How do you get a variety of building systems and machinery to communicate with a central system controller, when they use different protocols? 

Swedish system integrator Processcomponent AB had to solve this problem when they installed an energy monitoring system in a large apartment building in Gothenburg. 

Topics: Energy management, Case studies, Remote monitoring, optonews, Integrators, Building management, Modbus, OptoNews 2015-11-18, M-Bus

Usually our case studies feature Opto 22 customers solving an automation problem.

But this time we're the customer. 

Some of you probably remember when we switched the groov Box from the larger GROOV-AT1 to the more compact, fanless GROOV-AR1. 

Topics: Case studies, Videos, groov, optonews, OptoNews 2015-09-09

Take a look at what Pioneer Energy is doing with waste flare gas from drilling sites. 

With Pioneer's Mobile Alkane Gas Separator (MAGS) installed on site, oil producers can add up to 30% to their revenue stream—from waste that would otherwise be burned off and lost.

Topics: Energy management, Case studies, Videos, Process control, Remote monitoring, optonews, Oil & gas, OptoNews 2015-08-26

Plan ahead to enjoy the fall color and learn about Opto 22's versatile SNAP PAC System at the same time this September.

Whether you're monitoring remote pumps and valves, tracking energy data, controlling processes in a large factory, or doing a wide variety of other automation tasks, you'll find the SNAP PAC System reliable and scalable. 

Topics: Case studies, groov, optonews, PACs, Training, OptoNews 2015-07-15, I/O

Seen from space, light from waste flare gas in the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota is nearly as bright as all the lights from the city of Chicago. 

That's a lot of energy going up in smoke.

That's a waste of resources, says Pioneer Energy President Dr. Robert Zubrin. 

Topics: Case studies, Videos, Process control, Remote monitoring, optonews, PACs, OptoNews 2015-06-17

High on the list of things you'd rather not do: clean up liquid waste from an overflowing storage tank.

Avoiding this kind of mess is especially good when your business includes storing and disposing of liquid waste from industry and manufacturing.

That's the business Plummer's Environmental Services is in.

Along with a variety of other services—including hydro excavating, manhole rehabilitation, and emergency spill response—the Michigan-based company collects liquid waste from Midwest industrial and municipal customers, stores it, and treats it.

Topics: Case studies, Water & wastewater, optonews, OptoNews 2015-04-29, Integrators

Researchers at Michigan State University Foundation's biotechnology research center rely on deionized (DI) water for their experiments.

But with a limited supply of DI water, they sometimes ran out before an experiment was completed.

Facilities Director Phil Hegge knew that the best solution was a costly upgrade to the center's ionization and filtration system. A low-cost temporary solution, however, was to give researchers up-to-the-minute data on the water supply. They could monitor the water level in the tank and know whether to reschedule an experiment.

Topics: Case studies, groov, Remote monitoring

In the Charter Township of Union, Michigan, staff used to have to travel to each equipment location to check on wells, pumping stations, and water treatment plants.

Wastewater Superintendent Michael Dearing and Chief Water Operator Shaun McBride added PCs running HMI software plus remote desktop software to view them, but it wasn't enough.

What they really wanted was a mobile solution to monitor even the smallest installations and check on key process indicators like flow, tank levels, and power consumption.

Topics: Case studies, Process control, Water & wastewater

Mike Hake was watching the trends. He saw smartphones multiplying and his spare time at work shrinking—and he thought about how a phone interface to his equipment could save time.

Hake found his smartphone solution on OptoForums, where he read that operator interfaces built in groov run in a modern web browser on almost any smartphone.

Topics: Case studies, groov, Electronics

Like most restaurants, That Bar-B-Q Place has a wide variety of systems worth automating, from refrigeration to fire alarms to security to TV menus—even to the barbecue smokers nicknamed "Jake" and "Elwood," shown at right.

But this restaurant also has an advantage: owner Dave Brosseau is an experienced systems integrator.

So when Brosseau wanted to give his staff the ability to monitor and control systems from inside the restaurant or in some cases remotely, he took a look at groov.

Topics: Case studies, Food & beverage, groov