As "green" power production from sun and wind increases, electrical grids can find themselves with a big problem: too much electricity at once.
Solar and wind power generation work when the sun shines and the wind blows. But those hours are not necessarily when electrical demand is highest.
Topics: Energy management, Case studies, Videos, groov, Internet of Things, Remote monitoring, IoT, optonews, Integrators, OptoNews 2016-02-03
In automation, proportional integral derivative (PID) control loops are common, useful, and tricky to get right.
Each loop is different and each requires individual tuning for maximum effectiveness.
Now here's a new tool to help you tune your PID control loops: our online PID Control Loop Tuner.
Topics: Energy management, Process control, optonews, Integrators, Building management, OptoNews 2016-01-06
Suppose you have an analog input—maybe it's a flow meter, for example—and you want to know not only the current flow rate, but also the cumulative flow over time.
How many gallons went through that pipe over the last 24 hours, or over the last month?
If you're using an Opto 22 analog input module and PAC Control, you're in luck.
Topics: Energy management, Process control, Tips, optonews, I/O, PAC Project, OptoNews 2015-12-02
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
You've heard us talk about how you can monitor and control your Modbus/TCP devices from a groov mobile operator interface on your tablet or smartphone.
But what if your Modbus device uses a serial link?
Topics: Energy management, Videos, groov, Remote monitoring, optonews, Integrators, Building management, OptoNews 2015-09-23
In the last OptoNews we talked about using date and time in PAC Control. (If you haven't seen the post, be sure to check out its links to useful resources.)
Meanwhile, Opto 22 customer Philip Spigelmire was busy writing a scheduling subroutine for his HVAC system. His subroutine handles:
Topics: Energy management, Tips, optonews, PACs, PAC Project, Building management, OptoNews 2015-09-09
Communicate with your smart HART® (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) devices with these two HART SNAP I/O modules—an input and an output.
HART is the most widely used digital communications protocol in process automation, so you'll find plenty of devices you can monitor and talk to using these modules.
Both I/O modules have channel-to-channel isolation and carry a lifetime warranty.
Topics: Energy management, Process control, optonews, I/O, HART, OptoNews 2015-08-26
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
Do what when:
In last week’s blog we covered how to set the real time clock (RTC) in a PAC Controller with an accurate time server over the Internet using SNTP.Now that our controller knows exactly what time it is, how do we turn on that pump at 6:00 a.m. on the dot?
Like most aspects of programming, there are a few different ways to achieve the same result, so join me in this week’s blog while we look at one way to manage real-time scheduling.
Topics: Energy management, Process control, groov, Internet of Things, Tips, IoT, PACs, PAC Project
A warm (!) welcome to Albireo Energy, a new OptoPartner focused on intelligent buildings and energy efficiency.
Albireo Energy helps building owners and managers all over the U.S. to improve efficiency, optimize safety and up time, and reduce operational costs—while improving comfort for building tenants.
Topics: Energy management, optonews, Integrators, OptoNews 2015-08-12, Building management