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Feature
Story
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Heliotronics
Unveils PV Live™
- July 2007 |
| Heliotronics
Inc., the innovation leader in educational data displays for
solar photovoltaic systems, has launched its PV Live™
initiative that brings up-to-the-second renewable energy data
to the general public via the Internet. This dynamic display
technology sets a new standard and compares to industry standard
displays much as video does to stills.
With
updates every 1 to 2 seconds PV Live™ is designed to
promote interest and engage the public in order to garner
support for expanding the use of renewable energy. PV Live™
extends the reach of the high speed data link to anywhere
there is an Internet connection.
According
to Amelia Amon, founder of Alt Technica a design firm that
is widely known for creative renewable energy displays, “movement
is a highly effective tool for engaging the public. The Heliotronics
PV Live™ displays offer a state-of-the-art approach
to that end.”
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Since
many members of the public in the U.S. have only recently
begun to hear about the benefits of PV and solar technologies,
being able to see a truly live data display updated every
second has a memorable impact. Now with PV Live™, when
the clouds part and the sun comes out, people can see the
needle on the power gauge respond immediately–and it
helps them make the connection at a visceral level that this
system is producing energy from sunlight.
Building
on that vision, Matt Arner, Heliotronics Manager of Business
Development, said “We are seeing considerable excitement
regarding PV Live™. It is being used on a small scale
in some local projects and on a considerably larger scale
in projects that will be announced later this year.”
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Solar
Today Article
- Mar 2005 |
| The
current issue of SOLAR TODAY has an article about
Heliotronics project at the Dexter School Clay Center.
"Administrators
at the Clay Center recognized the educational potential of
these monitoring systems as they
planned the Center, and sought out a system that would allow
students hands-on experience with this equipment. After evaluating
several educational software products, they chose the Solar
Learning Lab(TM) data-monitoring system from Heliotronics
Inc. of Hingham, Mass. The system comprises data acquisition
electronics, Sun Viewer interactive monitoring software and
SunViewer.net(TM) Web-based data display."
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This
article is republished courtesy of SOLAR TODAY, the
award-winning magazine published by the American Solar Energy
Society and dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy
technologies. www.solartoday.org.
Read
the full article (PDF)...
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Rhode
Island Schools Go Solar with Heliotronics
- Jan 2005 |
| The
Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund, administered by the Rhode
Island State Energy Office is providing solar arrays for educational
sites around the state, including schools and Roger Williams
Zoo. Each of the 12 selected sites will use the solar arrays
to generate some of their electricity without polluting the
air. However, the biggest payoff may be the education of students
and the general public about the benefits and feasibility
of solar energy.
Each
of the arrays will be outfitted with fun educational Epiphany™
data displays by Heliotronics. According to Matthew Arner,
Heliotronics Manager of Business Development, “Heliotronics
specializes in making renewable energy accessible and understandable
to the general public.” Computers at each site will
display the data in a dynamic, fun, and informative way. Off
site, data will be available over the Internet. SunViewer.net™
is a powerful database and Internet display service that allows
interested people to view the performance of individual systems
or all of the systems aggregated together as a virtual power
plant.
Link
to RI Solar Schools Website...
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Meteorological
information is also displayed clarifying the relationship
between the environment and energy production for students.
This combined approach brings lessons to life and stimulates
student's imaginations.
According
to Clayton Handleman, President of Heliotronics, “School
children are surprisingly aware that clean energy means a
cleaner environment. These educational systems show them that
clean energy systems are powerful and can provide energy for
their school to run. With this real life tool to engage them,
students can find a context within which their studies make
sense. For many this can be a powerful catalyst to learning.”
Each
system will be installed by Solar Wrights, the leading installer
of photovoltaic systems in Rhode Island.
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RE
Insider Feature Article by Clayton Handleman - July 2004 |
| Heliotronics
President Clayton Handleman was featured as an RE Insider
on the Solar Access website.
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"A
progressive program of public education and awareness is crucial
to developing widespread public support for a vibrant renewables
manufacturing industry in this country."
Read
the full article (PDF)
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SunViewer.net™
Renewable Energy Database - March 2004 |
| Heliotronics,
Inc. has launched SunViewer.net™, a powerful renewable
energy database that takes data uploaded from renewable energy
sites around the country and allows users to access it from
the Internet. Users can display the data in graphical form
or they can download it in spreadsheet compatible CSV tables.
In
addition to viewing data from individual sites, the database
is able to aggregate multiple systems into one output. For
example, if your state had 50 schools, SunViewer.net would
allow users to answer questions such as, how much pollution
was avoided due to the renewable energy production of all
50 schools in one particular day.
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The
system can store power and energy data as well as meteorological
data from any site that has an Internet connection and a compatible
data acquisition system. Heliotronics offers their Epiphany™
series data acquisition systems for this purpose.
SunViewer.net™
enables schools and other institutions to provide national
access to data from their renewable energy system.
”SunViewer.net™ is a great education and research
tool that provides data, processed in fun and informative
ways" said Clayton Handleman, President of Heliotronics.
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| Heliotronics,
Inc. Releases SunViewer™ 5.0 Software - January 2004 |
| Heliotronics,
Inc. announces SunViewer™ 5.0, a new release of their
educational software. SunViewer™ is designed, to be
used with a Heliotronics Epiphany™ series data acquisition
system. It visually displays the dynamic behavior of a photovoltaic
system, engaging viewers in order to teach them about the
operation and benefits of solar energy. It is ideally suited
for use in schools, museums and other venues where it is desirable
to educate the public about solar energy.
This
upgrade substantially improves the graphical interface of
the Solar Learning Labs™ that are being installed on
schools, nature centers, and community buildings throughout
the country. Heliotronics SunViewer™ software is designed
to display real time renewable energy system and weather data.
The data is also averaged over 15 minute intervals and stored
in a database for retrieval and study.
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Over
the last year, Heliotronics has utilized feedback from customers,
renewable energy curriculum development teams, museums and
nature centers, to improve usability and add features. The
SunViewer 5.0 software serves as an educational tool in the
classroom or an interactive touch-screen kiosk. Fun activities
that illustrate the importance of renewable energy and energy
efficiency are built into the software.
Heliotronics
will soon release SunViewer.net™, a powerful renewable
energy database and data display service on the Internet.
SunViewer.net™ is designed to expand the value of a
Solar Learning Lab™.
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| Testing
Begins for National Renewables Database
- November 2003
-written
by SolarAccess.com
| As
renewable energy systems become more advanced, incorporating
such novelties like inverters that send you a text message
when there's an anomaly, it was only a matter of time before
someone created an online database to take advantage of these
increasingly digitized systems.
Heliotronics
has begun beta testing of SunViewer.net a powerful renewable
energy database that takes data uploaded from renewable energy
sites around the country and allows users to access it from
the Internet.
In
addition to viewing data from individual sites, the database
will be able to aggregate multiple systems into one output.
For example, if your state had 50 schools, SunViewer.net will
allow users to answer questions such as, how much pollution
was avoided due to the renewable energy production of all
50 schools in one particular day.
The
system can store power and energy data as well as meteorological
data from any site that has an Internet connection and a compatible
data acquisition system. Heliotronics offers their own Epiphany
series data acquisition system.
SunViewer.net
enables schools and other institutions to provide national
access to data from their renewable energy system. |
|
"Many
of our customers have been clamoring for Internet access to
their data. SunViewer.net is a great education and research
tool that will provide the data, processed in fun, informative
and interesting ways" said Clayton Handleman, president
of Heliotronics. "Heliotronics expects to have the graphical
front end completed by year-end. It will include numerical
displays, graphing, tabular output, and data downloading.
While
Heliotronics anticipates that the early adopters of SunViewer.net
will be customers with Solar Arrays, the database is very
flexible and is able to accommodate a variety of renewable
energy sources including wind and hot water.
"If
your firewall allows you to browse the Internet, it will let
your data out for viewing on the web," Handleman said.
The
company said testing to date shows robust operation of the
Database. If the user has an Ethernet connection to the Internet,
it is easy to configure their Epiphany Series DAS to upload
data to the Internet. It is designed to upload data through
firewalls without modification or intervention of IT personnel.
The company said testing to date indicates that there are
no problems.
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| Heliotronics
Selected to Provide 50 Data Acquisition Systems for NYS Schools |
| Heliotronics,
Inc., a leader in the design and development of educational
electronics and software for the photovoltaic industry, has
been selected by Solar Works Inc. to provide data acquisition
systems for the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) School Power Naturally program.
Heliotronics will provide both data acquisition hardware and
software for the project.
Since
the 'Request for Proposals' for this project first hit the
streets, we recognized it as an extremely important opportunity
for the solar industry," said Clayton Handleman, president
of Heliotronics. "We are thrilled to be a part of it
and look forward to supporting Solar Works and NYSERDA in
making this the solar schools program by which others are
measured.
Heliotronics
will supply 50 Epiphany Series™ data acquisition
systems, which will be used to monitor solar arrays placed
on the rooftops of each of the 50 participating schools. The
data will be displayed on computers in classrooms and integrated
into curriculum being developed as part of the NYSERDA project.
The computer displays use an engaging graphical user interface
to show the dynamics of energy production from the solar array,
which consists of 20, 100 Watt solar modules. |
|
Meteorological
information is also displayed clarifying the relationship
between the environment and energy production for students.
This combined approach brings lessons to life and stimulates
student's imaginations.
"We
are very excited about working with Heliotronics," said
Richard Eidlin, Solar Works' School Power Naturally
project manager. "They have shown an eagerness to work
with our team members to make this the best solar education
project in the country by improving their products, which
are already among the industry's best."
Installations
of the PV projects are expected to take place between September
2003 and May 2004.
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| Heliotronics
Introduces a 600V Version of Their UL Listed Current/Voltage Transducer |
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| November
2002
Heliotronics
EpiphanyTM series data acquisition systems provide
an engaging platform for teaching about solar energy in schools,
museums, and other educational venues. The data acquisition system
monitors the performance of the solar arrays and use Current/Voltage
Transducers to monitor array and inverter output in real time.
Heliotronics’
Current/Voltage Transducer is used to measure the current
and voltage on either the AC or the DC side of photovoltaic, wind,
and other electrical systems. The transducer is listed to the latest
UL and CSA standards that have been harmonized with the international
standard for test and measurement equipment. |
|
The
Model 600V/65A transducer is designed for 1 kW to 5 kW systems
and can be used to monitor AC or DC current and voltage with an
appropriate data logger such as the Heliotronics Sunlogger.
The transducer can operate up to 600 VDC or 424 VAC
and 65 ADC or 56 AAC. Current/Voltage Transducers
are included in two of Heliotronics’ EpiphanyTM
series data acquisition system packages.
The
Heliotronics 600V Current/Voltage Transducer
is now in production. To place an order or to learn more about applications,
contact Sales at +1 781
749 9593. For detailed technical information, contact Technical Support at +1 781 646 8622.
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| Bringing
Solar To The Classroom |
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| June
2002
Electricity from the sun using a photovoltaic (PV) system is available
today! It is a technology full of promise and possibilities.
It is the promise of a future with less pollution and less conflict.
It is the possibility of a future with a more reliable energy supply
and an end to squandering our precious natural resources.
Schools
are embracing these promises and possibilities. Students and teachers
want to know how PV systems work. Parents and taxpayers want more
clean energy sources. What better way is there to accomplish all
this than to put a PV system on a school?
Starting
this year, schools can now combine a PV system with Heliotronics'EpiphanyTM series software
and hardware to produce a Solar Learning LabTM
environment for teachers and students. This enables schools to embrace
a positive future, students and teachers to learn about solar energy,
and parents and taxpayers to have another clean energy source.
Heliotronics'
EpiphanyTM series offers
user-friendly software and instrumentation hardware with lively
real-time graphical displays. The array operation is displayed on
a classroom computer or on multiple computers throughout the school.
In addition to the energy produced by the array, a variety of other
quantities, such as temperature and sunlight, are monitored, so
that students can see how they affect the array operation. |
The
data acquisition systems range from simple and inexpensive systems
that measure, display, and store sunlight, temperature, and energy
to sophisticated systems with complete performance measurement capability
and comprehensive meteorological instrumentation.
Our
software is rich in graphical and technical content. Students
can explore the displays, moving from simple to detailed displays.
Static displays are included which show pictures of and explain
the various array and data acquisition system components.
The
Heliotronics data acquisition systems are now in production. To
place an order or to learn more about applications, contact Sales
at +1 781 749 9593. For detailed technical information, contact
Technical Support at +1 781 646 8622.
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| Current/Voltage
Transducer by Heliotronics, Inc. Obtains UL Listing |
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| February
2002
Heliotronics has received a Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listing
on its Current/Voltage Transducer,
which is used to measure the current and voltage on either the AC
or the DC side of a photovoltaic system. The transducer is
listed to UL3111-1 and CSA 22.2 No. 1010-1, 1992, which are standards
that have been harmonized to the international standard IEC 61010-1
for test and measurement equipment. These standards are more
stringent and supersede UL 1244.
The
transducer is designed for 1 kW to 5 kW systems and can be used
to monitor AC or DC current and voltage with an appropriate data
logger such as the Heliotronics Sunlogger. |
The
transducer can operate up to 450 VDC or 318 VAC
and 65 ADC or 56 AAC over the temperature
range of -20°C to +85°C. This transducer is included in two of Heliotronics'
data acquisition system packages. Please see our products page for further details.
The
Heliotronics Current/Voltage Transducer
is now in production. To place an order or to learn more about applications,
contact Sales at +1 781
749 9593. For detailed technical information, contact Technical Support at +1 781
646 8622.
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