On Wed, May 2, 2012 at 5:32 AM, Edward Iglesias <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> These are all very good ideas.  I'm partial to the Arduino solution
> myself but it got me thinking, does facilities already collect this
> information?  A lot of systems have built in monitors that report to a
> central location.  It might be possible there is a built in API you
> could just hijack and display on a webpage.  Now facilities probably
> wont help you prove they are not doing their job but it is possible.


The HVAC system has to know what's going on in order to function properly
so the ideal solution would be to tap into what is there.

Even if there's no practical way to intercept the signal, other options
include aiming webcams at HVAC displays (or regular digital thermometers
for that matter) and OCRing the results.

Solutions that involve soldering irons are more fun, but they'll be harder
to maintain. Because the tricky part isn't in detecting the temperature,
but getting the info to a central place where something useful can be done
with it, my gut reaction is that wired or cabled weather stations that are
designed to produce internet ready data will be easiest to deploy.

kyle

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------
Kyle Banerjee
Digital Services Program Manager
Orbis Cascade Alliance
[log in to unmask] / 503.999.9787