New office space and new hardware units

The next chapter sees us transferring from self-assembly through-hole kits to pre-assembled ready to go hardware units. This is a step change for us, making it easier to get systems up and running and onto the application (data visualisation and analysis) stage faster. From a Megni (business) point of view we're moving into a new office space and have got some extra pairs of hands helping us out. 

The OpenEnergyMonitor system as a whole can be thought of  as a toolkit for exploring sustainable and efficient energy in our buildings; a toolkit that helps us make informed decisions based on real data and in depth understanding rather than hear-say and overstated product brochures.

emonTx Arduino Shield V2 SMT due to launch in the shop beginning of December

OpenEnergyMonitor fits into and is part of the realisation of the smart, efficient low energy home vision.

The toolkit involves sensor nodes that are placed around a building that record data about the building's operation: its use of electricity, its thermal performance and humidity. The data from these sensors feed directly into visualisation tools as well as being integrated into building energy models that help make sense of this data.

The first part of this work is the monitoring and modelling layer providing you with information that can inform action, whether that's changing a fridge or lighting technology or adjusting heating patterns.

The second part is to integrate control, e.g. controlling a heat pump to heat a building using the most efficient heating pattern. That said, the first part is also control in a sense as it involves informing the user to then instigate some action.

Lots of exciting things to work on in 2014 and beyond! Let's finish with a nostalgic look back at our old lab space where the project was first conceived back in 2009..lots of happy memories: