tenWare Software

tenHsEcm12xx HomeSeer Devices

When the tenHsEcm12xx plugin is installed and enabled, it creates the following devices:

HS Devices

    

General Plugin Devices

General Devices

The AC Volts devices track the line voltage as measured by the ECM(s).

The Dropped Packets device counts the number of packets that were broadcast from tenEcmServer but not processed by the tenHsEcm12xx plugin.  A few dropped packets per hour should not be a concern.  The Brultech ECM-12xx transmits accumulated values that are used to compute energy consumption between individual measurements.  Missing measurements in between have no affect on the calculations.  This count is reset each time HomeSeer is restarted.

 

Main Power Channels

Main Power Channels

There are two main power channels for each ECM.  Channels 1 and 2 from the first ECM and Channels 3 and 4 from the second ECM.  Each channel has three measures: Watts, Polar Watts, and Amps.  For instance, the three devices for Channel 3 are: Ch3 Watts, Ch3 Polar Watts, and Ch3 Amps.  The HomeSeer Devices that track the Watts for each channel can be renamed to something more meaningful.  For example, Device #1 has been renamed from Ch1 Watts to Whole House and Ch2 Watts has been renamed to Kitchen Oven.  The Options Page is used to rename the Devices - Do Not Rename the Devices from the HomeSeer Status Page!  The Polar Watts measures are used to determine the flow of energy from/to the grid for installations that are generating their own power.  The power values for each channel are expressed in Watts and are measured by dividing the Watt-Seconds measured over the last recording period by the number of Seconds in the recording period.  The Amperage devices are computed in much the same way.

 

Auxiliary Power Channels

Aux Devices

The newer ECM-1240 provides 5 additional channels that are not available on the ECM-1220.  These devices values are also calculated and expressed in Watts.  Aux1 Watts through Aux5 Watts are from the first ECM and Aux6 Watts through Aux10 Watts are from the second ECM.  Note that Aux1, Aux2, Aux3, Aux6, and Aux7 have been renamed.

 

Accumulated Devices

Accumulated Devices

These devices provide the raw accumulated values from the ECMs.  To compute energy consumption, you must use delta values from two different points in time. The DeviceStrings contain the raw data in watt-seconds.  The DeviceValues contain the computed kilowatt-hours.

 

Computed Energy Devices

Monthly Energy Consumption Devices

From the Options Page, you can specify which channel(s) measure the energy flow from or to the power grid.  You also specify which of the 14 channels, if any, measure the energy generated (solar panels, windmill, etc.). From these specifications and the channels' values, three HomeSeer Devices are computed.  Generated Energy will be the same as the channel that you specify that measures the generated energy. Net Energy is calculated using the Watts and Polar Watts channel(s) that are specified as measuring the energy flow to/from the power grid.  This will be a positive number if energy is being pulled from the grid, and a negative number if you are generating power onto the grid.  Total Energy is the amount of energy used both from the power grid and from the generating capacity.  It is computed as Total Energy = Generated Energy + Net Energy.

 

Monthly Energy Consumption Devices

Monthly Energy Consumption Devices

These devices track the accumulated energy consumption in kilowatt-hours and the cost in dollars for both the current month and the last month. The cost is computed using the parameters set from the options pages.  The This Month device values are copied into the Last Month devices at the end of each billing period.  You specify the day of the month that the billing period starts from the Options Page.  All of these values should accumulate accurately, even if HomeSeer and/or the tenEcmServer program are stopped for brief or prolonged periods during the month.  Because all calculations are based upon the differences in accumulated ECM values between two points in time, it is only critical that HomeSeer and the tenHsEcm12xx plugin are running when the month changes (at midnight).