Access to Data

Back And No Updates

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:25:48 +0100

I am now back and sorry for not putting anything up in the last week, the competition heated up and my days finished very late. However, I have also not received any updates in that time, so if you think that is wrong then please either email me or make a comment below. I will be working on updating a couple of things on the temp calibration group in the next couple of days.

There is still a lot of updates to be made so can people please get these over to me.

Temp Sensors Replacement

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 14:20:32 +0100

As briefly alluded to yesterday we are having problems with the temperature sensors. I have discussed this with Arthur and he has confirmed that they will be trying to glue these into place shortly. He will tell me when this has been done so that we know from which point in the data logging the temperature sensors are potentially recording the correct data.

New Logger Downloads

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 21:28:14 +0100

I have received a new update from Arthur today. He has sent through all the downloads from the loggers. If anyone wants any help interpreting them then I will try this week but I will be more available after the weekend when I am back home.

One point of note from Arthurs email: Several of the T sensors have
fallen off the backs of the panels, dome are in shade, some on rock,
some in sun (if it ever shines). Do you want them sticking back on?
-Likely to fall off again I suspect.

Does anyone remember if we had agreed to change the mounting on the temperature sensors? For some reason I thought that they were going to be glued to the back of the sensors but maybe this plan had been changed.

The new files are available at Download 2 2009_08_04 and also in the full zip file of the site which has been updated accordingly.

IV Curve File Updates

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 20:41:36 +0100

I received an update from Steve yesterday evening for the IV calibration group. He has updated both the PV Panel IV Curves spreadsheet and the IV Curve folder document. I have put the old files in a new folder called Archive just in case anyone still wants to see the old data.

All files are located in Calibration -> A - Test Panel IV Curve Data

Blog Back to Normal

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 00:52:24 +0100

Ok everything is uploaded and back to normal now. I hope!

Again I’m really sorry for the problems you must have thought I had vanished. Oh and sorry for another crappy image.

I will send out a group email tomorrow with all the information. I have also updated the structure so that it shows all the blogs and doesn’t hide them so that you can only see them in the archives.

Problems Fixed

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:52:12 +0100

Excellent everything is now fixed between myself and ISP and tomorrow I will reupload the blog entries so that everything is there and make sure it can be seen externally. I have managed to update the file structure. Sorry for the corny image but it made me feel better once I had found out the problem.

I am away competing this week from late tonight so I am not sure how much I will be able to update but hopefully there will be no problem, only possibly a slight delay. Nothing like you have had! I will make sure that the upload happens tomorrow though.

Big Problem with Site

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:52:01 +0100

An email I received from Margaret last night has highlighted to me that there have not been any visible amendments to this site since early July and that you have not received any weekly email updates. Really sorry for this, I had assumed that everything was fine as I had had no comments otherwise, and it was all fine my end. After an initial review it seems my local view is fine but synchronising online isn’t. Think there might be something funny with my ISP as some emails are going and some aren’t aswell now that I have dug deeper.

Don’t think any of you will get to read this until I fix the problem, so not much point writing it as haven’t managed today and not sure about tomorrow for time.

Software to Use

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:51:40 +0100

I just wanted to add a link for those of you who wanted to check on the logging data and how the program works. The program is LogXR and can be downloaded free of charge from here:

http://www.pace-sci.com/LogXR.htm

Electrical Group Update

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:51:08 +0100

I received Margaret’s transcription of her notes from the course yesterday and they are a very detailed account of the Standalone Electrical group. At an initial glance I can’t see anything missing. There is an initial drawing of the setup also in the monitoring group folder if people want to see.

Margaret’s file has been added to Group 2 - Standalone Electrics.

Split Log Info Out

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:01:14 +0100

A simple update today just following an email request from Martin a couple of days ago. I have split out the real logger info from the main file so that this is just contact info now and the relevant logger info is now in the monitoring group and is the only logging info available. I have as such renamed master spreadsheet to contacts as that is effectively all it is.

Easier Downloading

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:01:14 +0100

Just so people can download the whole load if they want and have it all at home I have created two zip files at the top level structure. The first is called REBE archive.zip and contains all the files excluding any of the photos ones. The second is photo.zip and obviously contains the photos. Please be warned that this is a rather large file though. 150 MB I think. This didn’t want to work properly, uploading a 150MB file seems to cause problems. So sorry you will have to download individual photos unless I can actually make it work.

I hope that this will help a bit. If you want it in another format then please ask. I should be able to do it.

Mechanical Group - TBD

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:00:38 +0100

There is a simple descriptive file in here on the work carried out and the tracker functions. The only thing that I am slightly hazy on is if the group sited the setups as a result of the initial site inspection or whether they just made them fit to the site. Any other queries or points please ask.

Monitoring Group - TBD

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:00:38 +0100

Alan has kept a pretty detailed log of what we did so hopefully this is ok. I think that we could probably tidy up a bit of the information so that the different info required by the groups is quite easy to find. If there are any requests any wants please ask.

On a separate note a particular question from Martin has asked if someone from the IV group could explain why they put panels 4 & 7 together rather than 4 & 6. Anyone?

Standalone Electrics - TBD

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:00:37 +0100

Unfortunately we have no information here from the group yet. Hopefully we will receive an update shortly. There is an initial drawing that we did in Microsoft Paint which is in the Monitoring Group folder, but hopefully again like the cabin group we can update this image in Visio if possible.

Cabin Group - TBD

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:00:34 +0100

The documents that we have here are great but I think that we could do with doing a diagram of the circuit. I will see if I can find some software to make it easier to draw. Unless anyone else has a copy of Microsoft Visio that would work, and is happy to take on the work.

Cal Group D - Site Assess - TBD

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:24:35 +0100

Again most of the information is here although a brief aim para for the group would help.

Importantly we are missing the specs for the cable size for the hill and also the specs of the pv systems that are currently being used and the way they were setup before.

Cal Group C - Watt Hour - TBD

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:59:19 +0100

Not sure there is anything to update here at all so thank you for that. If anyone has any comments or requests please ask but I think that this is quite straight forward. The only thing that I could request is to write the serial numbers with respect to which applies to A B C etc here, but that information can be found elsewhere if required.

Cal Group B - Pyro & Temp - TBD

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:57:30 +0100

Again this needs to be updated with a file which explains the groups aims, methods and conclusions.

Furthermore, this also requires an update to the spreadsheet to explain the figures slightly better.

Cal Group A - Panel IV - TBD

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:55:56 +0100

I am going to go through each group on a daily basis and highlight what I think would either be useful to update or ought to be done(TBD). If anyone else has any requests or recommendations then please do not hesitate to email me so that I can add it or add it to a comment below.

As discussed on the final day it would be useful if the folder document could include a brief recap on its aims, methods and conclusions as a result of applying these tests. Why were certain panels selected to go together? All the data and analysis is there except for the actual reason they were paired.

Robs Email

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:54:59 +0100

I have copied below that I received from Rob giving his views on the initial downloads. It touches on a few of the problems that we originally had on the setup on the sunday.

Dave and Alex
I've had a quick look at the attached tracking systems seam to make sense with system 3 getting more irradiation and more output. Fairly sure that this is not a calibration issue as if you divide the output by irradiation all systems have nearly the same efficiency.

Cabin PPT much less conclusive. Significant currents appear to flow at night on the PPT circuit and also the control . Wh meter on the control gives a lower figure than all of them. Dave is there any way we can get a Wh meter fitted to the PPT in the next week or so.

That said as you can see below, as expected, the PPt works less well at lower irradiances and a bit better at higher ones.
Rob

There is also an image which was sent along with this email which I have put into the same folder as the text downloads (image001.png), and is what you can see above to give you an idea of the comparisons. I assume that this has come straight out of the logger program, so we need to run it through excel in a certain way if we want to replicate it.

Logger File Downloads

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:52:21 +0100

Just briefly as it is quite late, I received an email from Rob and Dave with an initial download from the three loggers. Rob has also made a slight comment in the email which I will post to the blog tomorrow. I haven’t had the chance to check them at all but I am sure the data is fine.

All the new files are located in Download 1.

Pyro & Temp Files Update

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:47:31 +0100

The files in the Pyro & Temp Calibration Folder have now been updated to be in a usable format for all users of Microsoft Excel. Sorry to those for whom it wasn’t working. This may mean that you won’t be able to see some of the information that was worked out but you have all the usable data. I have left the newer Excel versions in for those of you who can open them.

All files are located in Calibration -> Pyro & Temp Cal

A Few More Photos

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:52:26 +0100

My turn to do an update. I have added the photos that I took into the photo directory and put them under a sub-folder called monitoring. I will try and restructure this folder in the future so that it is easier for everyone to find what they want.

If anyone else has any photos please send them through.

Mechanical Group Update

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 18:18:42 +0100

Today’s update is from Mikko, who has provided us with the details for the standalone mechanical group, with details of the trackers used and which pvs are where, amongst other info.

All files are located in Group 4 - Standalone Mechanical

Watt Hour Calibration

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 23:16:43 +0100

John has sent in a detailed overview of the calibration of the watt hour meters. He has also very kindly provided me with a pdf version as well for those of you who might be having trouble opening the documents.

All files are located in Calibration -> C - Watt Hour Meter

Site Assessment Update

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 23:24:01 +0100

An update from Alan this time. He has provided us with both of the sunpath diagrams for the current cabin PV panels.
There is also a word document outlining a lot of the information on the cabins as part of the site visits. However, we are still missing some information on this like the cable length and cross section and also the actual specs of the PV. So if the rest of the group could check on that and give the rest of the updates that would be great.

All files are located in Calibration -> D - Site Assessment

Cabin Group Update

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 22:48:08 +0100

I have received an update from Martin which is a spreadsheet that outlines some information on the electrical items in the cabins.

The file is called Eco-Cabin Survey.xls and may be found in the Group 1 - Cabin Folder.

Initial upload

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 20:19:36 +0100

First upload to site.

Known issues will be updated shortly.

Required updates will be updated shortly.