Overview

Orka Central is the data engine at the heart of the Orka Energy Management System.

Orka Central has been developed for use with a variety of energy monitoring equipment, to provide automatic meter reading and an interface to energy monitoring and targeting software.
The software comprises a number of modules which may be used in combination as required. It runs on Microsoft Windows (XP or later) as a Windows service, and is completely automatic in operation. The modules currently available are described below.

Modules

Modbus logger module

This module records data from Modbus devices. Communication with the devices can be via either serial ports or via the TCP/IP network. Both Modbus RTU and Modbus TCP are supported.

Data can be logged from any number of Modbus registers on any number of devices, with the logging interval for each register being specified as required.

A scaling factor for each channel (Modbus register) can be specified.

Data can be exported periodically for each channel, with a data interval that can be equal to or greater than the logging interval. (e.g. data could be logged from a device at 1-minute intervals, but exported using an interval of 15 minutes, with the data being sent every hour. This would be useful if data is normally only needed at 15-minute intervals, but there might subsequently be a need to analyse the data using 1-minute interval.)

The data logging scheme can be organised as a number of “zones”. Each zone will be handled by a separate instance of the Modbus Logger module, allowing a large number of meters to be logged simultaneously, avoiding the problems of slow cycle times on a serial line share by many Modbus RTU devices. Each instance of the Modbus Logger runs in a separate execution thread on the computer.

Wi-5 data import module
This module parses data files received (by FTP or email) from the Radio-Tech RT:Wi5 data concentrator.

NetBiter data import module
This module parses data files received by email from the Intellicom NetBiter WS100/WS200 Modbus logger.

CubeIP data import module
This module parses data files received by FTP from the Northern Design CubeIP smart meter.

CCT pulse logger module
This module interfaces to the Enerdis CCT multi-channel pulse logger. It communicates with the logger using Modbus, and is able to download data logged over a period of time by the CCT logger.

Cylon data import module
This module imports data from Cylon BMS archive files.

Generic file loader module
This module imports data from simple text files – e.g. comma-separated-value files in eSight single-column format.

IskraSMS file loader module
This module imports data from files received by SMS from an Iskraemeco meter or data logger.

DirectSMTP module
This module implements a dummy SMTP server that can be used to receive data directly from loggers that send data by email, avoiding the need to use an SMTP relay server.

Data is automatically extracted from the body of the email message or from an attachment.
This module is often used with the Radio-Tech RT:Wi5 data concentrator and the Intellicom NetBiter.

Pop3Download module
This module downloads data from one or more POP3 mailboxes. This is useful where data is being received by email from other systems – e.g. half-hourly meter data from energy suppliers.

DataMailer module
This module can be used to send data recorded by other modules by email to other remote systems. The transmission frequency can be set as required, and data is either embedded in the body of the email or attached as a file.

Daytime server module
This provides a simple Daytime service on port 13. It is typically used to provide time synchronisation for the Radio-Tech RT:Wi5 data concentrator.

DataExporter module
This module provides a secondary means of automatically export data and sending it by email to one or more addresses. This can be useful where it is required to send data to two or more remote systems, perhaps at different intervals. Data can be exported in several different formats, including eSight “single-column” format and row-per-day format.

Housekeeping module
This module takes care of deleting old imported and exported data files and old diagnostic log files after a specified number of days. It also regularly checks all channels for missing data and generates an email alarm message for any zone for which the data on any channel is more than a specified number of hours out of date.

Functions common to all modules

Data storage

Data acquired from all sources is stored in binary data files, either on the computer on which the software is installed or on a network drive. This provides an effective and compact data repository which can be retained indefinitely. (Modern computer disks are very large in comparison to the modest storage requirements for this type of data.)
These binary data files are also used directly by the Orka Energy Manager and Orka Display applications.

Data export
Data can be exported periodically in a file format suitable for import to other energy management applications such as eSight (from eSight Energy Ltd).
A number of “data cleaning” options are available in the data export function, including
• regularisation of data intervals (useful for radio data collection systems with irregular data transmissions)
• auto-filling of missing readings (up to a specified maximum number of readings)

Data can also be exported in CSV (comma-separated value) format, directly from the binary data files using the Orka Data Export utility.

Alarms
Out-of-limit (minimum / maximum) alarms can be configured on any data channel. Whenever the channel value is outside the configured limits, an email message is automatically sent to one or more specified addresses.
Missing data alarms, which apply to all channels, are managed by the Housekeeping module. If the latest reading for any channel in a zone is older than a specified number of hours, an alarm message for that zone, with a list of the channels with missing data, is sent by email to one or more addresses.

Orka Central is continuously being updated and improved.