Dashboard and Dashbox

[joehuber]

I've searched for info on Dashboard and Dashbox and haven't been able to find much. I did find the Dashbox manual which does a great job describing the hardware but has virtually no info on what it's intended to do!! I'm considering a Dashbox to monitor a GEM and I have the following questions:

- Where can I learn more about what a Dashbox does?
- Is there a live demo site anywhere?
- How much does it cost, and how do I add one to my GEM order?
- Assuming there's some kind of data storage, how long does it last and can it be expanded? How?
- How does Dashbox compare with the GEM plugin for Homeseer?
- Does SEG need a Dashbox to buffer the data? (I've seen mixed opinions.)

If it's reasonably priced, I could just buy one and figure out most of the other questions. But Dashbox info is surprisingly well hidden.

[Teken]

I've searched for info on Dashboard and Dashbox and haven't been able to find much. I did find the Dashbox manual which does a great job describing the hardware but has virtually no info on what it's intended to do!! I'm considering a Dashbox to monitor a GEM and I have the following questions:

- Where can I learn more about what a Dashbox does?
- Is there a live demo site anywhere?
- How much does it cost, and how do I add one to my GEM order?
- Assuming there's some kind of data storage, how long does it last and can it be expanded? How?
- How does Dashbox compare with the GEM plugin for Homeseer?
- Does SEG need a Dashbox to buffer the data? (I've seen mixed opinions.)

If it's reasonably priced, I could just buy one and figure out most of the other questions. But Dashbox info is surprisingly well hidden.

Ben can answer the rest of the questions for you.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/show ... stcount=74

Teken . . .

[joehuber]

Tekken

Thanks for the link to your amazingly helpful site. I'd seen a lot of it before but hadn't come across the Dashbox specific area. That helps fill in some of the hardware questions, but still leaves open the whole area of software reporting, tables and graphs.

- Can I see kWh used Today, This Week, Monthly, Yearly by circuit monitored?
- Can I see a line graph of kWh used per circuit and is the time scale selectable over that same range?
- Can I aggregate circuits together and see their combined totals over the same timeframes?
- I have a 400 amp service panel so it would be difficult to install CTs on the large bus bars. Can I get the total house consumption by adding together the monitored circuits instead of directly monitoring the the main panel feed?
- To help with ToU rate analysis, is the any ability to see yearly or monthly kWh totals for each of the 24 hours in a day? e.g. "Over the course of a year how much energy is consumed between noon and 1 PM" for each hour.
- For things that aren't already provided, how accessible is the data base?
- Can the Dashbox run user supplied analytics code?

[joehuber]

OH, and most importantly... How much does a Dashbox cost and how do I include it on my GEM order since sit doesn't seem to be on the Brultech online store?

[Teken]

Tekken

Thanks for the link to your amazingly helpful site. I'd seen a lot of it before but hadn't come across the Dashbox specific area. That helps fill in some of the hardware questions, but still leaves open the whole area of software reporting, tables and graphs.

The link I provided was just a snap shot. You will want to review the entire thread after that post as it provides all of the relevant graphs / charts.

- Can I see kWh used Today, This Week, Monthly, Yearly by circuit monitored?

Yes

- Can I see a line graph of kWh used per circuit and is the time scale selectable over that same range?

Yes

- Can I aggregate circuits together and see their combined totals over the same timeframes?

Yes

- I have a 400 amp service panel so it would be difficult to install CTs on the large bus bars. Can I get the total house consumption by adding together the monitored circuits instead of directly monitoring the the main panel feed?

Not sure what the best way to do this besides manually adding up the totals. I would ask you to wait for Ben's reply in regards to this question.

- To help with ToU rate analysis, is the any ability to see yearly or monthly kWh totals for each of the 24 hours in a day? e.g. "Over the course of a year how much energy is consumed between noon and 1 PM" for each hour.

The DB will allow you to select bar graph (kwh), line graph (watts), line graph (amps) line graph (real time watts) which you can select daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. The graphs will show the data for the 24 hour period.

- For things that aren't already provided, how accessible is the data base?
- Can the Dashbox run user supplied analytics code?

Ben will need to provide you the insight to those two questions. Having said that, the DB provides a wealth of (accurate) information in one small web based system which is accessible from anywhere.


Teken . . .

[Teken]

OH, and most importantly... How much does a Dashbox cost and how do I include it on my GEM order since sit doesn't seem to be on the Brultech online store?

When you submit your order to Brultech. Leave a message for (Tammy) that you wish to purchase the Dash Box.

You will need to decide how you wish to integrate the DB to the GEM. I elected to use the serial cable (STS Cable).

As this ensures a rock solid connection to the GEM and not worry about network drop outs or wireless issues.

The unit costs aprox $260.XX before shipping, keeping in mind all of the capabilities and features it provides to the end user.

If you would like to navigate to my site please send me a PM. Ben has a test DB also so please let him know if you wish to see it.

Teken . . .

[ben]

- For things that aren't already provided, how accessible is the data base?
- Can the Dashbox run user supplied analytics code?

There's an undocumented API user I can provide access for those who want to code something custom that can access the DashBox. The user only has basic SELECT privileges.

There's also a section of the Dashboard that you can use to request custom data.

Ben

[jloram]

This is very educational content and written well for a change. It’s nice to see that some people still understand how to write a quality post!

Must be more spam....

[67stang]

Well, if it is spam, at least it's well disguised and " on topic ". Have no idea how many other forums you interact with, but many posts are seemingly written by individuals lacking the basic concept of grammar and sentence structure. I'm of the opinion that the " reply " in question was sincere.

[ben]

Definitely a bot, you can usually tell when the user has 1 post and it's a generic response that could apply to any forum post. They're getting a lot better at disguising themselves.

Another common method they use is to copy a post off the forums and use it to reply to an existing post with that as their response. A lot of the time they end up bumping old posts however.

A more concrete way is when you look up their username: https://www.google.ca/search?q=SamCutee44 and you see a bunch of forum accounts. Or, compare their IP to an anti-spam database.

Ben