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7: Using the Shark® 100B Meter
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7: Using the Shark
®
100B Meter
7.1: Introduction
The Shark® 100B meter has native BACnet/IP that lets it act as a BACnet server in
any BACnet application. The meter has a Web interface you can use to remotely set
up the BACnet/IP and Modbus configuration and track energy readings through the
Internet using any standard Web browser.
7.1.1: About BACnet
BACnet is a data communication protocol developed for Building Control applications
in 1987. BACnet allows applications to process data from many different kinds of
equipment and manufacturers. Originally it was used for HVAC control systems, but it
has been extended to other building systems, including lighting and energy manage-
ment. Today BACnet is one of the two most widely used Building Automation protocols
in use. It is an ASHRAE/ANSI/ISO standard protocol.
The BACnet protocol consists of Objects that contain different kinds of information.
Each Object has properties that contain data related to it. Below is the example of an
Object for Total Watts:
Object_Name, PWR_ELEC
Object_Type, Analog Input
Object_Instance, AI-101018
Present_Value, watt, tot (value in watts)
BACnet operates in a client-server environment. A client machine sends a service
request (message) to a server machine; once the service is performed the results are
reported back to the client machine. BACnet defines 5 groups (or classes) of 35 mes-
sage types. For example, one class contains messages for retrieving and manipulating
the object properties described above. An example of a common service request in
this class is "ReadProperty." When the server machine receives this message from a
client machine, it locates the requested property of the requested object and sends
the value to the client. Other classes of service requests have to do with alarms and
events; file uploading/downloading; managing remote device operation; and virtual
terminal functions.