphs — one for each of four monitored appliances and the other two showing total consumption (kWh) and a comparison of the four appliances — the system allows scaling to and navigation between a larger number of Ploggs. Cudrefin02 plans to make the information display available on its website http://www.webofthings.com

Shop Direct goes hi-tech to reduce energy consumption

  - Plogg helps Shop Direct Group save £500 per fridge per year

The UK's leading online and home shopping retailer, Shop Direct Group, has gone hi-tech in a bid to reduce its energy wastage and CO2 emissions. The company has used Plogg, the plug-in wireless energy meter from Energy Optimizers, to achieve electricity savings worth £500 per year for each of the refrigerators at its new headquarters in Speke, Liverpool. The move has also reduced CO2 emissions by 22 tonnes annually

Neil Woollam, Engineering Manager at Shop Direct Group, said:“With Plogg, we were able to monitor power consumption over time and download all the data wirelessly onto a Bluetooth equipped laptop for analysis. We found that the fridges were consuming a lot of power in the evening, at night and at weekends — to no advantage at all because the canteen was not in use at these times.”

Shop Direct Group full press release

On the Web:

Bluetooth Power Meter enables wireless energy management via mobiles and PCs

http://www.wnibi.com/Building/Articles.aspx/23914
 

Energy montioring lands on phones with Plogg-Blu

http://www.smartplanet.com/news/tech/10001563/energy-monitoring-lands-on-phones-with-plogg-blu.htm

Plogg-Blu: Monitoreando tu consumo eléctrico

http://www.fayerwayer.com/2008/08/plogg-blu-monitoreando-tu-consumo-electrico/

ARUP "impressed" during evaluation of Plogg wireless energy meter

Global design and engineering consultancy Arup has been "impressed" by trials of Plogg Blu, the new Bluetooth-based wireless power meter from Energy Optimizers Ltd..

Best known for its high-profile work in the building structures sector, Arup has successfully positioned itself at the forefront of sustainability in its field. An increasing number of its clients enquire about sustainable strategies, usually involving reducing the power consumption of all or many of the electrical appliances across a site or operation. This led Justin Trevan, Consultant with Arup’s Communications — a specialist office providing ICT (Information and communications technology) services to clients — to evaluate Plogg Blu as an element in enhancing client service offerings.  

“Plogg is a very powerful tool for collecting an impressive range of power consumption data from electrical appliances, including data I would never have thought of monitoring,” said Justin Trevan. “Despite this it is very easy to use. I was particularly impressed by its read range: I could read nearly all the meters throughout the office from the laptop on my desk via Bluetooth.”

Following the evaluation, Arup will examine the viability of extending its client services in the sustainability arena.

Energy Optimizers selects Ramtron’s nonvolatile F-RAM memory for wireless energy management plug

F-RAM instead of EEPROM for Optimal Data Logging. In the Plogg, F-RAM provides fast and reliable data storage for up to 5,000 measured values and their associated date/time stamp, at intervals of one minute to one month.  When logging at one-minute intervals, the endurance limit of EEPROM is quickly reached, so an alternative nonvolatile memory technology is required. The optimal option is      F-RAM, which has virtually unlimited endurance and will not wear out.

Ramtron International Corporation (Nasdaq: RMTR), a leading developer and supplier of nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory (F-RAM) and integrated semiconductor products, today announced that UK-based Energy Optimizers Ltd......

Ramtron International Corporation full press release

ZigBee makes electric outlets smart

Using Ember’s EM250 ZigBee “system-on-chip” transceiver and EmberZNet PRO wireless mesh networking software running on a Telegesis module, a network of ploggs can self organize to provide robust coverage of the home or building. The plogg can act as an end device, a router or ZigBee coordinator. It is available as a stand-alone end-user device, or part of an energy reporting network, or as an embeddable device for OEM products.

Ember Corporation develops ZigBee wireless networking technology that enables companies involved in energy technologies – enertech – to help make buildings and homes smarter, consume less energy, operate more efficiently, and keep people comfortable and safe. Ember’s low-power wireless technology can be embedded into a wide variety of devices to be part of a self-organizing mesh network.

Ember Corporation full press_release

Plogg inventor is energy champion in international environmental awards

Energy Optimizers Ltd, developer of the Plogg wireless smart power meter, has been named Green Champion in the field of Fuel, Power and Energy at the Green Apple Awards for environmental best practice. In a prestigious awards ceremony held at the UK Houses of Parliament in London, Shaun Merrick, General Manager of Energy Optimizers, received the prize from botanist and environmental campaigner Professor David Bellamy.

Over the last 13 years, the Green Apple Awards have become established as one of the major schemes to recognize and promote environmental best practice around the world. A panel of judges, including representatives of the UK Environment Agency and the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health, chooses the winners according to a range of criteria, including environmental benefit, innovation, social and economic benefits, commitment to sustainable development, and forward vision as embodied in future development plans.

Energy Optimizers received its award for developing the Plogg range of smart power meters capable of monitoring electrical appliances wirelessly on a PC, laptop, PDA or smart phone. Using Bluetooth or Zigbee wireless technology, Plogg enables power consumption to be checked in real time, monitored over a longer period, and controlled remotely from anywhere within a building or site.

“The purpose of the Green Awards is to improve environmental performance and encourage the efficient use of resources,” said Roger Wolens of independent environmental group the Green Organisation, which organizes the awards. “Competition for this year’s awards was the toughest in 13 years, so Energy Optimizers has done particularly well to come out on top in the all important Fuel, Power and Energy category.”

Energy Optimizers General Manager Shaun Merrick commented: “I’m delighted that our efforts in developing the most fully functioned smart power meter on the market have been recognized in this way. At a time when environmental concerns and rising energy prices are causing both businesses and individuals to examine their energy use, Plogg brings the energy saving technology of tomorrow within the reach of everybody, today.”

Bluetooth power meter enables wireless energy management

The world’s first smart power meter to provide wireless data delivery to PCs, laptops and PDAs has been launched by Energy Optimizers. Plogg Blu is a simple plug-in device that allows the electricity consumption of an appliance to be checked in real time, monitored over a longer period, and even controlled remotely from anywhere within a building or site.

Connected between an electrical appliance and the mains supply, Plogg Blu combines highly accurate kilowatt-hour (kWh) measurement with a powerful data logging capability. Integrated Bluetooth delivers data to a PC, Pocket PC compatible PDA (Windows Mobile 5 or 6) or, with a software upgrade available shortly, to a Bluetooth equipped smart phone.

Energy data can be displayed in different formats and exported to Excel for further manipulation. Remote switching allows appliances to be turned off and on directly from the controlling PC or wireless device.

“Plogg is the smart energy saving technology of the future, available today,” said Shaun Merrick, General Manager of Energy Optimizers. “Even at today’s prices, it can pay for itself quickly in terms of energy savings, and its cost benefits will increase as energy prices continue to rise.”

Plogg’s simple plug-and-socket design allows easy installation even in locations with difficult access.