Tools for analyze my heating and cooling consumption using TED

[bataradena]

I just purchased a 500-C and was looking for a tools other than TED FootPrint SW that would combined data collection from both TED plus data from my Personal Weather Station, as to have a collection of data to analyze my heating and cooling consumption during the calendar years. Are there any such tools available?

Newbie question
I did find "Third Party Applications listed" and I went to Bidgely / PlotWatt for example, and was confused about there services relating to cost. Also, what's up with asking me if I want a Demo?
What I did see from both web sites is a very fancy web. Plus, what if I'm not a Smart Phone User and would like to use a PC? I don't understand and need help understanding if there are any sw providers that can import TED data with a list of sw-options including upfront costs.
Respectfully the Newbie.

[pfletch101]

I have been programming computers since the 1980s, so I have written my own desktop application to do this. I have a Davis VP2+ PWS and an independent WiFi sensor to monitor indoor temperature and humidity values, as well as a WiFi HVAC thermostat, the settings on which the computer application can (and does) fine tune. My utility recently installed a Smart Meter, which is now also hooked in. Data from my TED and the other sensors is stored in Access data tables, and I use Access and Excel to manipulate it. There is really nothing like my system commercially available out there - mainly, I think, because people who are interested in this sort of thing tend to have strong views about how they want to collect and process the available data, and there isn't enough consensus to build a commercial product on. If programming isn't your thing, I probably can't be of much help to you. If it is, I can share some of the concepts and probably some of the code I have developed.

[tlveik]

Are you able to communicate with the Davis or its sensors with a program that you write to get the temp/humidity etc readings?  That's what I'd like to do.  I bought a temp/humidity sensor from Omega several years ago but it didn't take long and its humidity readings were wrong (too high).

[pfletch101]

Are you able to communicate with the Davis or its sensors with a program that you write to get the temp/humidity etc readings?  That's what I'd like to do.  I bought a temp/humidity sensor from Omega several years ago but it didn't take long and its humidity readings were wrong (too high).

Yes. Obviously you need to need to have a serial or USB Weatherlink logger (or equivalent) connecting your PWS and your computer, as you do if you want to access it directly from Weather Station applications. Davis has published (but doesn't really support  a DLL and some notes which allow access to essentially all of the station's and logger's data and functionalities for .NET programs. The DLL and notes were originally intended for use with applications written in C++.Net, and I imagine that they work in that environment; while one of their coders made an attempt to convert the header file to make the DLL usable from VB.Net, it wasn't a very good attempt! I have cleaned up their VB.Net coding, and now have everything working in a VB.Net application.

While the Davis hardware is very good as far as the outdoors measurements are concerned, there are some serious issues (having to do with internal heat production distorting temperature and humidity readings) around its console temperature and humidity measurements. If you want to monitor indoor temperature and humidity accurately, I think that you need to use a separate sensor system, and I do.

[tlveik]

VB.net is what I know so that is what I would use if I can.  Sounds interesting, I may look into that.  What is the separate sensor that you use?

Tom

[tlveik]

Sorry I don't have a good answer for bataradena.  The only third party app I use is Plot Watt.  That gives me access to some of my data when I'm away from home.  Hmmm.  I haven't checked it in a while.  It seems to have lost my account.

Tom

[pfletch101]

What is the separate sensor that you use?

Tom

Lascar Electronics WiFi TH-Sensor - see http://www.lascarelectronics.com/data-logger/el-wifi-datalogger.php. Unfortunately, there is no published API, so I had to rely on a combination of reverse-engineering their software and snooping on its communications to learn how to talk to it directly. They are working on an API, but this will require that you link your device to their cloud site, which I didn't want to do - the to be published API will talk to the cloud server, not to the local device. It is also not cheap, but it does the job well.

[tlveik]

Thanks for the info.  I'll take a look.