Process Overview

Process Overview

This page describes the intended use of eHZy and the components involved in the process. It also outlines the function of the components used in this scenario.

Modern Smart Meters provide several infrared data interfaces. On many devices, one of these infrared outputs is preconfigured to send a data packet every few seconds.

There area already a number of projects that make use of this data, like volkszaehler.org or openMUC. Most of these projects assume that a permanent data collection is possible - in other words, they assume that you are able to keep an infrared receiver permanently mounted to your Smart Meter. That receiver is then connected to some computerized equipment that collects and processes the incoming data.

However, in apartment buildings, this is frequently not an option. In many cases, the meter is mounted in some common area outside of the individual apartments. Frequently, you won't be able to get either power or a network connection from this place to wherever your other computers might be. There might be some legal or contractual restriction that doesn't allow anyone to place additional equipment in this central location, there might be not enough room - or maybe you just don't want to leave a computer in some place where other people might get physical access to it. Another common issue is that access to the meters is restricted - only very few people have a key to get into this rather critical error.

Therefore, eHZy was created to support a very different kind of process.

eHZy uses the infrared output of the Smart Meters as well. The messages are intercepted using an inexpensive mobile recording device that stores the data on a memory card. The basic idea is that one of the persons who have access to the meters can take a tour every week or month and collect the current readings. The data can then be imported into a desktop application that can decode and store the data sent by the smart meters - above all, the total consumption. In the desktop application, any number of recipients can be configured for every Smart Meter. The application can then be used to send both the current readout and a list of preceding meter values to the recipients.