Mark Embling

Recently I've been talking on Twitter about adding websockets support to my energy monitoring web interface. However, before I went too far down this route, I thought it was best that I revisit the current set-up and re-engineer it a bit. Otherwise I could be queuing up pain for later.

The first three parts of this series talk about the hardware and software I have set up in order to capture my energy usage. Of course, it's a good fun (and somewhat geeky) project but ultimately the aim is to help me save energy. So now it's been up and running a little while, it has yielded results which have taken a slightly unexpected turn.

In parts 1, 2 and 2a, I set up my Current Cost device and built a small app for logging all the data into a MongoDB database. It is now time to delve into displaying the data by exploring the Rails-based web front-end I have been (and continue to be) working on.

In part 2, I discussed logging the data from my Current Cost device into a MongoDB database using a small app running on my home server. It turns out I have made a glaring schoolboy error, which thankfully I have caught before it causes an actual problem. Having had some time to collect data and start analysing it, I've also found a couple of other problems as well. I thought it would be worthwhile to revisit these issues.

Following on from part 1, I am looking to reduce my energy usage through a Current Cost Envi device which allows me to capture data on my energy usage. Now that I've received my Envi and data cable, it's time to start capturing that data!

Recently I've been thinking about ways in which I can take control and save money. A good candidate for this in my view is energy consumption. It's commonly acknowledged these days that having a large carbon footprint makes you single-handedly responsible for the deaths of all polar bears and who knows what else, so it also has a nice "eco" twist as well. Extra karma points...?