Energy monitor
on Web Server
LoWi3, WiFi display of the digital meter
LoWi3 gets its power from the P1 port of any Belgian or Dutch digital meter. LoWi3 reads the digital meter values every 10 seconds and stores the consumption data locally in its memory. No cabling is required*.
(*Excluding the older DSMR 4 meters from the Netherlands, order the additional P1 adapter cable here for external usb power supply).
LoWi3 is then paired with the local 2.4gHz WiFi network and thereby given a fixed IP address so that it becomes reachable from any device with web browser within this WiFi network. No software or cloud subscription is required.
Surf to this fixed IP address and you will arrive at the home page (DASHBOARD) in the LoWi3 module with live view on current consumption. LoWi3 web pages are “responsive,” the layout adapts to the user’s screen, making LoWi3 accessible from any smartphone, tablet, PC, MAC, smart TV, smart speaker,… with a web browser. The LoWi web server energy monitor® is platform independent.
LoWi3 records up to 16 energy meters and some of these “log channels” are set by default with a P1 values( import, export, gas, water,…). LoWi3 comes pre-configured and can be easily installed by anyone with basic PC knowledge.
The web server shows very detailed graphs, meter readings, energy costs, current consumption and energy tariff… with export possibility to Excel or upload to a central platform as also EnergyID.
Monitoring partial -consumption
In the SETUP web page, you can go to adjust the pre-configuration, or you can add additional meters via the Internet of Things by ordering an optional MQTT token once on the 2-wire website. With this IoT link, LoWi one can then easily monitor and or link the various meters and web servers of the same customer over long distances:
- MQTT Smart plug: monitoring consumption and energy cost of household appliances
- MQTT THEo USB stick: monitoring indoor air temperature and humidity
- MQTT web server: read and monitor log channel from other LoWi3, ReMI or MEMo3 web servers.
LoWi is extensible over the Internet for measuring partial consumptions.
Note: WiFi as well as stable internet are necessary for proper operation. In the LoWi configuration web page, the signal reception strength and Internet connection are displayed.
LoWi3 as a P1 to MQTT interface
Activation of the MQTT functionality also means that all active log channels of the LoWi3 are published to the Internet every other minute. All LoWi, ReMI or MEMo3 Web servers within this account can simultaneously pull in this data. Also external applications such as Home Assistant, OpenHAB, the Android app IoT MQTT panel, … can subscribe to this data and that, whether through their own MQTT broker or not. LoWi is linkable to other systems via MQTT.
In the figure to the left, MQTT link to an external Android APP.
The figure below shows that LoWi3 can register data from the P1 port, but at the same time receive data over the Internet from paired 2-WIRE modules with known MAC address: channel 4 of a MEMo3 , a WiFi plug, and a THEo USB stick,
all with minimal configuration.
Why LoWi
LoWi is our plug&play energy monitor for homes with a digital meter. Measure real-time consumption along with some “suspicious” sub-consumption and very quickly gain insight into the operation of home and appliances. That insight helps make the right decisions toward use or even replacement of certain devices.
The IoT functionality allows to easily connect multiple homes or buildings to each other to enable energy sharing for example, or to monitor multiple buildings centrally from a distance, or to interface values to other systems via MQTT P1, …
Nice application
Among other things, the LoWi3 stick in the garage measures current energy rate day, night or injection, and transmits it via MQTT to the THEo usb stick in the kitchen. THEo displays the current energy rate with an RGB color LED where RED=day; BLUE=night and GREEN=injection. With an adjustable threshold for peak consumption and peak injection, one can make the LED flash when consumption is too high or injection is high and know exactly too much or too little consumed.
On the other hand, THEo measures room temperature and humidity and displays them in the LoWi Web server.
VIDEO ‘ LoWi3 user interface’
Testimonial
“What was to be expected has happened: the counter is not turning back.
Why don’t you guys advertise your products en masse now? Through Facebook or I-don’t-know-what?
I have had solar panels since May, a digital counter since August or so, and a LoWi (my “Lowieke”) since early December. Even though my wife is completely a-technical (but really!!!), thanks to my Lowieke she is completely on board in a month: consume when we produce.
So again: advertise a lot, that many of those whiners also buy a Lowieke and change their lifestyles (a little) instead of spewing their bile on Facebook (although they are right about those politics, of course).
Erik”