Hurray! At long, LONG last the embedded C++ code for my DIY EcoManager is feature-complete! It’s hard to believe that it’s been a full two months since I started on this mission to build a DIY Current Cost receiver. Back then I thought it’d only take a couple of weeks! The last two months have been spent writing over 3,000 lines of C++, scratching my head lots over the EcoManager protocol and how to use the RFM12b wireless module. Oh, and blowing up my laptop of course. And I’ve met some really smart folks who are trying to do similar projects; without whom I honestly wouldn’t have been able to get this project done. I’ve also really gotten into using the wiki and issue tracker features on github: the integration between commits, the issue tracker and the wiki is great.

The next step is to write a Python script to log the data coming from the Nanode and keep track of which IAMs are connected to which appliance. And then either build an Open Energy Monitor to measure both real and reactive power for my whole house, or pester Ecotricity to get me on their smart meter trial.

And then, once I’ve got all my data logging kit quietly collecting data, I’ll finally be able to get cracking with my “proper” work of doing smart meter disaggregation!