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    • 5 December 2006 at 3:26 pm #30568
      Anonymous

        I don't know why I didn't think of posting this out on the forum earlier.
        It may have saved me and our M+E consultants a few grey hairs.

        Its seemed a simple thing to do – to install the demonstration PV (Steve Wade, Wind and Sun) , solar thermal (Eddie Tottle, Green Shop Solar) and wind turbine (I'm keeping silent on this one for now) on the environmental education centre…

        ….and then to have an integrated meter display in the new lobby so that all the children could see the readings, and work out the CO2 savings as part of their educational experience. You're with me so far, aren't you?

        So…can anyone help me find an inexpensive piece of kit that will take the meter readings from the mains and the renewables, and integrate them in a display unit?
        We want to avoid using a PC if possible (seems daft to use that much power to display CO2 savings).

        We've hunted high and low and had quotes of £5K and very much upwards.
        The budget is £2.5K. Is this unreasonable?
        I can't believe this thing is not out there somewhere…..
        …tell me where, please!!

        Thanks
        Julia

      • 5 December 2006 at 9:50 pm #33253
        Anonymous

          I would use a old laptop because of the flexibility and low power options. You need a display screen anyway so use the laptop's one and hide the keyboard behind a frame. It's fairly straightforward (for a programmer) to take the PV inverter information and the solar thermal DTC into spreadhseet or even database data. Pulsed outputs from the turbine kWhr meters can also be logged. From there you can show realtime displays and allow kids to calculate CO2. It's still a budget over a grand but probably not 5K. There are also LED displays that can be programmed to receive digital outputs. Probably a lot easier to use stand alone meters without logging/computer and let the kids gather these readings and calculate the C02 on paper.

          Ask CAT in Wales about their Eco-cabin displays which does already something very similar to what you want.

        • 11 December 2006 at 8:59 pm #33254
          SimmondsMills
          Participant

            julia
            msybe these links might give you some leads..

            http://www.procuro.co.uk/meters.htm

            http://www.bemuk.co.uk/products.htm

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