Holmes Manual

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holmes

HELLO. MY NAME IS

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Contents

Introducing holmesSystem requirements

Quick start guideGlossaryThe holmes pageData collectionAccountUsageNew things in holmes

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Introducing holmes

Hello. My name is holmes. Together with wattson, I helpyou keep track of the electricity you use around your home,

how much youve spent, and how your energy use affectsthe environment. Use me correctly, and I can help you savemoney as well as doing your bit to save the planet.

I work with wattson 01, Wattson Silverlining, Wattson Solarand Wattson XL.

Ive been developed by DIY Kyoto exclusively for their

customers. Put simply, I turn all that data which wattsoncollects into graphs and charts to make it easier for you tounderstand how your home uses electricity. I work on bothPCs and Macs, so whatever computer you have, youll be ableto use me in exactly the same way.

System requirementsI dont need much to run properly on your computer. Beforeyou install me, just make sure that your computer has atleast these specications:

Apple Macintosh

Power Macintosh G3OSX 10.4 or later128 MB RAM20 MB of available disk spaceFree USB port

Windows PCWindows XP, Pentium III

128 MB RAM20 MB of available disk spaceFree USB port

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Quick start guide

Now that wattson and I are in your home, youll be itchingto start using us straightaway. This quick guide will help you

get started with the minimum of fuss. Of course, youll wantto read the rest of this User Guide, as well as the OwnersManual which came with wattson just to make sure youredoing everything properly to get the best out of us both.

If you are upgrading your old holmes software, theinstructions are just the same as for a new installation. Yourold data will be safe and will be read by the new holmes

software.

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Depending on the type of computer you have, start by doingthe following:

Apple Macintosh

1 / Download the holmes software at www.diykyoto.com2 / Uncompress the zip archive3 / Double-click to mount the image le4 / Double-click Install holmes and follow the on-screeninstructions

5 / The holmes folder will be opened at the end of theinstall process

Windows PC

1 / Download the holmes software at www.diykyoto.com2 / Uncompress the zip archive3 / Run the holmes installer executable

4 / Follow the on-screen instructions to install holmes5 / A shortcut will be placed on your desktop6 / At the end of the install process, a separate driverinstaller will be run. Press enter to close the window once itsays the driver has been successfully installed.

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Running Holmes or the frst time

1 / Run the holmes software2 / When you rst use me, youll see my welcome screen.Before collecting any readings from wattson, I need yourcurrent electricity rate so make sure youve got a recentelectricity bill handy.3 / You can either enter a single at rate, which will beused to calculate costs for all electricity usage day ornight, or you can click on Advanced Rates and enter muchmore specic rates for day and night and the periods atwhich these apply. Using Advanced Rates will produce moreaccurate cost calculations.

4 / Once youve entered your rates, click Save and apply.This will save your rates to your computer for later use.5/ You can also turn to the Options tab to set your time zoneand change the displayed currency for wattson.6/ You now have access to all the other functions I have tooffer.

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Connecting wattson

1 / Plug wattson into a free USB port on your computer2 / If Im not running, start me up and Ill begin collectingdata automatically3 / If Im already running, just click Collect Now4 / My collection window will pop up to show you howthings are progressing5 / If readings are available, Ill ask if you want to proceed.Click Yes.

Dont worry if I cant nd wattson at the rst try, I amsearching through all the ports congured in your computer.

If I cant nd wattson try one more time before asking forhelp.Thats the quick way to start using wattson and me. Nowread the rest of this User Guide for full details of what I doand how I do it.

Upgrading holmes from an older version

When upgrading it may take a few moments to convert yournew settings, so be patient. The installation wizard will askyou whether you want to enter your time based tariff (if youhave one) and also change your time zone and currencysettings.

Moving holmes to another computer

In order to move your data to another computer, you need tosave two les (data.db and prefs) from your old computerand place them on your new computer. This is best doneafter you have installed holmes on your new computer,but before you connect it to wattson. This is so that youcan identify where holmes places these les on your newcomputer, as it varies between different operating systems.

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Glossary

There are some terms used in this User Guide which youmay not be familiar with. This glossary will help you to

understand whats meant by each one.

EnergyThis refers to the total amount of energy used in a giventime period and is measured in kilowatthours (kwh). Mostelectricity tariffs are calculated using a cost per kwh basis.

PowerPower is the way we measure how quickly energy is beingused. A high-powered appliance such as a heater consumesenergy more quickly than a night light, for instance.

CostThis is the cost of the energy used in a given time period,and its calculated based on the tariff set. The values from

the graph indicate how much is spent per time period(depending on the scale). It should be noted that the costsshown are estimates and are provided to give an indication

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of cost wattson and holmes are not accurate enough to beused for metering.

CO2This refers to the number of tonnes of carbon dioxidereleased into the atmosphere as a result of your electricityuse. We have used a national average of carbon dioxidereleased per kwh of electricity. Future versions of holmeswill allow you to change this value particularly relevantfor people that use green energy suppliers.

Simple RateA at rate measured in pence (or cents, etc) of how much

you pay for 1 kwh. This at rate will be applied to calculatecosts for all electricity usage, day or night.

Advanced RatesThese consist of several pieces of information and can befound on your bill. There are two types of advanced rates:time based tariffs (night and day, economy 7, peak andshoulder) and volume based tariffs (rst X kwh at Y then

further units at Z). Using advanced rates will produce moreaccurate cost calculations.

Collecting ReadingsThe process of collecting your usage readings from wattson.

Uploading ReadingsThe process of uploading your usage readings to your DIY

Kyoto account. You can view your own data online at the DIYKyoto community site. You can show people how and whenyou are saving electricity and also compare your electricityusage with other wattson owners in the next street, the nexttown or even the next country!

RangeThe time between a start and end date.

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The holmes page

When you use me, the screen youll want to look at a lotis my holmes page. Its from here that you can see all that

valuable data which wattson has been busy collecting. Itsalso the best place to start when you use me.

At the top of the holmes page, youll see a navigation barthat includes some useful information as well as somebuttons. Heres what it all means:

1 / Connect with wattsonClick this, and Ill start collecting data from wattson. See theData Collection section of this User Guide for more details.

2 / Last Upload DateHere, Ill show the last time you uploaded your usage data tothe DIY Kyoto website. See the Account section of this UserGuide for more details.

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3 / Last Collect DateThis is where youll see the last date on which I collecteddata from wattson not to be confused with the last datethat wattson collected data from your meter.

4 / Number o DaysThis is the total number of days that usage data is held.

5 / Current wattson IDYou can use me with many different wattsons so it helpsto see which one youre dealing with when looking at thedata Ive collected from him. The serial number remindsyou which wattson youre using at that moment. See how to

set your current wattson in the Account section of this UserGuide.

Youll also nd that my holmes page gives you an overviewof the readings Ive collected so far:

6 / TotalsMoney So Far - The sum of all the costs Ive collected from

wattson.kwh So Far - The sum of all the usage data Ive collectedfrom wattson.

AveragesEnergy Per Day - An average of all the usage data Ivecollected, multiplied by 24.Power - The average power reading.

ComparisonsAnnual Projections - The average daily cost multiplied by365.Annual Goal - A target which you can set yourself.

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Data collection

Ready for me to start collecting data from wattson? Thensimply plug him into a spare USB port on your computer. Do

this regularly, and itll take just a few seconds to collect allthat data.

So, what happens when I collect data from wattson? Heresthe process in brief:

1 / First I nd wattson by searching your computers ports2 / Next, I conrm wattsons ID number and other details

3 / I then look to see if theres any new data to collect4 / If there is new data, Ill ask you if youd like me tocollect it*5 / I extract the data from wattson and store it in a localdatabase6 / I then ask you to conrm completion, and you close thecollection window**If the Auto Collect service is activated, this step is completed automatically. See the

Account section of this User Guide for more details on the Auto Collect Service.

While Im collecting data, details of what Im doing areshown in the collection window. Dont worry if you see daysrepeating themselves. This is just my way of double-checkingthat Ive got all the data correctly. Very occasionally, wattsonand I might misunderstand each other and youll see anerror. This is usually because wattson was busy doing

something else and missed my request for data. Start thecollection process again, and wattson and I will straightenthings out.

Beore you unplug wattsonWhen wattson and I are done talking to each other, you cansafely disconnect us by ejecting him. Roll your mouse overthe picture of wattson thats always at the top of my screen,

click on the eject symbol that appears, then unplug wattsonfrom your USB port. Doing it this way will make sure yourcomputer doesnt crash and I dont make wattson freeze.

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Account

My account settings allow you to adjust how I display dataand make calculations. Its split into several sections, which

Ill explain to you now:

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DataMy Data menu is a useful section that lets you do all kindsof clever stuff with the data wattson has shared with me.Heres what each of the four menu items is for:

Export ReadingsIf you want to keep any of the data from wattson in aseparate le that can be used by most spreadsheet and

database management systems, select Next step, choose astart and end date for readings to export, click Next stepagain and save the data on your computer as a le.


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Change Past RatesYou might need to re-enter rates information for readingswhich have already been taken (maybe you put in the wrongrates to begin with). Click Next Step, choose the start andend dates, and once youve clicked Next step again, yourpast data will be replaced by information based on the newrate youve chosen. But make sure you put in your new ratebefore you use this function.

This might take some time if you have a lot of data tochange, so why not split this up into smaller chunks such asa month at a time.

Upload ReadingsYou can view your data online at the DIY Kyoto communitysite. You can see all your data online and show othershow and when you are saving electricity. You can compareyour electricity usage with other wattson owners in the nextstreet, the next town or even in the next country.

To upload your energy usage data, you need to have a user

account with the DIY Kyoto Community. Click the Join buttonto go to the sign-up page. Once you have your username andpassword, you can enter them in the right elds and clickStart upload.

Delete ReadingsIf you want to delete readings from my database (though notfrom wattson), click Next step, choose a start and end date

for readings to delete and click Delete data. But be careful theres no way I can get data back once Ive deleted it.

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RatesEnter either a xed Simple Rate or use my Advanced RatesWizard to enter day and night rates. Id suggest you have arecent electricity bill handy for this bit.

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14Advance RatesIf you have different rates at different times of the daychoose that option and if you pay a service charge or astandard charge that doesnt change with your usage choosethe standing/service charge option.

1/ Enter your standard rate of electricity. This may include adifferent price when you have used over a certain amount.2/ Enter your standing/service charge.3/ In the tariff box enter the rate for other times of day andcall that rate something that makes sense e.g. Night Rate orPeak Rate.4/ Click the colour with your mouse and then click the time

on the 24 hour clock to apply that rate.5/ Repeat this for all your different rates and times.6/ You will see a summary of this on my next screen.7/ You can go back and adjust the rates at any time.8/ When you are satised you can press the Save & Applybutton and I will give you the option to update Wattson rightnow.


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OptionsHere, you change some of my options and alter how I workfor you.

1 / Select default wattson

If you want me to collect data for more than one wattson,you can select which wattson you wish to view usage datafor. This information doesnt change automatically when youcollect with an additional wattson, so dont forget to adjustthis setting whenever necessary.

2 / Select currency

Choose your local currency and this will be updated on yourwattson the next time I collect data from him.

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3 / Enable generated logging

If youre generating your own electricity, I can log this alongwith the power your home is using. Once you check this box,Ill let wattson know that youd like him to record the energyyoure generating. Then the next time he and I talk, he cangive me two lots of data.

4 / Auto collect data from wattson

Check this box if you want me to collect your data for youevery day. Dont forget, however, that youll need wattsonplugged into your computer and Ill need to be running for

this to work.

5 / Auto upload data to diykyoto.com

Check this box if you want me to upload your data for youevery day. Dont forget, however, that youll need wattsonplugged into your computer and Ill need to be running forthis to work. Youll also need to make sure youre connected

to the internet.

6 / Display current wattson power reading

If youd like me to show you what wattsons currently tellingme about your power usage, check this box. It is important toeject me if you choose this option.

7 / Upload current wattson power reading

Check this box if you want me to upload wattsons currentpower reading. Dont forget, however, that youll need wattsonplugged into your computer and Ill need to be running forthis to work. Youll also need to make sure youre connectedto the internet.

8/ Select time zone. You will need to tell me in which timezone you live so that I can upload data to the DIY KyotoCommunity correctly.

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GoalsEnter your energy use goal for the year this is thendisplayed on the holmes page.

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Usage

This is my very heart, if you like. It allows you to view theusage data I collect from wattson.

Introduction to the datawattson stores data at ve-minute intervals, which means

288 values for every 24-hour period. Every ve minute valuehas a cost (pence/cents, etc) assigned to it, which is storedat the time of readings collections. So historically recordedreadings and costs are not affected by current rates.

Graph TypesI can show you your usage data in four different types ofgraph. Selecting one of these options will draw a new graph

using the appropriate measurement.

Energy: kwh (Column chart)

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Power: Watts (Line chart)Cost: (Column chart)Co2: KG (Column chart)

Graph ScaleEach Graph Type has a choice of four time scales, which willalter how the usage data is formatted on the graph:Months: monthly usage (12 months displayed max.)Days: daily usage (7 days displayed max.)24 Hours: hourly usage (24 hours displayed max.)Hours: hourly usage (4 hours displayed max.)

Navigating the data

As soon as Ive drawn your selected graph, you can navigatehorizontally through the currently selected range. Selectedrange means the period of time youre viewing, and itsdisplayed below the horizontal scroll bar. By default,the graph will show the most recently collected data. Tonavigate, click and drag the horizontal slider or click thearrows on each end of the slider to jump one measurementup or down. (Measurements will correspond to the Graph

scale selected.)

Understanding the graphs

Scale Every time you select a new range, graph type or scale,Ill draw you a new graph. When this happens, the vertical(Y) axis is adjusted to show the data properly.

Data Every time you move the horizontal scroll bar or thestep arrows, Ill redraw the contents of the graph and updatethe horizontal (X) axis.

Printing graphs Youll see you can also ask me to print outany of my graphs so that you can look at them without beingat your computer. Its a handy option to have but thinkcarefully about the environment before printing anythingunnecessarily.

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Colours To help show instantly that a columns usage ishigh or low, Ill colour the top of the column. The followingdiagram shows what these colours represent.

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ValuesTo see values, roll your mouse over the column or line.

RenewablesIf you are collecting data from Solar Cells, Wind Turbineor other micro-generation then you will see that I have aslider just below the print button. Slide this to green andIll show your generated electricity on the energyand power graph.

We have a manual especially for renewables which canbe found at www.diykyoto.com/support.

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Using the calendarMy calendar is multi-functioning, allowingyou to browse historical data and selectranges to view.

YearsBrowse Years using the left and rightarrows.

MonthsMonths highlighted in pink show that Ihave usage data stored for that month.Click on a month to view only that months

data.

WeeksEach week is selectable by the arrow atthe start of that week. Click the arrow nextto the week to view just that weeks data.

So, there you have it. See how easy it is touse me in conjunction with wattson?

Heres to lots of data collected, lots ofenergy saved and to reduced electricitybills in the months ahead.

If you have any technical questions about

me or my friend wattson, please send themto:

[email protected]

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New things in holmes v1.031/ The ability to change tariffs for data already collected.2/ The ability to delete old data (but not the days) and to clear thewattson database.3/ Upload your data to the DIY Kyoto community site.4/ Collect all data features into a single tab.5/ Export of data, including data from micro-generated electricity.6/ More exibility with time based tariffs.7/ Add additional currencies to list.8/ Add an eject button to disconnect wattson.9/ Add a live update option for holmes and the online community.10Improve installation procedure for Windows Vista users and Mac

Leopard users.11/ And solved bugs from the previous version.

New things in holmes v1.03.2

1/ Given more exibility for time based tariffs. Giving up to 5charge rates within a 24 hour period.

New things in holmes v1.03.3

1/ Introduction of display of generated electricity on Energy andPower graphs.

New things in holmes v1.04

1/ Introduction of data storage in local time.

New things in holmes v1.05

1/ Supporting the extension for Wattson XL.2/ Improvements for data collection timeouts.3/ And solved bugs including home page averages and timeshifts.

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Documents

Holmes Manual