Smart Energy Groups is an on-line community for energy aware people to work together to share information on how to use energy more efficiently and reduce energy consumption.

To learn more about the why and where of Smart Energy Groups, rock over here

An open RESTul web service API is planned for the application, allowing external devices to easlily comminicate and exchange information with the system.

Documentation, and useful "stuff" will be made available will deliver packages for:

• - XML and json message exchange
  
• - Ruby modules for application integration
• - A PC based residential gateway for easy USB connection of devices
  
• - An openwrt based residential gatway using Zigbee for wireless device mangement
  
• - one day a Rails plugin for your tasty projects
  

and other relevant languages, let us know if you want one on the list

which will make open sourcing home energy management tops, and perhaps even fun.

The Ruby client residential gateway module is available from git.  This module will connect to Smart Energy Groups using your site token, collect data ane events from your home, office or anywhere you want to instrument and control.  The gateway software can be got from git over here:

http://github.com/samotage/Smart-Energy-Groups-API-Services/tree/master

There is also an Arduino an event driven framework for colelcting data and executing commands available.  This framework is compatable with the Ruby Residential Gateway.  It's available for download from git at:

http://github.com/geekscape/Aiko/tree/master

The Fork we are using for Smart Energy Groups is here:

http://github.com/samotage/Aiko

This framework froms part of the Melbourne based Connected Community Hackerspaces group which is developing the Instrumented and Distributed community, open sourcing and building devices for the common good.

You can learn more, and participate in the project at the connected community hackerspaces here:

http://groups.google.com/group/connected-community-hackerspace/

So get involved, and help particpate to make this awesome!

Pre-requisites:

1. A site has been created, it has a device and some streams.

If you haven't already, go here: 
https://smartenergygroups.com/sites
 

2. You will need to know some details of your tokens.

All the relevant details of your stuff can be found here: https://smartenergygroups.com/my_things/show_keys 

This is quite a good page, not only does it tell about all the relvant tokens, but it also gives useful XML and JSON resources for getting data out of SEG
 

3. Then all you need to do is start sending data. It's simple!RESTful web service

RESTful Web Service

Now, streams are that, streams of data, each with a point in time, and a corresponding value. Streams are defined for units, i.e. kWh etc as part of the stream type associated for the device.

1. The Resource is:

http://api.smartenergygroups.com/api_sites/stream

2. The Method to use is:
:PUT

3. The body of the request is:
data_post = “(site  <your site's site_token>  (node <your device's node_name>?   (<your devices stream_name> <value>)(<your devices stream_name> <value>)))”

a working example for a device sending data to 4 streams on a device may be:
data_post = "(site site_36664827adf0dece67f35a (node segmeter? (p_1 567.00)(e_1 2.70)(p_2 402.00)(e_2 2.2)))"

It's as simple as that.

4. The Response
You will also get a response back from SEG telling you what's happened, such as
(status success <your current site api hit count>)
or
(status error )
or perhaps a command?
5. questions?

If you get stumped, want to help etc, contact use here